I grew up in the ballet studio. I was the dictionary definition of a ballet girl. Dance was my big thing for most of my childhood and early teen years. I hit high school and started to become more interested in musical theatre, making ballet harder to fit in my schedule. I never completely stopped dancing, but was down to one class or less per week by my senior year of high school.
When I decided to come to VCU to major in theatre, I knew I had to find some way to keep dancing through college. Not only is a strong dance ability extremely marketable in my career field, but it also provides great exercise and therapy for the soul in a stressful college environment. It's hard to find dance classes that fit in with a busy college schedule and are affordable enough for a college student budget. In my time living in Richmond, I've learned about a few fantastic local options for dance for non-dance majors at VCU.
1. The Richmond Ballet
VCU students are lucky to live in a city with a wonderful professional ballet company only a mile away from campus. The Richmond Ballet was founded in 1957 and is the official state ballet of Virginia. The Richmond Ballet produces a season of varying ballets, including the holiday classic The Nutcracker. In addition to the professional company, the School of the Richmond Ballet offers an array of adult classes for all levels and ages at a student rate of $10 per class. Check out their website here.
2. VCU Dance Department
VCU has a dance minor, and also offers many non-major classes. Non-dance majors can enroll in ballet and modern classes with departmental overrides, and a 25-credit dance minor is available to students of all majors. The classes offered by the dance department are extremely convenient to fit in a college schedule and are located right on campus.
3. Regency Dance Academy
While it requires a bit more of a drive, Regency Dance Academy offers a great selection of adult classes and runs on a recital based system. I have never personally taken classes at Regency, but I have heard great things about their adult classes. They offer adult classes in varying levels of jazz, tap, and modern/contemporary. See more details at their website here.
As Martha Graham said, "Dance is the hidden language of the soul of the body." Everyone deserves the opportunity to dance for artistic expression, physical fitness, or whatever reason.
