Ballet My Story

This story belongs to Maria and her brother Jonathan.

It's a tiny tale about Jonathan's life and the things he used to do.

Now it's time for him to share his memories

and take Maria on a journey of discovery.

Jonathan and Maria are in their living room.

Maria is showing Jonathan her fairy runs.

Wow!

That was very good. You're getting very good at dancing.

A dancer sometimes dances with these.

What's this?

A candy cane from the ballet The Nutcracker.

Ballet dancers dance with it in the Land of Sweets.

Do you want to hold it? Good girl.

-Did you know that I've danced in The Nutcracker?

-No.

I have. I've danced since I was very young

and now I get to dance on stage all over the world.

-I also teach ballet. Would you like to teach sometime?

-Yes.

Good.

And they talked some more about the candy cane.

And what it was like to be a ballet dancer, dancing on the stage.

I started dancing when I was ten years old.

I got into it because our mum was a ballet dancer and started teaching.

She was teaching our sister Sarah.

There always needed boys for their shows,

so myself and a few of my friends got roped into it.

Jonathan started dancing for fun when he was ten years old,

but by the time he was 15, he realised that he loved ballet

and he wanted to become a professional dancer,

which takes lots and lots of practice every day.

And that's Jonathan with his sister, Sara Marie,

who's also a ballet dancer.

Jonathan has so much to show Maria. Where are they off to now?

Let's find out.

Do you know where we are just now?

-In the studio.

-That's right.

-And what do we do in the studio?

-Dance.

-We do.

Do you see anything funny about this room?

Why is there mirrors in here?

Why are there mirrors here?

These mirrors are so we can look in them

and practice our dance steps like this.

Dancers can look at themselves in these big mirrors,

which let them see how well they're doing.

Oh, what's this for?

This pole is called the bar, Maria.

We use this when we're learning new steps to find our balance.

It helps us not to fall down.

Have you ever fallen down, Jonathan?

I've fallen down lots. But you know what the most important thing is?

When you fall down you get back up.

Ballet dancers have always had to work very hard.

Look at these old pictures.

Ballet dancers will spend hours making one move just right.

Ballet is a very old type of dancing,

and the words that ballet dancers still use

are from a long time ago in a different language.

That language is French. Listen.

Croisee. Les jambes...

Ballet dancers will special shoes called point shoes.

They're not soft at the toes, they're hard.

This helps the ballet dancer stand on their tip toes.

Ah, so that's how they do it.

Amazing!

A girl ballet dancer is called a ballerina.

She wears fancy dresses on stage,

and one very special type is called a tutu.

This allows everyone to see how good the ballerina is.

Ballet dancing isn't just for girls. Lots of boys love it too.

Just look at this dancer, how high he jumps. He's almost flying!

Big brother Jonathan tells Maria about another part of his job.

Jonathan teaches other people how to ballet dance.

-Did you know that I also teach ballet?

-Yes.

-Would you like to have a bit of fun?

-Yes.

-How about you teach the ballet class?

-OK.

-OK?

OK, class. Today you have a new teacher. Her name is Maria.

She's a very good and wonderful teacher.

Hi, Maria.

Maria is going to teach the ballerinas a new dance.

They need to copy what she does.

Over to you, Maria.

CLASSICAL MUSIC

Point those toes, girls!

And now it's time for the fairy run.

What lovely twirls.

Well done, Maria.

That was a fun dance and difficult.

-Did they do a good job?

-Yes.

Maria is a wonderful teacher. What a good job she did.

Look at Jonathan teaching in these pictures.

He helps young dancers get better at dancing.

He watches very closely to see that they're doing everything just right.

When Jonathan thinks his pupils are ready, they do exams,

which are a bit like tests.

This is one of Jonathan's pupils doing her exam on the stage.

Dancers dance in front of people on a stage

when they're performing a ballet.

This is Jonathan on the stage in these pictures.

When ballet dancers dance on the stage,

they're telling a story.

Jonathan started doing this all the time,

and would dance as the main character in the story,

and he wore lots of costumes.

Ballet dancers now dance for longer than they used to.

They jump higher and further and do more difficult dances.

Jonathan is now taking Maria to the theatre.

This is where people come to watch the dancers perform in a ballet.

This is the place where I first danced on stage

-when I was younger.

-Do you still dance here?

I do. Let's go and stand on stage.

The stage is high off the ground

so that the people in the seats watching the dancers can see them.

We're on stage!

Imagine those seats full of people watching.

-Would you like that?

-Yes.

We should put on our own show. But what's missing?

Our costumes.

Yeah, we're not dressed right. Let's go backstage and get ready.

Backstage is where the dancers get ready.

They put on make-up and change their clothes into fancy costumes.

Jonathan isn't the only ballet dancer in the family.

This is my sister!

Maria's big sister Sarah Marie is also a ballet dancer

and she often dances with Jonathan.

-Have you been having fun with Jonathan?

-Yeah.

-Do you like these costumes?

-Yeah.

Which is your favourite? Ah, that's the one that her big sister wore

on the famous ballet Swan Lake.

-Would you like to dress up as a ballet dancer?

-Yeah.

Let's get you ready for the stage.

I'll go get ready too.

Sarah's going to put make-up on Maria.

Ballet dancers wear make-up on stage

so that people watching at the very back of the theatre

can see them better.

Sarah puts eyeshadow on Maria.

Then she puts some blusher to make her cheeks look nice and rosy.

Last of all, Sarah puts on lipstick, and Maria now has very red lips.

What do you think? Have a look up close.

Pretty as a picture.

Sarah is putting Maria's hair into a bun.

Ballerinas wear their hair in a bun because it looks tidy

and keeps their hair out of their eyes when they're dancing.

And to finish Maria's hair, Sarah puts on a lovely, sparkly tiara.

Doesn't Maria look just like a princess?

With her own very special pink tutu on, Maria is nearly ready,

but the last thing she needs on our her own special ballet shoes.

All ready for the stage.

We'll go and get Jonathan.

Big brother Jonathan has also got changed into his special costume.

He's now ready to dance with Maria on the stage.

You look fantastic, Maria! You look just a ballet dancer now.

-Can we do a dance together?

-Of course we can.

Jonathan and Maria are ready to perform their very special dance

for the first time on the stage.

The music is from the famous ballet called The Nutcracker.

SONG: Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy

Well done, Maria. That was wonderful.

For doing such a lovely job being Jonathan's dance partner,

Jonathan has a present for Maria.

Do you know what, Maria?

Ballet dancers often get flowers at the end of a performance

and I have flowers for you.

Your flowers.

-Well, Maria, did you enjoy finding out more about my story?

-Yes.

-What was your favourite bit?

-Teaching the girls.

Teaching the girls!

You were good at that. I enjoyed spending time with you.

Come give me a big hug.

What a fabulous heap of fun!

That was Maria and her big brother Jonathan's tiny tale

about the things Jonathan used to do and still does,

and why he has a candy cane.

Big brother Jonathan has shared his story with Maria

and now Maria is starting her own story.

Do you know someone who has a story to share?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd