Emily Trench, outreach ballet teacher with Alberta Ballet, guides students at George Davidson Elementary school during a performance in front of peers and parents Thursday.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Grade 1-4 students at George Davison School put their best foot forward Thursday afternoon as they performed dance and movement routines they’ve learned for their parents and guardians.
Over the past six weeks the students participated in an outreach program provided by Alberta Ballet Canada, established to provide access to high quality dance programs to Albertans by breaking down barriers and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to participate.
Outreach ballet teacher Emily Trench, who is located in Edmonton, travelled to Medicine Hat each week to offer the program that has been designed specially to meet the province’s physical education curriculum.
“It relates to movement, relates to spatial awareness, physicality, learning, speed, rhythm, performance, all of these kinds of things,” explains Trench. “The connection to music, the connection to lyric storytelling.”
Students showed off their fresh new dance moves during a series of performances that also included movement exercises, during a final performance held in the school’s gymnasium.
“A lot of team building work, getting kids to come together, to see each other and everybody’s value in this space and making space for everybody to work together as a group,” explains Trench. “I think building community is really a big part of what we’re trying to do, building kids self-esteem, pushing them to be brave, all of these really great things in life that we strive towards.”
The students started with basic dance moves and movement exercises before working toward performing a choreographed dance on stage in front of their fellow peers and parents.
The program also complements students who participate in other activities or sports who are looking to enhance their posture and balance as it includes several stretching exercises.
“It’s all a work in progress and every class is different,” explains Trench. “Each class needs different things, so we’re just on a journey to try and deliver great opportunities for kids.”
Alberta Ballet’s outreach classes are typically offered to children aged 3-16 and are tailored to reach underserved communities.
Although the programs focus on teaching dance, they are designed to improve student self-esteem and help children develop healthy habits.
