DON’T let summer vacation go into waste — get your kids to lift their heads from their screens and instead develop their talents, learn some new skills, and enjoy some good times with newfound friends by taking a performance workshop during their vacation.
By the way, there are also classes for adults.
Ballet Manila — the only ballet school in the country with direct links to the Russian Ballet Academy of St. Petersburg, Russia — will hold its yearly summer workshops from April 2 to May 20, with classes for children as young as three.
Not only is the school meant to develop future ballet dancers, but the summer training is also open for adult programs, open for ages 18 and above. Plié and pirouette to better physique, posture, and coordination, which is open to anyone with or without previous ballet training. Another good fitness alternative is the “yoga-lates” class, which is a combination of yoga, mat pilates, and floor barre. Those who like faster rhythm and more action can enroll in modern ballet and street dance classes.
Not sold yet? Check this out: Ballet Manila Facebook video.
Meanwhile, let your kids act, sing, and dance their hearts out when they join the Repertory Philippines 2018 Workshop for the Performing Arts. The training begins on April 30 at the Active Fun, 9th St. and High St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
There are kiddie classes open for children aged five to eight; pre-teens class for kids ages nine to 12; and teens class for those aged 13 to 16. Adults who may want to tap into their creative side, build their self-confidence, and explore how performing skills can have a positive impact on day-to-day interactions can sign up for the adults class open for people aged 17 and up. Those who have previous workshops or acting experiences and are seriously looking into a career in the theater can audition for the Junior Masterclass, which will be handled by veteran actor and director Joel Trinidad.
For inquiries, call Repertory Philippines at 843-3570. The application form can be downloaded from www.repertoryphilippines.ph and sent by e-mail to repphilfoundation@gmail.com.
Then there is the Philippine Educational Theater Association, better known as PETA, which offers eight intensive theater arts courses for its annual summer workshop from April 9 to June 10 at the PETA Theater Center in Quezon City.
PETA’s theater courses range from basic to advanced, and are taught by some of the country’s most outstanding thespians and theater practitioners.
Following the Basic Integrated Theater Arts Workshop (BITAW) process, PETA’s artist-teachers combine group dynamics, creative dance and movement, creative sound and music, visual arts and creative writing in all of its theater workshops.
The intensive theater courses are open for children as young as six.
The Children’s Theater courses, for ages six to eight, and nine to 12, enable children to explore and experience music, movement and dance, visual arts, storytelling, drama improvisation, poetry and short story writing. The Teen Theater course, for ages 13-16, mixes creative drama, creative sounds and music, creative writing, creative body movements and dance, visual arts as well as improvisational theater and new media. The children will mount their own original piece on relevant youth concerns as part of their recital. For this summer, PETA also offers Musical Theater Courses for children and teens. The Creative Musical Theater for Children for ages nine to 12, aims to tap into the creative and musicality of children through improvisational theater exercises. The Musical Theater for Young People for teens ages 13-17, focuses on the core elements of musical theater including theater games, comedic improvisation, and dramatic play.
Young aspiring actors, from 17 years old and up can take the Theater Arts course which includes improvisational theater production, theater history, theater appreciation, aesthetics and criticism. The course is meant for theater newbies.
Those who have basic theater experience, there is the Basic Acting course allows participants to have a series of dialogues with seasoned theater artists coupled with motivated acting exercises that can turn anyone into a budding stage actor. The Creative Musical Theater course provides students the chance to study the principles of composition and organization in performing for musical theater that is geared towards developing the enrollees’ musical theater skills. The course has sessions on voice, composition, performance and various music explorations.
The PETA Summer Program will be held at the PETA Theater Center at No. 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, Quezon City. Interested enrollees may drop by the PETA Theater Center between Tuesdays to Saturdays or contact PETA at 725-6244 or 0905-369-6003. For more information, visit www.petatheater.com.

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