Joan Harris Centre for Gifted/Talented

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CLOSED NOW - Opens at 2:00pm

The Joan Harris Centre For Gifted/Talented is committed to providing the most accelerated dance arts program available in Northeastern Pennsylvania with a supplementary education in various areas of the performing arts. A professional standard will be applied to all areas of instruction with a dualistic approach to serve every student's needs. A current and progressive program with a strong emphasis on technique is used to help train pupils who wish to make a career in the dance field and a warm and welcoming atmosphere will greet those students who are interested in dance for enjoyment as well as to benefit from its physical exercises and appreciation for the aesthetics. To accomplish this, experienced instructors, highly trained in both their field of expertise and in how to properly conduct a class, teach in state of the art studios assisted by a professional support staff. The school year is broken up into a series of eight week sessions, at the conclusion of which, full school productions give the students not only the opportunity to showcase and put into practice what they have learn, but also to experience the true joy of performing on a legitimate stage, in a legitimate theater with professionally designed sets and lighting effects. Each and every one of our students is dear to us, they are like our sisters, our brothers and our children. And that is what the studio strives to be for our dancers, an extension of their family. We provide them with caring adult mentors, in the form of our teaching staff. We give the children structured activities designed to help them learn and grow. We nurture them by teaching the students how to take care of their bodies and keeping them involved in a well defined physical fitness program. We give them an effective education that allows the children to develop skills, and achieve goals. Finally, we help the children acquire a sense of civic responsibility through community shows and our 'Children Helping Children' program. It has always been our intention to make the students feel welcome and comfortable at the school, just as they would at home, while at the same time giving them an appreciation for the aesthetics and the fundamental resources that are necessary for children to lead a successful life. In fact, our whole program at the Centre is designed not only to train a dancer in the best possible way, but also to aid in the growth of a child into a well rounded and gifted individual. We take all these principles and package them in a recreational form, a way for the children to enjoy themselves while they are learning.