Keep Calm And Ballet On
When a teacher begins by saying, “Ballet is my life, my passion,” you know you’ve chosen the right ballet school for your child. Owner Maud Toledano moved to Singapore in 2006 and even though she was uncertain of how long they would stay she was certain of one thing, she couldn’t live without teaching ballet. And this is how L’Academie De Danse, the only French ballet school offering dance classes for kids in Singapore, came to be.
Classes started with 5 students, and since Maud didn’t believe in setting up a website to promote her business, all this had to happen through word of mouth and happen it did. After only 1 semester, 40 more students had signed up. 4 ballet instructors and Maud teach the basics and fundamentals of ballet to kids between 3-18 years that are enrolled at the school. Tiny tots can take part in the Baby Ballerina class, 4-6 years old in Pre-Ballet, 6-8 years old in 1st and 2nd degree ballet, 8-10 years old in 3rd and 4th degree ballet and 10-11 years old in 5th and 6th degree ballet. Teens can join Junior Ballet classes which consist of 1-hour sessions twice a week. If younger kids are prone to picking up ballet skills at an earlier age, they are invited to join the Junior Ballet section as early as 6.
In 2011, L’Academie De Danse introduced a Professional division as well in which class hours run longer and more frequently and entrance into competitions is encouraged, ensuring high quality dancing for all participants. Guest teachers from Europe are invited to attend these sessions, offering their professional expertise and advise. Over the past several years, the studio’s dance instructors have worked closely with parents to help kids from Junior Ballet gain admission into prestigious summer camps across Europe and the US, including Bolshoi, Paris, Monte Carlo, Boston, San Francisco and Perth. These experiences help kids build “real interaction with real people”, and have the chance to be seen, scouted and offered scholarships by ballet masters.
Since its inception, L’Academie de Danse hasn’t offered any official grading like other ballet schools because Maud believed that a general certification system is very limiting and programs should be made to measure for each student. However, from June this year, the studio will begin offering their own certification to Junior Ballet students by jurors comprised of professional ballet instructors from Paris, enabling these dancers to showcase their grade level and expertise to ballet academies around the world. As if all this isn’t exciting enough, the studio is getting ready to add more buzz by introducing L’Academie de Music, a youth performing ensemble for young musicians led by Maud’s husband, renowned classical music conductor Volker Hartung. It will begin operations from September onwards offering private violin and viola classes to kids 5 years and above. Ensemble sessions will be $40 per session consisting of 2 hours while a 1-hour private class will cost $150 per child. In addition to theory and practice, students will be able to gain interaction with professional musicians as well.
For all those who think ballet is just about tutus, princesses and tiaras, L’Adacemie de Danse is here to prove them wrong. Hard work, passion and dedication is what Maud’s ballet studio is all about. Dancing is just an added bonus.
8 Claymore Hill
#01-03/04
Singapore 229572
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