Kids classes
Kids class descriptions
Beginner Tap: 7-10 yo
From the age of 7, children will be introduced to tap dancing.
Children will learn rhythm tap from the great hoofers, following the curriculum of Miss Swing Ethel Bruneau with her grand-daughter and well-known educator Majiza Philip!
They will work on their sense of time, and their ability to listen to themselves and others, thanks to the shining sound of tap shoes!
Winter session pricing
7-10 yo
Beginner Tap
$420
70$ monthly instalmentWed. 5-6pm
23 classes
Jan 6-June14 2025
A 10% discount is offered for siblings.
You can choose to pay in full or in instalments.
For families in financial difficulty, please refer to our pricing policies for solidarity discounts.
For questions and requests: info@catscorner.ca
514-874-9846
About the program
Location:
1956 rue Frontenac (opposite the Frontenac metro station)
Schedule
from January 6 to June 14, 2025 :
7-10 yo: Beginners Tap: Wednesday at 5pm (60min) with Majiza Philip
Children with learning challenges are welcome in our classes, up to a limit of 2 children per class.
ANNUAL TAP JAM: May 25th is International Tap Dance Day. All Montreal Tap dancers come to Cat’s Corner on the Saturday afternoon for the annual community tap jam in honour of Tap Dance, Bill Bojangles Robinson and our beloved Miss Swing Ethel Bruneau. It’s our annual fundraising event for the Ethel Bruneau Scholarship and we can’t wait to gather with you all!
Since 2019, with our Cat’s Corner families growing up, the school has started offering tap and swing dance classes for our younger ones, from age 3 to 14 years old.
The music and jazz dance program for kids is led by Alcina Chiu. She has 20 years of experience introducing children to the joy of playing music and dancing. She’s also been teaching swing dances to adults at Cat’s Corner for many years.
ABOUT MAJIZA
Grand child of legendary dancer Ethel Bruneau, Montreal Queen of Tap from Harlem, NY, Majiza was born into the world of dance.
Majiza has started training with her grand mother at the age of 3, and later with actor Don Jordan. Among her many accomplishments, she and her sister were selected to dance at the Governor General’s Awards. She danced on the stage of Jazz Fest in 1998 with the Big Band Vic Vogel, following which she got a role at Nathalie Simard’s Décibel show. Between 2009 and 2013, she was a choreographer at Segal Centre for performing arts.
Majiza excels in the art of teaching like a second nature. She’s shared her love for tap in numerous schools: the Segal Center “Broadway Kids” after school program, the Cameron dance school, the Sport-Study program at Massey-Vanier high school in Cowansville, at the Académie de danse de Montréal and various elementary schools on the Island of Montreal. We feel extremely lucky to have her among us at Cat’s Corner Swing Dance School.
Majiza is able to connect with each of her students, kids and adults, and see every ones’ own qualities and personalities. She guides her classes with the awareness of each student’s specific needs while creating a very friendly and supportive atmosphere. She manages to bring together a sense of rigour with kindness and real fun! She’s truly a gem of a teacher!
ABOUT ALCINA
Alcina Chiu is a professional musician and dancer with over 25 years of teaching experience. She has a Bachelor of Music from Queen’s University (with years at the University of Toronto and overseas in England) and has also done graduate studies in Dalcroze Eurhythmics at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
She has collaborated and taught with many schools and theatre companies, including Shakespearience, the Toronto District School Board, Jeunes musiciens du monde, and various seniors centres in Toronto and Montreal. As a performer, her credits include West Side Story (Curtain Call Players), Brigadoon (Onstage), and singing as a Featured Soloist (Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Broadway Melody). Stage credits on the production side include A Hawk from a Handsaw, O For a Muse of Fire (Shakespearience - stage manager, music director), Midsummer Night's Dream (Fieldstone Day School - director), Young Frankenstein, Cabaret (CCP - music director), Legally Blonde JR, Musicville (Montreal Children's Theatre - director and choreographer), and Little Shop of Horrors (Kells Academy - director). She recently finished directing the 90th anniversary production of Beauty and the Beast with MCT with a cast aged 7 to 83. With her studio, she has also had the chance to create original musicals with groups of all ages and conduct and accompany many choirs.
She runs her own music and dance studio, Scherzo. She loves to share her passion for swing and the fun, creative spirit of the dance. Alcina is known for her student-centred approach to teaching and her infectious joy in class.
