October 2020 Newsletter

educate | enrich | inspire

What’s Happening in October…

We had a great month of classes! It is wonderful to have so many new faces in the studio, and all of our returning dancers back in at the barre. This will be a great year for dance, and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we continue to keep the waiting room closed and allow extra time for cleaning between classes.

Our goal is to keep the studio a safe place in EVERY way, and to see our dancers in the studio dancing is everything.

To find out more about us, check out our FAQ page on our website.
Just a reminder: we do not close for Halloween or fall break–there is just too much dancing to do! Our next studio closing is Thanksgiving break November 26-28.
Don’t forget you can find out important dates, dress codes, and studio policies on our website.

HALLOWEEN WEEK
During the week of Halloween (10/26-30), you can donate $2 to The Children’s Ballet and break dress code for your class! This includes skirts, colored leotard, leggings, anything you can move easily in etc. No costumes, please. We are open for classes on Halloween.

Nutcracker is ON!

We are so thrilled to have received permission from Danville schools to perform Nutcracker on our originally planned dates 12/18, 12/19, 12/20! We started rehearsals in September and are so excited to present this holiday tradition in December (though subject to change if necessary). Tickets will be limited to allow for social distanced seating, so make sure you get them early when they go on sale November 1!

Studio Spotlight:

Hadassah Burk,
Instructor + Director of Pointe

Miss Hadassah, originally from Michigan City, Indiana has been dancing for 18+ years and is trained in Vaganova ballet, pointe,lyrical, modern, character, and jazz. Her extensive training includes studios such as Southold Dance Theatre (South Bend, Indiana), Works in Motion Dance Company (La Porte, Indiana), Ballet Chicago, Ruth Paige Foundation, Boitsov Classical Ballet (Chicago, Illinois) and summer intensives at the Grand Rapids Ballet and Ballet Magnificat.

Hadassah began her teaching career at the age of 16, receiving her teaching certification with Dance & Gym USA. As part of her professional career she has taken various classes led by dancers such as Travis and Denise Wall, Ray Leeper, Mark Meismer, and Kim McSwain among others. Hadassah has also participated in master classes led by cast members of the Broadway Touring Productions including Beauty and the Beast, Wicked, and Chicago and was chosen Broadway Bound student by cast members of Beauty and the Beast and Wicked. We are so grateful to have Miss Hadassah at The Children’s Ballet where she serves as teacher of our intermediate and advanced classes and Director of Pointe (and all around just being great!)

IN CLASS

Last month in Miss Emily’s classes, we learned first and second positions and how to hold our butterflies (ask your student). We learned several different French terms and counted to eight in French. We danced with scarves and tried not to get burnt in the “toaster”. Our featured song for September was Pachelbel’s Canon in D, a studio staple.

TERMS

Battement tendu: the working foot slides from the first or fifth position to the second or fourth position without lifting the toe from the ground. Both knees must be kept straight. When the foot reaches the position pointe tendu, it then returns to original position. No noodle knees!

DID YOU KNOW?

The five basic foot positions were devised in the 18th century by Pierre Beauchamps, ballet master to King Louis XIV of France. He created the positions so that a dancer’s weight would be evenly distributed over her feet for any position of the body.

AT HOME ACTIVITY

Still looking for things to do at home? Freeze dance is a favorite of students (and teachers!) Put music on (there is lots of ballet music on spotify!) and then let students dance however they want until you pause the music. This dance game encourages creativity, free movement, and listening. Some variations can include trying to match various tempos or movement sizes. Possibilities are endless!

TEACHER EMAIL

Did you know you can email your dancer’s teacher anytime? The address is
(firstname) @thechildrensballet .com

PARENT FEEDBACK SURVEY

We are almost six weeks into our season, and want to hear from you. When you have 2 minutes to spare, could you complete this survey? Your feedback is so important to us, and your responses are anonymous. Please let us know how things are going and what we can do to improve your experience.

ONLINE STORE

Shoes getting too small? Need new tights? Simply find your dancer’s class in our online store and order what you need! Everything will be shipped directly to you.

AMAZON SMILE

Do you shop at Amazon? AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support The Children’s Ballet every time you shop, at no cost to you.

When you shop at smile.amazon.com, all of your account settings will be the same, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com–with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite ballet school!

Log in and set The Children’s Ballet as your preferred charity, and you’re all set! All proceeds go toward improving our studio building.