Texas Boys Choir Inc. wants the next dance.
The program is launching a dance program after school at the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts and Texas School of the Arts in the fall.
The public can get its first glimpse of the Texas Dance Conservatory this summer when it offers a six-class summer master class series beginning June 10.
The master series is for students ages 12-19 and will feature professionals from around the Metroplex.
“This will really set the bar as far as the quality of training we’re going to offer and really shows our desire to collaborate with professionals within the community,” said director Sheyna Ferraro.
The conservatory will offer classes in ballet, modern and contemporary to young girls and boys ages 3-19. Each genre will have a beginner, intermediate and advanced level offered.
The dance studios at FWAFA are used during the day for classes, but are available in the afternoons and weekends, said Ferraro.
“We would like to make the most use out of our space,” she said.
Students have been asking for additional training outside the one to two periods of dance they receive during the day, Ferraro said. The students are already at the school and under a familiar roof allowing for an easier transition.
Executive Director Clint Riley said there is a higher demand for training for young people in the community than they can get in their schools.
“The primary focus of our program is creating versatile, concert-style dancers,” said Riley. This means performing on concert halls and stages and performing with small to large ballet, modern, contemporary dance companies, said Riley.
“The idea for us is about versatility over one specific path,” said Riley.
“We wanted to create a studio that didn’t focus on one genre of dance or have that competitive aspect to it, but that brought in dancers that wanted to train to become strong technical dancers and performers that are versatile and strong in multiple genres,” said Ferraro.
This approach will hopefully allow students walking into company or college auditions feel comfortable with any genre, said Ferraro.
Ferraro will be the director of the program, and Shelly Torres, dance instructor at FWAFA, will also be involved in the program. Ferraro said she is in the process of hiring additional instructors.
Several instructors have expressed interest in participating with and contributing to the FWAFA program, and this will allow them to be involved, said Riley.
As of right now, there is no cutoff as to how many students will be part of the new program, said Riley.
Riley said they have set a soft goal and already have about 25 percent of that goal expressing interest within the few weeks of announcing.
Classes will be held after school. Tuition and fees are available per class, by month, by term, or for the full year.