Looking for a way to keep that preschooler occupied?
Story Ken Eastwood
Full courses of ballet lessons for preschoolers are now available online, provided by a trained dancer and teacher in Brisbane. Launched in September last year, Ballet Time currently has more than 80 users around the world, with 1000 hours of lessons downloaded, and founder Ashlee Smale is keen to provide the lessons to rural children who may not have access to a ballet school.
“I wanted to have a project where I could deliver ballet teaching to people who otherwise wouldn’t get it,” she says.
Aimed at 2–6-year-olds, the series of 10-minute classes are designed to build skills and proper dance steps for both ballet and jazz. It’s recommended the children do three classes a week, completing 12 classes a month during a three-month program, which costs $24.99 a month. “Our students aren’t just jumping around, but actually learning dance movements that progress in difficulty,” Ashlee says.
This story excerpt is from Issue #131
Outback Magazine: June/July 2020
