Classical ballet lessons taught with care, mindfulness and creativity.

At this age we introduce them to the fundamentals of ballet technique. Each class focuses on proper posture, body positions, and alignment while also building on ballet vocabulary.  Class structure and discipline are also emphasised, and musicality and creativity are explored through improvisation.

Course Overview

Our classical ballet dance training begins by providing a broad practical dance education that develops technical, musical and performance skills.

The Classical Ballet program commences when dancers are in their second year at school – around 6 or 7 years of age. Each class has been designed with great care, allowing children to progress through their ballet training in orderly, challenging and inspirational stages.

Class Objectives

  • Promoting the learning of technical ballet skills through creative tuition rather than delivering set exercises for children to imitate
  • To celebrate and honour every child’s natural abilities and reveal their unique talents
  • To access higher brain functioning through application, analysis and evaluation
  • Developing technique through an understanding of dance concepts
  • A strong focus on posture, weight placement, turnout, co ordination, spatial awareness, classical lines, dynamics, stamina, music, performance and classical ballet vocabulary
  • Developing strength, technical ability and growth in a stress free and creative space

Class Themes

To best develop technical, musical and performance skills by creating open classes based on the ballet vocabulary being discovered in the three key areas of ballet, free movement and character. We do this successfuly by focussing on ‘feeling before form’.

Creative dance concepts are incorporated into each class to assist the developing technique and to provide novelty and recuperation. The dance concepts are a study of Laban Movement Analysis and include exploration in:  effort, time, space, shape, body, direction, speed, relationship, focus, flow, balance, energy, size, rhythm, pathways

Class Outline

The classes are structured around a 5 part lesson plan and include a mix of teacher directed and child centred activities.

1. BRAIN DANCE to warm up the body and focus the brain
2. EXPLORE A WEEKLY CONCEPT e.g. space, speed, level, relationship, rhythm, balance
3. SKILL DEVELOPMENT classical ballet; barre, port be bras, adage, allegro, grand allegro, dance studies, character and free movement
4. CHOREOGRAPHY children learn to use their own ideas to create choreography, structured improvisations or group dance
5. REFLECTION AND COOL DOWN

In the lead up to an exam the class outline adjusts to learning and recalling the steps, combinations and dances.