For decades, professional dancers have been compared to athletes because of their strength and agility; however, it has always been their artistry that sets them apart. Leslieville School of Dance students are taught to execute each movement with the precision of an athlete and the individuality of an artist. Through positive reinforcement and continuous encouragement, our students can reach their full potential as dancers, technicians, and performers.
Director Kristen Dennis runs the studio. Once a professional ballet dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, Kristen has had the good fortune of training with the world’s top instructors. Today, as a studio owner, she is uniquely qualified and honoured to pass on the same philosophies to her staff and students that inspired her lifelong passion for dance.
With the right balance of inspiration and qualified instruction, every child can develop into a strong and expressive dancer. Our students will receive first-class training in a welcoming environment, where everyone is encouraged to achieve their personal bests. Skills taught at our school will provide positive and long-lasting benefits to our students, both in and out of the studio. Problem-solving, perseverance, dedication, self-discipline, and resilience are only a few.
We welcome you to our school community and look forward to being a part of your family’s arts education.
Office Hours
Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm
Studio Reception Hours
1461 Gerrard Street East
Danceandmusic.ca
Info@danceandmusic.ca
416.807.1997
Our spaces have been designed with the needs of our students and their families in mind:
The instructional year runs from September to June. Students are expected to remain committed to their training throughout the school year. Although registration remains ongoing until March Break, we do not offer separate seasonal terms over the year. It is recommended that our students register as close to the beginning of the school year as possible and take advantage of the important technical training that takes place during the first few months of the year.
Discounts: We offer multi-class and sibling discounts which may be combined.
Fee Payments: Fees are divided into 10 equal monthly payments which are charged to your credit card or debited from your bank account using autopay, our monthly pre-authorized payment system. The first payment is due upon registration to hold your dancer’s spot in the class and the nine remaining payments will automatically be charged on the 1st of each month, October through June. Please note that the monthly tuition is based on the total number of classes your child will attend over the entire school year, divided into 10 equal payments. Regardless of whether your child receives 2 classes in a month due to the Winter Break for example, or 5 classes during a longer month, your tuition remains the same so that you know what to expect each month.
Statements & Receipts: Your transaction history may be viewed online in your Parent Portal at your convenience.
Dance Class Cancellation: If a dancer decides to switch, pause, or withdraw from a class after the first month of enrollment, 30 days written notice (by email) must be provided. For camp registrations, we must receive written notice three weeks prior to the beginning of the program. If written notice is received, your payment will be refunded minus an administration fee of $50 for all camp withdrawals. There is no withdrawal fee for dance classes.
All-Inclusive Tuition: New this year, a dance uniform will be included in the monthly tuition for all level 1+ (ages 4+) classes. For more information, please visit our Tuition & Fees page.
Most dance classes will begin with a circle time or warm-up. Activities in each class are planned to ensure the success of every student. Part of the class will include instructional time where students take directions before dancing. Students will work on dance steps, combinations, and later in the year, a specific dance routine. All classes, except for our preschool-level classes, will participate in the year-end performances taking place at the John W.H. Bassett Theatre on the weekend of June 21st and 22nd, 2025. Preschool dancers will have their own very special presentations to be held in the second-floor Ballroom of our school on the weekend of May 31st and June 1st.
Each dance class has a required uniform that is included in your monthly tuition fees. These uniforms include bodywear and tights, however, footwear is not included and will need to be purchased separately. Please note that the cost of the uniform cannot be refunded once it has been worn. So, trial students may wear comfortable form-fitting clothes and dance barefoot or in clean indoor running shoes until they have decided which class they will be registering for. Starting in October, uniforms and proper footwear will be required for all level 1+ (ages 4+) dancers. If you decide to withdraw your dancer before the end of the school year (June 2025) and their uniform has been worn, please note that the remaining amount owing for the uniform will be due.
Students with long hair are required to wear their hair in a bun for ballet classes in Level 3 and higher. For all other classes, long hair must be tied back. No jewellery in any class, please. After the month of September, our uniform policies will be enforced, and any students in Level 1 classes or higher who show up to class without proper dance and footwear will be asked to sit and watch the class rather than participate.
Dance is an art that builds progressively each week. To ensure a dancer’s success in the class, their attendance must be consistent. This is particularly important between February and June when preparations take place for the year-end performances. The dances for the performance are learned during these classes, and the last 3-4 months are spent memorizing and polishing routines. Too many missed classes lead to unprepared dancers, who are then less confident when they perform on stage. We strive to have every student feel successful in their routine, and this comes from regular attendance.
If for any reason a teacher cannot teach a class, we will provide a substitute teacher. Please note that there may be times when classes need to be cancelled for reasons beyond our control, such as a power failure or snow day. Inclement weather cancellations will be communicated via email and on our social media pages by 12:00pm on the day of the event. If your dancer has to miss a class due to illness or travel plans, you are welcome to have your child attend up to 2 make-up classes per school year. Make-up classes are offered as a courtesy and should not be relied upon as alternate class time for your dancer on a regular basis. Please call or email our administrator prior to bringing your dancer to a make-up class to ensure that we are able to accommodate them.
Please note that make-up classes are not possible from February to June because Year-End Performance choreography will be underway.
We cannot offer childcare outside of class times. Please plan to meet your child at the door of their dance studio to pick them up exactly when their class ends. Should the teacher not see you when your child’s class is over, the child will be escorted to our reception area where they will wait until a parent or caregiver arrives for them.
Please note that our reception staff may be pulled away for a variety of reasons, or become involved in providing a service to other clients while your child is waiting at reception, so this time will be considered unsupervised.
If there is a chance that you won’t make it back before your child’s class is over and they are not old enough to be left unsupervised, please plan to remain on-site for the duration of the class.
We ask that parents or caregivers of our preschool-aged students stay on the premises while their child’s class is being conducted. Should a child require a trip to the bathroom, or is struggling too much for the instructor to help, we will ask the parent or caregiver for assistance so that the class may continue without a lengthy interruption.
Please be aware that separation anxiety is a regular part of adjusting to a new activity. Our instructors are very used to this and have tools to help your child succeed. Please try to avoid entering the studio repeatedly during classes after the first couple of weeks unless you are invited by the instructors, as this is very distracting for the rest of the class.
Every child will be ready at a different age to explore their new dance class independently. We consider everything from running into the studio and not looking back, to crying and needing someone in the room holding their hand for several weeks to be normal. We have found that the following will help to prepare our youngest students for the most successful experience possible:
Acro is a style of dance that combines classical dance techniques with acrobatics. Unlike conventional gymnastics, no apparatus is used. The tricks performed in this class are typically taught on mats and eventually move to the floor. Students in this class will focus on improving their strength and flexibility so that they are able to safely execute the moves that are demonstrated in an Acro routine. This fun and dynamic class is a favourite for kids who like to be on the move and is offered at several levels to accommodate the various degrees of expertise and strength required. Acro is well demonstrated in professional dance performances such as Cirque du Soleil. Please note it is highly recommended that students enrolled in an Acro 2 class or higher take a weekly jazz or ballet class as well. This is to help our older Acro students learn to fully stretch their legs and point their toes, which will greatly improve their overall “lines” and make them stronger, lessening the chance of injury when executing more advanced Acro moves.
Ballet offers students a sense of discipline and achievement and is a great foundation for all styles of dance. Students train at the barre and in the centre, executing a series of classical ballet exercises designed to develop coordination, strength, proper posture, and musicality.
By invitation only, these ballet classes are for students who show the potential to train at a higher level, are focused and self-disciplined, and are interested in working hard to improve at an accelerated pace. The Accelerated Ballet program gives students who are ready to be challenged the opportunity to train in a more professional environment, alongside other dancers with a similar work ethic. All Accelerated Ballet students must take at least two ballet classes at our school each week to be a part of this program.
Each year, select ballet students are chosen to take their training to the next level (quite literally). Pointe students are required to take an additional ballet class each week and must first complete the proper “pre-pointe” training period, which includes extensive strengthening of the feet, ankles, lower legs, and core.
In this class, exercises emphasize the use of turnout, pointing of the toes, and maintaining general ballet technique while on pointe. Each fall, new pointe students should make an appointment at the Shoe Room at Canada’s National Ballet School to be properly fitted for their first pair of pointe shoes. This is a huge step and a very memorable occasion in a ballet dancer’s life!
This class is geared towards adult students who already have some previous ballet training. Perhaps they took dance as a child, are retired professionals, or simply use ballet classes rather than going to a gym as a form of exercise.
All adult ballet participants train at the barre and in the centre, executing a series of classical ballet exercises designed to develop coordination, strength, proper posture, and musicality. These classes are a fun and creative way to stay in shape, move to music, and build long, lean muscle definition.
Creative Movement pre-ballet classes are filled with songs and images that will guide young children toward understanding and enjoying the fundamentals of early ballet technique. These classes are suited to both boys and girls and are a wonderful introduction to structured dance training.
Contemporary holds an expressive style that fuses elements of several dance genres including modern, jazz, lyrical, and classical ballet. This style allows our students a more mature artistic freedom. Contemporary dancers strive to connect the mind and the body through movement. These classes often include floor work, improvisation, and versatility of body lines and dynamic movements. Contemporary dance is the exploration of the total movement potential of the body. Unlike other forms of dance, it is not bound by set standards or defined styles. Please note that all students attending Contemporary Level 2 or higher are also required to take a weekly jazz or ballet class as a prerequisite. This is to ensure proper technique and to prevent injury when working on Contemporary choreography.
Breaking is a form of non-rhythmic urban dance characterized by acrobatic and gymnastic movements. It consists of four main actions—toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes. Breaking is typically set to songs containing drum breaks, especially in funk, soul, and hip hop. This is a highly physical class, well-suited to dancers looking to increase their strength, improvisational skills, musicality, and range of movement.
Hip Hop is a high-energy class that infuses the latest styles of street dancing, breaking, popping, and locking. Classes will encourage students to step outside the box by bringing their style and personality to the movements. The class includes upper and lower body conditioning, as well as a rigorous warm-up to help prepare the students for more intense movements.
If your little one just loves to move and shake it up, this class is for them! Age-appropriate music and fun, athletic-style dance steps will be taught during this class. Watch your child develop strength and coordination and improve large motor skills, rhythm, and musicality, all while enjoying the songs and beats that high-energy kids love most.
Jazz is a lively and expressive dance form that combines contemporary moves with ballet technique. This is a high-energy class, loaded with fun that encourages rhythm, coordination, strength, and flexibility. A jazz class is typically divided into three parts – warm-up, across the floor, and choreography. The pace of a jazz class is much quicker than a ballet class and is conducive to high-energy dancers who like to jump and move. The music for this class ranges from the current top 40 tunes on the radio to classic rock, pop, and jazz songs with an upbeat tempo. Many of the entertaining moves taught in jazz classes are commonly seen in Broadway shows and musicals.
This Lyrical/Jazz combo class combines elements of ballet, modern, and jazz techniques. Routines learned in class are often set to music with vocals and the choreography tells a story to imitate the lyrics using gestures, emotions, and drama. The technique in a lyrical/jazz combo class is more contemporary than conventional and is very expressive. Since this class focuses primarily on choreography, it is highly recommended that dancers enrolled in this class also take a second weekly ballet or jazz class.
Musical Theatre is a comprehensive triple-threat program combining the art of singing, acting, and dancing. Drama games and exercises are used to promote improvisation and trust, ensuring that all of the dancers develop greater self-confidence when performing. Emphasis will be placed on learning performance skills such as connecting with the audience and telling a story through dance and facial expressions. Skills including theatre dance, partnering, acting, character development, and chorus singing will be an additional focus. This entertaining class is fun for everyone, but might be best suited for performers with big personalities!
Tap classes are designed to develop rhythm, style, and sound. Students will learn a variety of tap styles from Broadway to Rhythm tap. Exercises focus on building flexibility of the knees and ankles, coordination, and speed of movement. The class emphasis is on developing proper tap techniques, producing clear tap sounds, and having fun. As students progress through each level, the curriculum will become increasingly more complex and intricate.
These introductory tap classes are designed to give children the opportunity to develop rhythm and the sounds of basic tap progressions.
LSDM offers novice, full-time, and part-time competitive dance training programs in both commercial and classical dance streams. Competitive students earn their place on a team by attending annual auditions held each spring. Competitive dancers endure a more rigorous training schedule, attending anywhere from 4-10+ classes per week and then attending 3-4 competitions each year representing our school. If you have a dancer who is interested in learning more about our competitive program, please contact us for more details. Please note that all competitive teams are finalized by the end of August. Any inquiries received after August will need to be for the following season.
Is your dancer contemplating competitive dance but is not quite ready to take the leap? Our pre-comp program is perfect for students wishing to go competitive, but who still need another year of training in order to be fully prepared. We aim to set our students up for success and the pre-comp program just does that, focusing on refining skills and building confidence, ensuring our dancers feel composed and strong when they take the stage at their first competition.
Dance Assistant Training Opportunities
Have an energetic tween or teen who loves dancing and working with children? LSDM has an assistant training program that offers hands-on, in-person opportunities (both volunteer and paid) for students throughout the school year. Please contact us to learn more.
Leslieville School of Dance & Music is home to the one-of-a-kind Camp Monarch program. Since 2003, these art camps have offered engaging and inspiring programming, featuring daily classes in music, art, and dance, plus free-play time outdoors.
Camp Monarch is a place where fast friendships form and imaginations soar. All children ages 4-10 are welcome! Please visit our website for future Camp Monarch dates.
Leader-in-Training Opportunities – Have an energetic tween or teen who loves the arts and working with children? Camp Monarch has an integrated leader-in-training program that offers hands-on, in-person opportunities (both volunteer and paid) for students during spring, summer, and winter programming dates. Please contact us to learn more.
Dancers show respect for themselves by:
Dancers show respect for others by:
Dancers show respect for their teacher and art form by:
Dancers show respect for the studio by:
Parents show respect for the dance class, teachers, and studio by: