Summer Class Schedule

Our 2022-2023 dance season begins on August 15th
At CDPA, our process over product approach to learning in and through the arts develops life-applicable skills necessary to the success of the 21st century learner and a creative workforce.
At CDPA, a child’s foundations of character and growth do not come in vast square footage and trophy-lined walls, rather they are packaged in small increments of mitigated development that align with educational benchmarks, emotional and developmental markers and age-appropriate technique and choreography.
Our students’ growth in performance and professionalism is unmatched as evidenced in the highly successful careers of our graduates.
At CDPA, your child grows through dance - one step at a time - in the collective embrace of a broader dance family and is loved through all of life’s lessons!

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Dance at CDPA aligns my personal and professional experience in dance with the needs of the developing child. I consider every moment I have spent dancing, performing and learning since my first class at age 2.5, to be equally valuable to my advanced degrees and years of leadership on a national level. I feel confident in the whole-child dance education we provide at CDPA.
News &
Updates
Check some news, stories, and updates of the CDPA Family with the latest performances to follow!

2022 SHOWCASE
June 3rd - 5th
Winter Garden Theatre
Buy Tickets
Traditional CDPA programming suspended at this time. See modified fall 2020 programming.
FOUNDATION
CLASSES
• Creative Movement
• Creative Movement/Tap
• Pre-Ballet/Tap
• Ballet/Tap
• Acrobatics
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PROGRESSIVE CURRICULUM
From age 7 or 8, class times need to be lengthened to provide ample time for all necessary skills and experiences. Age assignments should be used only as a guideline. Placement may vary by necessity, skill level or other factors at the discretion of the Director and the teacher assigned to the class.
• Classical Ballet
• Jazz and Tap
• Modern/Choreography
• Scottish Highland
RECREATIONAL
CLASSES
Any student coming to dance later in life or returning to dance after a significant absence should consider our teen level classes or the classes below. Additionally if dance is not the primary extra-curricular focus of the student then we strongly suggest teen level classes or the classes below for overall continuity for all involved.
• Jazz/Acrobatics and Acrobatics
• Hip Hop
• Cheer Dance
"As a Registered Dance Educator, I believe in a teaching style that encourages the students' broadest possible understanding of their chosen discipline. Regardless of age or level, I adhere to a curricular format which follows the National Standards and allows for each student to Create, Perform and Respond. I fully recognize and encourage an individual's gifts that are expressed through talents outside of the field and guide them in integrating life experiences, natural gifts, and technically mastered skills with hopes, dreams and aspirations. I teach to the individual. I have faith that the product is inherent in the realization of the individual's approach to process and it is valued first by the individual's personal and artistic growth and second, by those most touched by that student's performance or leadership. A teacher's role in dance is to balance the integrity of the art form, including its history, its current state and its future, with the integrity of the individual and the self-expression necessary to make true contributions to both the art form and the individual's personal growth."
OUR STAFF
"An experienced teaching staff with a wide-variety of experiences combined with a youthful presence of young teachers, student teachers, and teacher assistants gives CDPA the right balance for meeting the individual needs of our student population."



PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES
• DANCE FESTIVALS and CONFERENCES
CDPA does encourage attendance at professional festivals and master classes and has taken students to the Florida Dance Festival, Pensacola Junior College Dance Workshop, FDF On Tour, FDEO Conference, daCi Conference, BATD North American conference and other clinics and workshops locally and throughout the state......
• PERFORMING ENSEMBLE
The CDPA Performing Ensemble is the premier performance group affiliated with CDPA and at the heart of the CDPA family......
• CDPA SCOTTISH HIGHLAND DANCERS
The CDPA Scottish Highland Dancers are an integral part of the CDPA Family. Students study the traditional highland and national dances of Scotland, for both competition and recreational purposes......
• IN HIS NAME... WE DANCE
In His Name...We Dance! was the vision and creation of Director. Kathryn Austin within the early years of the studio's performance history. Austin envisioned a "Contemporary Journey through the Christmas Story in Music and Dance" as a way to bring the community together in the reverence of the Christmas season......