Elesia offers private and group lessons for all ages, including adults. Lessons are tailored to meet the needs of individual students: one student might want to focus on classical ballet at an absolute-beginning level while another might wish to work at either an intermediate-beginning or an advanced-beginning level. Other students might wish to focus on dance in general, exploring and refining alignment and movement outside of the classical approach and curriculum.
Check below for detailed descriptions of private and group lessons. To schedule a lesson, click here.
Check below for detailed descriptions of private and group lessons. To schedule a lesson, click here.
Private Lessons
Private lessons are the best option for:
Students who take weekly lessons tend to make the quickest strides, as they develop faster muscle memory and receive more frequent homework/bodywork to supplement their development at home and on ice.
1. Elesia will assess how the student moves and responds to music. From there, she develops a plan to help the student deepen their musicality and connection to music.
2. Elesia notes the student's likes and dislikes (in both skating and dancing) so that she can tailor an approach that is skater-specific, educational, fun, and inspiring.
3. Elesia assesses the flexibility of the student, the student's goals, and offers immediate suggestions on how to begin reaching those goals.
4. Elesia targets all areas she feels the student needs to work on in order to improve. For example, one student might be flexible and have solid musicality, yet need to work on confidence, completing their lines, core strength, and emoting. Another student might need specific help with slowing down or speeding up their movements to match a selected piece of music, in addition to help with specific hand and finger positions to create better lines. Music awareness and strengthening of the lower back and leg muscles would be another example.
5. Elesia will custom-tailor a ballet barre combination that will be modified and added to as the student progresses. To ensure that everything taught directly relates to figure skating, she often employs the curriculum Lessons in Classical Ballet for the Figure Skater by Annette T. Thomas.
6. Following barre and center work, the skater then performs their skate program (with coach permission only). Elesia breaks down the program into its finest details so that she can get the skater to look as polished and professional as possible.
7. Homework/bodywork exercises are assigned. For example, one student might be shown core and arm strengthening exercises in addition to massage techniques. Another student might be asked to play their program music at least twice a day and emote to it in front of a mirror so that they can become more familiar with how they move and respond to music. Other takeaways include sharing a few words to look up or contemplate, such as poise, technique, and footwork. From there, the student is encouraged to think about how those words might translate to bright or lethargic tempos, or to a Spanish inspired skate program for example.
8. All students are advised to obtain a journal where they’ll keep track of important highlights, corrections, and exercises practiced during their lesson. Students are encouraged to read through their journals before each lesson so that they’re consistently reminded of their goals, as well as what needs attention and practice.
9. Elesia maintains regular contact with individual skate coaches so that she can obtain feedback, track progress, make changes, and/or add goals based on the coach’s input.
A 60-minute session typically incorporates three main components:
* 20 +/- minutes of barre work (inclusive of strengthening and stretching exercises that develop coordination, fluidity, flexibility, artistry, and grace).
* 20 +/- minutes of center work (which might also include strengthening and stretching where the focus is placed on maintaining isolated fluid and graceful movements while moving across the floor).
* 20 +/- minutes of skate program work.
Private lessons are the best option for:
- students who wish to make notable progress as quickly as possible;
- students who have a particular area they would like to focus on (for example, their skate programs);
- students who prefer one-on-one instruction.
Students who take weekly lessons tend to make the quickest strides, as they develop faster muscle memory and receive more frequent homework/bodywork to supplement their development at home and on ice.
1. Elesia will assess how the student moves and responds to music. From there, she develops a plan to help the student deepen their musicality and connection to music.
2. Elesia notes the student's likes and dislikes (in both skating and dancing) so that she can tailor an approach that is skater-specific, educational, fun, and inspiring.
3. Elesia assesses the flexibility of the student, the student's goals, and offers immediate suggestions on how to begin reaching those goals.
4. Elesia targets all areas she feels the student needs to work on in order to improve. For example, one student might be flexible and have solid musicality, yet need to work on confidence, completing their lines, core strength, and emoting. Another student might need specific help with slowing down or speeding up their movements to match a selected piece of music, in addition to help with specific hand and finger positions to create better lines. Music awareness and strengthening of the lower back and leg muscles would be another example.
5. Elesia will custom-tailor a ballet barre combination that will be modified and added to as the student progresses. To ensure that everything taught directly relates to figure skating, she often employs the curriculum Lessons in Classical Ballet for the Figure Skater by Annette T. Thomas.
6. Following barre and center work, the skater then performs their skate program (with coach permission only). Elesia breaks down the program into its finest details so that she can get the skater to look as polished and professional as possible.
7. Homework/bodywork exercises are assigned. For example, one student might be shown core and arm strengthening exercises in addition to massage techniques. Another student might be asked to play their program music at least twice a day and emote to it in front of a mirror so that they can become more familiar with how they move and respond to music. Other takeaways include sharing a few words to look up or contemplate, such as poise, technique, and footwork. From there, the student is encouraged to think about how those words might translate to bright or lethargic tempos, or to a Spanish inspired skate program for example.
8. All students are advised to obtain a journal where they’ll keep track of important highlights, corrections, and exercises practiced during their lesson. Students are encouraged to read through their journals before each lesson so that they’re consistently reminded of their goals, as well as what needs attention and practice.
9. Elesia maintains regular contact with individual skate coaches so that she can obtain feedback, track progress, make changes, and/or add goals based on the coach’s input.
A 60-minute session typically incorporates three main components:
* 20 +/- minutes of barre work (inclusive of strengthening and stretching exercises that develop coordination, fluidity, flexibility, artistry, and grace).
* 20 +/- minutes of center work (which might also include strengthening and stretching where the focus is placed on maintaining isolated fluid and graceful movements while moving across the floor).
* 20 +/- minutes of skate program work.
Group Lessons
Group lessons are the best option for students who want to supplement their private lessons or for students who prefer to work in a group environment. Group lessons are also a great option for skate clubs and teams. (A group consists of two or more students and up to 30 for skate clubs or teams.)
Group lessons differ from private lessons during the last 20 minutes of the lesson, as skaters decide whether they would like to take turns working on their individual programs or if they would like to work as a team on improvisation and choreography skills.
1. In the first few sessions, Elesia assesses how the students move and respond to music. From there, she develops a plan to help the students deepen their connection to music and musicality.
2. Elesia notes the students' likes and dislikes (in both skating and dancing) so that she can tailor an approach that is skater-specific, educational, fun, and inspiring.
3. Elesia will assess the flexibility of the students', the students' flexibility goals, and offer immediate suggestions on how to begin reaching those goals.
4. Elesia will target all areas that she feels the students need to work on in order to improve. For example, one student might be flexible and have solid musicality, yet need to work on confidence, completing their lines, core strength, and emoting. Another student might need specific help with slowing down or speeding up their movements to match a selected piece of music, in addition to help with specific hand and finger positions to create better lines. Music awareness and strengthening of the lower back and leg muscles might be aspects other skaters need to work on.
5. A custom-tailored a ballet barre combination that will be modified and added to as the students progress. To ensure that everything taught directly relates to figure skating, Elesia often employs the curriculum Lessons in Classical Ballet for the Figure Skater by Annette T. Thomas.
6. Following barre and center work, smaller groups of up to three students will perform their skate programs one-by-one, and from there, Elesia will break down their programs into the finest details so that she can get the students to look as polished and professional as possible. Other groups might prefer to work on improvisation development and choreography skills.
A typical 60-minute session incorporates three main components:
* 20 +/- minutes of barre work (inclusive of strengthening and stretching exercises that develop coordination, fluidity, flexibility, artistry, and grace).
* 20 +/- minutes of center work (which might also include strengthening and stretching where the focus is placed on maintaining isolated fluid and graceful movements while moving across the floor).
* 20 +/- minutes of skate program or improvisation development and practice.
Group lessons are the best option for students who want to supplement their private lessons or for students who prefer to work in a group environment. Group lessons are also a great option for skate clubs and teams. (A group consists of two or more students and up to 30 for skate clubs or teams.)
Group lessons differ from private lessons during the last 20 minutes of the lesson, as skaters decide whether they would like to take turns working on their individual programs or if they would like to work as a team on improvisation and choreography skills.
1. In the first few sessions, Elesia assesses how the students move and respond to music. From there, she develops a plan to help the students deepen their connection to music and musicality.
2. Elesia notes the students' likes and dislikes (in both skating and dancing) so that she can tailor an approach that is skater-specific, educational, fun, and inspiring.
3. Elesia will assess the flexibility of the students', the students' flexibility goals, and offer immediate suggestions on how to begin reaching those goals.
4. Elesia will target all areas that she feels the students need to work on in order to improve. For example, one student might be flexible and have solid musicality, yet need to work on confidence, completing their lines, core strength, and emoting. Another student might need specific help with slowing down or speeding up their movements to match a selected piece of music, in addition to help with specific hand and finger positions to create better lines. Music awareness and strengthening of the lower back and leg muscles might be aspects other skaters need to work on.
5. A custom-tailored a ballet barre combination that will be modified and added to as the students progress. To ensure that everything taught directly relates to figure skating, Elesia often employs the curriculum Lessons in Classical Ballet for the Figure Skater by Annette T. Thomas.
6. Following barre and center work, smaller groups of up to three students will perform their skate programs one-by-one, and from there, Elesia will break down their programs into the finest details so that she can get the students to look as polished and professional as possible. Other groups might prefer to work on improvisation development and choreography skills.
A typical 60-minute session incorporates three main components:
* 20 +/- minutes of barre work (inclusive of strengthening and stretching exercises that develop coordination, fluidity, flexibility, artistry, and grace).
* 20 +/- minutes of center work (which might also include strengthening and stretching where the focus is placed on maintaining isolated fluid and graceful movements while moving across the floor).
* 20 +/- minutes of skate program or improvisation development and practice.
Rates & Location
$30/30 minutes
$45/45 minutes
$60/60 minutes
$90/90 minutes
$120/120 minutes
Elesia works with most of her students in studios rented from Sherwood Dance Academy, which is located upstairs in the Sherwood Ice Arena building (20407 SW Borchers Dr., Sherwood, OR 97140).
Current hours include Saturdays from 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM and Sundays from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Elesia's hours can also be viewed on the Skaterina Facebook page by clicking here.
Elesia is able to travel to alternate studios or ice arenas within the greater Portland area upon arrangement. She is also available to travel in and out of state to facilitate clinics and workshops.
