“Even with the cane I will come to school. I love my profession so much that I can't think of stopping it”, were the words of Ms. Chloe Mitletton, a dance teacher for decades, who raised generations of children from the capital, who studied alongside her and loved ballet.
Born in Kaimakli, Ms Mitletton stood out from the other children in the school's sports demonstrations from a young age and showed an early inclination towards sport. Her mother may not have studied, but she had a strong opinion that she herself should follow the profession she wanted. So when he finished school, he made the decision to move to Athens, where he studied and was introduced to ballet by the dance teacher, Ralou Manou. Then came the studies in England, but the road and her love for her country, brought her back to the island, built her family and opened her first school.
The beginning, like any beginning, was very difficult. The fact that she was one of the first dance teachers in Cyprus established her in well-known circles. Thousands of children passed through the halls of the school, who to this day recognize her on the street. “Many children have passed through here and when they recognize me after so many years, I am really moved. You know, ballet is art. An art that provides clarity to children,” said Ms. Mitletton, recounting to the REPORTER, the beginning of her career and the charity shows she organized, until today, which she continues to teach with vigor.< /p>
She remembers how, when she was a child, how proud her mother felt when she came first in the school gymnastics demonstrations and how important a role her mother's insistence on her studies played, even though the profession of dance did not have a response at the time. As Ms. Mitletton recounted, she had always been good at gymnastic demonstrations. “I always stood out and loved doing gymnastics. One time when we did a show in high school, I was first again, my mother was sitting in the stands listening to people commenting on how good the girl with the ponytail was.
Ms. Mitletton shared several stories from her childhood. She remembered that they had Cypriot dance lessons for the school celebration and that she would have to find a Cypriot costume, which made it very difficult for her. Then, she decided to inform the Principal of the school that she would not be able to dance, but luckily for her, the Inspector of the school was also in the office, who insisted that one of the best dance students could not be absent from the celebration and decided to find her an outfit herself. It was a story that moved her and now the path she should follow was clear. “When I finished school I wanted to pursue something related, that is, something related to movement such as dance. My mother supported me in my decision. So, when I finished school, I went to Athens to study, I saw different schools and I decided to go to this Ms. Ralou Manou. I studied there for three years and then specialized at the Royal Academy in England. I followed the technique of English ballet”.
When she finished her studies, she returned back to Cyprus. Her love for the island could not keep her away any more years and she decided to become one of the first dance teachers. She opened her first school in the center of Nicosia, however due to the large number of students she opened a school in the area of Dasoupoli which she maintains until today. “The beginning was difficult”, as she says, “but with the enlightenment of the world, I slowly succeeded. The world in the past, did not know much about ballet, nor was it that widespread. The difficulties were overcome. Think that even though the school we opened here was considered to be in a distant area, people came because they knew the good work we were doing. From about 1977 onwards, he gained more students, since their exams lasted six days. alt=”«Ακόμα και με το μπαστοyνι θα Ερ&chi ;ομαι στη σχολor, δεν μπορo να στα ματorσω»” />
What she is proud of is the organization of big shows, with their own scripts, costumes made by her daughter Malvina and the ideas she and her daughter Stala had. The world had changed and realized how important it is for children to exercise but also how important the supplies offered by ballet are. According to Ms. Middleton, at first they organized performances every year, but due to the large number of students, performances are organized every three years.
The performances are always charitable and are characterized by beautiful musical choices, strange costumes and many colors. Despite this, every year there are small celebrations within the school so that parents can see the progress of their children. As he said, “the first performances were held at the Municipal Theater of Nicosia, after it had to be announced they were held at the theater of the Municipality of Strovolos. Of all the performances, my favorite is the sweets, with sweets and confectioners, but also the recent one through which we showed the diversity of individuals. I feel proud of our shows because they are all created from scratch by us. We don't take old scripts but prefer to create the content because we want people to see something unusual and different.” He also believes that the secret of each performance is to be better than the previous one, that is, for the world to see how you evolve.
She believes that the world has now changed its opinion about ballet because it realized how important it is for children. “It forms their body from an early age, offers them the need to create, promotes teamwork, creativity, shapes the character, teaches the child how to discipline, concentrate, respect. Dance is an art form. He gives you supplies for your whole life”.
To this day, she has never stopped teaching and when asked if she will ever retire, she insists that even with a cane she will go to her school, because as she explains a teacher does not need to go on stage, but to teach. “I still teach older kids who were my students before… The secret is to be a good teacher. I understand that I am a good teacher when my students now bring their children to my school to exercise”.
Her advice to parents is to choose which school they will take their children to and start their lessons with classical ballet and then start new types of dance, because through learning ballet they become smarter, since thinking meets with the body.
The school of Mrs. Chloe and her daughter Stala is located at 60 Alekou Constantinou Street, in Dasoupoli and offers lessons for children from three years old to adults.
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