Ballet is a style dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia.

It has since become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary
based on French terminology.

It has been globally influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres.

Ballet requires years of training to learn and master, and much practice to retain proficiency.

We teach a Ballet syllabus that was created by Claire Pattern from the New Zealand Association of Modern Dance.

Hip Hop

Hip hop is a cultural movement that formed during the late 1960s among African American youths residing in the South Bronx in New York City.

Hip Hop is a style of dance but also a music genre and as the Hip Hop music evolves so does the dancing.

Evolve teachers The New Zealand Association of Modern Dance Hip Hop syllabus that has been created by Gandalf Archer and Andrew Cesan.

Jazz

Jazz dance is a classification shared by a broad range of dance styles.

Before the 1950s, jazz dance referred to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular dance.

Jazz dance was an integral part of jazz until the end of the swing era in the late 1940s.

In the 1950s, a new genre of jazz dance – modern jazz dance – emerged, with roots in Caribbean traditional dance.

Every individual style of jazz dance has roots traceable to one of these two distinct origins.

It was a big hit in the early ’50s and it is still a well-loved style of dance all over the world.

Evolve teaches a Jazz syllabus created by the amazing Keith Clifton for The New Zealand Association of Modern Dance.

Contemporary

Contemporary dance is a genre that developed during the mid twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world.

Although originally developed by borrowing from classical and jazz styles, it has since come to incorporate elements from many styles of dance.

Due to its technical similarities, it is often perceived to be closely related to jazz and ballet while still being it’s very own unique genre.

Evolve teaches a Contemporary syllabus that was developed by Anne Dewy for the New Zealand Association of Modern Dance.

Tap

Tap dance is a form of dance characterised by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion.

Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap.

Broadway tap focuses more on the dance movement and it is widely performed in musical theatre.

Rhythm tap focuses on musicality, and practitioners consider themselves to be a part of the Jazz tradition.

Evolve Students are often nominated to go to the New Zealand National Dance Awards held annually by the NZAMD .

We have also had amazing feedback from our examiners each year on the high quality tapping we are demonstrating. 

Musical Theatre

At Evolve we are pleased to work with a syllabus that has been created just for us by Alexia Clark Creativity.

The syllabus progresses through elements of singing, dance, and acting and focuses on bringing these three skills together to create a confident young, diverse performer.

Children should expect fast paced, energetic classes that use games to teach storytelling and character creation, and burst with the sound of music from musicals they’ll love.

Instead of working towards an exam, the children will learn scenes from musicals that they will be able to show to their friends and family the skills they have learnt in a theatre setting.

Did you know, many stars that we see on the screen today began their careers performing in local and national musical theatre productions?

Now is your chance to be the star!