And another year has finished. It was a great year, full of adventures, ballet enchanted lands, and lots of fun. The ballet magic culminated in our Under The Sea end of the year sharing at Chisenhale Dance Space. Our sharing was a fantastic time that completed the 2014/15 journey. Here are the conclusions of the year.
Ballet Year 2014/15
This was a busy and intense year of growth in several aspects. This year
we opened three new classes, including a Baby Class for 2 and 3 year-olds. We started in September with 17 children and ended with almost 50!
Baby class.
Reception class.
Year1-Year 2 class.
At the end of another year teaching ballet to young children, I conclude
a few important things:
Children's well being comes first than the ballet principles. It
is crucial that children of any age (and I would say adults too)
have valuable class experiences where they feel good and emotional attachment is
generated. Emotional bonding is what matters specially in early
years, as if a child doesn't enjoy what he/she is doing, he/she will
never learn or engage. Children will have a lot of time to perfect their technique as they grown older if they want to. Robert Cohan says: “teach with love and love what you do”, the rest will come in time.
Ballet
and dance are there to make children better and happier, not the
other way round. As Sir Ken Robinson very well used english
words when we had a little chat last June when signing his book - I work through ballet, not for ballet. With me, ballet
and art are here to enrich and brighten people's lives. If this will
end up having an impact in ballet... Well, I think it definitely
will.
It
is very important that parents and children dance together in class. It has a very positive impact on the children and parents and their relationship, and so on the overall ballet experience. Here children share and live their dancing with their most important ones, and they see their most important ones value what is
important for them, ergo they and what they do are important. Besides, sometimes
children get to teach parents or “see if they can do it
as well as you do”, which empowers children giving them ownership of the dancing. This
moment is an opportunity for family to bond, and
then ballet exists as part integral of their lives. See examples of this in our Alice's Family Workshop and in our Under The Sea end of the year sharing.
Performance is necessary to complete dance education and experience.
At the end of our end of the year sharing I clearly saw how good performance
experience was for all the children. It boosted their confidence and self-awareness, children were feeling good with themselves by having accomplished something important such as dancing to an
audience. It is
never easy to be exposed, but when they do, they grow and feel
fulfilled. The dancing experience is completed with performance.
As
for me, I have ended up enriched and fulfilled out of this year
experience. I had lots of fun, constantly learned, and grew into a
better person and teacher. I feel my classes are growing clearer into
my mission, which makes me very happy.Thank you all for being part
of this. We'll see us in September!
And another year has finished. It was a great year, full of adventures,
ballet enchanted lands, and lots of fun. The ballet magic culminated in our Under The Sea end of the year sharing at Chisenhale Dance Space. Our sharing was a fantastic time that completed the 2014/15 journey.
Programme
Here I share our Under The Sea performance and the conclusions of the year.
Under The Sea Sharing
Our sharing comprised individual group dances of different sea animals ending with all groups dancing together with their parents. I am very proud of all children, they did wonderfully! They had lots of fun and, to me, that's what matters most.
The Crabs
The Divers
The Octopuses
Parents and children ready to dance together.
It was an amazing time when parents danced together with their children. The stage was full of people and energy could be felt in the air. This moment had a very positive impact on the children and so on their overall ballet experience.
Parents dancing with children "Under The Sea" theme.
Parents, thank you for sharing this moment with your children, I would like you to know how well you did for dancing with them. (See the link bellow to know more about this in the conclusions of the year.)
Parents dancing with children "Under The Sea" theme.
All children together with their parents have created their own costume under given guidelines – well done mums and dads, we definitely had group cohesion, it was an amazing creative result!
Octopuses' different costumes.
Water's different costumes.
Starfishes' different costumes.
At the end of the dances, we had a contest to see which group was the most creative – can you guess who won? Hard to choose, they were all so good, but this time were the Octopuses!
The Octopuses, winners of the contest of costumes.
Prizes and goodies were distributed followed by our Ballet Achievement Certificate that celebrated the completion of the ballet year.
Child and Mafalda posing with certificate.
At the end of the sharing, I clearly saw how good was performance experience for all the children. It boosted their confidence and they were feeling good with themselves, specially those who were not very confident in class little before the show. I was very positively surprised! (See the link bellow to know more about this in the conclusions of the year.)
All groups on stage.
In the second year of business, this was my first performance organisation with my classes and I am
very happy with how it went. It was a pleasure to develop a creative and stimulating artistic experience for the children. Not only for them, I hope our sharing has inspired and enriched everyone's minds
and hearts.
Mums, dads and their little ones took part in the creative dance session. All together had a good time finding different ways to fall into the White Rabbit's hole, to paint the Queen of Hearts' roses, or to find a way out of the labyrinth.
After exploring stage directions with the help of the Cheshire Cat, families collaborated to create a simple dance in which children took the leadership. It was lovely to see the children helping parents with their experience in dance.
Afterwards, it was crafts time. Tables placed, lots of glittery materials and heart-shaped markers, all set for our cup creations - after all we were to have a tea party.
Could we have tea in those cups? I think the Mad Hatter would say yes to that. Children did beautiful creations and some parents did theirs too!
To finish, we had a lovely tea with biscuits and a cheesecake a mum brought, how lovely. (Thank you, Elle!) We did our own tea party, just as the Mad Hatter would have wanted us to. (I'll leave it to your imagination whether we used the cups we created.)
It was really nice to see how ballet and dance gathered families together and how the story generated a playful moment for all. I loved to see the collaboration and teamwork between families. I think with this workshop parents could experience how our classes are like.
Hope you had as much fun as I did and hope to see you soon in any future workshop and in our classes!
I am delighted to offer a new Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Family Workshop.
Children and grownups will dive their imaginations into the madness of Lewis Carroll's story and characters through creative dance, crafts and make-up for the younger ones. Come to Wonderland and have fun with Alice and the white rabbit, the mad hatter and the tea party, the naughty playing cards and the wicked queen of hearts.
Illustration by John Tenniel, 1865
Our workshop includes a creative dance session, followed by arts and crafts. Children will build their props, colour, and we will make our own tea party.
This is a workshop for the whole family so parents, brothers and sisters are welcome. Please note at least one adult per child needs to attend. No special skills needed, just a large amount of enthusiasm!
Open class for parents. Spring term 2014
The workshop is open to all ages. Please bring clothing that allow movement. Prices Child & Accompanying Adult - £25 Bring a friend or sibling - £21 each Extra adult is free. (Price includes afternoon tea for child and accompanying adult) Adult to child ratio: 1 adult to max. 2 children Where HACKNEY FORGE 243a Victoria Park Village London E9 7HD view map Numbers are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. To book please contact: 07550 722 693 or rod_maf@yahoo.com I look forward to seeing you all there!
This Christmas I am delighted to offer Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Family Workshop, a lovely way to enjoy this time of the year in family.
In this creative workshop, parents and children will explore the fantasy and Lewis Carroll's story characters through creative dancing, crafts and make-up for the younger ones (or who wishes!). No special skills needed, just a large amount of enthusiasm and will to have a great time. Come all and enjoy Alice's adventures with the mad hatter and the tea party, the white rabbit, the naughty playing cards and the wicked queen of hearts - a workshop for all the family to have fun.
Jillian Vanstone and Aleksandar Antonijevic in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,
The National Ballet of Canada.
The workshop is for all ages. Parents, brothers and sisters are welcome. Please bring clothing that allow movement. When Sunday 14 December at 12.00 - 2.00pm Prices Adult: £17 Child: £12 Adult to child ratio: 1 Adult to max. 2 children
HACKNEY FORGE 243a Victoria Park Village London E9 7HD view map Numbers are limited. To book a place please contact: 07550 722 693 or rod_maf@yahoo.com I look forward to seeing you there!
I am delighted to offer a Sleeping Beauty 2-day workshop, the perfect way to start the summer holidays. In this creative workshop, children will explore the story and characters of this classic ballet through dance, crafts, storytelling and basic make-up! Come and have fun with Princess Aurora and friends learning dances set to Tchaikovsky's enchanting score. Children are welcome to bring princesses, witches or fairies' costumes! The workshop is for ages 3-8 years, and will end with in a performance for family and friends.
Group 3-5 Year olds Wednesday 23rd July at 9.45am - 11.45am Thursday 24th July at 9.45am - 11.45am Group 6-8 Year olds Wednesday 23rd July at 1.30pm - 3.30pm Thursday 24th July at 1.30pm - 3.30pm
Cost: £42
Bring a friend or sibling new to our ballet classes - £38 each HACKNEY FORGE 243a Victoria Park Village London E9 7HD view map
Numbers are limited so to book a place please contact: 07550 722 693 or rod_maf@yahoo.com
How to train children to become future dancers with artistic emotion.
Talking with Tamara Rojo
Yesterday I had the pleasure to meet and have a little chat with Tamara Rojo, the artistic director of the English National Ballet and one of the best dancers in the world. In good Spanish we chatted.
One of my main concerns on ballet education at the moment is the lack of artistic emotion of english dancers on stage. Schools and teachers have the power to cut out a personal expression on a search for a style, or to nurture it; I work to empower it.
Tamara is famous for her emotional presence on stage and so I asked her what is her opinion about this matter and if she had any suggestions on how not to cut student’s self out of them. To always do whatever inspires them was her advice. “When they are young, put some music on and let them dance freely; improvisation in young ages is very important", she said. This will lead them to one day find their own style. “A 5th is a 5th and a port de bras is a port de bras, but everyone has their own way to do it", she admitted.
Apparently we both agree on this matter. As a teacher, I let my students have their own style, their voice; it helps develop confidence and self expression, and is what makes them special. I do not see them as machines, but as humans with own thoughts, own bodies and own souls. I told Tamara in my classes for little ones, we let our imagination fly visiting the Space, the Circus or the Zoo, and in our adventure we get to do our train in our high tippy toes to get there, our sensitive hands to smell flowers or pick up some stars, our balance in the trapeze, and our skips to come back home. “But when I ask my students what we did last week, they do not remember the steps, they only remember the story!”, and we both laugh.
It was a great moment and very inspiring talking with Tamara. With me, ballet enriches children’s minds and hearts; children become fulfilled beings and dancers with own style and voice and, in the future, will be more humans ready to star uniquely on a stage. Photos by Roman Perona
Hackney Forge Victoria Park Village Saturday 21st December 3-5 Year Olds 10am-11.30am 5-7 Year-Olds 11.30am-1pm
This Christmas come and enjoy the magic of The Nutcracker. Start the holidays with this enchanting and imaginative ever famous ballet. Have fun with Drosselmeyer and the magic that brings toys to life, learning dances of soldiers and mice set to Tchaikovsky's inspiring score!
Children will explore The Nutcracker's main characters, colour and build their own props. The teachers will be Mafalda as the ballet teacher and Roman as the arts and crafts teacher.
The workshop is open to children aged 3-5 and 5-7 (no previous experience necessary) and will end in a presentation for family and friends.
Children must wear ballet clothing and shoes, or comfortable clothing suitable for movement and barefoot
The workshop costs £16 per child and is payable on the day prior starting the workshop.
Hackney Forge, Victoria Park Village Tuesday 27th August, 11am-12pm
St John The Baptist, by London Fields Thursday 29th August, 11am-12pm
Come and enjoy the magic of Swan Lake. The perfect way to make the most of the last days of holidays. Join
in the fun and explore the enchanting story of good versus evil in a
creative ballet workshop set to
Tchaikovsky's inspiring score.
Children will explore the Swan Lake's
main characters, create their dances and be a swan!
The
workshop is open to children aged 5-7 (no experience necessary) and
will end in a presentation for family and friends.
Children
must wear comfortable clothing suitable for movement and ballet shoes
or barefoot in case of not having ballet shoes.
The workshop costs £6 per child and is payable on the day prior starting the workshop.
It is amazing the good energy of a pure feeling. You can blow minds away when dancing with true pleasure.
Last Tuesday, I have been to a performance at an incredible place to perform, the Westminster Hall, Houses of Parliament.
This is what is interesting about London.
This performance brought together young artists, such as street artists, singers, spoken word artists, and, of course, dancers. Organised by Somewhereto_, this project helps young people find space for them to do what they love. What a great purpose, ham?
Spoken word artists
Dancers
It was a lovely show, you could feel the positive energy in the air. When your purpose is good, you become better and all around you becomes good. That is my aim for my classes and pupils: every time you will be learning to be better and feel better. You will work on dance and on yourself as one.
Can you imagine what could come out of you dancing amazingly and connected with yourself? I can. It is an electrifying energy that people don't really know where it comes from, but they feel it! What matters is how you feel with yourself and with what you are doing; the audience will follow. And you should enjoy you dancing, feel excited about it and feel good.
Contrary to what you may think, people don't really connect with an oversplit or a marathon of pirouettes; it is amazing and beautiful to see, of course, but people are people and we only truly connect with emotions! So, like these people in the video, if you feel true pleasure, joy and happiness when dancing, it is just perfect. That is what people will remember.
What are you waiting for? Come join my classes, connect with yourself and experiment joy when dancing!
After having experienced Big Dance, it is clear to me that dancing is not only for dance professionals. Dancing doesn't depend on technical quality, but above all on the will and commitment of people.
On Saturday 14th of July, I took part in the Big Dance Trafalgar Square, a massive dance event with 1000 people coordinated by Wayne McGregor and his company Random Dance. The event was actually choreographed by the people who took part in it, which was people not necessarily dance experienced, of all ages and physical abilities that you can see in the video bellow. The company dancers role was to piece all the choreographic fragments together into a cohesive structure.
Dance is for everybody who wants to express him/herself. When you are dancing you don't only exercise your muscles and sweat; you enter in a mind state that let your body and soul flow. You connect with your inner self, with your spirit, by expressing yourself - and physically you produce feel-good hormones! It is a pleasure to teach something that makes people feel good, not only physically, but spiritually. When you feel better with yourself as human being, expressing yourself as you are and being what you really are, the world is a better world, and it is a pleasure for me to see you connect with your true self.
The event ended with the schools pledge choreography created by Wayne McGregor, in which I performed. It was danced by all participants and company dancers all together. The huge finale in unison produced a mind-blowing energy in the air. It was very exciting to dance with so many people. It is amazing when you come together to collaborate with others for a common good.
That's me back there!
Dancing is for everyone and you are welcome. Enjoy it!
Photos and video by Roman Perona - Thank you Roman for your endless support!
