Who else wants a done for you Preschool Easter Dance class plan?

Easter is nearly here and time is running out to design and advertise special Easter-themed classes.  Relax!  That’s where our click and go class plans and activity packs come in.  Just take a few moments to download and you are good to go. The Preschool Easter Dance Class Plan includes playlist, coloring and activity sheets, fully choreographed exercises plus circuits, games, and activities.  All you have to do is download and teach.  These tried and tested class plans are based on the bestselling Preschool Ballet Blueprint, the downloadable Preschool curriculum that is currently being used worldwide to deliver super popular preschool Programs. 

The Preschool Easter Dance Class Plan includes a range of sequenced exercises from warm-up through stretching, basic ballet steps, and locomotion exercises all with a fun Easter theme.  Take your students on a fun-filled adventure where they will go on an Easter egg hunt, take part in an Easter Hat parade, experiment with rhythms, levels, speeds, directions, and work on fine and gross motor skills, jumping, hopping, skipping.  Watch them hop like a bunny, roll like an egg and pose like a flower.

The Preschool Easter Dance Class Plan takes care of marketing with a selection of social media graphics done for you plus an informative flyer that you can send to parents.  This not only helps cement the concepts covered in class but also builds parental engagement and trust.  Parents who love your program will spread the word! After the class give your students the coloring pages and activity sheets to further enhance their experience.  You can post samples of their work during the week or hang them up around the studio. Join the thousands of schools already enjoying these affordable and easy-to-use class plans designed in conjunction with qualified ballet teachers and childhood development professionals. 

This dance class plan is part of the Ballet Blueprint series, designed to give you the skills and knowledge to deliver a quality, pedagogically sound Preschool Dance program without huge outlays.  Regular preschool teachers don’t reinvent the wheel every time they step into a class.  They have set class plans that are well structured and predictable.  The Ballet Blueprint series is based on this concept and has been tried, tested, and tweaked so you can deliver your Preschool dance classes without chaos or stress.

Move beyond follow-along action songs and the freeze game to a curriculum that follows childhood development principles, is age-appropriate and is designed so that their first steps are the right ones.  You can learn more about the Blueprint series here and grab your Preschool Easter Dance Class Plan right here.

Ballet Theory resource pack for junior students

A comprehensive ballet knowledge starts with a solid foundation.  Exposing our ballet students to ballet theory knowledge is an integral part of any ballet education.  The My First Theory pack is perfect for introducing your younger ballet students, aged 6 plus to ballet theory.  The information, exercises, and activities are all pedagogically sound and appropriate for younger students.  The Ballet Theory resource pack contains

• Positions of the feet – tracing and counting exercises
• Famous Ballets – the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty.  Each unit study consists of a synopsis, a crossword, a featured ballet step, and an activity such as coloring, spot the difference, mazes, and more.
• Ballet terms – a range of coloring pages and tracing exercises covering the meanings of basic ballet terms
• Class phases – an introduction to the phases of a ballet class, barre, center practice, adage, pirouette, and allegro.

The junior ballet theory resource pack contains over 30 pages of downloadable ballet theory exercises which have been developed over many years and have consistently proven to be popular and engaging for young students.  The ballet theory exercises are applicable to any ballet method and are designed to complement any syllabus.  As the theory pack is downloadable, once you have purchased you may replicate the material as many times as you like.  You may choose to print the sheets out or share them online.  The resources are also great for using on Zoom. You can find out more about the My first ballet theory pack by clicking here.

If you are looking for Ballet Theory resources for older students check out the Ballet Theory Mega Activity Pack and for more Ballet Teacher resources including coloring pages and activity packs click here.

Zoom Ballet Games and Activities

With most of us stuck on Zoom for a while longer, finding ways to keep our students motivated and engaged is more important than ever.  This selection of Zoom Ballet Games and Activities is an absolute HIT with my students.  Each game or activity comes with a variety of versions so that you can adapt them to your students.  There are Zoom Ballet Games for beginners through to advanced students.

The Zoom Ballet Games and Activities pack include

• Younger children love the Ballet Terms scavenger hunt which includes tracing exercises and a variety to levels of Scavenger Hunt to suit age and theory knowledge
• The Ballet in a picture exercises are an absolute HIT with intermediate to advanced students  with a range of adaptations and suggestions
• Princess Pandemonium is designed for beginner to intermediate students and provides an opportunity to connect favorite Princess stories with Ballet terms – fun and laughter-filled scavenger hunt activities follow.
• Famous Ballets – Activities based around Famous Ballets are popular for intermediate to advanced students and work very well in Breakout rooms.  Once again different options allow for adaptation to different levels
• Choreography challenges are also a fantastic activity for intermediate to advanced students and another great chance to work in breakout rooms.

You can learn more about the Zoom Ballet Games and activities pack here.

Keeping motivated with online classes can be a challenge at times, but these activities certainly help keep students engaged and having fun whilst brushing up on their ballet theory. There are 14 pages of Zoom ballet games and activities, designed especially to engage your ballet students while we engage in online learning.

You can find more resources for Zoom classes  here and other studio shutdown resources here

Download Ballet Activity Packs for studio shutdowns

Due to popular demand, Resources for Dance Teachers is pleased to present a second ballet activity pack. Studios have found these packs so useful to stay connected with their younger students. (Though just quietly, some of my not-so-young students have enjoyed these as well!) These activity packs were first conceived as a resource to keep little hands busy backstage at competitions and recitals and as a dance camp resource. However, with the 2020 Covid-19 studio shutdowns, these activity packs have really come into their own.  They are the perfect way to keep in touch with your youngest students, keep them connected with the studio, and connected with dance.  The activities included are designed to be fun and distracting for young children and to appeal to their love of ballet and dance. This Ballet Activity pack includes 11 pages of activities including

• Coloring pages
• Mazes
• Spot the difference
• Tracing activities
• Join the dots
• Word scrambles
• Counting
• Sorting

The downloadable Ballet Activity pack comes as a complete booklet along with a link to download individual sheets if you prefer.  This makes it even easier to share online if you would like to space out sending the sheets.  If you would like to download a free sample to test the pack out, just pop your email below and receive this counting activity.

If you are looking for more activities to keep your dancers engaged we have got you covered.

You might like the original

Ballet Activity Pack

or the range of Growth Mindset and Goal setting packs designed for older students

The Mega ballet theory activity pack has a huge range of activities from theory match, crosswords, word searches, flashcards, and more for your students of all ages to engage with their theory studies.  This is one of our best-selling resources and I know from personal experience, I have turned my theory-hating students into a bunch of total theory nerds!!!

Free Ballet Theory Quiz

Would your students enjoy a Free Ballet Theory Quiz? My students used to HATE ballet theory – it was the worst thing EVER, or so they told me.  I have to admit, it stung – I am a bit of a self confessed ballet theory nerd and to have my students dislike it so much and frankly, be so bad at it, well, it troubled me.  That’s why I set about creating the Mega Ballet Theory activity kit – it is full of so many fun activities that even the most hardened theory hater can’t help but enjoy it.  There are activities for beginners through to advanced including flash cards, theory match exercises, word searches, worksheets, coloring pages, classification exercises and more.  Nowadays my students LOVE their theory and I am proud to be creating another generation of theory nerds. You can find the fun Mega Ballet Theory activity kit here, it comes as a digital download so you can purchase once and print it off as many times as you like.  In the meantime, please enjoy this free Ballet Theory Quiz. This is great way to get started with theory.  The free Ballet Theory Quiz includes Theory match, body positions and directions, a fun exercise where students have to choreograph 16 counts including certain body positions and steps, plus, of course, a ballet quiz.

To download your free Ballet Theory Quiz just enter your email below.

Don’t forget to check out the Mega Theory Activity pack and the Ballet Body Positions pack for more great Ballet Theory activities.

5 Best Ballet Books

If you are anything like me, you LOVE to find a good ballet book on technique and teaching.  Nothing like a little read here and there to fuel your passion, provide you with a new way of looking at something or alternatively reinforce what you already know.  There are some great ballet books for teachers out there covering technique, pedagogy and everything in between.  Here are my top 5.

1. Ballet Pedagogy – The Art of Teaching, Rory Foster.   I LOVE ballet and I LOVE this ballet book – it starts off with a brilliant analysis of the difference between a dancer and a teacher, why being a teacher is a totally different thing to being a dancer and the relationship between the two.  The explanation of different steps, their common faults and hot they relate to other steps in the ballet canon is exemplary.  This book is a must have for anyone studying to become a teacher.
2. Classical Ballet Technique – Gretchen Ward – I refer to this book as my Ballet Bible. It has EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about ballet. A ballet book amongst ballet books. I particularly love the depth of information of differences between methods.  The opening section on Theory and Tradition is so well laid out and contains so much valuable information, I often reread it, just because I love it so much.
3. The Ballet Companion – Eliza Gaynor Minden – This is simply a lovely book for ballet teachers and ballet students alike.  I find it a really great book to share with students as it is so visually appealing and the photography is modern and beautiful. If parents ask me to recommend a book as a present for the dancer this is the one I recommend.  It has everything from the basics of how to sew and tie ribbons to concise historical information and a break down of steps.  
4. Basic Principles of Classical Ballet – Agrippina Vaganova – There is such a a wealth of information in this book it can be a little overwhelming but it is certainly worth sticking with it.  I you are fascinated with the tiny details about ballet, and lets face it, aren’t we all, this is a great book for you.  All the basic principles of ballet are discussed and analysed with movements grouped into fundamental types with whole chapters being devoted to different types of movements, battements, beats, connecting steps, its a ballet nerds dream come true!
5. Inside Ballet Technique – Valerie Grieg – I find this to be a wonderful anatomy reference for myself and also to refer students to.  The book approaches anatomy as it relates to ballet.  I particularly like the little test questions at the end.  If you want to brush up on anatomy this is the book for you.  What are the two principal muscle groups that hold the pelvis in its correct centred position?  In an arabesque, which part of the spine is working the hardest and why?  All this is more is covered in satisfying detail in this wonderful little reference.

Looking for more ballet resources?  Ballet Theory and Body Position Packs available in the Resources for Dance Teachers store.

Ballet Body positions activity pack

Are your dancers struggling to learn their ballet body positions? Do they know their Croisé devant from their Ecarté? Never fear, the answer is here!  The ballet body directions activity pack includes over 20 pages of worksheets, colouring sheets and flashcards to help you teach ballet theory with ease.  The pack is designed to adapt to different methods and includes the 9 directions of the body, croisé devant, à la quatrième devant, effacé devant, croisé derrière, à la quatrième derrière, effacé derrière, écarté devant, à la seconde, écarté derrière, plus the 8 directions of the body in Cecchetti.

Included in the pack are beautiful hand drawn illustrations meticulously designed to be to only technically accurate but also to appeal to students of today. The pack includes information worksheets including illustrations of the body position.  These are also perfect for printing and putting up in the studio, fill in the gap worksheets, and individual colouring sheets.  These sheets include an illustration of a position, plus the name and also include  space to write important points to remember.  These are an amazing teaching tool that really helps to reinforce ballet theory.  Also included are over 40 flashcards.  The flash cards include illustrations of body directions, French terminology and English translations and are fully adaptable.  You can either have the students match the pictures with just the French names or you can also include the English translations.  Only learning a few of the positions at a time?  Just give out the cards you need!  These are great for group work or in workshops.  The ballet body directions activity pack has everything your need to successfully teach the body positons.  The pack can be used in class, as take home activities or as part of camps or workshops.  The sheets are also perfect for popping up in the studio as a reference.

Your students will love the illustrations and the different activities and learning ballet theory will no longer be a struggle or a chore.  Because the body directions pack is delivered to you as  downloadable pdfs you can print as many sheets as you need over and over again!

You can find the ballet body positions pack and other great teaching resources in the Resources for Dance Teachers store.  Looking for more ballet theory activities?  Check out the Mega Ballet Theory activity pack.

Ballet theory activity pack – never struggle to teach theory again!

Do your students struggle to learn and retain their ballet theory?  Do you struggle to find time and create ways to teach them? Problem solved – I have assembled all my favourite and most beloved ballet theory activities and worksheets and bundled them up into one big ballet theory activity pack.  Included in the pack are word searches, flash cards, colouring sheets, classification exercises, theory match and picture match exercises.  There are ballet theory worksheets to suit beginner trough to advanced students.  For your youngest students there are colouring sheets with the 5 positions of the feet and basic ballet terminology.  Exercises for beginner students include fill in the gap style exercise and word search exercises.  Theory match is perfect for your intermediate students.  The ballet theory flash card set includes over 45 flashcards which can be tailored to suit a variety of levels, beginner, intermediate and advanced.  These are perfect for group work, workshops and summer camps.  Exercises for your advanced students include exercises on classification of ballet steps and worksheets on topics like the importance of warming up.  No more excuses for not knowing their theory!  Find out more about the Ballet Theory Mega Activity Pack over in the Resources for Dance Teachers Store.