4/25/21 Ballet Workshop

This week we had our ballet workshop! Ashlyn started by talking about the history of ballet and some famous ballerinas. One dancer we learned about was Misty Copeland, the first African American female principal dancer. Then, Sharisa and Ashlyn showed us some of the different shoes and equipment dancers use when they do ballet, such as ballet flats, pre-pointe shoes, and toe pads.
Then, we learned how to do first, second, third, fourth, and fifth positions. We started with doing just the legs, then the arms, then we put it all together. After that, we did different dance moves with each leg, then practiced them with music! One of these was plié, which is done at beginning of every class to warm up and stretch. We also did tendu, dégagé, and pirouettes. For every technique we learned, we did it first with slow music, then faster music. Sharisa explained the meaning of each dance move and how it gets its name as well.