Ballet Classes in West Jordan, UT
What is Ballet?
Ballet is a very graceful form of dance. It is also very technical as well. Often times it will tell a story through the movements or even express emotion, a thought, or concept. With the slightest change of movement and music ballet can be exciting, magical, or provoking.
Where did Ballet come from?
In the fifteenth century during the Italian Renaissance Ballet first emerged. Shortly after it then spread to France and Russia becoming a concert dance form. With France playing a big part in the evolving of Ballet globally, much of the terminology for the technicalities used in Ballet come from the french language. Watching orchestrated ballets was a great form of entertainment throughout France and Italy. Ballet was the type of entertainment at aristocratic weddings.Court dancers and musicians collaborated to entertain aristocrats at celebrations.The first ballet was Ballet de Polonaise performed in 1573. Traditional shoes were not yet used, and the costumes were formal gowns. During performances you could expect to see dancers in ornamented costumes to impress viewers . However these greatly restricted their freedom of movement and as ballet evolved you can notice how costumes became less limiting and resemble more of the leotard style that is commonly used today.
What do you learn in Ballet Classes?
In our ballet class we focus on basic ballet technique, proper body alignment, terminology and musicality. Some of the most basic techniques that are first taught in ballet are the five different positions. First position is where your heels are together and your toes are pointed out to either side with your legs straight and turned out mirroring your feet. Then second position is just like the first except your feet are no longer touching and are about shoulder width apart. Third position is similar to the first except you slide the heel of one foot so that it lines up to the middle of your other, keeping both feet pointing out. Fourth position is where you stand with one foot about a foot’s length in front of the other keeping both pointed in opposite directions, while making sure the toes of the back foot line up with the heel in front. And fifth position is just like the fourth except there is no space in between your feet, both sets of toes should line up directly with the opposite heel, making sure your legs are turned out and straight. These are essential to know as almost all movements in ballet begin and end with these steps. We also teach a jazz/ballet class and this class is designed to introduce young dancers to basic concepts of jazz and ballet. They will work on stretch, strength, and coordination.
What do you wear to Ballet class?
For ballet class you should wear a leotard with tights or spandex. For your footwear we ask that you wear pink ballet shoes. Skirts are optional. This attire goes for just the regular ballet class as well as the jazz/ballet class.
How much is a Ballet class?
Our Ballet class class costs $40/month. You can choose to participate in available scheduled classes listed on our website. Or, if wanting to enroll your child in our studio the different tuition rates are listed under the tuition tab on our site. These are based off the amount of time you would like your child to be taught in our studio.
Why should you take a Ballet class?
There are so many different benefits from participating in a ballet class. For instance, ballet improves posture and coordination. Learning the different positions requires your child to engage their muscles, stand up tall and coordinate their arms , center and legs. Learning ballet also teaches your child to focus and sharpens their critical thinking skills. There are many different instructions that must be followed in participating in ballet and they will have to pay sharp attention to detail in order to learn the techniques properly. Any time a dancer makes a mistake they have to think critically about what went wrong and how to correct it. Ballet also greatly increases flexibility. Through the wide range of motions performed and constant training, your child can develop lean, long, and flexible muscles. This will help them be able to be graceful with all the different ballet moves they perform as well as keep them healthy and avoid muscle pain. Flexibility is a huge key in pain prevention and having kids work on that now can greatly help them in the future as well by setting them on the right track to having a strong healthy body.