You’ve likely heard the term “BrainDance” before, but what exactly is a BrainDance? And does it differ for toddlers and preschoolers when compared with older children?

Ballet Class Games

One way to get children to really learn while having fun in ballet class is to include dance games and movement activities. Learning through play is a wonderful concept that really works.

Dance Class Structure

Once Upon A Ballet classes have a structure, but that structure is flexible. You can shorten or lengthen exercises and activities as appropriate for your students. You are also welcome to rearrange the order of the class to best suit your teaching style and the needs of your students.

teachingAshley HartfordDecember 10, 2019class structure, class flow, pre-ballet, preschool ballet

Teaching through Themes

In Once Upon A Ballet classes, children learn their first dance steps through fairy tales and classical ballet stories. Many childhood care facilities and schools teach theme-based curriculums in their classrooms.

teachingAshley HartfordNovember 12, 2019teaching ballet, class themes, fairy tales, teaching

Better Leaders

According to Forbes, ballet can in fact make you a better leader. I love the reasons they cite. Here are the reasons that make their list.

MarketingAshley HartfordOctober 22, 2019leaders, ballet benefits, pre-ballet, preschool ballet, beginning ballet

Fairy Tale Advantage

When children come to ballet class, their dance activities take them through a fairy tale story, allowing them to be part of the fairy tale.

teachingAshley HartfordOctober 18, 2019teaching, ballet, fairy tales

Ballet Classroom Etiquette

Classroom etiquette may vary slightly from school to school and from teacher to teacher. To me, classroom etiquette is basically how students are supposed to behave in a ballet class.

Planning Successful Parent Observations

Many ballet schools have a set time every month, session, or semester, in which they invite parents into the classroom to watch their child dancing.

Teaching Skips

Skips can be a rather difficult for some students to master. Even after a child grasps the coordination of a skip, the technical aspects can be difficult.

teachingAshley HartfordAugust 19, 2019skips, teaching ballet, beginning ballet, pre-ballet, preschool ballet

Teaching Curtsies

We've all seen it. It's recital time, and it's time for a group of little ones to line up and curtsy. (Of course, boys will bow, but for the sake of simplicity we will say curtsy in this post.) Regardless of whether they are pointing one foot front or crossing one leg in back to curtsy, it always seems in disarray.

teachingAshley HartfordAugust 12, 2019curtsies, teaching ballet, beginning ballet, pre-ballet, preschool ballet

Teaching Turnout

There are many schools of thought on turnout in ballet. At Once Upon A Ballet, we recommend the degree of turnout progresses according to each student’s ability and age.

teachingAshley HartfordAugust 5, 2019turnout, teaching ballet, pre-ballet, preschool ballet, beginning ballet

Tips for Teaching Boys in Ballet

Did you know that fairy tales aren’t just for girls? Sure, we tend to stereotype that princesses and fairies are for girls and cars and trains are for boys. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

teachingAshley HartfordJuly 29, 2019ballet teacher, teaching tips, teaching ballet, boys ballet

Dance Boosts Social + Emotional Development in Children

Recently, I came across an article on types of play that “skyrocket a child’s social and emotional development”. Did you know we cover 5 of them in children’s ballet and creative dance classes?

Class Management, Pt. 2

Last week, we discussed some ways to help you manage your pre-ballet classes. This week we'll continue our discussion with a few more tips.

Class Management, Pt. 1

In today's post, we are going to begin covering tips for managing a classroom of young children in a preschool or pre-ballet class (which we will call “pre-ballet” throughout this article).

Pre-Ballet Classes

For seasoned teachers and newbies alike, you can never have too many tips in your teacher’s “toolbox”. If you’re just starting out teaching pre-ballet, here are some tips that will help your classes run more smoothly.

teachingAshley HartfordJuly 1, 2019pre-ballet, preschool ballet, teaching ballet, ballet teachers

7 Ballet Benefits

Most of us started dancing simply because we loved it. But did you know ballet provides more benefits to children than just joy of movement?

MarketingAshley HartfordJune 24, 2019ballet, pre-ballet, preschool ballet, ballet benefits

Ballet Props, Pt. 2

Today, we continue our discussion on using props effectively in ballet class. Here are a few more tips for using props, especially in preschool and pre-ballet classes.

How to Use Props Effectively

The right props can liven up a preschool or pre-ballet class and of course, bring out the creativity in your children. What's more, good dance props can fire up preschoolers to learn faster, and that's great for the class!

Teaching Ballet Basics

Two of the first “real” ballet steps we teach in our preschool ballet classes are plié and tendu. These are also almost always the first two exercises older dancers do at the barre in ballet class.

teachingAshley HartfordJune 3, 2019ballet, plie, tendu, parents, pre-ballet, preschool ballet, beginning ballet