The first Babies Prom of the year, Music for Tutus is the perfect way for littlies 2-5 to experience ballet for the first time. Held in the intimate Studio inside the Sydney Opera House, tiny tots are invited to watch, dance and direct the performers throughout the show – making it a stress-free way for families introducing their children to the arts.
This gorgeous performance features music by the famous composer, Tchaikovsky, with two ballet dancers pirouetting their way through melodies from The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, and an orchestra including a stunning harp, cello, violins and conductor. The two dancers, Emma and Jacob, led their rapt audience through the three ballets in a way that showcased their skills as well as engaged small children with short attention spans.
The classical music, performed by the Babies Proms orchestra, swept not just the children, but the adults, too, up on an enchanting discovery of three of Tchaikovsky’s best-loved pieces of music.
The Babies Proms are aimed at children aged 2-5, but this doesn’t mean that kids older or younger won’t enjoy the show. Babies and grade schoolers alike were enchanted by the beautiful dancing and music, along with parents and grandparents. This parent will admit to feeling a tear come to her eye when the score to Swan Lake was soaring through the Studio.
As the show came to a close, the dancers came down to the children and led them through basic ballet steps, much to the delight of the tulle-clad masses who jostled to get up closer to the pair in their stunning costumes.
Sadly all good things must come to an end, and Music For Tutus ended in the same fashion as all Babies Proms do, with the children being invited to meet the musicians, touch their instruments and pose for photos. Cheese has just started playing the cello at school, so this was a wonderful experience for her to hear a professional cellist live and realise where a lot of practice on this instrument could one day take her.
Kids can ask the musicians questions – or just strum a string and image that they, too, could one day perform in front of an audience at the Sydney Opera House.
If you haven’t been to a Babies Prom before, this is what you need to know:
Babies Proms are aimed at kids aged 2-5.
They are casual performances where adults sit around the sides of the studio, and kids sit on the floor in the middle. There is no pressure for kids to sit still or not talk – they are encouraged to dance, sing and interact with the performers.
The performance goes for 35 minutes, the perfect length for short attention spans.
All adults and children over 12 months need a ticket.
Seats are not numbered, so most people line up around half an hour before the start of the Babies Prom to ensure they get seats close to the floor where there kids will be seated.
There is stroller parking and baby change facilities in the foyer.
While train is the easiest way to get to the Sydney Opera House, you can also park in the car park underneath. Book online at Wilson Parking for a $9 weekend deal.
For lunch, grab a sandwich at the Sydney Opera House kiosk outside the theatre, or enjoy a sit down meal at Opera Kitchen on the lower concourse level. Their kids’ fish and chips is a winner.
Babies Proms: Music For Tutus
Dates: March 9-20, 2016
Studio, Sydney Opera House
Thank you to the Sydney Opera House for hosting us at this performance, and for use of some of their images by Dan Boud in this blog post. Photography during performances are not permitted.