Ballet at Home

[CuckooMamma]

Does anyone do any dance at home? Looking for a "lesson plan" of things covered in a ballet class.

Thanks!

[blessedmum]

Do you or have you danced in the past? If not it might be hard to teach proper technique. There are different styles of ballet Russian, Italian. Ceccetti is Italian and they have different levels to pass. You can order manuals here under order.

[elizawill]

currclick had a live lesson class for ballet...but i'm not sure if they still do. also, netflix has intro to ballet videos, etc. my ds loves breakdancing, so i order videos for him from netflix.

ETA - this is the currclick class i was thinking of: http://www.currclick.com/product_inf...rs=0_0_0_25010

i don't know a thing about it, but you could email the woman. hth.

[AAK]

Unless you have a dance background send her to class; ballet should be taught by someone who knows proper technique. If you want to do dance at home, maybe do more of a creative movement approach. Teach her to listen to the rhythm of the music and encourage her to move with it. Try dancing stories--you read out loud from a picture book, have classical music on and let the child dance the story. They can bend in a ball and grow to be flowers, leap like animals, etc.

Amy

[greenmom4]

Originally Posted by AAK

Unless you have a dance background send her to class; ballet should be taught by someone who knows proper technique. If you want to do dance at home, maybe do more of a creative movement approach. Teach her to listen to the rhythm of the music and encourage her to move with it. Try dancing stories--you read out loud from a picture book, have classical music on and let the child dance the story. They can bend in a ball and grow to be flowers, leap like animals, etc.

Amy

This. You can hurt yourself pretty badly if you're not careful. Just think - Baryshnikov has replaced his knees and hips - and he is a professional!

This summer my dd (who was 3, but the class was for 3-6 year olds) did a one week "intensive" called "Ballet Birds." Basically they learned about Swan Lake and Firebird - watched clips from the movie, did a "project," read the story and then the teacher would put on clips of the music and they would dance how The Firebird felt when she was captured or they would jump over the lake of tears from Swan Lake. It was a cool class, I thought.

[umsami]

My Mom was a professional ballerina and has taught dance for over 60 years. In general, "real" ballet lessons do not begin until one is 8 years old or so. Prior to that, it's just an exposure to dance...fun. So, depending on your child's age, there's a lot you could do at home. Just putting on various classical pieces and allowing her to move... would be great. You can expose her to some of the great stories of ballet.... The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Swan Lake, etc.
I know my Mom always has her beginning students purchase a reference book.. I can see it in my mind... it's a small, rectangular book that has the basic positions and steps. I think this might be it, but I'm not 100% sure.

If your daughter is older than 8, then try and find a beginning class for her.

Be wary of any teacher that pushes/promises Pointe. Be wary of any school where you see lots of young girls (9-11) en Pointe.

Also, don't forget about other forms of dance.. such as tap. Young kids often love the sound of tap shoes... and you can expose your daughter to the Nicholas brothers films, Shirley Temple, etc.

[Mama Shifra]

Rosemary Boross has lots of ballet videos/DVDs, but some of them assume that you take ballet lessons. (She also has DVDs for other genres of dance like Land of Sweet Taps, Tot Tap, and Junior Jazz.) You library will probably have some of them:

Baby Ballet
A Fantasy Garden Ballet Class--this is not for beginners, unless you buy the companion book Ballet Beginnings for Children, which explains the steps
I'm a Ballerina Now

Bella Dancerella has some ballet kits that include a plastic barre and DVD. They teach the 5 basic ballet positions with a catchy tune. It's called Bella Dancerella: Let's Dance!. (They now have Swan Lake Bella Dancerella Home Ballet Studio, but I have not seen it).

My children also had a VHS tape called Learn Nutcracker Ballet Dances with Me.