Virtual Programs - Web Version

<a href="bookcreator://page/KkP7sWI5TXKTnupAakx8yw">About Louisville Ballet</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/G07rBtB8S4-Yfk9d9YS_zQ">Mighty Movers (Pre-K &amp; Kindergarten)</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/L4BRYU54QRWKC1zBkOeyJw">Exploring Movement (Elementary, Middle &amp; High School)</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/FTUWrBHTTfeXCAGG-O4NKg">Dance 101 (High School)</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/y-Jch0WoRUOfu4Mvw3Mp4Q">Virtual Performances</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/dFU01jVfTwuABk34YlVoDQ">Arts Integration Activities</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/-MRfUtsgQRF5CZtyc-6i">Supplemental Activities &amp; Resources</a>

Supplemental Activities &amp; Resources

Common Questions About Ballet

1. What is ballet? Ballet is a classical style of dance that has been around for hundreds of years. Originally it began in Europe, but later spread all around the world. It is a performance art that can tell stories and convey themes and messages all through movement without words. There are codified positions and steps in its most classical form. However, more contemporary ballet often incorporates other styles of movement such as modern, jazz, and cultural dance. Most often, ballet dancers need to have cross-trained in multiple styles of dance to be at the top of their game. 2. How do ballet dancers know what to do? Dancers learn the basic ballet steps in ballet class from their teacher. Choreographers create dances that are performed on stage by the dancers. Individual ballet steps are like words. Just as you combine words to form a sentence and then a paragraph, choreographers combine hundreds of steps to express a feeling or idea or to tell a story. 3. What is a dancer’s day like? For a professional dancer, dancing is their full-time job that they do five to six days a week. Each morning, they typically take a 90-minute warm-up class where they practice exercises to help stay in shape and improve their skills. The rest of the day, they are in rehearsals working with choreographers and learning dances that they will perform onstage. 4. How long does it take to become a professional ballet dancer? It takes about eight to ten years of training to become a professional ballet dancer. Training ideally begins when a student is between the ages of eight and ten. At the Louisville Ballet School, beginners go to ballet class once or twice a week; by the time a student is 15 years of age, he or she will be taking at least ten lessons a week. While ballet classes can provide exercise, discipline, and enjoyment for all, the hope of a professional career is limited to very few people. Those who will enter professional ballet companies have worked long and hard to develop their skills and are dedicated to their art.

5. Why does it take so long? Part of a ballet dancer’s job is to make everything they do look effortless and graceful.&nbsp;Ballet dancers must spin around many times without getting dizzy, lift their legs above their ears, and jump high in the air. It takes a great deal of training to build the strength, stamina and technique required to do all of these things.

6. Do many boys study ballet? Yes! Today, more and more boys are taking ballet lessons. Ballet is hard work and requires great coordination, strength, and athletic ability. Boys have to learn to jump high, turn very fast, lift girls, and make it all look easy. In fact, when the first ballet school opened in France in 1661, only men were allowed to attend classes! It wasn’t until several years later that women were allowed to begin studying ballet. 7. When do girls learn to dance on their toes? Girls usually begin to wear pointe shoes when they are around 12 years old. They have to wait until their bones are hard enough and their muscles in their feet, ankles and legs are strong enough to support their full weight en pointe.

8. Do dancers sometimes fall and hurt themselves? Just as athletes are vulnerable to certain injuries, so are dancers. Ballet is very demanding on a dancer’s body. Dancers can hurt their backs and shoulders, necks and knees. They pull muscles, sprain ankles, twist joints, and break bones in their feet and legs. Ballet dancers take many steps to prevent injuries including taking class every day to keep their muscles strong, loose, and warm, performing warm up exercises before they dance. Even so, there is always the chance that a dancer will get hurt. 9. Do dancers get nervous before a performance? Even though professional dancers perform before thousands of people, they often still get a little nervous. But when the music starts and they begin to dance, their nerves subside and turn into energy they use to perform.&nbsp; 10. When do dancers have to stop dancing? Dancing is a very hard life. Dancers work from almost the moment they get up in the morning until the time they go to bed at night. Even when dancers take very good care of their body, as they age it becomes harder to keep up the athleticism required to be at your best. As a result, most dancers stop performing when they are between 35-45 years old.

The Elements of Dance are the foundational concepts and&nbsp;vocabulary&nbsp;that help students develop&nbsp;movement skills&nbsp;and understand dance as an artistic practice. This framework is a way to discuss any kind of movement.

SPACE Direction: forward, backward, sideways, diagonal Pathway: straight, curved, zigzag, angular Level: low, middle, high Shape: closed/open, curved/angled Size: big/small Focus: at audience or a different specified object or location Relationship: beside, over, under, near, far, connected, alone, in front of, behind

EOD 2

TIME Tempo: fast, medium, slow Rhythm: movement patterns combining strong, light, long, and short phrases Duration: the amount of time taken for each step Accent: strong beats or movements that may occur at regular intervals

FORCE/ENERGY Weight: heavy/light Energy: sharp/smooth, tensed/relaxed, bound/flowing Qualities of Movement Energy: swing, vibrate, suspend, collapse, percussive, sustain

DANCE MOVEMENTS Locomotor: Movement that travels from one spot to another; creates a pathway and moves through space. Examples: walk, run, leap, hop, jump, skip, gallop Nonlocomotor: Axial movement that does not travel through space Examples: twist, stretch, swing, bend, turn

As an audience member, you only see the dancers who appear on-stage. However, it takes many other dedicated and talented people to help make the performance possible. Behind the scenes and out of sight, a variety of staff members play an important role in a performing arts organization. The following outline will give you insight to Louisville Ballet and several types of career opportunities in the arts.&nbsp;

ARTISTIC &amp; PRODUCTION STAFF Artistic Director: Decides what ballet's will be performed Dancers: Performers who dance or move to tell the story Choreographer: Creates the dance steps for the ballet Rehearsal Director: Schedules the rehearsals Composer: Writes the music score for the ballet. Costume Designer: Designs the costumes for the ballet. Set Designer: Designs the set and scenery, supervises set construction. Technical Director: Takes care of all sets, scenery and props. Stage Manager: In charge of all that happens backstage during performances and rehearsals.

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Executive Director: Oversees the strategic plan for the organization and guides the administrative side of the company, including marketing, development, finance and the school and outreach programs. Marketing Team: Advertises the performances and sells tickets to the show. Development Team: Raises money from foundations, corporations and individual donors to help support the company. Finance Team: Handles all accounting related issues for the company.

SCHOOL &amp; OUTREACH STAFF School Director: Oversees all artistic and administrative related issues for the school. School Administration: Manages the day-to-day operations of the school including registering students, tuition payments and communicating important information to parents and guardians. School Instructors: Teaching staff of the school. Community Engagement Team: Develops and implements all the dance education programs that take place in public schools, community centers, health care centers and other various community organizations.&nbsp;

Mighty Movers encourages young learners to explore their world through movement and play while developing language acquisition, sensory awareness, self-confidence, and building a strong foundation for life-long learning. This program is available as an e-book with lessons that include follow-along videos and movement activities. The video below contains clips from several lessons to help illustrate the kinds of activities available in this program.

Mighty Movers

Locomotor/Non-Locomotor Activity

A choreographer is a person who creates dances. Now you get to try it out! Use those movements you explored in Moving through Space or use the lists provided to a create movement phrase.

A. Choose two words from each list to create the phrase: 1. Non-locomotor movement 2. Locomotor movement 3. Non-locomotor movement 4. Locomotor movement B. Perform each movement for 8 counts each. Add on a beginning shape (pose) and an ending shape for your phrase. You have created a 32 count movement phrase! C. Turn on some music and try it out. D. Congratulations! You are now a choreographer!

The video is an example created by Louisville Ballet's Director of Community Engagement, Stacey Blakeman. Use the directions above to create your own!

Movement Phrase

<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stage_Layout_Plan.jpg">DJSparky [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]</a>

Dance 101 (High School)

Mighty Movers (Pre-school &amp; Kindergarten)

LB Overview

Exploring Movement (Elementary &amp; Middle School)

Exploring Movement is an interactive virtual program presented in an e-book format where students follow along with an on-screen educator. Participants learn how to create, perform, and respond to various styles of movement in this&nbsp;program that incorporates creative, social and folk dances.

Lesson Format: Warm-up Activity 1 Activity 2 Cool Down Each lesson includes a prompt for further independent exploration of a concept.

Dance Word Problem: Math &amp; Movement Integration

Choreography is the art of creating dance. You will create your own dance moves as you solve the word problem below. Be creative, take a risk and try something new and different – as long as it is safe there isn’t a wrong answer. Remember to use different shapes, levels and tempos in order to keep your choreography interesting. Have fun! Word Problem Jessie and Andy need to create a movement phrase that lasts 16 counts using one non-locomotor movement and one locomotor movement. Use the <a href="bookcreator://page/15_u5SnWSYG11DrHI02RNQ">list of non-locomotor and locomotor words</a> provided previously to select your movement words. Then figure out how long each movement should last in order to create a 16 count movement phrase.

A + B = 16 counts A. &nbsp;___________________ = _________ counts (Non-locomotor) B. &nbsp;___________________ = _________ counts (Locomotor) Total 16 counts

What can Louisville Ballet offer my students?

Hello, and thank you for considering Louisville Ballet programming for your students. In this book you will find examples of Louisville Ballet's virtual programs that are available to educators. Our goal is to enhance students’ overall educational experience by providing high quality arts programming to schools throughout the Greater Louisville area and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This guide contains samples of movement curriculum for a variety of ages, as well as resources and support materials to give you an idea of the breadth of material Louisville Ballet can provide. The content included addresses the <a href="https://www.nationalartsstandards.org/sites/default/files/Dance%20at%20a%20Glance%20-%20new%20copyright%20info.pdf">Kentucky Core Academic Content Standards for Dance</a> and strives to integrate additional subject matter. Thank you again for valuing arts education and considering Louisville Ballet as a partner. We hope to work with you this year! Sincerely, Louisville Ballet Community Engagement

My favorite part of the Exploring Movement program was One thing that was challenging was I learned One question I would like to ask about dance is Dancing makes me feel

Supplemental Activities &amp; Resources (All Grades)

Virtual performances allow you to enjoy Louisville Ballet's professional productions from the comfort of your classroom. We offer two different programs, so you can choose the one that is the best fit for your students. Learn more below:

Moving Stories:&nbsp;Metronome Suitable for grades Pre K – 5 In this ballet created just for students and educators, follow along with the story of four kids as they discover their love for the arts, as well as the importance of patience and practice. Educators will receive 5-days of viewing access for the performance as well as a Resource Guide with lesson plans, movement activities and more!

Student Matinee:&nbsp;The Brown-Forman Nutcracker Suitable for all ages Enjoy Acts I and II of Louisville Ballet’s holiday classic, The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, choreographed by Val Caniparoli. Students will delight in joining Marie’s journey from the holiday party to the Land of Sweets. Educators will receive 5-day viewing access to the performance. Additionally, a study guide with background information and historical details will be provided to enhance the experience for students.&nbsp;

Dance history is viewed through a global lens, exploring origins of dance from countries across the world. From Greek theater, to Indonesian Saman Dance, to masked dances of Mali, students learn the importance of dance in all cultures.

Participants will read, watch videos and play games as learn about the world of dance.

Not everyone who works in the field of dance is a performer. Learn about cool behind the scenes career options.

Participants learn how to have meaningful conversations about dance as it exists in the world today.

Thank you for considering Louisville Ballet Virtual Programs for your classroom!

For more information or to schedule a Virtual Community Engagement Program, please contact us: Louisville Ballet Community Engagement outreach@louisvilleballet.org (502)583-3150 x 251

Arts Integration activities are available as stand alone experiences and as part of other Louisville Ballet Community Engagement Programs. Dance can be used to help students develop literacy, mathematics skills, science concepts, and cultural competencies. This video provides a few examples of arts integration lessons. All Louisville Ballet programs include integration experiences, and Dancing Mathematicians is a program designed specifically for integrating movement in Math. If there is specific content you seek to include in your dance program, it is possible to partner to create experiences to fit your unique needs.

Arts Integration 2

Click on the videos below for a glimpse into some of the content available in this program. These clips, pulled from several lessons, briefly demonstrate the experience available to participants.

Exploring Movement - Elementary

Exploring Movement- MS/HS

Dance 101 is an interactive on-line program designed for High School students. Participants will increase their ability to analyze, interpret, evaluate and&nbsp;appreciate dance while identifying connections dance has with global history and other art forms.

Utilizing the interactive presentation software Prezi and Screencast, an on screen educator will help lead students through the content.

Purposes of dance are explained and examined through current examples of dance from around the world.

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