Arts & Entertainment
Diablo Ballet Turns Local Youths Into Prima Ballerinas
Everyone was a star at the Walnut Creek-based company's Be a Ballerina event.
While they weren't wearing tutus or pointe shows, last Saturday Diablo Ballet turned some local children into prima ballerinas.
As part of Diablo Ballet's Prima Ballerina children's club, members were invited to spend an afternoon inside the dance rehearsal studio with Diablo Ballet dancers.
Principal dancer Eddie Stegge helped lead the class along with Erika Johnson, former company dancer.
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"It was so rewarding to see these young children get so excited about dance," said Johnson. "Many of them have never taken a dance class but they were all excited to learn ballet!"
The children started the afternoon off by attending a performance of Diablo Ballet's Inside the Dancer's Studio at Shadelands Arts Center.
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Following the performance, the children moved to the Diablo Ballet rehearsal studios for the 4o minute Be A Ballerina! event which showed what it is like to be a professional dancer.
Participants got to see and touch real ballet costumes, do a warm up, and learn various exercises on the ballet barre. The day ended with the children learning choreography from KT Nelson's dance piece Walk Before Talk, a dance that was featured in the performance the child saw just before the Be A Ballerina! event.
"This was so cool," said Nancy, a 9 year old from Walnut Creek. "I like to dance and this was fun!" Children ages 4 - 13 are invited to join Diablo Ballet's Prima Ballerina Club. This free club gets children and their parents up-close to all the behind-the-scenes action of Diablo Ballet. For information, please click here.