October marks the start of RAD Character work in all of our graded syllabus classes. So what exactly is character work? And why is it a part of the classical ballet classes? Isn’t ballet all about dancing en pointe?

Character Dance is the theatrical presentation of national and folk dance in classical ballet, used to help tell the story. Famous ballets such as Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, or Don Quixote, all contain character dances or divertissements. Character work teaches musicality, rhythm and mime, often working with a prop such as a watering can, a garland or headdress, and helps students gain knowledge and understanding of the various rhythms and time signatures used in character dance. 

Polish, Spanish, Hungarian? Which folk dance will you learn in your graded class?