LEAGAN Peffer, The Bluff’s own renowned dancer, choreographer and entrepreneur, is turning pirouettes into playtime with the release of her innovative book and app, Ballet Lai Lai Land, which introduces a new methodology for bringing ballet right into the homes and classrooms of young learners.

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The basis of this groundbreaking programme is to invite children into the world of dance through a captivating interactive storyline that weaves in the basics of ballet. The programme is designed to make learning physically and cognitively fun and easy for aspiring dancers from age three to twelve years.

At the heart of Ballet Lai Lai Land is Mimi the Elephant, a happy mascot who takes the children on fun journeys through song, dance and learning. The aim of the story of Mimi is to pace the child through each stage of skill and level with fun and imaginatively engaging exposure to the basics of ballet.

Peffer, of Treasure Beach, brings several years of experience in developing the arts. She explained that her vision for this platform was inspired by both her family and her professional work with children.

“As a mother of two. I’ve experienced firsthand the hurdles of having time to get the kids to extra classes. Through my work in art development programmes, I’ve also witnessed the struggles many parents face with juggling schedules, transportation and financial constraints. That’s why I created Ballet Lai Lai Land, to bridge this gap and bring dance education directly to families and schools. Our innovative platform offers a convenient, engaging, and enriching experience, making ballet accessible to all,” she said.

It consists of an interactive book, hard copy or eBook, and an app that works on phones, tablets, or computers. The app involves customized learner profiles and places, such as the virtual cloud kingdom, where children do various tasks to develop their skills and acquire points to unlock items.

Learners receive certificates when they reach important milestones in a style, similar to popular educational apps like Matific or Reading Eggs.

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Ballet Lai Lai Land serves as an all-in-one ballet toolkit for ECD programmes. It provides the schools with an engaging, secure, digital space for dance education. “The programme includes initial teacher training and follow-up workshops, content provision for term or year-long programmes and live theatre shows for participating schools. A portion of the ticket sales are donated back to the school to assist with their fundraising,” explained Peffer.

Peffer has already signed up ECD teachers for November’s training sessions, so that they will be well-equipped to start ballet classes in January. Parents can log onto www.balletlailailand.com for individual sign-ups. Schools and groups can inquire about this initiative by writing to sales@balletlailailand.com or 079 696 8328 on WhatsApp.

Follow Ballet Lai Lai Land at balletlailailand on Instagram and Facebook for the latest programmes and offerings.

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