Week of August 17-21, 2020
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ABTKids Daily
Week of August 17-21, 2020
Experience the excitement of classical ballet at home with ABTKids Daily!
Welcome to ABTKids Daily, American Ballet Theatre’s new home for families and educators to discover digital content for their virtual classrooms. Join us each day to Meet an ABT Dancer, engage with an ABT Teaching Artist, learn fun facts and enjoy ballet-themed activities from the comfort of your own home.
As America’s National Ballet Company®, ABT is dedicated to preserving and extending the great legacy of classical dancing, through exciting performances and educational programming of the highest quality, presented to the widest possible audience.
Join us each Monday morning to bring the joy of classical ballet to your family. A weekly curriculum will be posted for your discovery!
ABTKids Daily is generously supported by
Explore this week’s materials below or view the archive here.
Meet a Dancer Composer Monday
This week we are celebrating the life and accomplishments of one of the most influential ballet composers of all time, Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (1840-1893).
With a repertoire consisting of over 100 pieces including classics such as Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky played a crucial role in vitalizing the music composition within ballets. He was born in Russian and become the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression around the world!
Are you familiar with Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky or Pëtr Ilič Čajkovskij or maybe you’ve heard of Pjotr Ilitj Tjajkovskij? Plot twist, they are all the same person and, in an even bigger plot twist, this is only a snippet of a very comprehensive list of names you may come across when researching Mr. Tchaikovsky… or Tsjaïkovskiej! With his name translated and spelled uniquely in over 30 different languages, Tchaikovsky and his name has been embraced by cultures all over the world!
Read the List!Tchaikovsky Name Quiz
Match the spelling of Tchaikovsky’s name with the country where it originates.
Teaching Artist Tuesday
Join one of ABT’s Teaching Artists as they introduce you to one of ABT’s fabulous ballets. Learn a dance, stop and sketch, and don’t forget to have fun!
Up this week: Ms. Stephanie!
Call and Response with the Bluebird from The Sleeping Beauty
What's Up Wednesday
Choreographer Word Search
The versatility of Tchaikovsky’s music has been cherished and celebrated by generations of choreographers and audiences. Through a combination of Russian folk and Western European melodies during the Romantic period, Tchaikovsky created a unique sound with intricate rhythms and complex emotions.
Not only are Tchaikovsky’s ballet compositions constantly being reimagined and restaged by choreographers across the globe, his symphonic pieces have also made famous ballet debuts such as George Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial (Concerto No. 2 in G for Piano and Orchestra, op.44) and David Parsons’s Walk this Way (Symphony No. 2 in C, Op. 17 “Little Russian”)
Since 1940, American Ballet Theatre has performed 24 different ballets using the music of Tchaikovsky with over 20 different choreographers. See how many you can find in the word search below!
