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National Literacy Nonprofit Ballet & Books to Open Cincinnati Chapter

Cincinnati Business Courier

May 5, 2023

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.

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Local Dancer Leads National Nonprofit

Movers & Makers

Jan 1, 2023

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.

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

Pointe Magazine

Oct 5, 2022

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.

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Record-Breaking Optimism With Michael Phelps

Forbes

Jan 7, 2021

That doesn’t mean the sentiment of turning 2021 into the year of your victory is a fairytale—that is, if your mind is truly willing to accept “Record-Breaking Optimism.”

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4 Young Founders Taking Education Beyond the Classroom

Future Founders

Nov 30, 2020

Of all the things impacted by COVID-19, education sits near the top of the list. Seemingly overnight, millions of children across the globe were forced into remote learning, with teachers and administrators rewriting curriculum and policies on the fly. And now, as school districts everywhere grapple with how to safely and effectively educate their students, one thing is clear: learning must be able to extend beyond the four walls of a classroom.

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How This College Student Is Using Her Ballet Training to Help Children Learn to Read

Pointe Magazine

Mar 30, 2020

Talia Bailes never imagined that her ballet training and her interest in early learning would collide. But Bailes, a senior studying global and public health sciences at Cornell University, now runs a successful non-profit called Ballet & Books, which combines dancing with the important but sometimes laborious activity of learning to read. And she has a trip to South America to thank.

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Ballet to Business Podcast

Ballet to Business

Jan 20, 2020

In the summer of 2016, our guest on todays show, Talia Bailes, assisted with emergent literacy research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and was shocked to learn that if students are behind in academics by third grade, they will most likely continue to stay behind for the rest of their lives.

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Student pairs ballet and books in Ithaca outreach program

Cornell Chronicle

Nov 20, 2019

Most Saturdays during the school year, 4-year-old Gemma Phipps heads to the Southside Community Center with her mom to practice her arabesques, her plies – and her reading skills.

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Ballet & Books combines dancing and literacy skills

The Ithacan

Oct 9, 2019

On Saturdays at Southside Community Center, dozens of kids run through the door in their leotards, say hello to their mentors and change their shoes as they prepare for a dance lesson through Ballet & Books.

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Exercise Your Resources

American Libraries Magazine

May 1, 2019

The United States has more than 4,300 colleges and universities. More likely than not, a college or university is close to you—and partnering with them is a great way to bring high-quality health and wellness programming to your public library.

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WRFI Interview

WRFI

Mar 7, 2019

WRFI's Skylar Eagle went to the Southside Community Center to talk to the volunteers of Ithaca's Ballet & Books Program, a mentorship opportunity for college students to teach ballet and literacy skills to school-aged children ages 3 to 9.

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Cheddar U Video

Cheddar U

Feb 28, 2019

Cheddar U stopped by Ballet & Books to learn more about our program.

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