Pre-Ballet “A” (ages 5-7)
Pre-Ballet “B”(ages 6-8)
Pre-Ballet
Prospective Students Are Evaluated Through Trial Lessons. All Level Placements Are Determined By Ayana Ballet School’s Director.
The Pre-Ballet program is a prelude to formal ballet instruction and introduces children to music and movement through a structured progression that emphasizes creativity, group interaction, and foundational body development. During the first years, we focus a lot on the development of a child’s physical abilities.
The youngest dancers are introduced to a well-structured environment where they learn to stand, walk and run as dancers, to develop the ability to imitate instructors’ movements and to express themselves using their imaginations.
Lessons for older Pre-Ballet dancers begin with a bow. Children learn to coordinate the movement of the feet with plié, master the notion of elongated leg and stretched foot, learn to pay attention, and work during the lesson. They warm up in a circle, and then we move to the mats. Exercises on the floor begin with setting the body, sitting on the floor. We spend many hours exercising on the floor, using the floor barre technique, for the development of feet, turnout, flexibility, upper body strength, and stretching. Center exercises are carried out to develop a sense of rhythm, coordination, and balance, as well as jumping in place exercises. Children do not know how to relax; our goal is to teach them to relax. We teach them the difference between a stressed state and a relaxed state.
This program has a vast experience of working with both talented students and children with limited physical abilities: in both cases, we achieve colossal achievements.
Pre-Ballet students participate in the Winter/Spring Presentation.