About Us
Our Philosophy
We are dedicated to creating a fun and friendly learning environment, while encouraging our students to discover their own passion for dance and love of performing. We strive to instill the discipline of dance with the highest standards and integrity. Our goal is to inspire our students to be creative and outgoing, thereby, giving them the confidence and self-esteem needed to excel in the world around them.
The Directors
The love and joy of dance is clearly evident in this family. Sharon, Brandye, and Blayde have each spent many years living, training, and working in Los Angeles with some of the world's top choreographers & directors in the professional dance industry. They believe in the importance of the fundamentals of dance, strength and conditioning, along with unparalleled instruction in the art of performance.
Top Hat Dance Centre, Inc. has been built on helping to create successful, confident, and healthy students who learn to follow their dreams, wherever they may lead. Sharon, Brandye and Blayde are very proud of their contributions not just to the dance world, but even more importantly, to the strong and driven young people they have trained over the years. As the world renowned Joe Tremaine always says, “DANCE TRAINING IS LIFE TRAINING”. At Top Hat Dance Centre, Inc, we couldn’t agree more!
Our Instructors
At THDCI, we are very selective in choosing our faculty. We thoughtfully seek out qualified instructors who are enthusiastic about training dancers. We believe our teachers must be both patient and firm, while maintaining positive energy and keeping the attention of the class. Most THDCI instructors are university educated and/or seasoned professionals, and many have also gone through THDCI’s dance program themselves. Our younger teachers have been hand-picked by the Directors to complete a several year Internship Program in order to become well versed in THDCI’s syllabus, as well as how to be a positive, constructive and creative teacher for our students.
We also have wonderful personal relationships with many Master Teachers around the world. It is not uncommon to see faces from Stage, TV, or Film stop by to work with our Top Hat Dancers!
Why Choose Top Hat?
Syllabus
Customer Service
Syllabus
At THDCI, our progressive syllabus has been tried, tested and proven throughout our more than 45-year history. We also continue to evolve our syllabus to stay contemporary in all of our dance instruction. We include the fundamentals of dance technique along with creative choreography to help a dancer's balance, flexibility, agility, musicality, grace, and strength. This is why dance is considered to be one of the best activities for kids! We begin teaching correct dance technique in the very first class, whether the student is three years old or thirteen.
Facility
Customer Service
Syllabus
THDCI’s dance rooms all have viewing windows. Three of our dance studio rooms have been constructed with sprung wood floors and the other two rooms with cushioned Marley – both of these types of flooring help to reduce the risk of injury and shock to the body from constant physical activity. Not all studios choose to invest in these types of advanced flooring to protect your child.
Customer Service
Customer Service
Class Placement & Size
At THDCI, our front desk is staffed with knowledgeable and helpful employees during posted office hours. They are a huge asset and will help facilitate getting your questions or concerns answered. During off-hours, phone messages are retrieved regularly and you can always contact any of the Directors through their personal email addresses, or by emailing us here.
Class Placement & Size
Established & Well Respected
Class Placement & Size
THDCI prides itself on paying close attention to appropriate class placement for each individual student, considering both age and skill level. This process is paramount to help a student learn, excel, and enjoy dancing and dance instruction. At our studio, each age group has several distinct class levels, which ensures that a beginner of any age would be placed in a class with other students of comparable age and experience. THDCI instructors carefully evaluate all dancers, each year, in order to continue to ensure all students are placed to most benefit them. For this reason, you will typically not see a full published schedule of classes on our web site. We would rather discuss the opportunities for your child on an individual basis.
Opportunities to Perform
Established & Well Respected
Established & Well Respected
At THDCI, our end-of-the-year show is just that…a show! It is held at a proscenium theater with a full stage, creative sets, professional lighting, sound, and video. Not only do the kids get a great chance to perform, but they also learn theater etiquette. THDCI packs the house! The applause is majestic - a real payoff after a year of hard work!! All of our dancers (and parents) look forward to this show more than any other performance during the year!
THDCI also offers other chances to perform outside of the big season finale show. We have dance companies that perform at community and corporate events, as well as national dance competitions and conventions that come to the Dallas area. These are all opportunities for the kids to learn choreography and perform on stage in a variety of different situations.
Established & Well Respected
Established & Well Respected
Established & Well Respected
THDCI has been in the Lewisville/Flower Mound area for more than 45 years. We are proud to have had generations of families come through our program. Our graduates can be found all over the United States, excelling in many fields from the Entertainment Industry to Corporate Management. Our Directors at THDCI continue to stay connected to the dance community throughout the country, which is important to keep THDCI progressive and part of the national dance “buzz”. We are regularly recommended by the national dance community as “the place to go in Dallas for great dance training”.