Welcome to Ballet School
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Welcome to your first day at ballet school! Put on your ballet shoes and let’s master your basics with author and New York City Ballet principal Ashley Bouder. Learn five basic lessons, then visit the costume room, before putting on your very own show of Sleeping Beauty at the end.
There's no admissions policy to our Ballet School. Whether you are already learning ballet, or thinking about starting, this class is for you. Learn your pliés, first positions, jetés, pirouettes and grand battements.
But what happens if you fall? How do you stretch and look after your body? How do you get ready for class? No worries – it's all answered in this book from professional ballerina Ashley Bouder.
Then go on to learn the characters and interpretations of Sleeping Beauty – taught in an inclusive way so anyone can dance the parts they want to. A helpful glossary at the back provides a review of ballet terms.
Tutus are optional.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bouder, a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, offers a kid-friendly introduction to ballet in this simplistic depiction of five children's first experiences of class. "No matter what you look like, ballet is for everyone" Bouder announces in an introductory note; though the mixed-gender group appears culturally and ethnically diverse, no other differences are apparent. Gouache and colored pencil cartoon illustrations by Bereciartu (High-Five to the Hero) enhance the book's welcoming tone as a kindly teacher (who outdatedly addresses the school-age children as "little ones") shepherds them quickly from warm-ups and the five basic positions to arabesques and pirouettes to performing a classical ballet. Exceptionally helpful for beginners, close-up diagrams show ballet's five positions (separate spreads cover arms and legs) and detail each stage of the legs' movements in traditional ballet steps (pli , tendu, etc.). Bouder strikes several personal notes, for example appearing as the ballerina-mother of a student who bears her own daughter's name, guiding the classmates through a performance of Sleeping Beauty. Though readers won't take away a sense of ballet's rigor or artistic resonance (these dancers choose what to wear, what positions to try, and which roles they want to enact), the book is a useful and appealing primer for those with little to no experience in the ballet studio. A glossary and ethnically inclusive gallery of important dancers concludes. Ages 4 7.
