Once Upon A Ballet Certified Teacher Anastasia Jankowski (known by her students as LaLa) knows a thing or two about creativity. Her interactive children’s band, Sunny Train, is rooted in imagination and creative thinking, giving children opportunities to shake eggs, bang on drums, twirl hula hoops, explore yoga poses, or play with the world’s biggest bubbles.
Read More“I'm a biology professor, and so I found the neuroscience of children and very young children extremely fascinating. I find myself thinking about it just constantly in my classes, thinking: What are their bodies doing? What are their brains doing? How can we sort of tie that all together really holistically?”
Read MoreOnce Upon a Ballet Certified Studio owner Amy Kotara has many favorite things about her studio, Turning Pointe. One of them is seeing her students do things they never knew that they could do. “Seeing their faces, whether they are three or sixty-three, glowing with accomplishment brings me joy,” Amy reflects.
Read MoreOnce Upon a Ballet Certified Studio Owner Nadia Giuliano remembers being introduced to dance for the first time at the age of four years old.
Read MoreVisit Briarwood Ballet in Birmingham, Alabama and you’ll likely see Once Upon A Ballet Certified Teacher Danielle Brabston sparking the imagination of her three to eight year-old students. “I think it’s really important with that age group to use imagination as much as you can in the classroom, that really seems to help inspire them. It keeps them engaged, and they just come alive with that.”
Read MoreWhen Once Upon A Ballet Licensed Studio Owner Kari Novikoff found the OUB program, she immediately fell in love. “I love how sparking their imaginations helps in getting them to dance with correct technique, but in a fun way! They pretend they are princesses and pretend they are wearing a beautiful necklace or tiara. It improves their posture immediately, and I don't have to just tell them, they do it automatically. They are learning and it is fun.”
Read MoreAs a Once Upon a Ballet Licensed Studio, fairytales and dreams can certainly be found at Kidz Gym and Dance. Owner Vickie Szeplaki makes a point to empower and spark her students’ imaginations by bringing creativity and fantasy into her classes. “I love the program. It’s one of those things that made my studio in my area stand out and be different.”
Read MoreWalk into Autumn Cantrell’s North Carolina dance studio and you’ll be swept into a world of creativity and inspiration. “I try to be as creative as possible… keeping the studio space very positive and inspirational too. We have all kinds of cute things in there, motivational things,” she tells us.
Read MoreOver the course of her dance career, Once Upon A Ballet Certified Teacher Kristin Mueller has discovered that to inspire her students, she can’t just watch them imagine and make believe— she has to participate in the magic herself.
Read MoreI want Once Upon a Ballet to help teachers inspire their youngest students. All of our materials are meant to bring FUN into the dance classroom, but in a way that is educational, age-appropriate, fosters child development, and gives students a strong foundation for beginning levels of dance later on.
Read MoreTo see the [OUB] curriculum lay everything out… and have things that you’re really focusing in on… I really enjoyed having that plan laid out.” Now that Lee Ann has gone through the OUB training and is implementing it in her classes, she wants to take all of her upcoming apprentices through it who are wanting to learn how to teach.
Read MoreToday, I’d love to introduce to you, Naomi Roberts! Naomi is the owner of NA Dance Company in NSW, Australia. She uses the Once Upon A Ballet materials in her preschool aged classes and says she really enjoys having a curriculum, as well as lesson plans set out to each theme.
Read MoreIn today’s studio spotlight, I want to introduce to you, Katrin Dal-Christiansen! Katrin’s school, Faroe Islands Dance School, is located in the Faroe Islands (which are in Scandinavia) and uses the Once Upon A Ballet curriculum.
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