Studio Spotlight

By Mercy, 8th Grade student

On Wednesday, September 23, a group of GSA students took a field trip to Ballet Austin, where they saw a Studio Spotlight on the ballets Firebird and Swan Lake. The ballerinas performed two excerpts from Swan Lake and one scene from Firebird. Students also got to ask the director questions about the two ballets, and hear about the qualities ballerinas should have. They learned that it is best for ballerinas to have knowledge of music as well as dance, and that they must angle their bodies in exactly the same way as the dancer in front of them, so as to not distract attention from the soloist.

Mrs. Hoover encouraged the students to bring along their sketch books and draw the ballerinas while they were dancing. The drawings turned out very well, and really captured the feeling of the ballets. Some students found it hard to draw the ballerinas mid-dance, but others were sketching almost as quickly as the dancers were moving.

The 4th graders got to come along, as well as the middle school students. Several of the 4th graders dance with Ballet Austin, and hopefully they enjoyed the Studio Spotlight as much as the middle school did. We rented a bus and left a little after 11:00. The Spotlight lasted from 11:45 to 12:45, and we got back around 1:00. Ballet Austin was extremely nice, and the girls really enjoyed seeing the ballerinas, learning about the ballets, and sketching the dances!