The 130-kilometre drive through the West MacDonnell Ranges to Ntaria is unmistakably Albert Namatjira country.

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Hermannsburg, as it is also known, is a small community where the modern facilities sit around the old heritage precinct.

It is where Carl Strehlow led the former Lutheran mission from 1894-1922. A place where ballet classes, or performances, are a rarity.

Many of the 150 school students based at Ntaria have only ever seen ballet performances on television, until this week, when The Australian Ballet visited the township for the first time.

The students came and went over the day for their allotted one hour sessions at the town's recreation hall, a non-descript facility which looks out onto the red dust of the footy oval.

They were welcomed by four ballet teachers from the national ballet company whose role it was to keep the kids engaged, to teach the basics of movement, and the relay the story of Coppelia.

Yhale Fien as Franz and Chantelle van der Hoek as Swanhilda from The Australian Ballet's Coppelia production. ( Supplied: Sophia Bender/Australian Ballet )

It all culminated in a pop-up performance of Coppelia at the end of the day.

"With our program we're looking at the touch points in ballet to real life so we'll relate it to science, anatomy and physiology," said Katy McKeown, the head of education at The Australian Ballet.

"Everybody's got a body. Everyone's got a spine. Everyone has to move that body to be able to dance and to create rhythm. So there's a lot of points within the curriculum that we can touch.

"We're starting in a way that's very fun and they can get to know their instructors and learn about the storytelling that is within the ballet. Storytelling is life."

Ms McKeown said that research into individual communities is vital for the success of the visits.

"We spend a lot of time training and getting to know what their communities are and then we will try to adapt our workshops so that the people feel ownership of the concepts that we're teaching," she said.

High 'barre' breaks down gender, social barriers

Chantelle Van der Hoek is the senior educator with The Australian Ballet and said that keeping children engaged for a full hour is part of the success for the workshops.

Yhale Fien, dance educator with The Australian Ballet, sharing the story of Coppelia the enamel-eyed girl. ( ABC Alice Springs: Emma Haskin )

"They get an opportunity to try the costumes on and dance like the characters, so they've had that engagement to the story before seeing it," she said.

Yhale Fien, an alumni of the Australian Ballet School, has been dancing all of his life, but it was a pursuit he did not share with his friends.

"I didn't tell any of my friends that I was a ballet dancer so it's really great now that we're going out into schools and we're breaking down the social barriers," he said.

Mr Fien said educating people who have never seen ballet is his main goal.

"I'm sure there's a lot of people who have never seen people like us before, doing what we do, wearing the types of clothes that we wear," he said.

"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have such natural rhythm and ability when it comes to dance, so it's a real treat to see them moving … [and introducing] the community to a new art form."

Chantelle van der Hoek as Swanhilde in The Australian Ballet's pop-up school performance of Coppelia. ( ABC Alice Springs: Emma Haskin )

He said he hoped that coming to communities such as Hermannsburg might spark a further interest in dance.

"It opens people's eyes to a new world that they probably didn't know existed and breaks down some stereotypes around gender roles and social barriers," he said.

Students from Ntaria wait for the pop-up performance of Coppelia by the educators from The Australian Ballet. ( ABC Alice Springs: Emma Haskin )

Susan Neil is the year 4-5 teacher at Ntaria school and acknowledged the difference that hands-on education makes to the children's learning.

"They are engaging, and I think it's a really really good thing for them. It actually helps them with a lot of things," she said.

"It helps them with the confidence of their abilities and to learn more new things."

Ms Neil said that music and dance already plays an important role in Indigenous culture and being exposed to ballet may broaden the students' horizons to consider a career in ballet.

"For indigenous kids, a lot of pen and paper doesn't really work, it stops them thinking, stops their brain a lot," she said.

Yvette Sauvage performs as a paper doll for the Ntaria students. ( ABC Alice Springs: Emma Haskin )

"It's all that movement and the pace is good, as is the volume and the tone."

As the workshops drew to a close, the keener students from Ntaria school came back to watch the mini pop-up performance of Coppelia.

There were no lights or orchestra. Just the small set, costumes and props which all fit into just four suitcases.

The educators' roles transformed from teacher to performer.

The children were transfixed. The movement, the dance and humour washed over the audience.

Kiaasha is just 10 years old and was inspired by her day with The Australian Ballet.

"I would like to be a ballet dancer because it's really fun when you do the actions and it's good doing a dance," she said.

"You feel good and fresh when you dance."

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