Ballet move numbers add up to science studies

Leah and Julie enjoy the ballet workshop. 164820 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

Australia’s best ballerinas are helping kids with maths and science at Spring Parks Primary School.
The Australian Ballet is partnering with schools to deliver Steamdance and is visiting the Springvale South school each Tuesday from 14 February to 21 March.
Steamdance is a dance-education approach to learning about STEM subjects including science, technology, engineering and maths.
The Australian Ballet’s dance education team are specialist educators and professional dancers, and they work with teachers to support the curriculum through workshops and performances.
They aim to foster critical and creative thinking, literacy, numeracy, individual and co-operative learning, and problem solving.
The team will also present a schools version of The Sleeping Beauty to introduce kids to ballet.
“Dance is one of the five performing arts disciplines in the national curriculum and our new Steamdance program offers students a fun experience of dance, whilst enhancing the delivery of key STEM subjects and encouraging physical and social skills to students of all ages, abilities and language backgrounds,” The Australian Ballet’s head of education Katy McKeown said.