Summer Ballet

This summer, ballet was a challenge for Katie for the first time. She moved from a Pre-Ballet class to Ballet I. Normally, Katie's jump in classes would have gone from a 45 minute class to an hour long class. In the summer, though, there aren't as many students, so the studio combined Ballet I and Ballet II, and her class doubled in length to an hour and a half. It was a long class for a six year old.

On top of the increase in length, the class is much more focused on technique and learning correct positions. It was hard and felt very frustrating to Katie. We had a lot of talks about not giving up, and with hard work, things get easier. I was so proud of her for continuing with the class. She worked and worked and things did get easier. In the last couple of weeks of class, Katie began doing ballet wherever she was...standing around the house, moving through the grocery store, walking (or dancing) down the street. I'm hoping she always remembers the feeling of pushing through her frustration and finding success.

One of the best parts of her ballet class this year was meeting Mr. Russell. Even though she still loves Ms. Moriah, she has a soft spot for Mr. Russell. No one could put a smile on her face like him when things were hard.

 It was strange for me at first to dance with some of the older girls.

Mr. Russell taught me a lot about ballet. He told me the hardest part of being a ballerina was to hold a position and just look graceful while you stand still. 

 Even though the class was hard, I was glad I stuck with it.

 By the end of the summer, I rediscovered my complete love of ballet!

Mr. Russell was always willing to help me get better.

He was patient and gave me confidence!