Teaching APPROACH
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When working with children, Anastasia’s foremost goal is to create a strong foundation and to perfect the basic technique. After observing a student, Anastasia is aware of which muscles need strengthening and creates specific exercises to target the respective areas. Consequently, Anastasia’s students are able to develop the proper amount of strength to begin pointe work early in their training. Even if young students choose not to pursue a professional career in ballet, they are able to apply the strong foundation from their ballet classes to other types of dance such as jazz, modern, and broadway, and even incorporate their ballet training into gymnastics. In Australia, Anastasia worked with professional young gymnasts to help them bring classical ballet beauty, grace, and presentation into their routines.
Children who take up ballet training generally develop strong and toned, yet flexible bodies, proper posture, and an appreciation of music and the arts. Everyone knows that people who study ballet and commit to it, stand out from the crowd by their way of gracefulness and poise.
Anastasia offers children ballet lessons for all grades of students from five years old and onward. Starting from serious ballet students who want to be accepted into SAB and ABT schools, to students that are simply ambitious and want to be the best in class in a local school, and to someone who just wants to have fun learning about ballet and wants to dance.
Just as an example, one of Anastasia’s younger students wanted to learn different variations and dance them with me in my private lessons because a lot of times children students of ballet get frustrated that they don’t get to DANCE in class. They only learn what they consider to be boring exercises, but have no real dancing experience to appreciate what ballet is all about! They always tell me – “We learned all the steps and did barre work, but we never actually danced”.
Granted, basic groundwork is essential and must be mastered to the core. Yet, oftentimes younger students who start out learning ballet early in their lives, often get frustrated because they have a limited chance to put the skills they’ve learned to practice. It’s almost like teaching a child to dribble a basketball or kick a soccer ball, but never putting them in a game, where they can use their skills, perfect them further, and learn from others.
If you are a parent of a young ballerina-to-be or simply want your child to foster a deeper understanding and feeling of what ballet is all about, I am here to guide you and your child.
These days, there are children's ballet classes offered almost everywhere – from shopping malls to gyms, and to the YMCA. You name it. Ballet instruction is growing, there is no doubt. Parents often send their children to ballet class, just for “babysitting” and rarely get any solid results back.
That is why Anastasia’s teaching approach when working with young dancers is so different. We do learn and master the basics, but we also get to dance to choreography and make the student feel empowered by the skills they’ve learned in class and truly feel their accomplishments. This brings forth a feeling of achievement and a desire to learn, grow, and develop in ballet arts. Anastasia’s students generally develop an appreciation for classical music, connect to cultural arts, and also become more confident as a result.
In short, Anastasia fully understands that ballet instruction is not for everyone. It takes dedication, commitment, patience, and long hours of practice to the achieve desired results. Yet, Anastasia’s approach to teaching young dancers of any caliber is personal, flexible, and supportive. Whether you want your child to achieve stardom and join a famous ballet company or just perform flawlessly in a school concern, she is here to help.
Please note that all first class evaluations are free of charge and you always make the final decision if the skills and ballet instruction Anastasia offers are right for you. Be sure to visit the contact page and get in touch!
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If you decided to explore ballet training as an adult, Anastasia’s teaching methods will help you to feel more confident next to professional and advanced dancers in the class. As with children, Anastasia’s adult students notice improvement in flexibility, quick muscle toning, and a boost in self-esteem. Many of Anastasia’s students have mentioned that while they enjoyed watching ballet performances in the past, they now have a full understanding of every pas and what goes behind each movement.
Anastasia’s lessons are for everyone and she will cater a class just toward your needs and goals.
Are you an ABSOLUTE beginner? Good! She will give you a quick jump start so that when you walk into a group class for the first time, you will feel confident and comfortable. Do you want to just brush up on your turns? Anastasia will dedicate hours of training just concentrating on turns. She has developed a whole method of just nailing those pirouettes!
Do you want to just DANCE and are tired of solely doing exercises all the time? Do you feel that you keep taking ballet classes but never actually get to dance? Anastasia can create a choreography just for you and your abilities with your favorite music, so you can dance, have fun while improving, and also lose weight (because you will need a lot of cardio even for a 2-3 minute routine). Anastasia can even help you create your own choreography, so you get a chance to express yourself while also getting fit.
Do you want to start pointe, but your teacher is telling you that you’re not ready? Anastasia will make an assessment of what needs to be done and you will be on pointe in no time. She will guide you to choose your first pair of pointe shoes and help you to brake them in so they can serve you the best. Practically all of Anastasia’s absolute beginner students start pointe within 6 months.
But if you just desire to simply learn ballet with Anastasia in her group and/or private lessons and don’t have a particular goal in mind, you will still benefit from Anastasia’s approach to concentrating on your beauty and grace. Since almost all of her adult students are female, Anastasia tries to bring out their most feminine side and work on particular muscles that make women look and feel more attractive.
As just a simple example, during a lesson, Anastasia would focus on your calf muscles to make your legs stand out in a crowd and which will also help improve your gait! Or alternatively, a lesson would focus on your back muscles to build a beautiful posture that is essential for a confident and youthful look.
The best part is your first half-hour lesson/assessment is always free and you decide if Anastasia’s teaching approach is right for you. So, don’t wait and get in touch with Anastasia today for your first lesson!
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Anastasia offers private ballet coaching both – one on one – and with small private classes with a maximum of three students.
With personal instruction, Anastasia’s approach is to understand your needs and goals upfront and develop a program that’s appropriate both for your skill level and ambitions.
Generally, students who take private ballet lessons with Anastasia already have some level of groundwork and understand the basic steps and routines. However, Anastasia also works with complete beginners who are looking for a quick jump start in their ballet instruction and want a tailored and specific approach to achieve a solid foundation which is the most important thing when starting to learn the art of ballet.
Small group privates are ideal for friends who want to take up ballet together but may feel reluctant or unprepared to attend a big class in the beginning.
Alternatively, if you and a friend or a partner have been doing ballet for a few years and prefer what Anastasia would call a “tune-up” or constructive feedback on your progress thus far, Anastasia’s small group private lessons are the way to go.
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Anastasia is available for bookings and Master Classes Workshops. If you are a principal of a ballet school and would like to offer your students an intensive weekend seminar or a full-week guest teacher workshop, please get in touch with Anastasia for details.
While living in Asia, Anastasia has conducted Master Class Workshops in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jakarta, Indonesia, and Singapore.
While the structure of the workshops is generally flexible and can be tailored to the needs and abilities of the students, in the past Anastasia conducted intensive programs where in the end the students will learn a few variations of Classical ballet repertoire. Students were taught 1.5-hour class followed by 1-hour pointe class followed up by variations from classical ballets for 1.5 hours.
Additionally, different variations were assigned to each student to showcase their best potential and to solidify what they learned during the workshop.