Francesco Ventriglia, the artistic director of Alberta Ballet, believes exposing children to ballet is crucial because it teaches them about the value of time, storytelling, and beauty. He emphasizes that despite the rise of screen time, children need the opportunity to experience live theatre and appreciate the art form. Ventriglia, who developed his love for ballet during a childhood illness, is actively promoting ballet performances in schools and children's hospitals, aiming to keep children engaged with the traditional art form.
Francesco Ventriglia, who has been Alberta Ballet’s artistic director for the past year, knows the challenges of capturing children’s attention. On the eve of taking my kids to, the classic ballet at the Jubilee Auditorium, I shared my concerns with him that they might have difficulty paying attention for the two-hour performance.
“I think it’s very important for kids at a young age to have an opportunity to be able to be exposed to art, to music, to beauty.”during his early childhood in Italy. He was ill, and confined to a Genoa kids hospital for several months. But the patients there were regularly entertained by visiting dancers, and a young Mr. Ventriglia fell in love with the art form. He asked his parents for lessons as soon as he was well.
The rough plot is the same but each ballet company has its own take. In Alberta, for instance, the setting for the ballet is Czarist Russia instead of the small town in Germany that is often represented. At the Calgary performance we attended, the actual ballet is augmented by a storytime before the performance, to introduce the tale offor the uninitiated, and a chance for photos with decked-out ballet students and snow princesses.
It turned out they loved dressing up for a special event, and we added to it with souvenir tiaras for my daughters and their friend. They were enthralled by the opening of the ballet, which depicted a romanticized, European, late-1800s Christmas Eve, with the kids on stage featured more prominently than the grown-ups. The girls waved their arms with the music, and sometimes did the Macarena from their seats.
BALLET CHILDREN ARTS EDUCATION STORYTELLING
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