City Ballet of San Diego’s “A Book and a Ballerina” series of programs for kids kicked off March 28 at the San Diego Public Library’s Point Loma/Hervey branch.
Eyes widened as the children got their first glimpse of prima ballerina Chiara Valle in a sparkling pink tutu.
The program, geared to kids in prekindergarten through fifth grade, begins with an interactive read-aloud by Librarian on the Go.
Yours truly read “Bunheads,” a picture book by ballerina turned author Misty Copeland about a girl’s early experience with ballet. The story centers on the ballet “Coppélia,” which City Ballet will perform in May.
Copeland was the first Black woman to be promoted to principal dancer at the prestigious American Ballet Theatre in 2015. What makes it all the more interesting is that Valle met Copeland as a young ballet student.
After the story reading, Valle talked about her ballet journey and took questions from the audience.
One was “What advice do you have for aspiring ballerinas?”
“You have to have the heart for it,” she replied, hand over chest.
Children and their accompanying adults couldn’t believe how often professional ballerinas go through pointe shoes.
Then came the part everyone had been waiting for — the mini dance lesson! Children loved learning the French for ballet moves and trying some of the steps Valle taught them.
“Oooohs” cooed throughout the crowd as she demonstrated how to do a magnificent twirl at the end.
It was such a wonderful experience to witness City Ballet of San Diego putting families in touch with this arts experience in a public library setting. There even were ballerina coloring books given away at the end! As a librarian, I greatly appreciated the opportunity to tie in literacy and watch the magic of the program unfold.
A mother and her daughter in attendance ed me from my time as youth services librarian at the La Jolla/Riford Library, where “A Book and A Ballerina” was held the next day. I teared up a little upon seeing a photo of the then-toddler at a past City Ballet of San Diego event at my former branch. How time flies!
More “A Book and a Ballerina” programs are scheduled through December at San Diego Public Library locations. One is set for the Ocean Beach Library at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 25. To view the full list, visit librarianonthego.com/events.
Katia Graham has a master of management in library and information science degree from USC. She is a former children’s services librarian at the La Jolla/Riford Library and is the founder of Librarian on the Go, a catalyst to encourage reading and community engagement through librarian outreach services.
