OUR TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Kailua Dance Academy strives to build confidence, discipline, integrity, and resilience through the art of classical ballet in a supportive environment that fosters creativity and nurtures the joy of dance. We teach students the values of teamwork and good character, to do their best, and to take pride in their work and their accomplishments.

To bring classical ballet into the modern world, Kailua Dance Academy combines traditional ballet pedagogy with contemporary teaching techniques and methodologies. Kailua Dance Academy incorporates art and dance fundamentals, the use of call-and-response, movement games, and the application of dance concepts into real-life scenarios, in addition to the traditional use of repetition and imitation found in ballet. 

The result is an engaging and diverse class, taught to address multiple learning styles and to hold students accountable for their own choices. Kailua Dance Academy encourages students to work to their own highest potential, to learn from their mistakes, and to feel the full satisfaction of knowing that they did their best.

OUR CURRICULUM

Kailua Dance Academy's core curriculum is based on the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus, with influences from the Cecchetti, Bournonville, Russian, and American styles of ballet.

True to the Royal Academy of Dance teaching methods, Kailua Dance Academy emphasizes the importance of clean execution and attention to detail, as proper technique is essential for preventing many common dance injuries.

Each level is designed to engage learners with new challenges, going beyond physical technique to include concepts of musicality, elements of art and dance, choreographic techniques, and cultivating one's own artistic expression. Ballet's rich and immense history is also explored, with steps not only being shown, but explained in their full context.

Sensitive to the fact that there are multiple schools of ballet, and therefore multiple training methods, Kailua Dance Academy aspires to provide a holistic foundation, using the Royal Academy of Dance technique as a core standard, while acknowledging and embracing the different variations found across the vast world of ballet.