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Bringing Children to the Ballet

By Ray Kaiser

Experiencing the magic of a live performance is one of the most rewarding ways to spend an afternoon with your children. And seeing a ballet can be an exciting and educational event for the whole family - not just girls, but boys too.

Ballet works fit into two main categories - repertory pieces, which are fairly short and may or may not have a plot, and full-length or “story ballets,” which feature a plot, characters, costumes and scenery. While children can enjoy both types of works, it’s the full-length pieces (some of which even have familiar stories like Cinderella and The Sleeping Beauty) that are almost guaranteed to captivate them.

Here are a few tips for how to prepare your children for a trip to the ballet.

Know the Story. If you’re going to see a story ballet, tell your children the story ahead of time. In ballet, there are no words, so the storyline reveals itself through the choreography, interaction between characters, and pantomime. While it’s fairly easy to understand the action, knowing the story beforehand makes it even easier to follow along - especially for little ones.

Good Etiquette. This is a wonderful opportunity to explain theatre etiquette to your kids. It is natural for children to assume that they can behave the same way they would at a movie or a sporting event. And in a way, they can. They can laugh at the funny parts and applaud whenever they see something they like. But they should also know that they cannot talk while the curtain is up and people are onstage and they cannot eat or drink anything in the theatre.

Applause, applause! It is customary at a ballet performance to applaud when the conductor arrives, when the leading female and male dancers first appear on stage, and when a dancer or group of dancers finishes a dance. People also like to clap when a dancer does steps that are difficult, such as a series of turns in a row. And everyone applauds at the end of the show, when all the dancers take their bows.

Make a Day of It. Look for special children’s performances that include additional activities to enhance the experience. For example a family matinee may includes a free post-performance event, which includes craft activities, games and dancer autographs. These events help broaden the experience for kids and give parents added value for their money.

Practice makes perfect. Attending the ballet is also a lesson in how hard work really does pay off. They all started out as children who took ballet lessons, but their talent and desire to perform inspired them to work extra hard and follow their dreams.

So whether or not you’ve got a budding ballerina on your hands, I hope that you’ll try taking your kids to a ballet performance for a fun-filled way to spend an afternoon as a family.

Roy Kaiser is Artistic Director of Pennsylvania Ballet. The Company is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a million-dollar production of Swan Lake in June. For more information, call 215-551-7000 or visit the website at www.paballet.org.