Beautiful Ballerinas

As the head fairy flitters through her garden and visits her other fairies, suddenly a ferocious wind begins to blow all around the head fairy and chases her with her fairy friends through the seasons, changing them into leaves, icicles, trees and finally flowers! What will the head fairy do? Is this real? Yes! In the Beautiful Ballet Club at Prairie Trace Elementary School, girls become glamorous dancing fairies and much more.

Girls have blossomed into beautiful ballerinas over the past six weeks while being taught ballet, learning new ballet terms such as plie, arabesque and pirouette. Some of the students are seasoned dancers with four or more years of experience, but this club has allowed beginners through experienced dancers to learn together. One dance that students are currently working on involves a head fairy, Emily McDonald, and her other fairies being chased through the seasons as they are accompanied by Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata!”

Amy Kranz, ESE Prairie Trace Support Staff, has always enjoyed working with youth in the arts. Amy graduated from Herron School of Art in 2000 with a B.F.A. in fine arts (painting, drawing, art history) and a minor in dance. She has taught acrylic painting in the Saturday School Program at Herron School of Art with teenagers, drawing and painting at the Sullivan Cultural Center in Zionsville, Michael’s Arts and Crafts and the YMCA, in addition to giving private lessons. Amy is always pleasantly surprised at the level of skill the younger ages can acquire in a short amount of time.

Amy has also danced with the IUPUI Moving Company, Beautiful Feet Dance Ministry, Jubilate Liturgical Dance, and has choreographed and produced some small Christmas shows for churches and nursing homes. She holds a certification in teaching Christian Dance from Donna Martelli, which includes some of the components of ballet, modern dance and jazz. Amy really loves the children’s enthusiasm and their willingness to try new things, proclaiming all of them truly beautiful ballerinas!