← Koala Moon: Kids Bedtime Stories & Sleep Stories for Kids Podcast
Koala Moon: Kids Bedtime Stories & Sleep Stories for Kids Podcast
Koko & Kira's Ballet Class 🐼 🩰 Cozy Bedtime Stories For Kids | Rewind
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Foreign. Hello and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of original bedtime stories and sleep meditations for kids designed to make bedtime a dream. In tonight's tale, our curious little Coco and Kira are trying out a new another new hobby. This time it's ballet dancing. It's the first time either of them has tried it, but really, how difficult can it be? Before we head to Sleepy Forest to find them, let's relax back into bed and get ready to listen. Try to let your whole body go floppy and heavy on the mattress. See if you can steady your breathing a bit. Breathe in and out. In and out. Relax your face, your forehead, your shoulders and your hips, your knees, hands and feet. Everything. There we are. Your body's nice and heavy and you feel lovely and warm. Before we begin, a quick message for the grown ups. If you'd like to support our podcast Enjoy ad free listening unlock four bonus stories per month and much, much more. You can join Koko Club. Subscribe in just two taps via the link in the show notes but now here's a quick word from our sponsors. Lets join Koko and Kira now. This is Koko and Kira's Sleepy Ballet Class by Alicia Ainslie. One Happy Saturday. Koko and Kira were wandering the halls of the Sleepy Forest Community Hub looking for inspiration. The Community Hub always had lots of fun classes on, from arts and crafts to sports to new hobbies like karate and dancing. Koko and Kira had just been to a painting class in which they had both designed colourful self portraits that they could now take home with them. Kira inspected her painting and laughed. Why did I give myself such big ears? I look like an elephant, not a panda. Koko chuckled and replied, what about my self portrait? I've given myself a big head and a tiny body. If I actually looked like that, I think I'd have a bit of trouble standing upright. Kira giggled before turning to the main wall of the hub with posters stuck to it. I wonder what other clubs and classes we could take part in. She pondered browsing the wall. After a few moments, her eyes fell to a poster advertising a ballet class for beginners. Kira's eyes widened and she instinctively gasped with delight. Kira had always wanted to try ballet. She often practiced ballet dancing in her room. But she would love to take part in a proper class. She suggested to Koko, what do you think about trying ballet class? I'd love to have a go at ballet. Koko wasn't sure. He'd never really pictured himself as a ballet dancer. What if he didn't like it? Kira shrugged her shoulders and said with a mischievous smile, he'll never know unless you try. Koko rolled his eyes with a smile. His little sister knew how to convince him. Koko could rarely say no to trying something new. So Koko and Kira added their names to the participants list for the ballet class. It was to be held in a few days here at the Community Hub in one of the studios, and for the next three days Kira couldn't talk about anything. Anything else. When the day of the ballet class arrived, Koko and Kira excitedly made their way back to the community hub. The hub was bustling today with so many different classes and clubs. Koko put his hands on his hips and looked up and down the never ending corridors. Where is this ballet class? He thought aloud. We don't want to be late. All of a sudden Kira noticed something. Do you hear that? Kira whispered, gesturing to a sound in the air. Koko pricked his ears and focused. He could hear it too. The soft tinkling sound of a piano playing beautiful music. Further down the corridor to their right, Koko and Kira followed the sound of the piano music and eventually came across a big room with wooden floors and mirrors covering all the walls. Ballet bars were lined up alongside the mirrored walls and in the corner of the room a walrus was expertly playing the piano. At the front of the classroom, a tall, regal swan was gracefully stretching her legs along the ballet bar and rotating her wings in slow, graceful patterns. Koko assumed she must be the teacher. At the side of the room nearest the door where Koko and Kira stood, a handful of students were unpacking their bags and preparing for class. Some already had ballet shoes that they slipped onto their feet. Some wore tutus, but some looked like beginners preparing to take part in class in bare feet and their regular comfy clothing. Koko and Kira glanced at each other a little nervously. Are you ready to try some ballet? Koko asked his little sister. Kira smiled eagerly and replied that she was looking forward to it. The curious koalas walked into the studio and joined the other students in getting ready. They kicked off their shoes and safely placed them at the side of the room so that they didn't lose them. And then they followed the other students into the centre of the studio. The mirrors all around the walls made the room look twice as big. Kira admired herself in the mirror and twirled on the spot with a giggle. He he look go. I'm a prima ballerina. She said excitedly. Koko chuckled, enjoying his sister's enthusiasm. However, Koko was a little more nervous than Kira. He hadn't done any ballet dancing before, even just pretending in his bedroom, so he had no idea what to expect. The walrus at the piano brought his latest song to a close, and the studio fell silent as the beautiful Swan turned to face the class. Good morning, everyone. She greeted them warmly. My name is Ms. Siggy Swan, and I will be your teacher today. I am so pleased that you are all keen to try ballet. It is a wonderful art form, one that teaches grace, coordination, and strength, as well as an appreciation for music and movement of the body. Ms. Siggy Swan explained that she used to be a prima ballerina for the Royal Bird Ballet, but now, since she had retired from professional dancing, she was a teacher. She hoped that after today's taster session, the students would enjoy it so much that they wanted to pursue further ballet training. Ms. Siggy Swan spoke with a slow, gentle voice that instantly made the new students feel safe and supported in her presence. She also spoke with a hint of a French accent, which was particularly endearing. Coco and Kira could already tell that Ms. Swan would be an excellent teacher. Ms. Swan instructed the students to stand in a big circle so they could all get to know each other. Ms. Swan asked the students to tell her one by one why they had signed up for the ballet today and what they hoped to get out of it. A fuzzy yellow duckling went first. Hello. The duckling addressed the class. My name is Quackers. I actually already do ballet class every week with Ms. Swan, but I just can't get enough of it. And ever I get the opportunity to practice my pirouettes and develop my developee. I jump at the chance. Coco looked at Kira worriedly. He thought everybody here today would be a beginner. But it sounded like Quackers was going to be a pretty good ballerina. He didn't know what a developee was. Almost as if she could read Koko's mind. Ms. Swan assured the class that all abilities were welcome in today's class. Nothing would be too hard for beginners, but equally, she would allow students like Quackers to push themselves too. Next in the circle was a smiley dragon. Next to Quackers, the duckling. The dragon looked humongous. He was perhaps the tallest student in the class. The dragon shifted from foot to foot, as if he was jigging along to a piece of music that none of the others could hear. Hi. The dragon smiled enthusiastically. I'm Disco and I absolutely love dancing. I always have. I can barely ever keep still. I'm always Moving around and bobbing to some song in my head. Disco's energy was infectious. Kira couldn't help grinning along with him and as he explained how he joined ballet today because he always took up any opportunity to have a good boogie. Ms. Swan welcomed disco the Dragon to class, expressing that she was delighted to have him there. A monkey in a pink fluffy tutu spoke next. The monkey said that his name was Morris and he was a ballet dancing enthusiast. Morris the monkey had performed in ballet shows before for his fellow monkeys in the jungle. But he was keen to meet some other ballet loving animals and learned from an expert ballerina as renowned as Ms. Siggy Swan. The more that Koko listened to everybody's introductions, he noticed a pattern. Everybody either seemed to be a keen dancer or or a ballet enthusiast. He knew that Kira enjoyed watching ballet and prancing around the house too. Koko started to feel a little bit like the odd one out. Finally it came time for Koko and Kira to introduce themselves to the class. Koko felt a little bit overwhelmed, so Kira spoke for the both of them. Hello, I'm Kira. She said confidently, holding Koko's hand. And this is my brother Koko. We saw a poster for this class at the Community Hub and we wanted to come along and see what ballet was like. We don't have any experience aside from practicing my twirls in front of the mirror. The entire class giggled at Kira's admission. They all secretly practiced their turns in front of the mirror at home too. Kira continued, we just want to see if ballet is a hobby we enjoy. Ms. Swan smiled at Kira and thanked her for her honesty and welcomed the little panda and Koala to class. Noticing Koko's shyness, Ms. Swan assured him that there was no pressure to take part in everything today if they didn't feel comfortable. She wanted everyone to enjoy their class and feel as confident as possible. Ms. Swan instructed the class to find a space anywhere in the room and face themselves in the mirror. The piano playing Walrus began to tinkle on the keys and a glorious melody flowed out. Ms. Swan announced that they were going to start easy and asked the class to follow along. She promptly straightened out her leg in front of her and started pointing her toes and flexing her foot in time to the music. All of the students copied along. Ms. Swan chanted, Point two, three, four, flex, two, three, four. Point, two, three, four, flex, two, three, four. The students copied her over and over again, warming up their dancing feet. Koko internally sighed with relief as they took part in the Easy exercise. At first, he struggled to point and flex to the beat of the music. But by the time they swapped legs and carried out the routine on the other foot, he was finding it easier to move in time. Meanwhile, Kira was a natural. She followed along easily. When the music came to a stop, Ms. Swan declared that they would next be moving on to warming up their arms. She spread her huge white feathered wings and showed the class the four positions she wanted them to learn today. Miss Swan looked elegant as her wings flowed through the four ballet positions with ease, rotating her wings in a circular motion up above her head, out to the sides, and back down to resting position in front of her stomach. The piano began to chime with a slower piece of music than before. It was just as radiant and easy flowing as Ms. Swan looked when she performed her ballet moves. The students copied Ms. Swan as she led them through the ballet arm warm up. Kira adored the feeling of moving her arms so fluidly to the beautiful music. She felt like she had wings herself and was floating on air. She closed her eyes and allowed the music to flow over her. On the other hand, Koko felt more like a robot, mechanically moving his arms from position to position. Koko glanced at all the other students in the mirror and noticed that everybody moved in different ways. Not everybody was as smooth moving as Kira and Ms. Swan. Quackers. The duck was doing well, but was clearly working hard to get the moves right. She stuck her tongue out of her beak as she focused, which gave her nerves away. Morris knew the movements well, but it took him a little longer to move his gangly monkey arms, so he was a half beat behind Ms. Swan for a while until he picked up the pace and disco. The dragon appeared to be in his own world. The jittery dragon shook his hips from side to side as he moved his arms. Koko felt reassured that everybody in the class had different levels of experience. When the music stopped, Ms. Swan announced the next exercise. Now we are going to do some floor work, Ms. Swan described. This simply means that we perform the moves across the floor and away from the bar. Ms. Swan taught the students a few separate moves that involved some very fancy footwork. There was a jump and a glide and a crisscross of the feet. The class copied each move and then learnt how to connect them all. Once the students had got the gist of the routine, she said to the class, I'll give you a few minutes to practice before we bring in ze music. The students set to work, going over the fancy footwork. Kira replayed the moves in her head and repeated the names of the steps out loud. First, she practised them slowly to get used to where her feet needed to be, and gradually she started to speed them up as she grew more confident. Not before long, Kira had perfectly executed the floorwork. Koko tried with all his might to copy the moves that Ms. Swan had demonstrated, but he couldn't wrap his head around them. His little koala feet couldn't move that quickly, and he felt like he was getting his legs in a twist. Koko started to feel a bit disheartened, noticing that Koko was struggling. Quack. As the duck waddled over to him and whispered, would you like some help? At first, Koko declined. He didn't want to take up any of Quacker's rehearsal time, but Crackers insisted that she would be happy to help. You know, when I first started taking ballet classes, I wasn't very good. I fell over all the time and I couldn't keep up with what all the other birds in my class were doing. But you know what I did? I practised every single day to get better and. And I did get better. I'm still not the best, but I enjoy ballet so much that I'm willing to work hard at it. So I understand that sometimes it takes some animals longer than others to pick things up. We all learn at different speeds. Koko appreciated Quacker's honesty and agreed to let the kind duckling help him. Together, they went over the moves slowly, and Quackers helped Coco work out which foot to move. When after a few minutes, Ms. Swan finally turned back to the class. Is everybody ready? Ms. Swan asked expectantly. The students fell still and stood in their starting positions with their heels touching and their toes turned out to the diagonal side of the room. Ms. Swan explained, we will start slowly and gradually speed up. Let's begin. Coco looked at Quackers nervously and the generous duckling gave him a thumbs up with her feathers before the music kicked in. Koko was relieved when he realised how slow the piano music was. The plodding pace allowed him plenty of time to think about the moves. First, he pointed his foot and glided to the side. Then he joined the other foot together. He jumped up in the air, pointing his feet as best as he could and swapped his feet around as he landed over and over again. The class repeated these steps and, as promised, the music gradually got a little faster. With the quickening of the pace, the floor work got a bit trickier and Koko had to fight to keep up. But before he knew it, the music stopped and the routine was over. Koko let out a big sigh of relief and Kira held up her paw for a high five. We did it, Koko. She grinned victoriously. Koko high fived his little sister and replied, I can't quite believe it. I thought my feet might fall off for a moment there. Kira giggled at Koko's joke and Crackers gave him another thumbs up across the room. To finish off the class today, Ms. Swan announced that they would finish with a slow adagio. An adagio is a series of movements performed leisurely and elegantly. The walrus at the piano softly began to play a captivatingly tranquil piece of music and Ms. Swan told the students to follow along with what she did. Koko, Kira and the rest of the students found it much easier to copy these movements on account of the gracefully slow pace Ms. Swan performed them. They all moved their arms in unison and kicked their legs in front and behind them. Every move was executed smoothly and with control. The music was so dreamy that Koko and Kira had to work hard not to fall asleep on the spot. Their bodies felt wonderfully relaxed as they flowed through the movements. Every extension of their legs and float of their arms felt luxurious. If they closed their eyes, it felt as if they were moving through the clouds. When the music came to an end, Morris the Monkey walked up to Kira with admiration and expressed, wow. I could see you dancing in the mirror and you looked phenomenal. You have a natural talent for ballet. You could be a prima ballerina one day if you wanted. Kira blushed and thanked Morris for his kind words. Everybody was so supportive in this class. The piano played one last time and the class took their final bow and dramatic curtsies. Ms. Swan applauded the students for their wonderful work today and thanked them for coming along and giving ballet a try. She hoped they had all enjoyed it. Koko, Kira and the other students thanked Ms. Swan for leading the lesson and retreated to put their shoes back on and prepare to go home. Before she left, Quackers the Duck toddled over to Koko and said, it was nice to meet you both. Good job with the floor work, Koko. You did great. Koko thanked Quackers for her help before waving goodbye to the sweet ballet loving bird. Just as Coco and Kira were were about to leave the studio, Ms. Swan approached them. Coco, I have been so impressed by your perseverance in class today. Ms. Swan smiled reassuringly. I could see how hard you were working to get that footwork right. It is hard for beginners and you did excellently. Coco smiled with pride. He was proud of himself for persevering with the floor work too. It had been very hard, but by the time he was finished, he had almost got it all right. Ms. Swan turned to Kira too and congratulated her on a successful first class. She was obviously a natural. So, do you think you might come back again? Ms. Swan asked. Kira nodded her head enthusiastically. Oh yes, I'd love to. Kira declared with a grin, but Coco wasn't as convinced. He had found today pretty difficult, and he wasn't sure if ballet was for him. Ms. Swan assured Coco that it was totally fine to feel that way. You don't have to be good at everything. Ms. Swan smiled. And you don't have to do anything if you don't want to. If it doesn't inspire joy in your art, then it's not worth it. Instead, you could be spending your time doing something you do love. Koko was glad that Ms. Swan understood, but he thanked her for a lovely class nonetheless. He was glad that he had tried something new, and he felt very proud of himself. Koko and Kira returned home with smiles on their faces as soon as they got home. Their parents and grandparents were eager to know how the class had gone. Kira gushed about how much she loved it and wanted to go to another class, whereas Coco remained quieter. He admitted that it had been a nice experience, but ballet simply wasn't for him. Their parents were glad he had given it a go nonetheless, and they promised Kira that they would look into regular ballet classes for her to attend. Koko could pick a different hobby when he found one he liked. After a snack at the kitchen table, Koko and Kira retreated to her bedroom, where Kira couldn't stop practicing her twirls. She tottered around the room on her tiptoes and went over the fancy floor work and graceful ballet arm positions over and over again. Kira had caught the ballet bug. Meanwhile, Koko sat down on her bedroom chair and watched her with amusement. Strumming his ukulele to accompany her dancing. Koko declared with amusement, I think I'll stick to ukulele playing while you become the dancer, Kira. Kira spun on the spot and giggled. That sounds like a good plan, she replied. Although I'm afraid you're ukulele playing doesn't go very well with ballet dancing, Koko. I think I need some piano music instead. The inspired little panda walked over to her music player and selected a pretty piece of piano music. The soothing, melodic notes of the piano floated out of the speakers and filled her bedroom. Koko put down his ukulele and closed his eyes. Kira was right. This type of music lent itself much better to elegant, slow moving ballet dancing. While Kira moved her body gracefully in time to the music, Koko rested his weary limbs. His feet were aching a little after pointing and flexing them so much, and his arms were tired from holding them above his head. His mind was also rather exhausted after focusing for so long on the difficult dance moves. As he listened to the relaxing piano music, he felt himself melt into the comfortable chair. Kira's footsteps were so quiet that Koko couldn't even hear them. With his eyes closed, he could imagine he was sitting in an empty concert hall auditorium, listening to the skilled walrus from earlier playing a delicate aria on a grand piano. Koko smiled to himself peacefully as he allowed the slow, reposeful music to carry him away to a blissful sleep. Sam. Ra.