The Festival Dance & Performing Arts Association will be offering $5 drop-in classes at U of I all week for all members of the community.

Festival Dance, which offers classes in ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary and other dance styles, offers classes for students as young as 4 years old. 

Director of dance Colleen Bialas said the $5, one-time classes are meant to give people who might be hesitant to commit a chance to try something new.

“All of our instructors are planning on new students this week,” she said. “We’re ready to welcome anyone who wants to try our classes.”

Bialas, who teaches ballet, lyrical and pointe, said she and other staff members are prepared to meet potential new students and hope some will be encouraged to continue taking classes. 

She said this year’s instructors include local college students. Other instructors have trained at places such as the Eagle Rock Dance Academy in Idaho Falls and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

“We have a very skilled staff that we’re very excited about this year,” Bialas said.

One of these instructors is Julia Jitkov, a freshman studying physics and astronomy and math at WSU. Jitkov used to go to Spokane every week for dance classes and started taking classes with U of I once she started college.

Her instructor there suggested she apply at Festival Dance, where she now teaches three different levels of ballet. She said she hopes people will take advantage of the offer this week because there’s no pressure of commitment.

“This $5 class is a really great and cheap way to get introduced to the students and the teachers and try out some of the classes,” she said.

Bialas said Festival Dance’s class schedule and enrollment information is available on their website. Tuition is paid monthly, she said, and the one-time class price will be $17.50 after this week’s offer, according to the website.

Jitkov said COVID-19 safety precautions apply, and the studio is strict about sanitization and social distancing.

“Anyone who is thinking about it, go ahead and do it,” she said.