Dance Academy
St. Cecilia Dance Academy (SCDA) is a program for girls beginning at age 3. SCDA provides dancers in the Nashville area with excellent training in dance techniques, communication, and artistry. Through their introduction to and immersion in the universal language of dance, girls learn to express their God-given beauty and dignity through their growing bodies. Dance also helps students develop virtues like discipline, grace, perseverance, healthy self-expression, resilience, critical thinking, a broad sense of musicality, and collaboration skills crucial for a well-lived life. Most importantly, the fine arts—and dance in a particular way—open young people up to all that is good, true, and beautiful as they use their bodies, minds, and talents to glorify God.
Programs & Performances
St. Cecilia Dance Academy offers after-school and Saturday classes during the school year in ballet, tap, jazz, musical theatre dance, contemporary, hip hop, and conditioning for girls from 3 years old to adult.
SCDA is designed to serve students who enjoy dance and wish to improve their technique and artistry through excellent training. Although girls in SCDA participate in an annual performance (in tandem with the student-choreographed spring dance concert featuring SCA's Seasons Dance Company), it is not a competition studio.
SCDA Location
St. Cecilia Dance Academy classes are located in the beautiful and spacious SCA dance studio completed in 2019. The St. Cecilia Fine Arts Center has an outside entrance easily accessible for parent pick-up and drop-off.
Important Documents
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Class Descriptions
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Contemporary / Modern
Perfect for beginners, these classes combine the styles of contemporary and modern dance. In an open and supportive environment, dancers learn to freely express themselves through the time-honored techniques of Graham, Duncan, Horton, and others. Classes focus on developing core strength, floor work, and on exploring movement concepts like space, time, and energy. Dancers will love the freedom they experience as they learn these popular expressive and eclectic forms. -
Creative Movement
Tiny dancers will love this class aimed at engaging their bodies, hearts, and minds in movement. Through introduction to basic ballet vocabulary, exercises to explore creativity, and activities to stimulate imagination, students develop musicality, coordination, artistry, social skills, and self-expression. -
Ballet
Students join centuries of dancers in the study of classical ballet in an age-appropriate, logical, positive, challenging, and safe manner. Dancers focus on proper alignment, learning vocabulary and skills, gaining strength and flexibility, developing coordination and balance, musicality, artistry, and grace. -
Music Theater Dance
Each dancer will shine in her own spotlight in this high-energy class focused on style and story-telling through dance. Though an understanding of basic dance vocabulary is preferred, students of all levels will be able to safely access the movement. Students’ Broadway dreams will come alive as they dance, developing acting and performance skills, classical vocabulary, fine points of style, and musicality. -
Private Lessons
Private lessons are offered to current SCDA students at an additional charge. Learning in this intimate environment is beneficial for dancers' individual growth. Private lessons can be offered in any style and centered around a dancer's specific needs, for example: working on a particular skill or choreography, improving in an area like flexibility, preparing for an audition, core strengthening for cheerleading, etc.
Private lessons may be arranged through the SCDA Director by emailing delislel@stcecilia.edu. Private lessons are $45 for 30 minutes or $75 for one hour.
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Combo Classes
Students will delight in movement and music as they learn the basics of various styles of dance. Perfect for the attention spans of younger children, students practice 2 forms of dance in one hour, focusing on each form for 30 minutes. Students will develop a physical skill while improving discipline, musicality, rhythm, coordination, strength, agility, storytelling through movement, and showmanship - all in a safe and age-appropriate environment. -
Jazz
Students will enjoy learning this American form of dance, which is a combination of ballet, African, East Indian, and other traditions of dance. The technique focuses on mastering rhythms, body isolation, coordination, and balance, while the style reflects popular movements in dance through the years. Students will gain strength, agility, flexibility, understanding of their personal style, connection to history, and more while improving locomotor movements, turns, and jumps. -
Tap
In this popular class, students become percussionists with their feet while expressing different styles in their upper bodies. Students work to master musicality, complex and syncopated rhythms, and precision movements, as well as traditional Broadway and rhythm tap styles. -
Hip Hop
Students will be energized and excited to learn the fundamentals of different styles of hip hop in this high-energy class. Dancers will develop strength, coordination, style, and positive body image in this encouraging and fun environment. -
Dance Attire
Dance attire and shoes may be purchased at:
Spell’s Dancewear, Academy Sports, Target, PaylessDiscount Dance Supply and Amazon (online)
Instructors
Our instructors are seasoned dance educators with specializations in various genres. They will lead classes in various dance techniques, with an excellent understanding of dance pedagogy and safe practices, as well as patience and an ability to communicate in an age-appropriate manner.
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Leigh Anne DeLisle
Leigh Anne, founder and director of St. Cecilia Dance Academy, has led the dance program at St. Cecilia since 2014. She holds a B.A. in political science and dance from Birmingham-Southern College and an M.F.A. in dance and arts management from Oklahoma City University. As a professional dancer, Leigh Anne performed in parades and shows at Walt Disney World, as well as regional theaters, children's theatre, and television. Currently, she teaches dance and serves as a choreographer at St. Cecilia Academy and Lipscomb University. Leigh Anne is proud to share the love and beauty of dance with SCDA students and families. -
Melissa Yokom Koehn '78
Melissa is a St. Cecilia Academy graduate and native Nashvillian. She has performed, taught, and choreographed ballet since graduating from Butler University in 1983 with a B.A. in Dance. In Nashville, she has taught at Green Hills School of Dance, Dottie Cook’s School of Dance, Harding Academy, and St. Paul Christian Academy. She has television experience on MTV, and the Nashville Network. For the past 13 years, she has been the Artistic Director and Owner of her home studio called Studio “M.” -
Andrea Roberts
Andrea Roberts, a Nashville native, has her BFA in Performing Arts with an emphasis in dance from Western Kentucky University. Growing up in Williamson County her first jobs were with Franklin Special School District where she had her own after school program in three elementary schools. Since then, she has developed a varied resume from commercial Children’s Programming with “It’s Hip Hop Baby,” a DVD series geared for children 2-6 years of age. Andrea worked with various regional theatre companies and has worked under the Direction of artists from Broadway’s Terrance Mann to ballet's Jacques d’Amboise. In Chicago, Andrea was a dancer and instructor with “Chicago Moving Company” as well as “Chicago DanzTheatre”. She was the head children’s programing director for Lakes Shore Athletic Club where she had her own “Moving Arts Studio”. In more recent years Andrea has been a featured dancer and choreographer for both Nashville’s Epiphany Modern Liturgical Dance Company and Blue Moves Contemporary Dance Company. She is a dance educator with 30 years of experience, a TPAC Teaching Artist, and has her certifications in Pilates and Progressive Ballet Training as well. She is joining the faculty of St. Cecilia Dance Academy Fall of 2022. Andrea is elated to be part of this growing community, and excited to have the privilege of working with the amazing children of SCDA! -
Alex Strobel '18
Alexis "Alex" Strobel (SCA class of 2018) is a Nashville native who recently graduated Magna cum laude from Middle Tennessee State University. She holds a B.S. in Dance: Performance and Choreography and a B.S. in Journalism: Public Relations and Advertising. As an undergraduate, she participated in MTSU’s pre-professional dance company, MTSU Dance Theatre. She studied ballet, jazz, musical theatre, modern, house, hip-hop, kinesiology, and choreography. Last summer, she traveled to Durham, North Carolina to participate in the American Dance Festival on scholarship. She studied with Monique Hayley, Rodney Hill, Ramon Flowers, and many more. She hopes to bring all the knowledge she learned to her own practices as a teacher this year. Most recently, she worked with Dana Wilson on the upcoming feature film, Holland, Michigan as a dancer. She feels incredibly thankful for this opportunity and looks forward to enriching her students this year! -
Maddie Williams
Maddie grew up studying various styles of dance in Central Pennsylvania, performing annually in the Company Project at the Hershey Theatre. She then went on to earn her Bachelors of Science in Dance Pedagogy from the prestigious Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment at Oklahoma City University. There she held positions of Wardrobe Manager, Costume Technician, Office Manager of the Community Dance Academy, and taught at various studios. Most recently she performed with Disney Cruise Line, performing in main stage shows, deck shows, and at various events on the ship. Maddie finds the most joy when teaching and is excited to share her love of dance with new students!
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