FRASER VALLEY ACADEMY OF DANCE604-826-0097

News Updates and news from the academy

National Folk Dance 1-2

August 31, 2018

We have added an exciting new class of National Folk Dance 1-2 for our Ballet 1 and Ballet 2 students!

  • National Folk Dance 1-2
  • Saturdays 11am-12pm
  • Recommended for all Ballet 1-2 students.

Sign up today!!

https://app.thestudiodirector.com/fraservalleyacademyof/portal.sd?page=Enroll&cident=1522970626252


What is National Folk Dance….?

Based on Russian Character Dance Syllabus, students in National Folk Dance (aka Character or Historical Dance) study barre and center work that combines classical ballet technique with national dances primarily from across Europe.  This includes traditional dances such as Tarantella (Italian), Polka (Czech), Mazurka (Polish), Csardas (Hungarian), and Flamenco (Spanish).

  • Watch a Tarantella dance in class….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4PlUimdPog

  • Watch a child’s character class:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKbtiS9oc1o

While learning the dance steps, music and techniques, students will also learn the Character Dance Repertoire from classical ballets such as Swan Lake and Cinderella.

Character dance based on National Folk Dance is integral to much of the classical ballet repertoire. An excellent example of character dance within ballet is the series of national dances which take place at the beginning of Act III of Swan Lake. The ballet Don Quixote as well as La Sylphide also features many character variations based on traditional Spanish dances.