Milton board approves Little River Ballet to offer youth dance classes

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on July 17 unanimously approved a partnership with Little River Ballet to offer youth dance classes and seasonal performances at Milton facilities.

Kelsey Shackleford, owner of Little River Ballet, presented a program of creative movement for ages 3–4, pre-ballet for ages 5–6, beginner ballet for ages 7–10 and an intro to contemporary class for ages 7–10. Shackleford said classes would run in two semesters — October–December and January–May — and “each semester would end with a ballet performance at the end of the classes.”

The board discussed class sizes and staffing. Shackleford told the board she would teach the classes herself and proposed limiting creative movement to 10 students and pre-ballet and beginner ballet to 20 students. Tuition rates presented were $17.50 per class for creative movement, $20 per class for pre-ballet, $22.50 for beginner ballet and $10 for beginner contemporary.

A motion to approve the partnership was made by Morgan Van Gelder and seconded by Allison (last name not specified in the transcript). The vote was unanimous.

Thomas [last name not provided], Parks and Recreation staff member, said the department would work with the provider to schedule classes, noting prior programs had been run at Community Place, Mills Community Center and the Milton Community Center. Staff and the provider will finalize facility allocation and registration details before classes begin.

Board members congratulated Shackleford and expressed enthusiasm for the program’s potential to serve youth in Milton. The board did not set a specific start date in the meeting; staff will follow up with scheduling and registration information.