Creating a Mini Ballet

When I was teaching at a private dance school, there was a performance every year in May that included all the genres of dance.  At that school (Town and Village School of Dance in Paris, KY) the ballet program was a bit separate from the other classes.  For example, students in the ballet program were required to attend classes either twice, three times, or four times a week, whereas most other classes only met once weekly.  One of my favorite things about teaching there was that I was given full control over my part of the final performance of the year, which usually included about twenty minutes of stage time.

The most memorable ballets we created mini ballets from were Coppelia, The Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella.  We pulled wonderful moments from each ballet and made a story the audience could easily follow.  The classes blended together without necessarily stopping for applause between each class, and some characters came onstage for parts even outside of their participation in a class dance.  This way it flowed better, and at the end of the ballet segment we did a quick set of bows where each group or soloist came out for a bow in a finale with music, which normally only took about two minutes to insert.

Dubbing the music was really fun, as was making sure each student got ample amount of time on stage.  Looking for or making appropriate costumes, making earrings to match for all the ballroom dancers, figuring out how to velcro diamond studs on a piece of fabric to a pointe shoe so the dancer wouldn’t have to change her shoes between appearances, and dressing up two fathers to play the parts of the step-sisters were all big highlights.  But of course, doing the choreography was the most challenging and rewarding part of all.  I tried to keep some of the original, traditional movements where possible, and we had a movie night at my house for all the oldest dancers so they could watch a professional version of the full-length ballet and recognize their roles in it.

Ah, those were the days!

Choreography for Four Little Swans

SWAN LAKE, ACT II

Four Little Swans

Enter Upstage Left Cross Hands in front, B+ R foot front

Hold counts 1-3, cou de pied R foot devant on count 4

Enter Upstage Left Cross Hands in front, B+ R foot front

Hold counts 1-3, cou de pied R foot devant on count 4

1.Traveling R change coupé back and front, step R (cou de pied L bk),L(cou de pied R bk), continue for counts 1-8, 1-2 (head to R)

Small grand jeté onto R ouvert (3)-head lowers to look down at R leg),

Pas de bourrée LRL to 5th (4&5)

Relevé passé L to front of knee (6)-head changes to look L

Roll thru on R, lowering L to cou de pied front (7) hold (8)

2.Repeat step 1 to L, R, L (1-16, 1-16, 1-16)

Except last time relevé passé R leg, close R front 5th position plié (7) hold (8)

3.Entrechat quatre relevé passé R leg closing 5th back (head L on passé)(1-2)

Entrechat quatre relevé passé L leg closing 5th back (head R on passé)(3-4)

Four echappé to 2nd closing 5th, head moves L, down, R in half circle) Step travels upstage (5-8)

4.Repeat step 3 three times more (4 times altogether)

5.Chassé relevé 1st arabesque R (1&) Fondu L at cou de pied back (2) small temps levé R

Repeat L (3&4) Repeat 6 times more (8 arabesques altogether)

After last arabesque L, tombé onto R leg croisé devant

6.Traveling back on diagonal upstage Left, small coupé changes like in step 1

Step L cou de pied R front (1) step R cou de pied L back (2) Repeat (34)

Jeté á la seconde L onto diagonal and cou de pied R front (56)

Relevé R leg écarté devant 45˚ (7) Tombé R across (8)

7.Repeat step 6 three times more (4 times altogether)

After last écarté devant, roll thru on left foot and cou de pied R back (no tombé) (8)

8.Pas de chat downstage R on diagonal 15 times (head downstage R) (1-15)

Attitude croisé devant L, in fondu on supporting leg (16)

9.Embôité attitude devant RLRL 45˚ (head front en face)(1-4)

Embôité attitude derrière RLRL 45˚ (head down en bas)(5-8)

10.Repeat step 9 three times more (4 times altogether)

11.Pique L, retiré R to front of knee (traveling stage L)-head tilts L

Tombé R across (head tilts L), Tombé R across (head tilts R) 7 piques in all (1-7)

Attitude devant R leg (8)

12.15 embôités devant traveling downstage, step L on count 16 or pique to 1st arabesque letting go of hands, step onto L and lower to R knee.