Welcome to Ballet British Columbia

Ballet in the schools

Ballet in the Schools is a unique educational program that introduces students to the exciting art of ballet in a fun and interactive format. The 60-minute, fast-paced, entertaining and informative performance illustrates the training, technique, skill and artistry of dance right in your school gymnasium. Performances benefit about 10,000 students per year with a reach of approximately twenty elementary and secondary schools across the GVRD.

Fully narrated and integrating recorded music, our educational program includes demonstrations of key ballet elements, excerpts from the ballet repertoire and insight into the choreographic and creative process.

The School Program includes eight professional company dancers, Ballet Master and host Sylvain Senez or his designate, two technical staff per team and our Company Manager. Excerpts from the company repertoire range from classics to contemporary works, including The Nutcracker and Giselle.

Throughout the lively 60-minute dialogue-demonstration, our host constantly asks the children questions and encourages them to participate in elements of the presentation. Teachers and special guests are included in the performance (much to the delight of the children!), and the event concludes with a question-and-answer period with all of the dancers.

Following the presentation, dancers make themselves available to informally answer further questions, sign autographs and socialize with the children.

Ballet British Columbia is one of the few professional ballet companies across North America to present a Ballet in the Schools program with its full company of dancers. Most ballet companies delegate this type of activity to pre-professional students affiliated with the ballet company. Making the Ballet BC dancers accessible to students, teachers and their families through these school presentations supports the company’s strategic mission to continue to interact directly with communities across Vancouver in support of the beauty and athleticism of dance.