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Ballet is beautiful. No matter the country. No matter the dancer.

Well… ok … maybe the dancer. No one wants to see Tim onstage in a tutu doing ballet.

Mongolian ballet has a LOT of Russian influence/training. That is because most of the teachers here in Mongolia trained in Russia from a very young age. When we arrived, we wanted to get the girls into dance as soon as possible. We’ve done this with every post… and it always helps with jet lag, meeting new friends… and gives us some sort of schedule to look forward to.

Our first stop was a ballet studio just down the street. We actually really enjoyed it. But MAN OH MAN… was the training a little different. We found that in the classes here, they focus a lot of the primary training on flexibility and turnout. Now… we were never taking professional ballet classes in the states, but we had some FABULOUS ballet teachers at Studio A (Pleasant Hill). The girls saw their potential with ballet… and I saw a side of them that actually ENJOYED ballet. Something I never thought I would see.

The first studio was quaint and small -but filled with smiles. It is customary to take off your shoes when you arrive at someone’s house or business and switch to house shoes. This is to keep all the dirt and nastiness found on the streets, outside! It makes sense to us.. and we’ve adopted it at our house as well! We walked into the studio and asked if the girls could take a class! With very broken english, and me trying to do charades, we were able to sign the girls up for a trial class!

Abby’s class was filled with 5-7 year olds that just wanted to run around and play! They were so cute and so eager to hear the golden hair girl talk! They did a LOT of stretching – Abby’s legs, at one point, looked like a wish bone and I was worried she would crack! And then after stretching, they took a break. The teacher made tea, the girls ran around or went to the potty. Then, after 15 minutes, it was back to business. Some across the floor jumps and some fun twirls. Abby left with a giant smile and sore feet.

Zoe’s class was filled with the teenagers. She was the youngest (just turning 10) and the other girls were anywhere from 12 – 17. We had a switch in teachers for Zoe’s class.. and unfortunately, this teacher didn’t speak ANY English – so that was really fun for Zoe. Thank goodness Ballet is an international sport! Zoe caught on quick and I was so impressed with her stamina! They did a lot of stretching – although not as much as the littles. I think by the time they reach Zoe’s age, they expect them to be able to put their legs behind their heads, no problem!

Zoe had a great class and was able to enjoy treats that another mom brought in for her daughters birthday. It was so sweet of them to include her!

We loved that studio… but wanted to keep checking out more! We had heard that the National Ballet of Mongolia had a wonderful kids program.. and they even auditioned them for the Nutcracker that performed in the National Theatre with professional ballerinas in December!

We walked up the 5 flights of stairs.. and found ourselves in what reminded me of a professional dance studio in NYC. There was a waiting room, 2 changing rooms, bathrooms and a small store to buy pointe shoes, tights, leotards, etc. The wonderful man that gave us the tour showed us the wonderful programs from previous Nutcrackers and also previous Ballet World Grand Prix competitions. Zoe lit up while looking through the program and seeing the level of the dancers. Made me a little nervous – but they said they would be able to audition them to see if they could join a class. They both passed with flying colors and we signed them up to start on Monday. Zoe will be doing privates and Abby will be joining a 4-6 year old intensive for the next 2 weeks.

This second studio is inconvenient (meaning we can’t exactly walk to it) – but it’s the studio that the girls really enjoyed. I’m excited to see them grow… as dancers and as diplomats.

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