Dance

The NCS/STA Dance Program is the largest such independent school offering in the Washington area. Under the direction of Vladimir Angelov, more than 100 students attend classes in a variety of disciplines (see below for a full list) in our three spacious dance studios.

Student groups, including the Cathedral dancers and the dance team, have multiple opportunities to perform. The year culminates in the annual Dance Gala, a comprehensive show featuring projects choreographed by students, faculty, and guest artists.

The Dance Program's mission is threefold:

To provide students with high-quality dance training and understanding of movement;
To expose students to diverse dance genres and nurture movement awareness; and
To encourage students’ creativity and expression in dance.

Offerings

List of 9 items.

Broadway Dance

Improve dancing experience in conjunction with acting and singing — in preparation to perform in the Winter Musical Theater productions.
Hip-Hop Dance

Creatively combine elements of various street-dance styles with freedom for personal interpretation, danced to music genres such as funk, hip-hop, and R&B.
Independent Project

A student may design her own independent dance seminar that focuses on specific areas of interest related to dance training, research, or choreography. It may culminate in a performance at the Dance Gala in the spring.
Jazz Dance

Immerse with the intense, powerful, sharp, and yet very elegant movement technique, danced to jazz music with upbeat and downbeat syncopations.
Modern Dance

Encounter unique movement languages within different modern dance styles, develop body awareness, and focus on further advancing dance technique.
Pilates & Stretch

Rejuvenate by stretching major muscle groups, restoring body alignment, correcting breathing, and improving strength, coordination, and range of motion.
World Dance Residency

Explore the dances of different ethnic groups and cultures from around the world, such as African, Middle Eastern, Latin, and Indian.
Yoga

Experience vinyasa — a yoga style featuring movement flow of connecting postures which offers a dynamic exercise of flexibility, breath, mediation, and relaxation.
Zumba

Get fit and work out under the Latin music rhythms and the versatile dance steps of salsa, samba, and rumba, combined with aerobic exercises and full body warmup.

Student Dance Groups

List of 3 items.

Cathedral Dancers

This classical music and movement chamber dance troupe performs regularly in the Washington National Cathedral, including during the annual Festival of Lessons and Carols, as well as at the WAISDEA Festival and elsewhere.
Dance Team

This group combines jazz, lyrical, and hip-hop movement, danced to the latest chart-topping songs. It performs regularly at NCS/STA sporting events and other venues.
Step Team

Step Dance is a very unique dance form because there is no musical accompaniment. Instead, the human body produces the music: Feet stomping and hands clapping are the source of rhythm, which drives the dancing. The accuracy of the body percussion and the unison execution are the key points of great step dancing.