Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Ballet

Charlotte has never even seen ballet but lately she's been talking non-stop about it.  So today we dug out an old leotard and some ballet books that were Madeleine's.  In the kitchen, using chairs as a barre we practiced plies.  We followed the pictures in the book showing feet and hand positions.  Charlotte had me hold her leg up like the couple on one of the pages.  I think it might be time to sign up for a dance class!

Kate Castle 1998


This book covers everything about ballet- the positions, the performance, stage design, costumes, makeup, backstage, dance stars, the history of ballet, the music, etc...
 





Then we read through the stories of some of the most famous ballets:  Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Coppelia, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.  There are all sorts of tidbits about costumes and sets and ballet traditions.  The book opens with an introduction by the ballerina Darcy Bussell.

Barbara Newman 1997
illustrated by Gill Tomblin




1 comment:

  1. Katie,

    Fiona is attending her first ballet class this Saturday. The class is called "Toddlers in Tutus." I will definitely check out this book at the library. I think she'll enjoy it.

    Thanks!
    Kathleen

    ReplyDelete