Shaping the future through ballet

Children should dream. Children should imagine. Children should aspire to fulfil their fantasies. Children should be given the opportunity to reach beyond the frontiers of background and financial circumstance. Our outreach programme provides a platform for children from less privileged backgrounds to break through limitations and enter a new world in the dance class, where creativity, intuition and discipline are the building blocks to holistic growth.

Everyone especially at a young age need to be given a platform for self expression. Something that encourages children to dream and develop self esteem and provide opportunities to chase and turn their dreams into a reality. This sense of achievement gives joy and a sense of self- worth and importance and aids them in their journey to find and mold their own character and personality.

Our outreach programme works with NGO’s in Bangalore that employ a  holistic approach towards child development. One such NGO is Parikrma Humanity Foundation a school for less privileged children. Their mission is ‘to unleash the potential of underserved children. Enabling them to live their life on equal terms and become valuable contributing members of society.’ They have been using sports, art, music and dance for grooming children and after attending one of our productions they got interested in our approach using ballet for overall personality and character development of children. Parikrma runs 4 Centres for Learning and a Junior College for 1566 children from 69 slum communities and 4 orphanages in Bangalore. We currently work with 34 of their students in the Jayanagar school. Our successful relationship with them is entering it’s 6th year.

Why ballet?

Dance, together with the other art forms in education, has long been seen as an integral part of the development of children. We use classical ballet as one of the forms of the arts in education. Not only does it serve as a way for students to gain physical benefits but it also teaches them the arts of commitment and persistence.

Classical ballet requires an enormous amount of discipline in order to master the more advanced technical feats. This sense of discipline becomes natural through the classes from a young age when the students are taught the technique through games and stories. These character traits developed and honed from an early age, prove useful not only for the aspiring professional dancer, but for all students living and developing in this fast-paced, ever-changing world. Ballet helps to train, engage and widen perspectives both in body and mind. Most importantly dance brings the joy and freedom of movement and a positive spirit in the student.

Today

Presently, out of the original class around 34 promising and determined students are now receiving further education in classical ballet. They have improved much more than a lot of children within the same span of time. This is evident because of  their commitment and dedication as well as their diligence and discipline because of the understanding of the value of this education.

Each year according to the level of ballet they are at, they perform in the biannual shows. This year too they will be performing a choreography in one of the shows.

“The teachers are firm but gentle and give clear instructions. In addition to learning the basics of ballet, the children also get a chance to express themselves via ballet shows. This is a unique opportunity for them to learn an International classical dance form. “

Latha Selvan

Head Teacher, Parikrama Humanity Foundation

In addition to the outreach classes, there are 7 scholarship students from Parikrama alone who attend both the outreach classes and regular classes at the Foundation including dancing with the Junior Dance Company of the Foundation. These students are given the opportunity to perform in various shows both in the city and outside along with the senior dancers and will be performing in both the shows this year.

The progress and positivity seen in these children are rewarding and encouraging and we hope to continue spreading this kind of support and love to more children in the future.

This programme is a medium to impact the lives of these children. If you are interested in supporting us or help to invest into the lives of one or more of these children please contact us: enquiries@tlfcb.org.