Ballet is ideal for improving physical coordination, grace and posture, all while increasing mental strength and focus.  It instills a great deal of confidence in its participants and builds stronger social skills.  Our school utilizes the Cecchetti method in our technical training, creating versatile and well-rounded dancers.

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The Cecchetti Method of ballet training is a progressive system of training dancers from a pre-ballet beginning level to a professional level.  The Cecchetti Method was designed with careful regard to the laws of anatomy to prepare a dancer’s body to bear the physical demands of public performance.  The Method embodies qualities that are essential to the dancer; balance, poise, strength, elevation, elasticity, musicality and artistry.  Cecchetti USA has established a syllabus of carefully orchestrated exercises that build in complexity ensuring that each new movement is introduced from a fundamental approach.  As each movement is mastered and refined, new movements are introduced.  This progressive approach with attention to detail has produced a long list of very famous and accomplished ballet dancers.  The Cecchetti Method is classic in its purity and clean style and enables dancers to respond to the demands of a variety of choreographers.  The Method emphasizes the importance of using the entire body to establish a feeling for line.  Focus is on instruction by studying and absorbing the basic principles which govern the art, rather than by mere imitation of an individual’s teaching style.  The balance between the daily practice of both Cecchetti’s set exercises and each teacher’s new sequences is essential to producing a well rounded and versatile dancer.

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At Summit School of the Arts, students will be evaluated at the end of each school year to determine their readiness to progress to the next graded level.  The requirements to progress to a certain level are listed below.  Keep in mind that the elements listed are not a comprehensive list of every skill that they should know going into a new level, it is simply the skills they are evaluated on.  Each skill should be demonstrated confidently and precisely without prompting. It is perfectly acceptable for students to be in a level more than once.  It is important that students are comfortable with the speed of their own progression without comparison to their peers.   Click to see full level assessment forms