VIDEO: Girls learn dance techniques at 'Frozen' ballet camp
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on July 4, 2017 8:16 AM
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Meelah Wilcox, 4, poses for a photo wearing a Frozen theme snowflake hair clip she and other campers made Monday.
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Mary Franklin helps Brylee West, 5, make a shirt during the Frozen theme dance camp at Goldsboro Ballet.
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Peggy Wingate leads campers in the ballet portion of the Frozen dance camp Tuesday at Goldsboro Ballet.
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Meagan Sutton helps Cheridon Blizzard, 7, while Sophia Morrison, 6, does a bridge during tumbling class.
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Campers make shirts using spray paint and snow flakes at the beginning of class Tuesday. In addition to learning a variety of dance styles they make crafts at the beginning of the day.
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Cheridon Blizzard, 7, and Bailey Metz, 5, put on their ballet shoes as other campers dance around them to get ready for their routine.
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Madeline Mason, 6, laughs after falling when doing a bridge while practicing tumbling during the Frozen theme dance camp at Goldsboro Ballet Tuesday.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Campers pose with some of the snowflake crafts they made Monday. Pictured are, back row, Cheridon Blizzard, 7, Madeline Mason, 6, Sophia Morrison, 6, front row, Brylee West, 5, Meelah Wilcox, 5, and Bailey Metz, 5.
The instructor tells the tiny dancers to plie, tendu or degage. And the 5- and 6-year-old girls do the moves almost with the precision of an adult ballerina.
Sometimes they dance in their own style just for fun. But when it's time to get serious, the girls know just what to do -- and how to do it.
They are part of a frozen ballet camp at Goldsboro School of Ballet this summer.
It's based on the movie "Frozen" so the dancers will have something to relate to when learning the dance concepts. And the instructors can tie these concepts to the different characters from the movie and the dancers can visualize the movements.
Upon arriving for camp, the girls sit down and look at a booklet that has been prepared especially for them.
"It has our daily concept in it," said Mary Franklin, co-owner and director of Goldsboro School of Ballet and assistant director of Goldsboro Ballet. "The theme base of the dance camp is to get them excited. We tie all of the crafts, movement concepts and music into the theme. It helps the children stay focuses on what they're trying to learn."
For example, one day they learn about heavy versus light and talk about the marshmallow monster from "Frozen" being heavy when he moves.
"We talk about the concept of moving and dancing in a heavy way," Mrs. Franklin said. "When we talk about moving and dancing lightly, we talk about the snowflakes and Olaf, how he kind of flits around. Children can visualize that and translate it to their body and to the movement."
Another lesson is on stopping and going.
"A dancer has to be able to stop when the music stops and go with it," Mrs. Franklin said. 'We talk about pointing their toe when they do a tendu and holding it to show off their fancy shoe. We talk about Anna's beautiful boots and about Elsa's fancy shoes."
For go, the ballerinas do a flap, which is a brush, stop, brush, stop movement. It's also go, stop, go, stop movement.
They make an ice wand for a craft, which helps them understand that the magic from their wand is used to make things stop and to.
Sometimes dancers will have to move small and sometimes they'll have to make big steps, Mrs. Franklin said.
To understand the concept of small versus big in dance, the students focus on the big marshmallow monster versus the small trolls.
"In ballet, they do a coupe, a step that stops at the ankle, so it's smaller," Mrs. Franklin said. "Big is a passe, which is at the knee."
To apply that concept to tap dancing, the students do a shuffle step, a brush, brush. Then they do an even bigger shuffle.
"Frozen" characters Sven and Olaf are used to teach the students about high versus low.
"In dance, we do high and we do low movements," Mrs. Franklin said. "We show them the degage, which means to disengage, and is low coming off the ground two to three inches. The concept of high is grand battement, which is a high kick."
During gymnastics, they learn that a cartwheel uses both high and low. The body goes low, but the feet go up high.
For the concept of heavy and light, the marshmallow monster was used as being heavy and snow as being light.
"We teach them chasse, which is a heavier movement and skipping, which is a lighter movement," Mrs. Franklin said. "In tap, they march, which is light because they stand on the balls of their feet. Stomping is heavy."
In addition to various dance movements, there is also story time during the frozen ballet camp.
"We read parts of the story to them so we can discuss it," Mrs. Franklin said. "The kids really get into the discussion."
She said that dancing over the summer is so very important for any dancer.
Not only do they learn new movements and brush up on old ones, but they also get a lot of physical activity instead of just sitting around on their iPads or in front of the TV.
"We're trying to keep that muscle movement going, as well as give them something to think about," said Peggy Wingate, ballet director. "They enjoy the class and don't realize how much they're really learning."
"They also get a creative experience," Mrs. Franklin said. "They get to work with their hands and do art. Their minds are also working."
And it helps with socialization.
"Instead of sitting at home by themselves, they're getting to see friends," Mrs. Franklin said. "They help each other, too. And they accept children who have different abilities than them. It's important for children to understand that they are not perfect and neither is anybody else. And they can accept others who might be different than them. And that's going to help them in their future life."
Mrs. Franklin said the girls at the camp are moving around with guided instruction.
"We are focusing on how to do a plie properly, how to plie and your knees be properly over your toes and not out of alignment where you're hurting your knees," she said. "You can tell somebody to go point their toe, but are you teaching them how to pull their heel forward, how to keep legs straight and slide out. We are teaching them technique, along with the fun."
One special memory the instructors have of the frozen ballet camp is a special needs dancer who could not even balance on one foot a year ago.
"During this camp, she just took off and skipped," Mrs. Wingate said. "I was about in tears. I felt elated. It was so unexpected."
Madelyne Mason, 6, said her favorite part of the camp is being Elsa.
Five-year-old Bailey Metz likes the fact that she can do a lot of different things during the camp.
"I am going to be a dancer and a lot of other stuff when I grow up," she said.