Ella Cassidy has just started year 12 and said the chance to work under professional dancers at the beginning of her HSC year was an extremely valuable experience.

“The Australian Ballet’s Education Team is working with students from kindergarten right through to year 12 teaching skills and ways to enhance our techniques,” Ella said.

“It has been a great experience especially for the older students to learn from professional dancers and I have found it really rewarding to know there are a number of similarities between what I am learning at school and what the professionals are doing.

“It shows that what we are learning at school is beneficial and will help us if we want to continue with dance after school.”

The Australian Ballet’s new schools’ version of Coppèlia will also be presented by the education team, offering a fun and engaging introduction to ballet for the whole school.

After the performance, the students who have been in masterclasses with The Australian Ballet will perform to their fellow students.

The workshops support development of choreographic skills and explore the elements involved in bringing a ballet production to life, such as the music, design, costumes and daily routine of professional dancers.

Ella said the workshops have equipped students with the skills to enhance their own dances as they continuing studying dance.

“I know that everyone has gotten so much out of the workshops and it has really made me think about using different techniques to express myself.”

Junior students participated in STEAMDANCE which is an education approach to learning about STEM subjects which include science, technology, engineering and maths.

Designed by The Australian Ballet, this innovative and creative initiative supports students learning curriculum subjects through the arts.

The program works in partnership with teachers to support the curriculum through a series of workshops and performances in schools to foster critical and creative thinking, literacy, numeracy, individual and cooperative learning and problem solving in students.

Brianna Lukes, Dance Teacher at SCAS, believes students will be inspired through the visit of the Australian Ballet’s education program.

“The STEAMDANCE program is an amazing opportunity for our primary students to learn a variety of skills in a fun and interactive way, through the medium of dance,” Mrs Lukes said.

“In addition, to have professional dancers from the Australian Ballet instructing our Secondary Dance students is an invaluable opportunity for the students to hone their technique and to be inspired and mentored by world class dancers.”

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