Delta School District

On behalf of the Delta School District, Dance Academy Teacher Coordinator, Katy Lewis, and Dance Instructors, Jyla Davis, Lesley Benham and Katie Parks, I would like to welcome everyone to the inaugural year of the Dance Academy at Delta Secondary.  We are thrilled to be offering this new choice in education to students in Delta!

We currently have 20 students enrolled in the academy; five of these students are international students, two from Germany, two from Japan and one from Spain. We also have four students coming from South Delta Secondary to attend the academy. The bell schedules at all secondary schools ring at approximately the same time for lunch, which makes it possible for students to travel between schools to a special program offered at another school.

The Dance Academy occurs every other afternoon on Day 1 in blocks C and D.  The structure of each class will vary depending on the genre of dance being taught that day.  Typically the classes will rotate through Hip Hop, Jazz, Lyrical/Contemporary and Ballet, with some Modern work being incorporated into the ballet classes. This will give students approximately two lessons per month in each genre. Other genres will be introduced at various times throughout the year, with bhangra dance being introduced in October in preparation for the Diwali celebration. The calendar on the Dance Academy website at:
http://web.deltasd.bc.ca/programs/academies/dance-academy  
will be updated regularly so students and parents are informed about upcoming classes, guests, field trips, etc.

The Dance Academy classes take place in the Genesis Theatre at Delta Secondary.  The stage provides a large open space for practise and the wooden floor is more desirable than a regular classroom floor. We will soon have mirrors mounted on the back wall of the theatre, which will be invaluable to the students and instructors. Portable bars for ballet work have been purchased; they are easy to assemble and disassemble and come with a handy carry case

Students in the academy will be receiving a jacket and crop pants, which we were able to purchase through Lululemon’s team sales program.  The students are currently designing a new logo for the dance academy, which will be applied to the jacket. The instructors have requested that students come dressed appropriately for the lesson each day.  The following dress code is expected:

Ballet
•    Leotard or fitted tank top and tights or fitted capris
•    Ballet shoes – preferred
•    Hair - up in classical bun with loose bangs secured with flat clips

Jazz/Lyrical/Contemporary
•    Fitted yoga pants, leggings, shorts, tank top  OR
•    Leotard and tights
•    Jazz/ballet shoes or toe “undies”
•    Hair up

Hip Hop
•    Sweat pants, long shorts, tank top or t-shirt
•    Clean sneakers

We are looking forward to a very exciting year ahead!  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at tphillips@deltasd.bc.ca or by phone at 604 952-5374.  Katy Lewis can be reached by email at klewis@deltasd.bc.ca or by phone at 604 946-4194


Teresa Phillips
Vice Principal
Academy Programs