Classes for ages nine to twelve

What ages nine to twelve actually gets

Nine to twelve is the age at which a student who has been in a class for three years starts to look like a dancer or a musician rather than like a child doing a class. It is also the age at which contemporary opens, at which a second weekly class starts to be worth its cost, and at which the conversation about pointe eventually begins.

• Two classes a week in one discipline is the point at which progress changes character. One is enough; two is different.
• Contemporary opens at nine, and most students who take it are already doing ballet or jazz.
• This is the age band with the most waiting lists, particularly on Saturday morning.
• The string ensemble takes players from this age upward and is the reason violin students stay.

What a class here is actually like

In the room: Two classes a week in one discipline is the point at which progress changes character rather than simply doubling — a student meets the same correction twice as often and starts applying it without being told a third time.

The first term: A student arriving at this age with no previous dancing is not behind one who already has a few years of it, in the way a beginner is never behind a veteran of a different age — but the level a student is placed in is honest about where they actually are rather than about what their age suggests it should be.

What it costs: Fees for every class open to this age are in the table above. A second weekly class is charged and discounted exactly as a second class in any other discipline is; there is no package price for taking two.