University of Michigan students twirl together ballet, literacy lessons to kids

For 90 minutes each week, these University of Michigan students devote their time to teaching small kids about ballet and literacy.

Free youth program combines literacy and dance with U-M student/teachers front and center

Ballet & Books is redefining what arts education can look like for young children by merging dance and literacy in an inclusive, community-based setting—and for the U-M chapter, the free program is run through the federally funded Head Start program at the Beatty Early Learning Center in Ypsilanti, with SMTD students teaching the children.

Ballet & Books Helps Kids Leap Through Literacy, Confidence

Ballet & Books began in Ithaca and expanded into a national nonprofit with 13 chapters across the country.

‘A form of health equity’ | What this free ballet class in Walnut Hills means to families

Sandra Bradley pulls out her phone and leans forward. She’s sitting in the basement of a library in Walnut Hills when a smile spreads across her face.

Ballet & Books

When Talia Bailes was eighteen, she took a gap year before beginning college, heading to a small Amazonian town in rural Ecuador.

Where Dance and Literacy Meet

Talia Bailes is the founder and director of Ballet and Books, a national nonprofit organization striving to reduce the literacy gap through the hybrid storytelling of dance and reading. Talia founded Ballet and Books in 2017 with a belief that dance can be used as a connector across differences and as a way to build literacy. Here, she shares the impetus for the organization and how she’s seen Ballet and Books make a difference.

Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Interview

In this episode, Talia Bailes, Medical Student at the University of Michigan and Founder of Ballet & Books, discusses her nonprofit’s mission to bridge dance and literacy to close the literacy gap in underserved communities. Talia shares her journey, the role of college students and community partners, and how the arts can positively impact children’s overall health and well-being.

National Literacy Nonprofit Ballet & Books to Open Cincinnati Chapter

Ballet & Books, an organization that strives to improve children’s literary proficiency through “a combination of dance instruction and dialogic reading,” will begin hosting programs at the Walnut Hills Branch Library this fall.

ARTifacts Podcast Interview

In this episode, Marisa interviews founder of national, non-profit Ballet & Books Talia Bailes. Talia talks about the inspiration behind Ballet & Books and how the organization works to reduce the literacy gap in children through the mergence of reading and dancing. With dance classes, dialogic reading, and mentorship, children are able to improve their reading skills and gain confidence. Currently a dancer and medical student, Talia hopes that through this program kids and young people “feel connected and a sense of belonging and are ready to thrive in life.”Follow Ballet & Books @balletbooksCheck out their website https://www.balletandbooks.orgBuy When We Read: A Children's Book.

Dance Talks Podcast Interview

BALLET & BOOKS - Helping Children how to read through dancing. Interview with Talia Bailes.

Local Dancer Leads National Nonprofit

A Cincinnati native and lifelong dancer is overseeing the expansion of a national nonprofit that’s grown to eight communities, published a book and is helping to bridge the literacy gap for 400 children nationwide.

Talia Bailes, Founder of Ballet & Books, Takes Her Nonprofit to the Next Level

When we first met Talia Bailes in 2020, she was a Cornell University college student and lifelong dancer balancing school with running the literacy nonprofit she founded, Ballet and Books. The program, which combines movement with reading to promote literacy in children ages 3 to 9, was starting to expand outside of Ithaca, New York when the coronavirus shut down in-person dance.