DRIPPING SPRINGS — For nearly 10 years, Central Texas Youth Ballet (CTYB) has aimed to encourage a widespread love of ballet and dance to the children of Dripping Springs and surrounding areas.

Established in 2015, CTYB works to create an inclusive environment that is encouraging to all dancers and strives to offer the best training possible to Wimberley, Dripping Springs, Johnson City, Blanco and south Austin. The studio offers classes for students starting at the age of 2 years old and there are options ranging across styles, age groups and abilities.

Rena Reeder, director of CTYB, studied dance pedagogy through an apprenticeship with Marcia Dale Weary at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, where she observed the teaching styles of various faculty members, including another influential teacher, Leslie Hench. During her internship there, Reeder gained experience as a teacher’s assistant and taught ballet to various levels, as well as college students and athletes enrolled at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

As a student, Reeder trained at Munro Ballet Studios in Corpus Christi and at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She has performed in numerous full-length ballets, including George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” and she attended summer intensive workshops at The Rock School, American Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet Academy and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.

Reeder decided to open up her own school because she wanted to teach the way that she was taught as a student and through her apprenticeship.

“Sometimes, as a teacher for another school, you don’t really get to have a whole lot of say in the curriculum, so I really found a lot of benefit in how I learned how to dance in Pennsylvania and so, I wanted to bring that to Texas,” the director said.

Growing up, Reeder had the opportunity to perform in a lot of fulllength ballets. Because of this, she thought that was traditionally done at other studios, but she did not realize until later, when she was an adult, that this was not the case. That realization led her to implement performances of “The Nutcracker” at CTYB.

“I wanted the children to have that experience; a lot of the times, I guess professional companies tend to put on a lot of the big productions and the children’s roles are very limited,” Reeder explained. “I thought it would be great for the children to kind of be featured in all of the roles in ‘The Nutcracker,’ with the exception, of course, of the adults in the party scene.”

CTYB’s philosophy is that students are dancers in the making and Reeder’s curriculum breaks down the steps that students learn very specifically, so that the teachers can ensure that the students are getting a solid foundation. Those skills that the dancers master will then build on to the next skill, Reeder explained.

“We have a very thorough and planned out approach for the curriculum. Right now, the kids, the youngest kids, come two days a week and we incorporate conditioning in their classes starting at 6 years old. I wish they could come five days a week, but we’re not there yet,” she said. “There’s a lot of attention to detail that needs to take place for the kids to master the skills safely. It is unnatural movement because we’re working turned out, versus how people stand every day is obviously not turned out. We spend a lot of time ensuring that the kids have proper body alignment and proper placement before moving on to the more advanced skills. It’s not just like recreational dance. It’s a little bit more serious, but in a fun way. Kids are really, really intelligent, they’re really smart and they can understand a lot if it’s communicated to them in a way that they can get, but they’re capable of a lot more, I think, than sometimes people think they are.”

There is a discipline to ballet, but what goes into it is similar to any other athletic endeavor, according to Reeder. She explained that if a kid was on a soccer team or taking gymnastics, there is the expectation that they behave during class or a lesson, not only for the discipline, but also for their safety — and ballet is no exception.

Along with discipline, dance — especially ballet — teaches kids about responsibility, commitment, focus and mind/body connection, Reeder said.

“Ballet, I really love because it exposes the kids to classical music, which in today’s day and age, I don’t think children are exposed to as much classical music as maybe they used to be, especially because they’re not necessarily taking music as frequently in the elementary school level. I think that really opens up a world of beauty to them. Sometimes, a student will hear classical music and they really start to kind of identify or call out certain instruments that they’re hearing and it’s kind of eye opening to them. I think it really is a world of beauty. I also think that as you progress, as you get more advanced in ballet, it can really be quite meditative because when you’re in the studio working, it’s kind of you working with your body because your body is your instrument,” she explained. “So, it’s that mind body connection, where you’re really having to be aware of the movement that your body is making, the muscles that you’re using, the speed at which you’re moving and the direction that you’re moving. I find it can be quite meditative.”

To date, CTYB performed “Peter and the Wolf” for Dripping Springs ISD second grade students, but then started doing “The Nutcracker” for the third grade students. The studio offers the performance to the school district for free “because it’s a really great opportunity for the school kids to see ballet and learn about ballet,” said Reeder.

Reeder said that she would love for the dancers to do more performances, but it’s been challenging to find a local venue that is available.

“We could go to Austin, but I feel really passionately about performing in the Dripping Springs/ Wimberley area because it’s our community; it’s our hometown,” Reeder said. “I don’t want audiences to have to travel to Austin to see a show.”

The upcoming performances of “The Nutcracker” will be at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22 at Dripping Springs High School. CTYB is looking for adults to perform as parents in the party scene in the production; the role entails acting (mime) and some social dancing — no dancing, acting or performance experience is required to participate.

CTYB has classes for students ranging from 2-18 years old and there are also ballet classes offered for adults ages 18 and up. The ballet studio accepts new students year round.

The studio is located at 707 W. Hwy 290, Dripping Springs, TX 78620. To learn about CYTB, find out more about the classes or to inquire about the November production of “The Nutcracker,” visit www.ctyballet.com, call (512) 894 2147 or email dance@ctyballet.com.