Classes
Ballet Primary (4-6)
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Classes
Age: 4-6
Suitable Clothing / Equipment:
Clothes:- Close fitting, comfortable clothes e.g. Leotard and tights/socks worn with an (optional) skirt for girls, and T-shirt and shorts for boys. Dance/jazz pants, leggings, or tracksuit bottoms (shorter leg length to avoid trips/falls), worn with T-shirt or camisole top are also suitable.
Shoes:- Soft ballet shoes are ideal, but socks are a suitable alternative. In order to secure soft shoes to the foot, drawstrings should be fastened (but not too tightly), and elastics should be sewn on to the shoes; placed to lie over the top of the arch of the foot, sitting close to the ankle. Further information and advice is available from the teacher if required.
(NB: Little dancers often struggle to dance if wearing costume ‘ballet’ or ‘princess’ shoes with a hard sole, so socks or soft ballet shoes would still be preferable)
Description of a typical class: Primary classes are designed to offer an inclusive and accessible introduction to the joys of classical ballet, through a balanced combination of technique exercises, movement activities, and imaginary games. In this way, these inspiring and exciting classes continually promote learning and development, whilst greatly encouraging artistic expression, and enjoyment of movement.
Music:- For most classes, traditional piano ‘ballet class’ musical accompaniment is used; often including extracts from various Operas and Musicals, folk songs from Europe, and music by composers such as George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and Scott Joplin, played alongside extracts from famous classical ballets such as ‘Coppélia’, ‘Don Quixote’, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Swan Lake’, ‘Giselle’, ‘Les Sylphides’, ‘La Bayadère’, and ‘The Nutcracker’. Often classical orchestral pieces, or contrasting pieces from other musical genres, will be incorporated into class for the purposes of musical interpretation exercises.