Moorestown Rec Offers First Lessons to Tiny Ballet Dancers

Giuliana Chesner twirls and turns and stretches in a graceful, if sometimes awkward, mimicry of her ballet instructor. 

“She loves it,” her mother, Maria, says.

Minutes later, practicing on her own, 3-year-old Giuliana trips over her own feet and drops to the floor with a thud. Her mouth opens wide in a silent scream.

“But we’re still kind of clumsy,” says mom as she scoops her daughter up.

student Julia McHale, 17, has been teaching the fundamentals of ballet to Giuliana and a group of four other 3- and 4-year-old girls since mid-October. The lessons are being offered for the first time through the , and Julia said she plans to offer lessons again in the early part of next year, expanding the program to include a class for 5- and 6-year-olds as well.

“Oh my God, it’s awesome,” she said of the experience. “They’re so young, but you can tell they’re so ready to learn.”

Julia started ballet herself at age 3, and has continued to expand her dance repertoire with jazz at 8 and modern dance at 11. She’s enrolled in the CORE Academy of Movement in Mount Laurel, where she gained some experience teaching 5- and 6-year-old girls before recreation director Theresa Miller tapped her to lead the rec department’s ballet offering.

Aside from being easily distracted, the 3- and 4-year-olds, Julia said, are easy to teach because they’re so impressionable.

“You would think a 3-year-old wouldn’t listen. But they listen to everything you say,” she said. “They literally watch you.”

During one exercise, the girls copied Julia’s movements, to the point where when she reached up to scratch her head, the girls scratched theirs too.

“It’s nice to know as a 17-year-old I can influence them so highly,” she said. “Whether or not it’s what they want to do in life … it’s a fun thing to do. It’s a girl thing.”

Maria Chesner said Giuliana, despite her occasional lack of coordination, has really taken to the class and practices at home frequently.

The class ends Saturday and the girls will have the opportunity to show off everything they’ve learned over the last eight weeks during a 9 a.m. recital at the .

Preschool ballet lessons (for girls ages 3 and 4) pick up again on Jan. 14. For more information, visit the recreation department page on the township website. To register, visit www.moorestownrec.com. The class is $75 for residents, $85 for non-residents.