About the Seton Hill Dance Academy

Instructor Katie Hicks leads a Dance Academy class

The Community Dance Program has been designed to develop the skills of dancers of all ages. Instructors Katie Borsuk, Brooke Kelly, and Alyssa Frank approach students with care and commitment to train with excellence, creating a safe, positive and productive environment for everyone. 

Classes are offered in ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hip-hop, contemporary, acro, and musical theatre.  There is also a Competitive Team of auditioned dancers. Classes are taught at the Seton Hill Arts Center located in downtown Greensburg. 

Call (724) 552-2923 or email walters@setonhill.edu for more information.

(The Seton Hill Dance Academy provides private and group dance lessons for the general public. If you are looking for Seton Hill degree programs in dance, please visit Seton Hill Dance Program.)

Dance Classes

Fall 2024-Spring 2025 Dance Class schedule has been sent out, check your email!

SHU Dance Academy Acro students have access to a TumblTrak! 

screenshot of TumblTrak

Watch a short video of the track in action!

YouTube link to TumblTrak video

Dancers from the SHU Dance Academy Hip Hop class perform in a recitalSchedule

Classes run from September through May with performances in June. There are also summer classes available. Class schedule can be found on the forms and documents page.

dancers participate in a weekly dance class at SHU Dance AcademyPrivate Lessons 

Private lessons will be available to all students to learn choreography or technique work. Please speak to the individual instructor to arrange private sessions and all private lessons must be purchased in advance either for the entire semester (fall - 12, spring - 20) or for the entire school year (32). To view private lesson prices or to purchase, click here to register for Private Dance Lessons online.

Private Lesson Policies

Weekly private lessons are available to all SHUDA students to learn choreography or technique work. Please speak to the individual instructor to arrange the date and time for lessons. 

Once a weekly day and time is established for the lesson with the instructor, students are expected to attend lessons at the times scheduled. In case of studio closure, inclement weather, teacher absence, or student illness and emergency, make up lessons may be arranged by the teacher for a suitable time before the end of the semester. 

Only one make up lesson as a result of student illness or emergency can be guaranteed for each semester. The instructor is not required to make up any other lessons canceled by the student. In case of cancellation, students and/or parents should make every effort to contact the teacher directly with at least a 24 hour notice. If this is not possible, a message can be left with the Director at 724-552-2923. 

Any student arriving late will receive only the remaining time of his or her scheduled lesson. Lessons must be completed by the last day of the semester (for semester lesson sets) and by the last day of classes (for yearly lesson sets) and any lessons not taken by this time will be forfeited.

FEE: We reserve the right to charge a billing fee of $20 if the student takes a lesson before the lesson set is paid for.  Instructors are permitted to cancel a lesson if payment has not reached the studio office by the time of the lesson. 

Policy update: Each instructor reserves a day and time in their schedule that is dedicated to each dancer who requests private instruction. It is rarely possible nor is it fair to ask instructors to change the times of other dancers’ lessons to avoid having an unpaid gap in their schedule.  We realize that kids (and instructors) get sick and unexpected responsibilities arise, therefore we are altering our policy to better meet the needs of the families, the instructors, and the program.  Our goal is to streamline the administrative process and allow the instructor and dancer to focus on quality dance education at a reasonable cost.   

Tuition for Dance Classes and Lessons

  • Payments can be sent in one payment due September 10th or 8 payments due the 10th of each month. The amount of the payment is determined by adding the weekly class hours and finding the appropriate tuition amount listed on the class schedule brochure.
  • Tuition is non-refundable and credit is not given for missed or cancelled classes due to unforeseen circumstances and inclement weather. 
  • Withdrawal: not attending classes does not equal a withdrawal from any course. A written notice of withdrawal must be submitted. A cancellation fee of up to $150 will be charged per dancer for withdrawal from SHUDA before May (based on charges incurred). All students are permitted to sample any classes (two times) prior to registering for the class.

Young Dancers perform in the SHU Dance Academy Tiny Tots CelebrationAdditional Fees and Policies

Current Students Are Offered The Opportunity To Register First 

Current students’ completed registration forms and registration fees must be received by the stated deadline. (Deadlines can be found on the Class Schedule) After this deadline, remaining openings in classes will be available to new students.

Performances 

Young Dancers Division dancers will perform in the Tiny Tots Celebration on Sunday afternoon at 3 PM. Several dance groups from the Formal Dancers Division also perform age-appropriate numbers at this recital in order to increase the excitement and enjoyment of everyone involved.

Formal Dancers Division dancers perform in our end of the year production on a Saturday at 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM. 

The performances are held in the Reichgut Concert Hall at the SHU Performing Arts Center. Please see the Event Calendar for performance and rehearsal dates and times.

Tickets

Tickets to SHUDA performances are sold through the SHUPAC Box Office by calling (724) 552-2929 or purchasing online at www.setonhill.edu/tickets.

Each dancer receives two complimentary tickets to their performance. Registered dancers will receive an email from the Box Office after the start of the dance year with a temporary password.  Follow the instructions for logging in to redeem your complimentary tickets and place your ticket order.  You can also redeem your complimentary tickets or place your ticket order by calling the box office at (724) 552-2929.

Dancers perform as Rockettes in the SHU Dance Academy Holiday productionAdditional Performance Opportunities

Holiday Dance Production: Any dancer enrolled in the SHU Dance Academy has the opportunity to participate in our annual Holiday Production performed in the Concert Hall at the SHU Performing Arts Center. This unique production tells a holiday or Christmas-themed story through various styles of dance and has become a beloved tradition among our SHU and SHUDA families. To be cast in this production, attend the scheduled auditions held in August. Rehearsals for this production are held on Friday evenings and Sunday mornings and afternoons and your dancer will receive a rehearsal schedule upon acceptance of his/her role. There is an additional fee to participate in this production and this fee includes rehearsals and costume rental.

Young dancers perform as Christmas trees in the SHU Dance Academy Holiday Show

SHUDA Diamonds Competitive Team: The Diamonds are an auditioned team of competitive dancers from our SHU Dance Academy. While the SHU Dance Academy is not a competition-focused school, we offer the Diamonds Team to those dancers who want to perform more often and dance at a more intense and advanced level. They rehearse on Sundays with their coaches, Katie Borsuk and Brooke Kelly, and compete at 4 competitions each spring. Our Diamonds dancers have brought home many awards and trophies and continue to make us proud with their team spirit and effort.

Non-Payment Of Fees

Students with unpaid tuition or fees will not be permitted to re-enroll at SHUDA or perform in productions, including the end of the year shows, until the balance is paid in full.  Balances that are over 90 days outstanding will be referred to the University's collection service.

Class Cancellations

In case of class cancellations due to severe weather, an email will be sent to all families with valid email addresses on file. In addition, any cancellations will be announced on the voicemail message at (724) 552-2923 by 3 p.m. that day.