Professional Contemporary Training Program Curriculum
An intensive post-secondary program delivering professional contemporary dance training built on a rigorous technical foundation, immersive creation, and career development.
3-Year Curriculum Progression & Pedagogical Evolution
Our core vision is to offer an immersive environment that mirrors the daily life, rigour, and creative rhythm of a professional contemporary dance company. While structured around a comprehensive curriculum, your daily experience emulates the routine, expectations, and creative environment of a professional dancer. Mastery requires discipline, repetition, and continuous personal evolution. While your core technical classes remain constant across all three years, your workload evolves each season—bringing deeper creative processes, more complex repertoire, and greater artistic independence as you transition seamlessly from the studio to the stage.
Season Progression
Year 1: Foundation & Alignment
Year 1: Foundation & Alignment
Technical Focus
Establishing physical alignment, core stabilization, kinetic efficiency, and a shared technical vocabulary in ballet, contemporary, and modern practices.
Somatic & Health Focus
Injury prevention education, somatic awareness, and building sustainable studio habits.
Creative & Performance Focus
Learning to assimilate short movement phrases quickly, understanding ensemble dynamics, and performing in foundational company showcases.
Outcome
Dancers gain physical stamina, structural awareness, and the mental discipline required for intensive post-secondary training.
Season Progression
Year 2: Consolidation & Dynamic Application
Year 2: Consolidation & Dynamic Application
Technical Focus
Deepening movement efficiency, expanding dynamic range, accelerating movement absorption, and mastering complex floor work and partnering mechanics.
Creative & Performance Focus
Active participation in new choreographic creations with guest choreographers, taking artistic risks in improvisation labs, and handling heavier performance loads across multiple venue spaces.
Craft & Media Focus
Introduction to movement-for-camera composition and dance film production.
Outcome
Dancers transition from executing steps to embodying movement, developing personal artistic identity and performance confidence.
Season Progression
Year 3: Artistic Autonomy & Industry Transition
Year 3: Artistic Autonomy & Industry Transition
Technical Focus
Advanced refinement, nuanced musicality, rapid repertoire assimilation, and self-directed physical maintenance.
Leadership & Professional Focus
Peer mentorship, professional studio etiquette, and audition preparation. Dancers engage directly in complex, full-length company repertoire and guest choreographic residencies.
Performance Focus
Leading mainstage productions, school matinees, and touring showcases, simulating the workload of a professional company dancer.
Outcome
Complete transition from student to emerging professional dancer, fully equipped with individual artistry, industry literacy, and career longevity tools.
Professional Development
Explore our comprehensive framework encompassing program methods, core areas of study, complimentary learning workshops, mentorship systems, daily structure & routine, and program hours breakdown.
Program Description & Methods
Daily Foundation • 50 Minutes
Experimental Anatomy & Injury Prevention
Experimental Anatomy & Injury Prevention
As dance is a physical endeavor, injury prevention is key to a successful career. Dancers begin each day at Lamondance with a dedicated 50-minute class focused on injury prevention, core stability, and functional alignment.
Core Objectives
- Strengthen core abdominal and back muscle systems.
- Improve coordination, breathing, alignment, and flexibility.
- Equip dancers with solo conditioning tools for daily preparation.
- Educate dancers in injury prevention and self-care strategies for daily physical readiness.
Methodologies Integrated
- Education of Anatomical Structures
- Mat Pilates & Targeted Yoga
- Flexibility, Stamina & Floor Work
- Conditioning with Imagery for Dancers
Technique Practicum
Classical & Contemporary Movement Systems
Classical & Contemporary Movement Systems
Following injury prevention, dancers transition into technique classes rooted in either classical or contemporary foundations.
Classical Ballet Practice
Ballet is explored as a contemporary movement practice, bridging tradition with modern potential. Approached through an anatomical lens, students discover individual perspectives on efficiency while engaging in relevant discourse around this powerful form.
Contemporary Systems
Highly technical, movement-based classes investigating the mechanics of human motion and its spatial impact. Grounded in physical adaptability, dancers synthesize diverse movement philosophies—including floorwork, animal flow, improvisation and somatic practice—to build fluid execution, core power, and a responsive mind-body connection.
Artistic Enhancement
Partnering, Contact Improvisation & Acting
Partnering, Contact Improvisation & Acting
Contemporary Partner Work
Focused on technical weight-sharing, off-axis balance, momentum, and complex lifts. Dancers learn non-verbal communication and physical awareness through contact principles, applying these skills directly to company repertoire and original creation processes.
Acting for Dancers
Acting techniques guide dancers to deepen theatricality and intention, elevating narrative presence and physical storytelling.
Core Syllabus
Creation Process, Repertoire & Performance
Creation Process, Repertoire & Performance
The core of our syllabus revolves around creation, repertoire, and stage experience. The creation process emphasizes taking choreographic risks and facilitating a work's journey from concept to final staging.
- Repertoire Exploration: Quick assimilation of new choreography and established company works.
- Musicality & Quality: Refining dynamics, phrasing, and musical precision under professional guidance.
- Performance Practice: Multiple showcases per season provide practical experience in casting, costume execution, and touring environments.
Core Areas of Study
Professional Development Workshops
Each year, Lamondance offers targeted workshops designed to equip dancers with the practical tools, industry literacy, and mental clarity required to navigate a sustainable career in contemporary dance.
Nutrition Seminar
Run by a community professional in a collaborative setting, this seminar provides actionable suggestions for dancers' meal organization. Dancers learn to select the right fuel for their unique bodies to optimize performance and stamina.
Dancing with a Healthy Mindset
Guided by a trained professional, this workshop provides compassionate, practical tools for discussing and navigating mental health in the workforce—fostering resilience and self-awareness within a demanding profession.
Craft Development: Camera + Movement
An in-depth, hands-on process guiding dancers through the creation of a short dance film. Dancers engage in movement research, storyboarding, composition, and shooting scene execution.
Resume & Cover Letter Building
Includes a 2-hour guided lesson on professional formatting and cover letter structure. Dancers prepare submissions for direct, individual review and editing by the Lamondance artistic leadership staff.
Professional Photo Shoot
Dancers collaborate with artistic staff on outfit selection and pose staging to capture high-level portfolio photos. Final images are available at cost for audition packages and professional press kits.
Mock Audition & Interview
Simulates a professional company audition led by an esteemed local director. Begins with ballet barre and contemporary repertoire, followed by a live interview and personalized feedback session.
Feedback & Accountability
Growth thrives in an environment of open dialogue, constructive evaluation, and mutual respect.
Bi-Monthly Mentorship Meetings
Individual bi-monthly check-ins with the Artistic and Associate Directors. Conducted in a constructive environment free of judgment, these meetings focus on goal-setting, analytical self-assessments, and ongoing faculty notes.
Formal Artistic Assessments
Dancers receive two comprehensive written artistic assessments each season. These document overall technical progress, artistic growth, and detailed staff evaluations across all training modules.
A Day in the Life
Designed to replicate the daily schedule of a working professional dance company, balancing rigorous technical conditioning with intensive rehearsal blocks.
Injury Prevention & Body Conditioning (8:00 AM – 8:50 AM)
Yoga, Pilates core work, floor work, and conditioning exercises to prepare the body for the day.
Technique Class (Mon – Fri (9:00 AM – 10:30 AM))
Classical Ballet or Contemporary movement systems focused on alignment, fluid line, and technical precision.
Lunch & Rest Period
Mandatory daily recovery window prior to afternoon creations.
Repertory, Creations & Workshops (10:30 AM – 2:30 PM)
Intensive creation processes, company repertoire rehearsals, and guest facilitator laboratories.
Additional Rehearsal Period (3:00 PM – 7:00 PM)
Dedicated weekend staging sessions leading up to seasonal main-stage productions.
✦ Note: Additional performance and choreographic workshops occur outside regular training hours with guest community facilitators.
Program Distribution
1,110 Total Hours| Class Discipline | Total Hours | Program % | Details & Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| BC (Body Conditioning) | 108 hrs | 9.7% | Mind-body conditioning & flexibility |
| Yoga | 72 hrs | 6.5% | Body conditioning & Barre floor work |
| Ballet | 162 hrs | 14.6% | Classical & contemporary alignment systems |
| Contemporary | 108 hrs | 9.7% | Movement research & athletic fluidity |
| Repertoire | 576 hrs | 51.9% | Includes Saturday rehearsal sessions |
| Performance / Theatre | 84 hrs | 7.6% | December & Finale shows, Fundraiser, and Guest performances |
| TOTAL PROGRAM | 1,110 HRS | 100% | Comprehensive Season Curriculum |
Certificate Requirement Notice
Dancers must maintain a minimum of a 98% attendance rate throughout the season to receive their official Certificate of Completion.