Fantasia

I have been busy all week preparing the half term ballet and craft workshop. In the midst of all the ribbons and glue I rediscovered Disney's Fantasia and what a spellbindingly beautiful film it is!

I could not think of a better way to introduce young children to classical music than the 2000 animated anthology. Fantasia consists of several different animated short films set to pieces of classical music. I will be using ‘Carnival of the Animals, Finale’ by Camille Saint-Saens for the workshop and have spent the last hour shall we say choreographing in preparation for Tuesday. 

And so in the words of the newspaper, Made in Essex who have just written a feature on Dance Space Essex ‘prepare to have fun’, not only do we teach the fundamental steps of classic ballet but we teach the art of FUN!

Tuesday 17th February, 10-12.30pm, 4-8 years, £10.00, The Brentwood Baptist Church, Kings Road, CM14 4DR, email nicole@dancespaceessex.com to book a place. 

Create Your Dream with Crafterina

Two of the things I love most in the world are dance and craft, so I was thrilled to have stumbled upon Craterina. The Craterina story book is about a ballerina who has to craft her why to magical adventures. Each story has a different craft that encourages children to explore dance in an imaginative and inventive way. 

Vanessa Salgado has an array of paper crafts for sale on Etsy, most of which are downloadable instantly, I adore The Nutcracker Land of the Snow Scene Playtime Tableau Set and The Shadow Puppet Theatre!

Vanessa has also written The ABCs of Animal Dances and Classical Ballet introducing children to the language of dance and movement, both of which have beautiful illustrations and make learning interactive and fantastical.

Crafterina is a wonderful resource for anyone teaching ballet to young children, the site also hosts a page for parents to find those all important questions like, how to create a Ballet bun and how to sew ribbons onto Ballet shoes.

I will be introducing Craterina to all my budding ballerinas.  Read, create and dance with Crafterina!

www.craterina.com