Beginning Ballet I

In this level, students reach beyond the fun of fairytales into a more self-reflective and serious stage of development.  Class structure and discipline are emphasized, with students adhering to a dress code and following proper ballet etiquette in the classroom. Students develop self-esteem by being challenged to dance the classical technique and feeling pride in a sense of accomplishment, with positive encouragement from their teacher. Students learn to dance for the first time with one hand on the barre and can demonstrate a variety of ballet movements independently. Other skills learned at this level are how to give and receive appropriate feedback from their peers, how to self-correct their own technique, and memorization of ballet combinations with correct musical timing. Performance opportunities include the winter recital and the annual recital in the spring.

Movements introduced: first port de bras, ballet reverance, plies and grand plies, battement tendus en croix, battement tendu jete, grand battement en croix, coup de pieds, ronde de jambe par terre, barre stretch, sautes from first through third, pas balance, polka step, intro to waltz step, greater strength in big leaps (grand jete).