Serena Ballet School Conducts National Dance Classes

The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD), UK is formed into twelve faculties which cover many forms of theatrical, recreational and social dance. National Dance is one of the dance styles which comes under the Imperial Dance and Theatre Faculty. The other dance styles under this faculty are Classical Ballet, Classical Greek Dance, Modern Theatre, Tap Dance and South Asian Dance. The aim of the National Dance Faculty is to bring the joy of European Folk Dance to all age levels. Folk dance develops a sense of community and awareness of others. The dancers have the opportunity to study traditional dances, costumes, music and customs (information sourced from ISTD website www.istd.org).

Recently, an ISTD National Dance examination was held at Serena Ballet School in Klang, Selangor. Students taking the medal tests were not only required to perform the folk dances but also had to know something about the countries of origin of the dances. Models of the Eiffel Tower of France, Big Ben of England, the Parthenon of Greece, all made by the students were put on display. The students also prepared an Italian lunch made up of spaghetti bolognese, tiramisu, rosemary crackers, panettone (a type of bread) and expresso. The examiner, Barbara Simons of UK praised the students for their high standard of dancing and their efforts in preparing the projects.

The principal of Serena Ballet School is Serena Tan Suet Leng, a Licentiate in the National Branch of the ISTD. Serena was awarded the Helen Wingrave Scholarship by the ISTD in 1993 to enable her to pursue her love and passion for dance. Besides teaching ballet, Serena is the only dance teacher in Malaysia who trains and prepares students for the ISTD National Dance medal tests and examinations (from beginners to advanced levels and teacher qualifications). To know more about Serena Ballet School which is located at 94-D, Persiaran Raja Muda, Musa, 41100 Klang, Selangor, kindly contact Serena Tan at 012-2898127, email serena127@myjaring.net.