“Everything was beautiful at the Ballet.”
~A Chorus Line~
Going to the Ballet was always my favorite outing as a child. The beautiful movements of the dancers, the music, getting dressed up, and the fancy atmosphere was so exciting and special. As I grew up, the magic of the Ballet never faded. In dance class, we go over famous ballets and listen to the music. We tell the story of the ballet and dance like the characters. There are so many amazing Ballets, however, there are 3 classical ballets that every child should know.
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is one of the most famous ballets. For many, it is a holiday tradition to attend a performance of The Nutcracker. The Nutcracker tells the story of a young girl named Clara. In the ballet, she befriends her Christmas toy, a Nutcracker that comes to life. Throughout the ballet, the nutcracker takes Clara on a magical adventure throughout the land as he fights the evil Mouse King. This story is entertaining, full of amazing costumes, music and dance and is loved by every age!
Swan Lake
Swan Lake was also composed by Tchaikovsky and choreographed by Marius Petipa. This ballet is a romantic love story about Prince Siegfried who falls in love with the Swan Queen, Odette. Because of a curse put on Odette by the evil sorcerer Baron von Rothbart, she can only take human form between midnight and sunrise. The only way to break this spell is true love. In the end, Odette’s fear and timidness of the Prince transforms into acceptance and love. This beautiful ballet has evil, romance, trust, and happily ever after.
Coppélia
Coppélia is a ballet about a quiet girl who reads all day. One day a boy named Franz falls deeply in love with her and wants to marry her even though he is already engaged to Swanhilda. Soon it is realized that Coppelia is actually a doll that belongs to Doctor Coppelius. Once Swanhilda finds this out, she decides to impersonate Coppelia so that she can win the love of Franz. After lots of chaos, Franz forgives Swanhilda and they get married and live happily ever after. This ballet is full of exciting music and lovely dancing.
Check out our kids dance classes! Our classes are filled with creative movement and music for ages 4-6.
