Youth Dance Classes at the JCC Indianapolis

Youth Dance Classes at the JCC Indianapolis

Enrichment activities like dance are an essential component of the Jewish value “Briyut,” or wellness. The JCC Indianapolis is committed to providing healthy choices for improving the mind, body, and spirit of members of all ages. Programs like youth dance enhance all three areas as kids learn new skills, get moving, and express themselves creatively.

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Youth Dance Programs

Ballet classes Happy Feet I (ages 3-4) and Happy Feet II (ages 4-5) are a playful introduction to creative developmental movement for our youngest dancers. Kids learn discipline, structure, and body control while having fun and using their imaginations. Girls should wear black or pink leotards, pink tights, and pink or black ballet slippers that may be purchased at Kinney Dancewear. Boys should wear a white tee shirt, black athletic pants or shorts, and black ballet slippers at Kinney Dancewear.

In this class for ages 6-8, break to the beat with hip hop dance moves—funk, krumping, popping, break dancing, locking, and innovative street moves, all focusing on learning to count music, feeling the beat, and finding confidence and creativity through dance. Come dressed in athletic wear you can move freely in. Wear hip hop dance shoes, or dance in bare feet. Do not wear outside street shoes, please.

Learn classical ballet technique (including basic steps like pliés and tendus as
well as combinations center floor and across the floor), terminology, body
alignment and posture, incorporating barre work and the right way to place and
move your body

What to Expect

Youth dance lessons are held in the Pescovitz Dance Studio, a 1,000-square-foot space featuring a Marley floor, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and barres on three sides.

Classes are once a week (usually Monday evenings) for six to nine weeks. 

One-off clinics, such as the one in January 2024, are occasionally also held.

Classes fill quickly, so it’s best to register early and secure a spot.

All lessons can be purchased at the Welcome Desk or online with our online registration tool.

Previously Offered Youth Dance Classes

The JCC reviews its youth enrichment offerings regularly and may offer other classes, so be sure to check back each semester. Or, if you’d like us to offer a certain type of class, let us know. At the J, we value feedback and are responsive to community needs. Youth dance classes we have offered and may offer, include:

  • Tot Hop: Little Hip Hop for ages 3-5 breaks to the beat with hip hop dance moves—funk, krumping, popping, break dancing, locking, and innovative street moves. Kids learn to keep a beat and count music, focusing on large motor skills demonstrated to fun, upbeat music.
  • Intro to Movement: This fun class focuses on stretching, circle time, ensemble awareness, improvisation, and fun movement across the floor. Ages 5-7 enjoy delightful music and fun props to work with for the imaginative play, while ages 8-10 are introduced to some ballet barre technique and jazz isolations in the center.

About Drs. Mark (z”l) and Ora Hirsch Pescovitz

Mark and Ora Pescovitz lived in the Indianapolis area for more than 30 years and have a longstanding passion for the arts and giving back to the community with their time, talent, and treasure. After meeting at Northwestern University in 1974, they married in 1979 and together had three children. Ora is the current president of Oakland University near Detroit and previously held high-ranking positions at Eli Lilly and the University of Michigan’s health system, Indiana University’s research department, and Riley Hospital for Children. Before he died in 2010, Mark was a Professor of Microbiology/Immunology and director of the transplant immunology lab at Indiana University School of Medicine.
z”l: Zichrono l’vracha, of blessed memory

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