Ballet School Opens National Dance Week With a Poetry Contest

The Marblehead School of Ballet (MSB) celebrates National Dance Week from Friday, April 14 through Sunday, April 23. To thank the public for its support for 51 years, the MSB is holding a special National Dance Week Poetry contest, along with special programming and discounts throughout the week.

"The Marblehead School of Ballet takes pride in joining other organizations across the country in celebrating National Dance Week and spotlighting the importance of dance in our society. During our 51st anniversary, we want to introduce more people of all ages -- children, tweens, teenagers, adults, and seniors -- to the wonders and benefits of dance and our school's programs in ballet, creative movement, stretch and strength, West Coast Swing, Argentine Tango, Ballroom and Latin," said Paula K. Shiff, Director of the Marblehead School of Ballet.

Dance Poetry Contest

In celebration, the Marblehead School of Ballet launched a National Dance Week Poetry Contest. Current and former students of the Marblehead School of Ballet and the general public are invited to submit a poem with the theme, What does dance mean to you?. Contestants should submit the poem with their name, a photo of themself, their age, and contact information. Submissions will be accepted from April 1 through April 23. Submit entries to msb@havetodance.com.

Three prizes will be awarded, with first prize a $100 gift certificate and second prize a $50 gift certificate both to On Your Toes Dancewear. The third prize recipient will receive a copy of Apollo's Angels by Jennifer Homans.

Monthly Dance Adventure

A special Monthly Dance Adventure workshop, the Spanish Sevillanas Rocieras, will be taught on Sunday, April 16 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the school and live online. The workshop is open to students ages 12 to adult with and without dance experience at all levels. Castanets will be provided to students attending the workshop in studio. Register in advance for the workshop online.

Salem native Carlos Fittante, artistic director of New York City-based BALAM Dance Theatre, returns to the school to teach the workshop. Fittante, a specialist in Baroque, Balinese and Spanish escuela bolera dances, is known for his spirited, elegant dancing, Fittante has performed with the Boston Early Music Festival, Blue Hill Bach Festival, Apollo's Fire, the International Arts Festival in Bali, and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, among others.

Special Offers

Watch the world-class ballet company, Paris Opera Ballet, perform Signes on a large screen on Sunday, April 16 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the studio, followed by a discussion led by Shiff about this mesmerizing performance. According to the Paris Opera Ballet, "... Signes is the accomplishment of two successive and complementary creative processes: the artist Olivier Debré first conceived the scenery before the choreography of Carolyn Carlson took form. The ballet expresses the essential of life; the relationship between beings, the arrival of death and nature reborn. The universal cycle, punctuated by signs, of which the first and the most symbolic is the smile."

The showing at the Marblehead School of Ballet is open to the public, and admission is $10. To watch the performance, register in advance online.

This is also a week to celebrate dance and go shopping. Purchase a coffee mug, sweatshirt, or any product in the school's online store and receive 10 percent off the total order. Be sure to use promo code DanceWeek23 at checkout to receive the special discount.

In Person and Online Classes

Classes and private lessons are taught in person and online for students of all ages -- children, teenagers, adults, and seniors. Instruction is provided in creative movement, ballet (children through adult levels), stretch and strength, pre-pointe and pointe, partner dance, West Coast Swing, Argentine Tango, Ballroom, Latin, and Theater Arts. Register for classes online.

For a class schedule, information about private lessons and other details, call 781-631-6262, send an e-mail or visit the organization's website.