Sacramento Ballet pivots to online classes for all levels, social media for dance videos

The Sacramento Ballet has had to abruptly pivot, and not just in dance terms, to adjust to COVID-19 closures. Like other major arts organizations, Sac Ballet has moved to digital formats while finding new and creative ways to connect dancers with students and audiences.

“One of the most adorable things out of this was our first Zoom class, which was our senior tap class,” said Amy Seiwert, artistic director of the Sacramento Ballet. “Watching a small group of women over 70 figure out how to use Zoom together, it was great. It was a free class and we were all like, hey, let’s try this.”

Since then, Sac Ballet’s regular dance classes for all levels, children to seniors, have gone on Zoom for reduced monthly and drop-in rates. Seiwart said dance classes for children above 8 years old will require some basic equipment, but the creative movement classes for kids ages 4 to 7, the open ballet sessions, and the fall prevention through movement classes for seniors only need an internet connection, a high-backed chair and “enough room to move around.”

Sac Ballet has free offerings on the new addition to their website Sac Ballet at Home, like prerecorded class sessions of conditioning and floor barre, activity sheets for children under 10, and videos of past performances. Starting this weekend, subscribers to Sac Ballet’s mailing list can receive videos of additional past performances and that include virtual watch parties with collaborators via Zoom.

Seiwert said the dancers and instructor have to be creative in utilizing their space since going online. Many have installed pieces of Marley vinyl dance floor found by the production director and dropped off to dancers for home use.

“If you look at Sacramento Ballet right now, they have these pieces in their kitchens, in the hallway, and in various places,” Seiwert said. “They are these mini training areas, so they can not completely lose their technique during this crazy time when we can’t go to the studio and work together.”

As far as a social media presence Seiwert said, “We are trying to be more active on our social channels than we’ve probably ever been.”

Instagram has been an outlet for Sac Ballet dancers to create content and interact with audiences in new ways.

For those in need of a laugh, Sac Ballet dancers Isabella Velasquez and Anthony Cannarella, along with their dog Luigi, created an at-home spoof of Sleeping Beauty’s Rose Adagio on Instagram called #StayHome Sleeping Beauty. There is also Sac Ballet dancer Ben Youngstone’s #quarantinedance that embodies the feelings of confinement and chaos that many of us can relate to as we shelter in place.

Going forward, Sac Ballet will be featuring dancer Matisse D’Aloisio on Instagram Live every Tuesday at 4 p.m. for the Children’s Ballerina Book Club, with story time geared to children ages 4 to 8 years old. The first book D’Aloisio will read live is Olivia by Ian Falconer on April 21.

D’Aloisio is new to Sac Ballet and, though her season was cut short, she said she is looking for ways to engage the community.

“I am going to be dressed up as a ballerina,” D’Aloisio said. “Story time specifically is always something I think children look forward to. It’s a great experience to have a story read to you, and have the reader personify what is going on in the story.”

Sac Ballet’s Instagram Live will also feature a “dancer takeover” every Wednesday, according to Seiwert, during which individual dancers will post stories throughout the day. Wednesday, April 22, will feature Sac Ballet dancer and instructor Ava Chatterson, who said she is likely to post her yoga routine, show the setup for her online dance classes, and maybe pop over to where Chatterson’s boyfriend, local artist Rafael Delgado, is painting a mural on 12th and F streets.

Chatterson said she believes dance is important during this time because, “It’s a good workout, first of all, but it also gives you a lot of focus and discipline. When you’re dancing, it takes you out of whatever else you’re thinking about in your life. During the time that you’re dancing, you’re just focused on that.”

Follow the Sacramento Ballet on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and sign up for their virtual classes on their website.

This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 12:00 PM.