Some people may ask what the point of competing in dance competitions is; especially if you don’t have the winningest history. This is a question we find very easy to answer. Simply put, winning is terrific, but it is not the main goal of attending the competition, at the end of the day. For us, it’s all about the process. For
Welcome to Training Tips– We can all use pointers that will help us achieve our dance goals! Part one of Applying Corrections delves into why addressing critiques is essential to becoming a better, stronger dancer. We welcome guest blogger Rachael Hart as she collaborates with Conservatory Director, Nathan Bland to bring you this important blog series. As we settle in to the
These first two weeks of the Professional Dance Experience have gone by so quickly! The dancers learned a section from Cinderella by Matthew Powell and had a brand new piece created on them by Kelsey Bartman! The last 2 weeks the dancers get to work with 3 more guest teachers! Dawn M. Bazemore, a former faculty member of BBTCD, is teaching
We are thrilled for the upcoming Professional Dance Experience beginning July 24 and all the dancing opportunities it has to offer! Here we will be highlighting two of our guest faculty members — Matthew Powell and Kelsey Bartman. Providing the dancers who attend our intensive with the highest quality of teachers is of utmost importance when planning the summer schedule.
Only 3 days until BBTCD will compete at Youth America Grand Prix*! We are excited to be taking 6 dancers this year and entering the Pre-competitive category for the first time. A lot of time and hard work goes into the preparation for this weekend. I would estimate around 250 hours of rehearsals since September between all the dancers!
Berks Ballet Theatre has just returned from another successful year at the Delaware Dance Festival(DDF) — It has become a yearly tradition to attend DDF, one that we all look forward to! Artistic Director Kelly Barber started the tradition back in 2011 and every year that BBT has attended it has grown by leaps and bounds. There were over 200
The holiday season is here and Berks Ballet Theatre is gearing up for a weekend of “The Nutcracker” performances. If you don’t have your tickets yet, click here. Some exciting news to share: two of our pre-professional ballet students, Gabby Beauvais and Allison Welch are featured on this week’s Reading Eagle Weekend cover! Check out the cover and click through to read
Summer is certainly upon us with all the sweltering heat we’ve been having! With summer comes, summer intensives. BBTCD’s Summer Intensive for dancers 10 and up begins July 25 and runs through August 19. Along with Conservatory faculty, we have 2 exciting guest instructors. Week 1 | Conservatory Owner / Director Nathan Bland and Principal Teacher Kelly Barber will focus
Having a slicked back, clean bun is key to a good performance! Many a ballerina will blame it on their crooked bun if they have an off performance! Here is a video of Gabby and Olivia from Ballet 7 showing you how it’s done! Follow their step by step instructions. I’ve included 5 key steps to making a proper bun
“The Nutcracker” is a classical holiday ballet with roots dating back to the 19th century. It premiered in Russia in 1892 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre with choreography by Marius Petipa, a French ballet dancer, teacher and instructor and Russian-born dancer and teacher, Lev Ivanov. Surprisingly, the show with the soaring Tchaikovsky score was not as revered back then, with
