|
By Kathleen Noblin, Director
How do you Choose a Ballet
School?
This is
question often asked by parents when they call for
information about the Ballet Academy Ventura
School.
First of
all a parent should look at the population attending the
school. Classes should be well attended. Schools that
are busy are good schools. A school should offer many
classes at all levels focusing equally on the
pre-ballet, beginning, intermediate and advanced levels
including adults. Emphasis should never be on one level
only. Undue concentration on a single level indicates
that you may be in a training center and not a ballet
school. The students should be excited and happy about
entering their respective classrooms. Smiles on the
faces of children are often the best indicator of
classes that are constructive, instructive and character
building.
We at
Ballet Academy Ventura pride ourselves in the warm and
loving environment created for our students. Instructors
are readily available to parents and students for
information about class progress. All students feel free
to visit with their teachers before class begins.
Students are important! We are here |
to educate the whole child.
Their spirit must be lifted by
their experience with us, we strive to build
self-confidence, love of ballet as an
art form, and to prepare
the students for learning throughout their
lives. We want to
develop the student in a healthy and
loving way.
Discipline is part of
ballet, but it should only be used to
help a child develop his “own
self-discipline.” This must come from
within the student through gentle and
constructive correction. When discipline
is used in this way, healthy development
takes place.
Parents
should also observe that other parents are around about
the school. Class observation should be allowed whenever
requested and observation windows opened on a regular
basis. Classrooms with very young children should have a
window open
to the classroom at all times. This reassures
the student that parents are nearby and
that they are secure under their parents’
eyes.
Preballet class (3 –5 1/2 years) is
a most important step in developing a
love of dance, music and performance. We
at |
Ballet
Academy Ventura have one of the most
outstanding programs in the county.
Because of the popularity of our
preballet classes, we offer five
separate classes of each week. The young
students are happy and well adjusted and
learn ballet in a open and loving
manner. The students are made to feel
secure and this security opens their
spirits to perform freely in the
classroom. They are given performing
opportunities at an annual preballet
recital and often have an additional
in-house program mid-year for parents,
family and friends.
A free introductory class is
given to all new students at any level. This
way the family can observe first-hand the classroom
situation and environment.
Uniform dress code
should be present in the school so that you
can be assured that fashion does not take
precedence over instruction.
We at Ballet Academy
Ventura observe a dress code, keeping in
mind that the ballet school classroom is
not a place for outrageous costuming.
The students are there to learn and to
develop a love for this art form;
classroom attire needs to reflect this.
Hair needs to be tidy and up off the
neck and face, so that the ballet line
can be observed. |
