"The only dancer you should compare yourself to is the one you used to be."

Martha Graham, American dancer & choreographer

Who We Are

Located in the heart of Lafayette, Oregon, Hamel Dance Academy is a professional dance program, speci...
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What We Do

Hamel Dance Academy is a full-fledged, year-round dance program that teaches a range of styles utilizin...
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Why Hamel Dance?

If you are going to invest time and resources into your child's training choose a studio that truly cares. Hamel Dan...
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Performances

Previous
One Cool Cat

One of my goals this year is to launch an arts-in-education experience for our students. Twelve of our students participated in a choreography workshop during Christmas break and the first week of January, facilitated by visiting choreographer and teacher, Janice Hurley. She also happens to be my mom! She taught and staged the children’s contemporary ballet Danger, the Dog Yard Cat. She created this work while completing her master’s thesis at Lesley University in early childhood development and dance movement. It is based on a real cat who was the mascot of Libby Riddles’ dog yard. Libby was the first woman to win the iditarod in Alaska. The students thoroughly enjoyed Janice’s exuberant personality and teaching style as well as her various warm-ups using ballet barre exercises, pilates and yoga. I enjoyed watching the students fuse their acting skills with their dance technique. Stay tuned for the upcoming performance schedule.

 

Port de Bras

These lovely Pre Ballet students beautifully incorporated port de bras (arm movements) during their dance to an excerpt from Mozart’s  Salzburg Symphonies at the 2015 spring concert.

Sleeping Beauty

In the past year, three of our Ballet IV students have started pointe work along with their ballet technique classes. Within the curriculum of their pre pointe/pointe training, they have learned several variations from Sleeping Beauty as derived from the original works of Petipa, a famous French ballet master and choreographer during the late 19th century.

All Aboard!

The Tap II class delighted audiences with their expressive performance to “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.”

I’ve Been Working on the Railroad

The intermediate tap class dazzled audiences with their thrilling rendition of “New River Train” combing their tap technique with floor work and a hoe down sequence.

Wipe Out

Shuffling with lots of style into summer break, the Tap I Class performed to “Wipe...

Ballet Mozart Style

During the 2015 spring concert, students performed a thematic ballet choreographed to excerpts from Mozart’s Salzburg Symphonies. One of the pieces featured a dance centered around a masquerade. The students wore exquisite hand-painted carnival masks from Italy which certainly captured the aura of colorful festivities.

Latin America Inspired

During a past performance, the contemporary dance students presented a Nicaraguan folk...

Nutcracker

The Nutcracker is always a visual delight during the Christmas season. Over the past several years, many of our students have attended local performances. A few of our young dancers have even auditioned and performed in stunning community productions.

Open Door

The Tap IV class charmed the audience with their whimsical rendition of “Love is...