The College Preparatory Dance Program is one of JC’s most selective after school programs, specifically directed towards dedicated dancers.

Director of the John Carroll Ballet Academy and the John Carroll College Preparatory Dance Program Laura Ward-Moran has been running the program for five years.
“I developed and wrote the curriculum for the John Carroll College Preparatory Dance Program and began recruiting for the program in 2016-2017. The program was then implemented in 2017-2018 as one of John Carroll’s signature programs,” said Mrs. Ward-Moran.
She described the goal of the program is to “offer conservatory level dance training in an academic setting” and “provide dancers the necessary skills to pursue dance at the college level.”
Before they are accepted into the highly-selective program, dancers have to audition first.
“Dancers audition in January for the following year. Our next auditions are January 8 for the 2022-2023 school year. Any current John Carroll student not already enrolled in the program, as well as all incoming students who have an interest in dance may audition,” said Mrs. Ward-Moran.
Since its beginning, the program has become a second home to some of JC’s best dancers and contains many hard-working student athletes.
Junior Izzy Cole has been a part of the program for three years. Izzy said, “This dance program was the perfect fit for my high school life. It allows me to be in an intensive dance program while also having time for outside activities.”
For the dancers, their week is always filled with dance practice. “Every other day we rotate between ballet and modern classes. We head over after school and start at 3:15 and go until 4:30,” said Junior Ashley Eyler.
The program focuses on both dance and academics.
Mrs. Ward-Moran said, “Every course in the program holds academic credit, and the dancers receive a grade for every course they take. There are four levels of Ballet, four levels of Modern/Contemporary Dance and Dance Seminar. The Dance Seminar course incorporates elements of Anatomy, Kinesiology, Dance History, Cross-Cultural Dance Forms, Business Administration and Outreach.”
The dance program is more than meets the eye. The dancers are exposed to so much more than just the world of dance. Mrs. Ward-Moran said, “Our JC dancers train technically, explore the depth of dance through history and science, and push their boundaries, all while finding their artistic voices to become the next generation of dance scholars.”
The Nutcracker will be hosted by the The College Preparatory Dance Program at John Carroll on December 17 and 18. Tickets to the production can be purchased on the dance page of the JC website.
The Dance Program is a very unique and special part of JC. Mrs. Ward-Moran said, “There is no other program like it in the area.”