When I was still back in North, I had a chance to teach a class for young ballerinas. Not a dance class. A craft class. I worked as a costumer, so a little craft is my cup of tea.
The summer ballet camps for young children usually include arts and craft class since they need a break from dancing. But lots of times it is just to color the printed out ballerina pictures or putting stickers on the paper dolls. I wanted to teach something about ballet along with the crafts they enjoy. So I made the session into Ballet Craft Class.
I would tell the stories of the ballet. Everybody, especially young children know the stories of Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. But what they know is usually Disney version or fairy tale version. The story lines for the ballets are a little different. I would bring in the pictures of stages, and describe how the stories go act to act.
I had realized how messy the gluing with preschoolers can get, I was always thinking about something that doesn't require glue. The little dancers are so anxious to try on the headpieces or wings that they just finished and some end up with very sticky hair or leotards. I needed to avoid that.
For the ballet Sleeping Beauty, I picked a rose for Act 1's climax, Rose adagio. I made these flowers as a preschooler and I know it's not messy! I can talk about very important part of the ballet, too. The principal dancer has to be on her toe while the 4 prices give her rose one by one. It's extremely difficult position to sustain. It's so beautiful though.
Here is how to make the flower:
Now all the little ballerina has a rose.
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