HOW WE PLACE DANCERS
Supporting Every Dancer’s Journey
At Reach For The Barres, we believe every dancer deserves to be appropriately challenged, supported, and positioned for success.
Our leveled curriculum is designed to create meaningful opportunities for growth while ensuring dancers develop strong technical foundations, confidence, and a lifelong love of dance.
Because growth is not about moving through levels as quickly as possible.
It’s about continuing to learn, improve, and reach higher.
WHY DO WE USE LEVELS?
Levels allow us to group dancers with peers who are working on similar skills, concepts, and developmental goals.
Rather than focusing solely on age, our leveled curriculum helps ensure dancers are placed in an environment where they can:
✔ Feel confident and successful
✔ Be appropriately challenged
✔ Develop strong technical foundations
✔ Progress safely and effectively
✔ Continue growing at a pace that supports long-term success
Just as children develop at different rates academically, socially, and physically, dancers develop at different rates as well.
Our goal is not simply advancement.
Our goal is meaningful growth.
HOW ARE PLACEMENTS DETERMINED?
Dance placement is both an art and a science.
When determining placements, we consider a variety of factors, including:
- Technical skill development
- Movement quality and body awareness
- Strength, flexibility, and coordination
- Musicality and performance skills
- Ability to apply corrections
- Focus and classroom readiness
- Consistency and training history
- Confidence and emotional readiness
No single factor determines placement.
Instead, we look at the whole dancer.
ARE PLACEMENTS BASED ON AGE?
Age remains an important consideration, particularly in our Introductory Program and younger levels.
However, once dancers enter our leveled curriculum, placement is based on a combination of age, experience, technical readiness, and developmental readiness.
This allows us to create class environments where dancers can continue building confidence while being appropriately challenged.
CAN A DANCER BE DIFFERENT LEVELS IN DIFFERENT STYLES?
Absolutely.
Every dancer develops differently across various disciplines.
A dancer may be ready for a higher level in one style while continuing to build foundations in another.
Because each discipline develops unique skills, it is common for dancers to have different placements across Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Acro, Lyrical, Pom, and other training opportunities.
WHAT IF MY DANCER STAYS AT THE SAME LEVEL?
Growth is not always measured by moving to the next level.
Sometimes the most meaningful growth happens when dancers deepen their understanding, strengthen their foundations, gain confidence, and refine previously learned skills.
Remaining at the same level does not mean a dancer is standing still.
In many cases, it means they are building the strength, confidence, and consistency necessary for long-term success.
At Reach For The Barres, we believe strong foundations create endless possibilities for growth.
WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?
At Reach For The Barres, success looks different for every dancer.
For some, it means mastering a new skill.
For others, it means gaining confidence, making a friend, stepping onto a stage for the first time, discovering a love of dance, or finding the courage to try something new.
We believe the greatest measure of success is becoming a stronger version of yourself than you were yesterday.
Because our goal is not to help dancers move through levels as quickly as possible.
Our goal is to help them continue growing.
And at Reach For The Barres, there is always another way to grow.
Together, We Reach Higher.
