Come Join Us For Level 2-5 (Ages 9+) Acting Workshops This Summer!

Theatrical Ballet Experiences has been our MO for over a decade; now, we're taking it to another level with Acting Workshops available to students ages 9 and up!

In Director Joy Krahnke's brand new curriculum, students will be exposed to a wealth of information and practical instruction specifically aimed at dancers who want to tell a good story.

KNOW, DISCARD, INHABIT

Through our overarching three-step process, our dancers will learn to know themselves as humans, noticing their small, regular movements. Secondly, they will practice discarding those layers of their physical personality, working towards what dancers in the 18th century called "blankness." Thirdly, they will practice inhabiting a new character, picking up small movements that reveal a huge amount.

THEORY

Dancers will engage with several different acting methods, trying them on for size and absorbing what is offered from the greats who pioneered these theories. Each exercise will take them deeper into an aspect of knowing themselves, discarding their habits, and inhabiting another character.

IMPROVISATION

Dancers will try out a variety of challenging exercises that give new breadth to their dancing - allowing them to use familiar ballet shapes to create opposing feelings based on small adjustments, a skill Vaganova taught to all of her students.

ARCHETYPES

Dancers will be offered a range of archetypal characters to explore and practice, adding breadth and range to their abilities.

RHYTHM

Important in blocking both plays and dances, rhythm undergirds everything we do; dancers will perform a variety of exercises to offer them the chance to practice not only acting and dancing, but acting and dancing to the time.

PERSONAL

Hands-on help and trouble-shooting will be avalilable to students as they work to hone their skills. Insight into their personal struggles and strengths will be offered to students in a winsome way, so they come to develop a clear picture of their own skillset.

HISTORY

Dancers today are a part of something that goes back at least four hundred years, to the court of Louis XIV. Over that period of time, dance and acting has been examined from every angle under the sun. Dancers will be offered not only the how, but the why, as they explore new ways of moving and of thinking about moving.

TRUTH AND BEAUTY

Any story worth telling contains echoes of the True Story, that of the Gospel. The Gospel is both True and Beautiful. Thus each story we consider to be worth telling must contain both the Truth and the Beauty which are echoes of our own True Story. Without these elements, our stories become self-serving and ultimately meaningless. But when our stories reflect Truth and Beauty, they catch a bit of heavenly light from the True Story and shoot the glory back at God.

Dates can be combined from either location for multiple workshop pricing. Heart to Toe Studios reserves the right to cancel or change the date for any workshops with less than 8 registrants.