News:
WE'VE MOVED!!! As of January, 2010, the Tuesday afternoon and evening children's and adult classes moved to 'de Grote Pyr' which is located at the corner of the Elandstraat and the Waldeck Pyrmontkade.
After 3 years in The Theater Haven, this is a welcome change. The Theater aan de Haven served us well, but, sadly, the building is going to be torn down. In de Grote Pyr we have a much bigger studio and lots of light. For directions, a map and detailed instructions about how to find de Grote Pyr and where to enter the building and find the studio, please see the 'schedule' page of this site.
(new studio in "de Grote Pyr")
PALLAS AND TRISTAN PERFORMED IN DeDDDD's NUTCRACKER BALLET IN DE GROTE KERK IN DEN HAAG!!!
From 27 December,2009 until 1 January,2010 Pallas and her 8 year old son and student, Tristan van der Kroft, performed in 6 of the 12 performances in the 4th edition of De Dutch Don't Dance Division's spectacular production of 'De Notenkraker' in de Grote Kerk in Den Haag, under the direction of Thom Stuart and Rinus Sprong. This marked a comeback performance for Pallas after a long hiatus from the stage. She danced the comedic role of the drunken 'Tante Francoise' (Aunt Francoise') - who performed both a solo dance and a duet (with 'the butler') in the 1st act, eliciting big laughs from the audience. This production marked Tristan's debut on the big stage. He had a triple role: First as a young Israeli boy at the party, secondly as a 'mouse' in the battle scene between the mice and soldiers, and finally in the second act as a breakdancing 'falafel'- in which he had a solo dance doing the 'robot' and the'moonwalk'. Both mother and son enjoyed performing tremendously and were very proud of each other! This production of the Nutcracker is unique in the Netherlands in terms of bringing together dancers from many backgrounds: guest stars from the American Ballet Theater in New York,freelance professional dancers from the Netherlands and abroad, amateur dancers, 'recreational' dancers, serious dance students, and children. It is comparable with community theater in America and DeDDDD modelled their concept for this production after Nutcracker productions in which they danced in America. To view a complete photo album of The Nutcacker go to www.notenkraker.nu click on 'foto's voorstelling 2009' The first photos that come up in the album are of the cast we performed in the 'blue' ('blauwe') cast.
(photos of the Nutracker -Hans Oostrum Fotografie)
Ballet class for 4-6/7 year olds on Tuesday afternoons from 17:00- 17:30
This class got off to a great start in September,2009.We have a fantastic international (and Dutch ) mix of girls and boys- all of whom love dancing and are motivated to learn!Please see' schedule' page for more details. For enrollment details please contact Pallas-Dance directly via the contact info.
Lunch hour workout of Pallas's Ballet Workout and Boogie Jam! Back by popular demand,after a successful launch 2 seasons ago, the new 'lunch hour' workout takes place on Thursdays in the beautiful 't Sporthuysch Gym: Frankenslag 9 in The Statenkwartier (see the 'thanx and linx' and 'schedule' pages of this site to have a look at the beautiful studio). The classes are 1 hour long from 13:00-14:00. This class kicked off to great start with a wonderful group of students! For more details please see the 'schedule' page.
Winter, 2010 session will begin as follows:
Tuesday, 9 February: Ballet Classes for Children and Adult Ballet Workout and Boogie Jam in de Grote Pyr
Thursday, 28 January : Pallas Ballet Workout and Boogie Jam lunch hour workout in 't Sporthuysch Gym
For more details and complete schedule please see schedule
For information regarding enrollment please contact Pallas via the contact info
Please find on the News archive page:
- Article from "The Hague Times" Feb 10 2006
- Article # 1 from "TheHagueOnline.com" Jan 16 2006
- Article # 2 from "TheHagueOnline.com" Dec 15 2005
Pallas Dance
24 April 2008 : Article from TheHagueOnline
Imagine my excitement when my wife called out that I had an email about going to Paris, France. I rushed over to the computer and discovered that it actually said 'Pallas Dance'. I expect Pallas herself would forgive my disappointment. But I found that my trip to Pallas Dance was quite an enjoyable experience. [more]
Pallas Dance is a dance class run by the enthusiastic Pallas van der Kroft-Sluyter. Originally from LA, her training resume and CV in the professional show world are extensive. She's worked in musical theatre, movies and even MTV videos.
I got to the Theatre aan de Haven in time to see the last ten minutes of the children’s ballet class, during which they did classical barre work. As I sat with the waiting parents, I watched the children concentrate on their positioning and grace with touching determination and earnestness.
After the barre, they had some free dance time and a warm down, and then the lesson finished. There were a few very sad faces. I soon discovered the reason for this sadness: this was the last lesson of the course and there would be no more dancing for a while. They gave Pallas a bouquet of flowers as a thank you gesture, which was sweet to see.
Then followed the adult class. Though I planned to stay for only ten minutes, I ended up sitting through the whole class. All the students were ladies, which apparently is often the case, as Pallas complained, 'We never get males here?'
The class began with some yoga-based stretching, followed by ballet barre exercises. Pallas is a very encouraging teacher, watching closely for the smallest misplacement of the feet or arms. Though it is all taken quite seriously, the atmosphere remained friendly. Despite the hard work, everyone was smiling.
I was asked to join in and experience the class for real, but as I have two left feet and the coordination of a brick, I felt it better to decline. The final part of the evening was a funky jazz routine. The group had been learning a routine each week, and adding to it. I was at the last lesson, and was lucky to see the end result. It was fun, bouncy and athletic: a very entertaining show. To finish, the class had a bit of fun with an improvised dance game. All the participants were friendly with each other, and clearly enjoyed themselves.
So what are my conclusions about this class? It has something for everyone, even you men! It's a great source of 'stress relief at the end of a working day,' as Pallas put it to me. I was not really that keen to go along, but I ended up sitting there quite happily listening to the great music and tapping my feet, enjoying the class vicariously.
The next classes are planned to start around the second or third week of May. Watch the website or contact Pallas for more current details. The children’s classes are for children 6 and up. Both adult and child classes are over a ten-week period, one session per week.
So if you have some energy to burn off, want to learn ballet and modern dance techniques in a fun atmosphere in a professional dance studio, go along, I guarantee you will enjoy it. And remember, guys, you ought to go along as well - they'll be happy to see you!
For details go to: www.pallas-dance.com or e-mail: info@pallas-dance.com
by Neal McClimon
www.ITPPhotography.com
English photographer in The Hague
Performance!
On Wednesday, 19 December, 2007 a group of students from Pallas-Dance performed at the Christmas celebration of The Nutsschool M.M. Boldingh in The Hague.
Three children (students from the Boldinghschool); Jade, Sanne, and Tristan and four adults (mothers from the school) Sandra, 'Sandy', Nieske and Pallas performed before an enthusiastic audience in the Marathonkerk. The dance program (which was interspersed between a musical program) began with a short classical piece with the adults and children sharing the stage.
Next on the program was a 'pas de trois' (trio) performed by the children incorporating the girls' classical skills and peppered with Tristan's breakdance stunts set to Rosemary Clooney's rendition of 'Jingle Bells'. The final selection on the dance program offered the adults performing a fun and funky jazz dance piece set to two very special versions of 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' and 'Jingle Bells' both from the CD 'Jungle Bells' from Brent Lewis (www.brentlewis.com).
It was especially nice to bring the children and adults together on stage and to perform together. It was an exciting and joyous experience to perform for friends, family, teachers, peers and colleagues at this beautiful Christmas celebration.
