February News

This month marks the beginning of our very exciting spring semester! Throughout the fall, our students built up their dance skills, honed their technique, and formed relationships with their teachers and classmates. Now it's time to use everything we've learned and begin working on choreography. At the end of the season, each class will perform an original piece of choreography onstage for family and friends to enjoy. Our polished performances take place in a large theater with professional lighting design and, of course, amazing costumes! (Performances are optional, but we encourage everyone to participate.)
 

Save the Date: Year End Performances

Mark your calendars for May 31st and June 1st! On May 31st, all Steppin' Out students will have a chance to perform—all our classes will be divided into two performance groups so that each show runs approximately 90 minutes long. On June 1st, we will hold one evening performance that showcases our most advanced classes. More performance-related details will be shared via ActivityHero with enrolled families over the next few months.  
 

Spring Class Features

Most of our spring classes are already at capacity, but we have a couple spots left in the following classes. If any of them sound appealing to your family, you can register online or email Angela to set up a trial class.

•  Contemporary for ages 7+ (Mon. 4-5pm) 

  • This class is an introduction to contemporary dance open to those with any level of dance experience. We focus on basic technique and vocabulary specific to contemporary dance, touching on momentum, alignment, weight, space, and energy while emphasizing freedom, individuality, and creativity. This class also incorporates several well-loved movement games and composition exercises.

•  Pop Jazz for ages 11+ (Fri. 5-6pm) 

  • Inspired by classical jazz as well as the ever-popular TikTok dances flooding our feeds, Pop Jazz combines energetic rhythms and expressive movements of jazz with modern, upbeat pop music creating a fun and dynamic environment. Teacher Angela leads students through basic technique and vocabulary specific to jazz dance, and as well as choreography set to contemporary, popular music. This Friday evening class is great for dancers with little to no dance experience!

•  Tap/Ballet/Tumbling for ages 5-7 (Sat. 9-10am) 

  • This combination of styles is a dancer favorite at Steppin' Out! Students spend time learning classical ballet and tap steps as well as piecing together simple choreography. This class also incorporates clapping rhythms, singing while dancing, creative movement, and tumbling.

Dance in the News: Dances by Nicole Cuffy

Dances, which is the San Francisco Public Library's Jan/Feb 2025 selection for "On the Same Page," is a novel that follows a young, Black ballerina who becomes the first Black principal dancer at the New York City Ballet. Learn more about the book and related events hosted by SFPL including an online author talk on Tuesday, Feb. 4th at 6pm. 
 

Movement of the Month: Prances

Prances are small jumps from one foot to the other that we sometimes compare to the trot of a horse. One leg lands in plié while the other leg is slightly off the floor in front of you with a bent knee and pointed foot pointing straight down. And as all our contemporary students can tell you, a prance is different from a skip! Make sure you're not doing the step-hop action of a skip but simply jumping from one foot to the other.