Scottish Ballet is taking the magic of dance to the classroom in its workshops based on The Snowman, writes Joyce Reid
Five-year-old Maxi Rafferty has seen the film The Snowman and she also has ballet lessons. But after her morning with the Scottish Ballet, learning some steps to the ballet version of the story, she says it is 'different'. 'I liked the wiggle best,' she adds.
For young children, a trip to the theatre is a wonderful, magical experience - and a trip to a ballet is perhaps even more magical. To make the most of the experience, Scottish Ballet - under its 'Dance for All' policy - offers a 'participation and appreciation programme', where nurseries and schools can take part in a workshop based on its current ballet, then follow it up with a trip to a matinee performance.
The infants of Craigievar Primary School in Aberdeenshire recently enjoyed a workshop on Raymond Briggs' classic tale, The Snowman, possibly the most magical of all ballets for children.
The workshop was led by a dance education officer, Tamsin Bone, and was accompanied by Jane Tomlinson on the piano. The children went through a warm-up, using informal techniques that were also fun, before learning short sections of the ballet.
Learning the steps
'When you go to see the ballet, you will say "Oh, I can do that, I have done those steps",' Tamsin explains to the children. After listening to her description of the opening scene, the children are able to picture James waking up, seeing the snow and rushing down the stairs to get outside. This is the first part of the ballet and is called 'The Footprint Dance'.
Tamsin teaches the children the exact steps that the ballet company performs, while Jane plays the tunes on the piano, which are, of course, instantly recognisable. No encouragement whatsoever is needed for the little ones. As soon as Tamsin starts to move the children begin copying her.
The other section of the ballet that Tamsin teaches is 'The Snowmen Dance', which is performed by all the snowmen at the North Pole and will be familiar to many. Within the space of 45 minutes, the children can do 'The Footprint Dance', and after eight counts in the music, they can get into position for 'The Snowmen Dance'. This story is so well-known the children are left in no doubt they are performing parts of the ballet.
Curtain up
The follow-up trip to the ballet is a highlight of the project for the infants of Craigievar School, as they live in a rural area, 25 miles from the theatre in Aberdeen. 'They have no idea what a ballet is really,' says their teacher Beverley Higgins. 'A lot of them won't even have been to the theatre. We have been talking about it and what they are most interested in is how the characters fly.'
However, although Tamsin is happy to answer questions on snow - explaining that there is no real snow, it only looks real thanks to the scenery and lighting - she will not explain how James and the Snowman fly. 'That's a secret,' she laughs. Six-year-old Cameron McCready also ponders on whether the ballet performance will have 'the best bit - when the snowman is on the motor bike,' but decides that it probably won't. 'I don't think they will have that bit in the ballet, because the bike would go smack into the wall,' he says, pessimistically.
Get in touch
Other ballets, besides The Snowman, also inspire successful workshops. 'The Snowman is fantastic for children,' says Tamsin. 'But we can adapt every story for whatever age group we're working with - we just take the essence of the piece.'
As well as following the repertoire, Scottish Ballet will arrange workshops on any topic and nursery staff are welcome to get in touch with the company's education unit with their own ideas. Tamsin says, 'We will fit in with any projects - we've recently done the Four Seasons and the Environment.'
Scottish Ballet also offers resource packs and it will work with groups on long-term projects or on a complete day of dance. Anyone interested in finding out more can telephone 0141 331 2931.
