Saturday 13th April
9-10.15 – Age 6-9
10.15-11.30 – Age 10-16
Easter Ballet Workshops for Children with Yolandi Moreira
About the workshop
Progressing Ballet Technique is an incredible training method designed to help dancers find their proper alignment and use of correct muscle groups without putting any unnecessary strain and force on the muscles. It originated in Australia and is now used world wide by renowned dance studios and vocational schools. PBT combines ballet principles while using Pilates balls. These workshops are specifically designed for children. The workshop will comprise of 1hour 15 minutes Progressing Ballet Technique class where the children will have an opportunity to learn a solid basic PBT technique and we will discuss how they can use this to strengthen their ballet technique. There are two age specific classes on the day. This workshop is also a wonderful way to get geared up and ready to start of the Summer Term
Teacher Biography
South African born Yolandi started her ballet training at age four. From age twelve she was taught by Martin Schonberg’s Ballet Theatre Afrikan Academy of Dance and attended the National School of the Arts from 1996-1999. She completed her schooling at Canada’s National Ballet School in Toronto. In 1998 Yolandi won the Prix de l’association pour de l’Opera National de Paris at the 8th concours international De Danse de Paris. In 1999, she was a semi-finalist the the Prix de Lausanne winning her scholarship to train in Canada. In 2001, she participated in the Helsinki International Ballet Competition and won the South African leg of the International Cecchetti competition. Later that year she won second prize in the international leg of the same competition in Melbourne, Australia. She returned to Helsinki in 2005 where she was a semi-finalist at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition.
In 2000, upon her return to South Africa, she joined the Ballet Theatre Afrikan Company (BTA) as a principal dancer. Whilst with BTA she toured South Africa performing a number of principal roles including Paquita, Aurora in the Sleeping Beauty, Grand Pas Classique as well as Odette/Odile from in Swan Lake.
In 2001 Yolandi became the youngest Giselle ever in South Africa when she appeared as a guest artist with the South African Ballet Theatre (SABT). She joined SABT in April 2008 as a soloist and made her debut with the company as Queen of the Dryads. She performed in various other soloist and principal roles during her time in the company which included roles like • Gypsy pas de deux and pas de six in La Traviata,
- Carmen,
- Romeo and Juliet
- Cinderella
- Nutcracker
- Principal in roles in Giselle as “Giselle”
- Odette Odile in Swan Lake.
In 2011 Yolandi started her new venture as a freelance dancer and choreographer in various festivals and corporate functions.Yolandi also became an aerial artists doing various strength and silk acts in South Africa, Zambia and Dubai.
Since 2012 Yolandi has focused on preparing students for entry into vocational schools, and putting them through their dance examinations in the Cecchetti method as well as coaching in the RAD method and rehabilitating injured dancers with intense body conditioning and floor barre training. Yolandi has been living in London since 2017 where she was a teacher at the Danceworks International Ballet Academy and has coached various private students for competitions, exams and auditions. She has also received her Level 1,2 and 3 qualification in the Progressive Ballet Technique and teaches regular PBT classes.
