Preschool Ballet
What do Children Learn in Preschool Ballet?
“But how can my 3-year-old learn ballet?” We hear questions like this from time to time. Very young children are learning much more than ballet steps in preschool ballet classes. They are learning how to follow instructions, take turns, and stand in a line. They are also learning social skills. For many this young, this is the first or one of the first times they are in a classroom setting and are learning as part of a group.
Of course, they are learning ballet steps too. They even learn to say “plié” as they bend their knees and “tendu” as they stretch their foot in front of them.
We will also do non-ballet movement activities that help to develop strength, flexibility, and coordination needed later in ballet. For example, bunny hops strengthen the feet and ankles for jumps and eventually pointe work. Frog hops strengthen the backs of the legs, aiding in beautiful leaps across the floor one day.
Children also develop creativity, through free dance exercises at the end of a preschool ballet class. Sometimes their free dance is entirely open-ended—it can be anything they want. Sometimes it follows a theme. They may be asked to dance a wintery theme, pretending they are snowflakes or ice cycles during an Ice Princess-themed lesson. Here, in addition to creativity, they are learning about seasons and how they relate to a story.
Happy Dancing!
Ashley Hartford
Founder + Owner, Once Upon a Ballet
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What We’re All About
At Once Upon a Ballet, we want to help you teach dance in a way that sparks your students’ imaginations, keeps their attention, and has them leaving class excited for what’s next.
DANCE CURRICULUMS
Our complete curriculums for toddler and preschool dance and children’s ballet give you a full year of lesson plans for each age group. Our lesson plans are rooted in child development and teach dance through imagination and play. We strongly emphasize correct, age-appropriate ballet techniques for young children, as well as building self-esteem, creativity, problem-solving, and classroom skills.
CERTIFIED TEACHERS
If you teach toddler or preschool dance, our teacher certification course gives you the tools to better connect with your littlest students, keep their attention, and have better classroom behavior.
LICENSED STUDIOS
For our licensed studios, we provide branding and marketing support to help them grow their classes that use our curriculums.