Today was Parents Observation Day in the girls' ballet class. I learned a lot of interesting things in class today:

• Level 2 is a very important year at the WSB. It is the last year before girls go on pointe, and there is a lot to learn. In earlier years, the students had 2 pages of concepts to learn; this year, they have 5.
• In all ballet levels, the boys are supposed to take care of the girls, which means boys always do the heavy lifting, like moving barres around, etc. There is only one boy in M&A's class, so he has a lot to do!
• There is a lot of core work, like bicycles on the back, partner exercises (see photos below).
• There is also a barre curriculum.
• The plie is the most important step in ballet, because it is part of every ballet movement except a tendu.
• There is a lot of repetition in class to make sure that poses are held properly. There is also a lot of focus on memory, and remembering poses from week to week.
• There are lots of coupes. (Can't find the accent key on this publisher.)
• The girls wear light tights so that the teachers can see their muscles and evaluate them while dancing to problem solve.
• Before girls can graduate to pointe shoes, they have to be evaluated by a shoe expert to determine if they are ready.
• The teacher spends a lot of time focusing on things like fiddling with hair, making faces, etc. because none of that is acceptable onstage. They must learn to get up gracefully, etc.
• She has them do exercises slowly to hold the musclature.
• The girls danced most of the class without their ballet slippers on.
• High leg extensions are hard to hold at this age.
• The teacher said lots of harsh things, like "I got seasick watching you guys do that." and "Well, that was SPECIAL." and "That was painful to watch."
• Ballet is all about willpower.
• As you get older, it takes more effort to be flexible. Older dancers come early to class to stretch and get ready.
• Brooklyn Mack was known for having bad feet as a kid. Now his feet are great, but he stretches them a lot every day.
• It should take only one minute to put on pointe shoes. If a ribbon breaks onstage, it should be very fast to change shoes.
• Ballet is all about willpower.

Phew!

It was a long class (1 hr 45 mins) and I can see why the girls are tired when they come out!

Here are pics – I have a lot of them!

I have a ton more… will post them tomorrow.