Monday through Thursday, a group made up of mostly Swansea Elementary School children, participate in a three-hour long ballet class at Manual High School (1700 E. 28th). The training is intensive in the studio and completed with studies on the ballet classic Swan Lake – music, choreography, mime, story, characters and historical setting.

"They hear the music and identify the story," said Ballet Instructor Esther Smith. "With Ella at the piano, and the connections they have already to dance – it's a very rich kind of teaching." In the studio, Smith is using the Cecchetti Ballet training system. She's hopeful a handful of these children, who might not otherwise have the chance to study ballet, will pass the level one international exam for ballet training in October.

"We've really set goals and we're bent on achieving them," said Smith. "This would be a great accomplishment."

The program started on June 3 and ends July 18th. About 20 students participate between the hours of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Training is supported by the highly talented ballet teacher Julia Walsh, whose most accomplished student, Christa Sessano, just completed her Royal Academy of Dance "Solo Seal," the highest accomplishment a ballet dancer can achieve in training.

Denver Public Schools supports this summer program which includes: Ella Kaplansky, pianist; Walsh, ballet consultant; and Smith, dance instructor, who teaches, plans, and organizes community and outreach for the program.

That outreach includes taking the children on trips to experience the theatre. The Moscow Ballet donated 42 tickets to their performance of Swan Lake on June 16. And on August 11, children will go to Vail for the Ballet of Cuba through the Vail Valley Foundation.