Through continuous exploration through a variety of dance forms, dance students discover new ways of moving and innovative ways of creating in a collaborative environment, while establishing themselves as part of a community. Dancers will gain a deeper understanding of dance as a cultural experience through daily movement classes, choreography, and performance. Whether you have always wanted to learn how to dance or have been dancing all your life, PiM Arts High School fosters a safe environment for students to challenge themselves artistically and academically.
18 credits required for Endorsement:
- Dance Technique I -IV (11 quarters)
- Dance Composition I
- Dance Composition II
- Dance Composition III
- World Dance
- Dance Wellness
- Dance Elective (2 quarters)
Dance Electives Include:
- Movement Studies
- Arts Activism through Movement
- American Dance Studies I & II
- Special Topics in Ballet
- Somatic Fitness
- Dance Pedagogy
- Improvisation and Partnering
- Careers
- Arts Internship
- Arts Collaborative
- Senior Capstone
- Dance Conditioning and Somatics
Dance training can’t be separate from life training. Everything that comes into our lives is training. The qualities we admire in great dancing are the same qualities we admire in human beings: honesty, courage, fearlessness, generosity, wisdom, depth, compassion, and humanity.
~Alonzo King
Instructors
Karis Sloss graduated from the University of MN with a BA in both Dance and Theatre Arts. After graduation she founded Eclectic Edge Ensemble, a non-profit theatrical jazz dance company, who had 15 successful years of educational outreach programing throughout the metro area, including Main Street School or Performing Arts in Hopkins. Sloss produced over 25 productions with EEE at The Lab Theater, The O’Shaughnessy, Southern Theater, TEK BOX, The Ritz Theatre, Intermedia Arts, and the Illusion Theatre, and was awarded numerous grants to fund their programming. In 2015, Karla Grotting and Sloss were delighted to be awarded a SAGE Award for Outstanding Performance for “Lost Voices in Jazz.” During this time she also served as a teaching artist and choreographer for many organizations including Ballare teatro Performing Arts Center, Illusion Theatre, Project Success, Children’s Theatre and SteppingStone Theatre.
After working for over 15 years both professionally and as a teaching artist, she went back to U of MN and received her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction and teaching licenses in both Dance and Theatre Arts. From 2019-2023 she taught dance and theatre at FAIR Middle School and Plymouth Middle School (PMS), District 281 Robbinsdale Area School. During her time with the district she served on leadership teams and was District 281’s Dance curriculum head writer to align their program with the new MN State Dance Standards. In 2021 Sloss was Awarded MNSHAPE Dance Education Teacher of the Year. Currently, she serves as a mentor teacher to early career dance educators through a grant program with MDE and University of MN. Sloss is thrilled to be back teaching at PiM, where everything began with her dance company’s outreach program many years ago. A true full circle!
