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Adult ballet students: UK cities good for dance?


Kate_N

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I thought I'd start this thread, as there are several queries in here about places to continue reasonably advanced studies in ballet once people leave school/family home and go to university.

 

I asked the question here after moving from a large city to a small city, and I'm sure others are in that position. So maybe we can pool experience & advice as a resource?

 

If people don't want to give too many clues to specific studios, or give information on location which might compromise their anonymity, I hope we can respect that. I'm sure that the PM system can help there too!

 

BIRMINGHAM

It's a great city for the advanced but non-professional dancer. I'll start off by saying I used to live in Birmingham, and found the range of classes there excellent: you could do a serious dance class most days of the week just by attending DanceXchange, behind the Birmingham Hippodrome. The teachers are uniformly excellent -- often ex- or current BRB dancers. The studios are beautiful, big, good changing facilities, and very reasonable prices. I highly recommend DanceXchange.

 

The only draw back there is the rather silly requirement (IMO) that you attend classes at only one level. Apparently, there were complaints about advanced dancers making beginners feel 'intimidated.' I tend to think that the real problem is beginner dancers in more advanced classes, and I like having more advanced dancers in class to follow! but that's just my view. The limitation on attending only one level seems to be pretty much ignored, though, particularly if you pay as you go. I think it's tougher if you want to pay for a whole term in advance.

 

LONDON

London is also the obvious place for continuing high quality dance training. My picks are Danceworks, and Central School of Ballet. I love, love, love Renato Paroni's Sunday class at Central -- it's challenging but not in terms of difficult combinations -- it's his requirements for clear and technically high-powered technique at a basic level. I always feel great after his class.

 

Danceworks has a daily professional class, and a range of others. It's the nearest to the studios of New York (such as Steps) that I've danced at.

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Thanks Kate_N for starting this thread in this way with such detail. Great idea and looking forward to hearing more about facilities in other UK cities where students and others can continue studying and enjoying dance. 

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Great idea!

I'll add what I know:

GLASGOW
Lots of dance through Dancehouse, but it can be hard to find hard enough classes.
Dancehouse has a few ballet classes, tend to be lower level although intermediate is reasonably challenging (well it was, haven't been for a while & different teacher now). Termly blocks booked in advance although you can do drop in but only if space & a bit of a complicated system now. They do have quite a lot of pro contemporary classes & things going on.

Scottish Ballet have adult drop in classes (but you book weekly on the website now, used to be simpler) nice but small studio at SB HQ, pianist, 1 1/2 hour class. Intermediate on Mondays, Advanced/Pro on Tuesdays (inter quite advanced) all free classes each week. They used to have beginners & floor barre, there are various daytime groups for eg over 50s. They tend to do a few more classes during the summer with ballet students etc filling up the classes.

There are also private dance studios - Dance HQ, Dance Glasgow etc but limited amounts of ballet & variable standards. RCS did a series of classes for a while (beautiful studios that the ballet students train in, Dancehouse also use) but they were a bit basic & short. There's a new set of open/pro Jazz & tap classes taught by Jenny Dobbie in RCS main studios, they are very good.

EDINBURGH
DANCEBASE has lots of classes for most levels including up to pro ballet I think. Again booked term ly in advance but some drop in.

Annoyingly, there's hardly anything over the summer, Dancehouse & DANCEBASE pretty much stop early June till September!

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MANCHESTER
KNT Danceworks at the Northern Ballet School studios in the Dancehouse on Oxford Road has classes every day except Sunday. They offer ballet most days. There are three levels: beginner, mixed (or intermediate) and advanced.

All the classes are taught by amazing teachers, and it's adults only (there is a separate KNT Kids school but the two don't mix at all). The main point of contact/owner is Karen Sant, and she is a wonderful teacher and dancer. They also have contemporary (beginners and advanced), jazz (beginners and advanced) and tap (beginners and advanced). The classes all have new exercises each lesson, so it's a true 'drop in' and you won't ever feel lost if you miss a week, save for feeling stiff and out of shape perhaps! There is no need to book in advance, just turn up. It doesn't follow a syllabus at all, although I believe they are going to be offering additional RAD syllabus classes from next year if there's the demand. There is a show put on each year, and rehearsals are out of class time so it's totally up to you whether you join. The classes vary in size but everyone is friendly. The studios are the Northern Ballet School studios so are well equipped, although get a bit hot in the summer!

They are offering a summer school this year in August - three days each, in Beginners Ballet, Advanced Ballet, Beginners Jazz/Contemporary and Advanced Jazz/Contemporary. I believe the beginners ballet repetoire is Swan Lake and advanced is Giselle. The jazz is CATS.

LEEDS
Northern Ballet Academy offer adult classes in addition to their CAT classes and kids classes. Again, all the teachers are wonderful. The facilities are top rate and are the best I've ever used as an adult dancer. They have three levels - beginner, intermediate and advanced. Again, the exercises differ each week so it is a true 'drop in'. You call up the week/day before to book a place, but they rarely run out of room. I know they have done shows in the past, but I've never personally been involved in them, so I couldn't add much more information about their format.

There's a shop and a cafe in the building, so it's easy to kill time if you're early for class. Again, everyone is very nice and there is a real mix of ages. Sometimes you glimpse the 'real' Northern ballet dancers which is quite exciting!

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I take it that 'adult' in this context means 18 and over. Do the classes tend to be during the day or in the evenings?

 

I've never attended any, but ENB run adult classes at their HQ and I believe that they also have a youth dance company.

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Will fill in on Brighton later but plenty going on there and increasing all the time......though a fairly flimsy "city" compared to those cities mentioned so far!!!

Edited by LinMM
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I should have added links for DanceXchange. Here:

 

http://www.dancexchange.org.uk/classes

 

You could do a ballet class at least 5 out of 7 days a week, with a mix of levels. There are classes at Improvers, and Advanced level 3 times a week, plus Beginners, and there was a privately organised Saturday morning class (9:30-11am), taught by the wonderful Jane Rosier. That's now moved to a new studio, which looks very beautiful, here:

 

http://www.nicholsonschoolofdance.com/new-page/

 

I don't miss much about living in Birmingham, I'm afraid, except those classes & the beautiful Dancexchange studios.

Edited by Kate_N
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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

Hi all, anyone know of any Saturday classes in Birmingham, (adult, general/intermediate+, drop in). I know I did two different classes (one in the centre of Birmingham, professional studio, another outside somewhere in a church hall), but they were ages ago, and I can't seem to find anything on google. It'd be for this Saturday? I've had a look at Jane's website and that is a possibility -- although very early (I am actually staying in Stourbridge)

Many thanks

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  • 2 months later...

Hi - I am just reviving this thread to ask if anyone knows of good opportunities to take advanced/open classes in either Bristol, York or Nottingham? DD has offers from those unis. Continuing to take ballet classes (or join lively uni dance societies) might well be a consideration in her choice! Any thoughts on those cities? 

Many thanks

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Nottingham has a fantastic professional dance culture in contemporary & post-modern dance: Nottdance

http://dance4.co.uk/about/project/nottdance-festival-2015

 

So I'd say there is a good dance culture to tap into there. And Leeds (close to York) has some great opportunities for adults, that Terpsichore, a member of this board can tell you about! She writes really wonderfullyabout her classes & teachers, so may have some ideas.

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344 dance school/dance station in Bristol has adult ballet, tap, Irish and contemporary - various classes at various levels.  Most of the adult classes are at Fishponds in northern Bristol but they do have other venues.  No personal experience but have had it recommended to me before by parents whose older teens have attended. Bristol also has an amateur adult ballet company - Ballet Bristol
http://www.dancestation.org.uk/schooladulttt.html
http://www.balletbristol.co.uk/


And has someone has already mentioned there is also the Russian Ballet School, where I think there are classes for adults too

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MANCHESTER

KNT Danceworks at the Northern Ballet School studios in the Dancehouse on Oxford Road has classes every day except Sunday. They offer ballet most days. There are three levels: beginner, mixed (or intermediate) and advanced.

 

All the classes are taught by amazing teachers, and it's adults only (there is a separate KNT Kids school but the two don't mix at all). The main point of contact/owner is Karen Sant, and she is a wonderful teacher and dancer. They also have contemporary (beginners and advanced), jazz (beginners and advanced) and tap (beginners and advanced). The classes all have new exercises each lesson, so it's a true 'drop in' and you won't ever feel lost if you miss a week, save for feeling stiff and out of shape perhaps! There is no need to book in advance, just turn up. It doesn't follow a syllabus at all, although I believe they are going to be offering additional RAD syllabus classes from next year if there's the demand. There is a show put on each year, and rehearsals are out of class time so it's totally up to you whether you join. The classes vary in size but everyone is friendly. The studios are the Northern Ballet School studios so are well equipped, although get a bit hot in the summer!

 

They are offering a summer school this year in August - three days each, in Beginners Ballet, Advanced Ballet, Beginners Jazz/Contemporary and Advanced Jazz/Contemporary. I believe the beginners ballet repetoire is Swan Lake and advanced is Giselle. The jazz is CATS.

 

LEEDS

Northern Ballet Academy offer adult classes in addition to their CAT classes and kids classes. Again, all the teachers are wonderful. The facilities are top rate and are the best I've ever used as an adult dancer. They have three levels - beginner, intermediate and advanced. Again, the exercises differ each week so it is a true 'drop in'. You call up the week/day before to book a place, but they rarely run out of room. I know they have done shows in the past, but I've never personally been involved in them, so I couldn't add much more information about their format.

 

There's a shop and a cafe in the building, so it's easy to kill time if you're early for class. Again, everyone is very nice and there is a real mix of ages. Sometimes you glimpse the 'real' Northern ballet dancers which is quite exciting!

 

I endorse everything Balletchick says about KNT and Northern Ballet Academy. I attend classes at both and enjoy them thoroughly

 

I would also add the Dance Studio Leeds:

  • Beginners' class at 19:45 on Mondays; and
  • Advanced class on Fridays.

Team Hud at University of Huddersfield on Wednesday evenings at 18:30 with Fiona Noonan.

 

Bradford Dance Centre with Heidi Westman.

 

There are usually classes at Hype Dance Studio in Sheffield but I do not know who teaches them nowadays.

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I realise part of the original point of the thread was to compile opportunities for advanced dancers. I didn't initially comment on here because, well, what do I know about advanced dance? Then thought, well, maybe some of this info would be useful for someone moving to the area. I've tried to indicate which classes are more technique-focused, but it is a subjective judgement necessarily taken from the perspective of someone who isn't very good at ballet. Also, my info may be out of date & my geography was never great...! Sorry if this is too diffuse to be useful :)

 

On the subject of Bristol

  • 3rd Stage Dance (http://3rdstagedance.com/) have beginner, intermediate and advanced ballet classes. They are a very friendly bunch with dancers from all walks of life and the classes struck me as technically challenging in a good way. Drop-in (£6) or block payment. Some classes take place at The Island, which is near Broadmead shopping centre and the Odeon. Really easy to get to from the uni.
  • Louise Bracey (http://www.adultballetclasses.co.uk/) does adult ballet classes at a 'general' level at various venues, including the Tobacco Factory and St Francis Centre in Southville. This is a fair walk from the university (downhill, across the harbour, across the Avon...).  She also does some classes in Stokes Croft, near the uni.
  • Emily Baker School of Dance run open adult ballet classes on Saturdays at David Lloyd, Westbury-On-Trym, which is up to the north of Bristol http://www.emilybakerschoolofdance.co.uk/group.html
  • As mentioned by others, the Russian Ballet School (http://www.bristolrussianballetschool.com/adult_ballet/) now does adult ballet. They started last year with Intermediate and progressed this year to offering classes for beginners on a drop-in basis. These are at another David Lloyd, this time David Lloyd Sports Club, Long Ashton, which is a good couple of miles out from the university near a park-and-ride.
  • Again as mentioned above, 344 seem to offer lots of adult ballet (and tap, and Irish, and...), have been around for a long time and also offer ISTD syllabus work. Sadly the Fishponds location is a little bit difficult to get to from the university, being about four miles away on a route potentially involving a motorway, but again there are buses and it is achievable if you're feeling mildly dedicated. Emerson's Green is even further out to the north-east, Knowle is on the Bath side of town.  http://www.dancestation.org.uk/schooladulttt.html
  • And also as mentioned above, Ballet Bristol classes are on Wednesdays in Bradley Stoke. You'd want to be reasonably dedicated for this one too: I believe it's a reasonable way to the North of Bristol, near the M4, but again there is a bus from the centre. http://www.balletbristol.co.uk/class_timetable.html

and Bath (which is very close)

  • Ballet classes on Wednesdays at Bath Uni/ICIA (Institute of Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts, essentially Bath Uni's arts centre). Bath Uni is on top of a reasonably large hill; the ICIA is located there. Good stuff, but if you want more than one day's ballet per week you'd want to supplement with some classes in the town centre. Although ICIA is part of the university these classes are open to the public. https://www.icia.org.uk/classes/
  • Ballet at the Barre: various weekdays down the hill near Bath city centre.  http://www.bathyogastudio.com/
  • Kim Jones offers beginner, intermediate and advanced ballet in Bath. These were in Bath Sports Centre but I understand they're moving to La Scala Studios (https://twitter.com/K4KimDance/status/666643277920251905/photo/1). I hear she also runs summer intensives though haven't been lucky enough to attend one yet. http://k4kimdance.co.uk/
  • @DanceInBath (http://www.danceclassesinbath.co.uk/timetables/) apparently do an hour and a half worth of intermediate ballet class on Wednesdays at 5:40-7:10pm, which is notable as most classes in the area are, sadly, only an hour long. From their website they also seem to have something of a focus on rep.

 

If you're living in the Frome direction

  • Danceworks offer adult body conditioning on Tuesday evenings (8:00-8:45), tap on Thursday evenings and ballet on Friday mornings and evenings (7:15pm). They ran a summer intensive this year and, it seems, plan to do more. Really nice friendly group, challenging material and each class includes some rep (Swan Lake, etc), which makes it 'dancier': http://www.danceworksfrome.co.uk/
  • Bojangles don't currently do beginner's ballet but do offer an open drop-in ballet class at 6:45 on Mondays. ISTD syllabus. Again, a very friendly group, and a very popular class. They are that rarest of beasts, an adult ballet class that (sometimes) does pointe and works towards performance, exams etc. http://www.bojanglesdanceschool.co.uk/dance-class-times.html
  • Tri Art offer intermediate ballet for adults, Friday at 7pm. http://tri-art.co.uk/dance-academy-timetable-2015-2016/

 

... or nearer Devizes

For those around Salisbury and Southampton

 

And of course London

  • Royal Academy of Dance. Their adult classes include the only RAD syllabus courses I've ever encountered. Not too hard to find (get to Clapham Junction or Victoria, take a 170 bus and get off at Battersea High Street). Terms follow the traditional school term structure. RAD also run a one-week evening intensive for adults during the summer which last year included ballet, pilates and street dance. https://www.rad.org.uk/learn-to-dance/adult-classes-at-the-rad/adult-enrolment/apply
Edited by triphazard
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There are usually classes at Hype Dance Studio in Sheffield but I do not know who teaches them nowadays.

 

To follow up from Terpsichore's comment. Hype Dance in Sheffield are currently looking for a new ballet teacher, since our brilliant teacher has emigrated. 

 

There's an advert on their facebook page. 

https://www.facebook.com/hype.dance.7/?fref=nf

 

** Ballet Teacher **

Due to our current ballet teacher emigrating to Australia, from January we are looking for a new ballet teacher to join our team as follows.

Monday's, 18:30 - 21:30 (approx)

Adult Beginner / Improver & Intermediate / Advanced classes

Saturday's, 09:00 - 15:00 (approx)

Teaching the RAD syllabus to children from Preparatory to Intermediate level.

Wednesday's, 19:00 - 20:30

Adult RAD Grade 7

Please email anna@hypedance.org.uk with CV and cover letter if you are interested.

**

 

Does anyone know anyone who they think might be interested in the job? 

Do you think it's worth starting a new post? 

There are a lot of dancers in Sheffield who are interested in lessons. Before our old teacher went on maternity leave Hype had 4 different levels of adult ballet and an additional 2 levels of pointe work as well as RAD syllabus classes and all the classes pulled in large numbers. So there is definitely an appetite for dance in Sheffield.  

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  • 3 years later...
8 minutes ago, Kate_N said:

Bumping this for Polik. Lots of information here, although maybe we need to update it?

 

I created a google map with all the adult ballet classes I could find which people contributed to which makes finding classes in a new area super easy, I'm sure there are loads that are missing, I'd be happy to add other administrators to it.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1LQe92qPsOF3qHObTMypt_r-j6qE&usp=sharing

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33 minutes ago, Picturesinthefirelight said:

The link won't load for me.  But are Daniel Jones classes in Newcastle-under-Lyme on it?

 

I've added it but can't find much info on his facebook page about which classes are for adults & when, if you know can you tell me & I'll update the entry.

Not sure why it's not working for you it's just a google map with an overlay.

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Dance for All in Edinburgh has a good timetable of adult classes. Sheena Gough who teaches on a Tuesday night is legendary. I occasionally travel to Edinburgh specially to take her class. Plus, she doesn't tend to stop for school holidays - her classes run through summer, half term etc. 

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6 minutes ago, RHowarth said:

Dance for All in Edinburgh has a good timetable of adult classes. Sheena Gough who teaches on a Tuesday night is legendary. I occasionally travel to Edinburgh specially to take her class. Plus, she doesn't tend to stop for school holidays - her classes run through summer, half term etc. 

 

Added & oh my goodness you're spoilt in Edinburgh! 

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20 minutes ago, sophie_rebecca said:

 

I've added it but can't find much info on his facebook page about which classes are for adults & when, if you know can you tell me & I'll update the entry.

Not sure why it's not working for you it's just a google map with an overlay.

 

The info is mostly on the the Jubilee 2 booking website but it is quite difficult to find in amonst all the general fitness/conditioning gym stuff. 

 

The daytime classes are all for adults I'm not sure about the evening classes.  They are fairly new to the timetable.

 

Friday 11.30 - 1.00 pm Back to Basics Ballet (Beginners)

Friday 1.00-2.30 pm Show Dances (Mazurka, Polka, Czarda, Polonaise etc)

 

Saturday 9-10.30 Pro Ballet (over 14's are allowed in this class  but the main attendees are adults, often ex dancers, teachers, older students etc)

 

10.30-11.30 Dance Stretch (as above)

 

The Cardio Dance class at 11.30 is a mix of kids and adults

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