The SJCCA dance department at RJ Murray Middle School has been successful in training dancers and instilling a lifelong passion for the art form for over 20 years. Our dance instructor, Mrs. Beam, has been teaching at Murray for over 10 years and loves sharing her passion for dance with her students.
Our goal in the dance program is to expose students of all levels to many styles of dance by ways of technique, terminology, history, and choreography. Students will explore the foundations of many genres of dance throughout the entire school year including ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop and modern. Dance students will get the opportunity to perform in front of live audiences during annual performances as well as create their own work and take classes and workshops with guest artists.
Some of the unique opportunities our program has offered include performance trips to Walt Disney World and New York City, an in-house convention with professional guest dance instructors, viral videos to showcase our talented students, and many performance and dance opportunities collaborating with our local community. We strive to create once in a lifetime opportunities for our students to foster their passion for dance no matter their individual path.
The dance program strives to build every dancer’s confidence and harness their full potential as athletes and artists. We provide a safe, fun learning environment for all levels of dancers. We are proud to celebrate the success of so many SJCCA alumni becoming professionals in the arts community.
Click the link below for our 2024-2025 SJCCA Dance Performance and Event Calendar:
2024-2025 SJCCA Dance Calendar
Dance auditions will be in the format of a dance class. Dancers of all experience levels are invited and encouraged to attend. Please arrive by the start time and plan to stay for the entire time block. For the dance audition schedule and requirements, please see below.
Beginner/intermediate dancers (Any student with no prior experience up to two years experience): Please wear dance or athletic clothing that allows you to easily move and stretch. Jazz or ballet shoes are recommended. The audition will consist of a warm up, across the floor exercises and a short dance combination. Students will be assessed on their ability to follow rhythms and movement sequences, their current level of dance technique, and ability to pick up choreography and performance.
AUDITION TIME OPTION 1: 9:00-9:55AM
AUDITION TIME OPTION 2: 10:00-10:55AM
Advanced dancers (Minimum three years of technical experience): Female dancers- Please wear a black leotard, pink tights and bring both ballet and jazz shoes. Male dancers- Please wear black shorts or pants and a solid colored t-shirt and bring both ballet and jazz shoes. The audition will consist of a ballet warm up, across the floor jazz technique and learning a short piece of choreography. Students will be assessed on their current level of technique, flexibility and ability to pick up intermediate/advanced choreography.
AUDITION TIME: 11:30AM-12:30PM