Dance

Ballet in India

Ballet upstaged Bollywood for three weeks in Guntur, India and the students couldn’t have been more receptive! Trifecta Arts’ founder, Anne Koho, traveled over 11,000 miles to provide classical ballet training to sixty-four students of the Moriah School in Guntur, India. The Moriah School is a private institution with an attached home for children who have lost at least one parent. It is known for providing quality education to underserved children in the region.

The Moriah Dance Project, established by Sophie Dale (a high school student in Minnesota, granddaughter of the school’s founder, and former student of Ms. Koho’s), was instrumental in making this program possible. Sophie’s mother, Esther Dale, and the entire faculty and staff at the Moriah School provided incredible support and resources to ensure the success of this program. Under Ms. Koho’s direction, the students quickly transitioned from novices to well-groomed ballet students and learned an impressive set of basic ballet steps while embracing the discipline of ballet classes.

The transformation of the students was remarkable. They started out in everyday worn-out school uniforms and bare feet, but soon they were dancing in sleek ballet attire thanks to many generous donations. The increased focus, flexibility, and concentration displayed by the students in class demonstrated the benefits of studying ballet. The final assembly in the courtyard of the Moriah School was a moment of pride for every student involved in the program.

Keep reading for more details of the experience and lots of great pictures!

To learn more about the Moriah School and Children’s Home, visit their website at  moriahchildren.com

Welcome to India!

Miss Anne was treated to a surprise welcome by the students who live at the Moriah Home on Sunday night! Their smiles were energizing after her 52 hr trip (door to door)!

1^st Day of classes

Miss Anne met the students of her three classes with Esther Dale acting as her new “assistant” (and translator, when needed)! We covered ballet etiquette, basic stretches, pliés, tendus, and sautés.

Native Dress day

Friday is native dress day at the Moriah School… so ballet classes were pretty (and) colorful!  We’re not sure how the girls survive in so many layers, so they’ll be transitioning into classical ballet attire next week!

Twister!

New Addition to the Trifecta Arts Ballet curriculum:

Home-made Twister — perfect for practicing “rights” and “lefts” and “hands” and “feet” in English! Not to mention the flexibility and balance required.

Miss Anne remembered how much fun she had in Ecuador playing Twister in Spanish…so she figured the kids would like it. She was wrong – they LOVED it!

She had to pry the spinner board out of their hands after 3 hours of continuous play one afternoon.

New Dancewear

The girls got new leotards and custom made skirts, but none of this would have been possible without our dance wear donors and local seamstresses!

Boys like ballet, too!

It was hard to find a shy boy in this group! They were energetic, animated and engaged in every class.

Week 3

We made great progress as we headed into our 3rd and final week of the Ballet Program. These kids were absolutely killing it – after only 8 classes! Look at those dégagés and passés! And talk about concentration…in an environment where cars and motorbikes are constantly honking, street vendors are hawking their wares, and temps are reaching 100 degrees every day!

P.S. These are NOT posed pictures – these are live action shots from class!

Final Day

21 days, 64 students, 27 classes and more hugs than we could count!

The children from the Moriah School in Guntur, India impressed Miss Anne and the school faculty with their willingness to embrace classical ballet and we are so proud of how much they learned.