Chat with us, powered by LiveChat
Dance - Squirrel Hill

Dance With Us!

To contact us fill out the form below or call Kathy Wayne, Dance Director, 412-339-5414.  

The JCC offers classes that explore a variety of dance styles. Classes for school-age children and teens are organized by all levels. Students advance based on their ability to perform given steps. Adult dance classes are appropriate for first-time as well as previous dancers unless a level is specified.

Visit the South Hills Dance page HERE

Facilities – Two fully equipped studios:
  • Kaufmann Dance Studio
  • Robinson Dance Studio
Dance Director

Kathy Wayne is a graduate of Point Park College with a B.A. in dance. Her professional credits include Tokyo Disneyland, Caesar’s Atlantic City and many productions with the Pittsburgh Playhouse.

Philosophy

Our goal is to help your child gain poise, flexibility, strength and an appreciation for the art of dance.

Registration
  • Participants must be registered before the first class begins.
  • If your child is in Level 3 or above, please call the Director to discuss your child’s placement.
Dance Recital

• Our annual dance recitals are held in May/June.
• Costumes are mandatory for participants in the dance recital and must be purchased by parents in January.
• Students must be registered in January to participate in the dance recital.

Dance Classes
Preschool Classes

Creative Movement: ages 3-4
Dancers will learn all about music, movement, coordination, spatial relations, and the basics of ballet. Classroom focus will be on appropriate etiquette, respect for others, and self-confidence. The class will follow basic principals of Creative movement: understanding space, time, body, and movement concepts. Dancers will utilize various props and pretend to be different kinds of animals, fairytale characters, and objects in nature.

Pre Ballet: ages 4-5
This class is for dancers who are ready for a more structured class than creative movement. Dancers will perform various stretches and strengthening exercises that will help to increase their flexibility and understanding of how their muscles coordinate to help them dance. They will learn the beginning basics of positions of the arms and feet, as well as learning basic ballet steps. Dancers will also be taught to travel from one corner of the room to the other by way of basic turns, leaps, and jumps.

Pre Ballet/tap: ages 4-5
This class has the same pre ballet component with an additional 15 minutes of beginning tap. Tap skills are taught with an emphasis on coordination and musicality.

School Age

Ballet (Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced).
Dancers will start the class at the ballet barre to work on classical technique, executing combinations at different musical tempos and counts. They will be taught about maintaining correct posture, and building strength, and how to put several steps together while holding correct body placement.
Dancers will stretch then come to the center for floor work and across the floor combinations.
They will learn the names of the steps as well as what they mean in French.
The difference between Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced classes is based on age and the level of detail offered by the instructor, The higher the level the more serious and structured the class is.

Tap
Tap is the ultimate in rhythm training. Rhythm, musicality, and sound clarity skills are introduced; each level builds on the previous one. Dancers learn a vocabulary of tap steps that will be used to develop fun and interesting choreography.

Jazz
Jazz dance incorporates modern dance, dance styles from Broadway musicals and Hollywood movies, and street, folk, and popular dance. Students must be at least 7 years old.

Hip Hop
Hip Hop dance is a fusion dance genre that incorporates elements of popping, locking, breaking, jazz, ballet, tap dancing and other styles and is performed to hip hop music.

Philip Chosky Performing Arts Program

Dress Code Requirements

Hair must be pulled back in a bun; shorter hair pulled back with a headband.

Ages 3-4

  • Pink leotard (no attached skirt)
  • Pink tights
  • Pink ballet slippers (no foam slippers) required for ballet class
  • Black tap shoes required for tap class

Ages 5 and up: any style leotard in the following colors:

  • Ballet/Tap Level 1: Light Blue leotard
  • Ballet/Tap Level 2: Lilac leotard
  • Ballet/Tap/Jazz Level 3: Burgundy leotard
  • Ballet/Tap/Jazz Level 4: Navy leotard
  • Ballet/Tap/Jazz Intermediate: Black leotard
  • Ballet/Tap/Jazz Advanced: Black leotard
  • Black jazz pants are acceptable for jazz and hip hop
  • Pink tights for ballet classes
  • Ballet slippers (no foam slippers) required for ballet class
  • Black tap shoes required for tap class
  • Black jazz shoes required for jazz class

Boys

  • Black jazz pants
  • White T-shirt
  • Ballet shoes required for ballet class
  • Tap shoes required for tap class

Kathy Wayne, Director, graduated from Point Park University with a B.A. in dance. Her professional credits include Tokyo Disneyland, Caesar’s Atlantic City and the Pittsburgh Playhouse.

 

 

 


 

Anya Epstein is a Pittsburgh native who recently graduated from Muhlenberg College with a Bachelors in both Theatre and Dance. During her time in college, she worked with many choreographers such as Earl Mosley, Megan Flynn, and Randall Smith, performing in premiere works and learning from these artists. Anya was also fortunate enough to choreograph two new works for the stage, one alongside her co choreographer Arianna Cacioppo, as well as work on her solo performance, How would one go about performing herself (part one, part two). She spent this past summer in Durham, North Carolina at the American Dance Festival, where she performed with Monica Bill Barnes & Company, and was a part of a new work by George Staib. Anya has also studied anatomy and dance science, with research in injury avoidance and safe dancing practices. As a teacher she works to create a positive environment of learning with a mix of play and collaboration to get her students thinking on their feet. She is excited to be a part of the dance program here at the JCC!


Paige Gibson began her dance education by taking creative movement at the age of four.  She performed in community performances of the Nutcracker before entering high school. Discovering her love of dance, she continued to take classes and decided to attend Pittsburgh CAPA. While attending CAPA, she attended the Jones Summer Dance Intensive and performed at the Kelly Awards Celebration at the Benedum.  Throughout her dance career, she has studied under professors and instructors of varying techniques, including: Irish Step dance, African, yoga, and improvisation. While studying dance at Temple University, Paige produced several dance concerts as well as performed in multiple shows such as the Inhale Performance Series and a site-specific dance work. She co-produced and performed in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.  Since returning to Pittsburgh, she has choreographed for Texture Contemporary Ballet’s WIP show and taken over Sarah Heniz House’s dance program. She is an energetic dancer and dance educator who conveys the importance of freedom of expression through dance and movement. She strives to aid children’s understanding of how their bodies move through space while promoting a positive, judgment-free learning environment.


Mara Greer is a performer, teacher, and director/choreographer. She performed on Broadway in A Christmas Story, The Musical as well as the 1st National Tour of Shrek the Musical. As a director/choreographer, she has worked at Paper Mill Playhouse, Seattle 5th Ave, the Fulton Theatre, North Shore Music Theatre, Gateway Playhouse, Music Theatre Wichita, Broadway at Music Circus, The Cape Rep, Front Porch Theatricals, Palm Beach Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Tuacahn, and Pittsburgh CLO. She has taught for studios across the country as well as Beyond the Stars Dance Convention, Company Dance, and Thrive Dance Experience. Mara received her BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan.


Meghan Phillips began her dance training at South Dayton Dance Theater, an RDA affiliated pre-professional company in Dayton, Ohio. She later earned her BFA from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance graduating Summa Cum Laude. There she performed works by George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Michelle Thompson Ulerich, Stuart Loungway, Brian Enos, and Taryn Kaschock-Russel. She was also selected to study at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts for a semester where she performed choreography by Kim McCarthy and Graeme Murphy.

Meghan joined Confluence Ballet last season after spending three years at Ballet Quad Cities. She has had the pleasure of performing featured roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Mina in Dracula, Alice in Alice in Wonderland, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, and Firebird in The Firebird.  She has also originated lead roles in contemporary works by Julia Erickson, Courtney Lyon, and Emily Kate Long.

As a choreographer, Confluence commissioned Meghan to choreograph a new work, New Ground, which premiered in June of 2022. Meghan has created several works and notably was chosen to present On The Night Plain at the 2018 American Dance Guild Festival in NYC. She is also a passionate teacher who enjoys sharing her knowledge and encouraging future generations.


Sophie Powell was born in Kirkland, WA and trained in her early years at Turning Pointe Dance Center and then with Deborah Hadley where she started her pursuit of a dance career. She went on to train at the Houston Ballet Academy in their Professional Division from 2015 to 2018 where she performed in Stanton Welch’s The Nutcracker, The Ladies, Long and Winding Road and others. While in Houston she had the opportunity to present her first choreographic work which was originally performed in May of 2018 with her fellow students and then was featured in November 2018 at Houston Ballet’s Elle Emerge program. From there she moved to Pittsburgh to train at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and performed with the company in their productions of The NutcrackerGiselle and Beauty and the Beast. She now dances with Texture Contemporary Ballet where she is a resident dancer and performs in their new works. While in Pittsburgh she got the opportunity to start assisting classes at PBT and now teaches all over the Pittsburgh area. Because of her diverse dance background, Sophie has had the privilege to teach ballet, jazz, contemporary and modern classes at studios including Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Texture Ballet School and Firewall Dance Complex. Sophie is excited to share her knowledge with the students at the JCC PGH and learn new limits to pursue growth in our dancing endeavors.

Contact Us

Kathy Wayne

Dance Director
412-339-5414


Related Posts

"Borcas" -- Grandma Cele's Beet Preserves

Another Passover Recipe My husband's Grandma Cele often talked about making her Passover specialties for her sons - carrot candy and somethi...
read more

Make a Meal of Hamantaschen!

...
read more

It's about the oil

I'd been making latkes for many years before I finally realized something about this food tradition: Chanukah is the oil holiday - a celebration of mi...
read more

8 Nights of Light: A Chanukah Menorah Infographic

The menorah is perhaps one of the most widely recognized symbols of Jewish culture and is the centerpiece of the Chanukah celebration. But how much do...
read more