Jump to content

Kate_N

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,368

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Kate_N

  1. Kate_N
    Just to add that I've signed up for Nina Thilas Mohs Floor Barre class tonight at 6pm and her ballet barre + short centre on Friday. These are charged for, but only £5 each and done via Zoom, so there'll be corrections - at a distance, but still, some feedback. You can find the details via Nina's Facebook page: Floor Barre London. Highly recommended I've been enjoying Sander Bloemmart's lovely clean precise technical barre - really well pitched for a range of standards of dancers. He's a really good teacher - thinks through the way the bare connects each exercise, and does a tiny bit of challenging centre work in terms of balance and alignment. Sometimes the simple stuff is the hardest. But it's weird doing class without specific corrections!
  2. Kate_N
    Oh noooooo I never took class from him (not quite that advanced!) but he was a fixture at Steps. Every time I'm there, I peek into his studio to see the Maestro and the beautiful dancers of all ages who study with him. And between classes he is a presence in that Steps hallway.
  3. Kate_N
    DanceXchange in Birmingham is streaming live classes via Instagram.
  4. Kate_N
    Has everyone received this email from the Royal Opera House? They're streaming some of their back catalogue of productions via Facebook & YouTube. Looks terrific. #fromourhousetoyourhouse https://www.roh.org.uk/news/the-royal-opera-house-launches-a-programme-of-free-online-content-for-the-culturally-curious-at-home?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020_March_Free_Content_Announcement_Public_Ask&utm_content=version_A&emailsource=49912 NB: I hope this isn't replicating what others have already posted; I did check to see ...
  5. Kate_N
    Tiler Peck also doing something on Instagram I think.
  6. Kate_N
    Kat Wildish has posted a huge list of online ballet classes on her Instagram feed. All PST, so I think we’re 7 hours ahead. But some amazing dancers and teachers.
  7. Kate_N
    Loads of dancers doing stuff on Instagram. Sander Blommaert, as mentioned above, The maestro, Finis Jhung from his New York kitchen Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside (NYCB) from their kitchens!
  8. Kate_N
    Wonderful that you've found a good class. And it does sound good! Technical & pacey - a great combination.
  9. Kate_N
    To a well-trained and thoughtful dancer, a beginners class with an experienced and expert teacher can be tough and challenging because the slow pace and emphasis on fundamentals allows for no skimping on clean precise and correct technique.
  10. Kate_N
    I think maybe some of the less "glamourous" brands do larger sizes for adults: when I was between a large 14 and a small 16, I found that Plume leotards (available from DanceDirect) were good, whereas Capezio was always small, even in the L size. But I suppose it's supply and demand. Most women buying leotards etc for ballet are not larger than the average female body (which is a size 14 across the UK I think?), I suppose.
  11. Kate_N
    Dansox, the research network for dance run from Oxford University, is hosting what looks like fascinating event on 5th March We are welcoming Alastair Macaulay, former Chief Dance Critic of the New York Times, back to St Hilda’s College to deliver a special guest lecture on George Balanchine, the great twentieth-century choreographer. Thursday 5 March, 5.30pm, Jacqueline du Pre Building, St Hilda’s College, Oxford. The lecture is free and open to all and will be followed by a drinks reception. Please book places at Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dansox-guest-lecture-by-alastair-macaulay-on-georges-balanchine-tickets-89044930785
  12. Kate_N
    I feel your pain. My home town of Lancaster was pretty much held to ransom by the quality (or not) of the West Coast line and Virgin Trains. Bring back British Rail, I say!
  13. Kate_N
    Wonderful stuff - I wish I had time to learn all that. And, as you say - Handel!!! Although, an exacting taskmaster in terms of rhythm and timing.
  14. Kate_N
    Don't forget to focus on your ankles - think about getting the stretch through your ankles to point your foot. We often focus on the instruction: "point your toes." When you go to point your toes, make sure you start from the ankle, not just your foot arch and toes.
  15. Kate_N
    If you had good teaching and a positive experience at BAD, would they be amenable to you joining one of the classes for older teens? There might be a mismatch of levels, as older teens are likely to be more advanced, but you could work at the back and start to pick things up. It might be worth asking them. After all, ballet developed from Baroque dance, so you have the historical foundation for ballet 😀
  16. Kate_N
    What about studios in York?
  17. Kate_N
    I've suggested much the same thing on several occasions, @RuthE I'm grateful to the Moderators for splitting off the other discussions & non-blog-like posts by the rest of us so that incoming new adult dancers can find the more varied posts & posters in this forum. There's loads of good discussion & advice in that tread as well - but those posts can tend to get lost unfortunately.
  18. Kate_N
    Hannah herself says her Friday Central class is more basic than her Danceworks Beginners classes. I've only done her Danceworks classes, so your first-hand knowledge is really useful! Either way, she's an excellent teacher for adult beginners
  19. Kate_N
    To me, it looks like a lack of strength & flexibility in the ankle, as much as in the feet. You can see this in the picture of feet in parallel.
  20. Kate_N
    Your feet look good in those shoes, but "perfect ballet feet" are feet AND ankles which have the strength in arch & ankles to fully straighten when on pointe - that's how you get over the box, particularly in second position. I can see that you have the high arched "banana feet" but they are no use to you if you don't have the foot strength and ankle strength & mobility to use them. I'd say from your photos that you might look at developing strength & flexibility in your ankles - ask your teacher about theraband exercises, and other ankle strengthening & flexibility work. Simple rises in parallel at the barre are good. Also just rolling up and down through your feet in pointe shoes in parallel at the barre. It's about developing the strength to mould those shanks to your instep.
  21. Kate_N
    Alexander, if you're already travelling in to London to do Baroque dancing etc, could you add on a ballet class or two? Most good ballet classes are 90 minutes long (although Pineapple studios do 60 minute classes - they're not really long enough in my view). Classes in London I'd recommend for a beginner would be Hannah Frost's Beginner classes at Danceworks, and her Friday night class (7-8:30pm) at Central School of Ballet (google Central Nights). These are drop in classes and attract dancers at various levels of experience & competence. Hannah is an excellent teacher for someone who is just beginning - she takes the barre slowly, explains in detail, and gives really good coaching and visual tips or cues. The centre is quite simple, and you really get to break down complex steps such as pirouettes. She has an eagle eye & gives hands-on corrections - which for me, is the best way to learn about correct placement. I'm a pretty experienced dancer (not necessarily always competent though!) and I take her class at Danceworks when I'm in London, as it's a great tune up & boot camp for my bad habits. Apparently, her Friday class at Central is a real "Absolute Beginner" class - these are hard to find as drop in classes. https://danceworks.com/london/classes/timetable/ https://www.centralschoolofballet.co.uk/aeccourseoutline.php PS and thanks @Jan McNulty for moving these posts out of the other interminable thread!
  22. Kate_N
    @Alexander could I suggest that you post a new separate thread on this, and add some tags, such as 'adult ballet' and maybe 'basingstoke' so that your request is seen by more people? It's rather buried in this very long thread, which tends to be more of a blog from one of Balletco's adult ballet students. Your request won't be seen by many posters who may have information, but don't read this thread because of its focus.
  23. Kate_N
    Splits are not needed for correct ballet technique. Really.
  24. Kate_N
    Yes. I think the thing I enjoy about repertoire classes & workshops is that you learn a lot about technique as well as learning the choreography. It's what we do class for - to put the technique into practice. I've been lucky in my home studio in that my teacher - an ex-professional and really well-trained as a dancer and dance pedagogue - knows much of the great classical repertoire, and gives us bits in class as part of our centre work. We spent most of 2019, for example, in doing centre practice derived from Giselle. This wasn't repertoire as such, but integrated into the barre and centre practice of regular class.
  25. Kate_N
    At my place, we offer quite a lot! We have "Employability" sessions within the Department about every 3 weeks or so (so about 8-10 over the year). They are VERY poorly attended. Sometimes embarrassingly so when we have external experts. We spend quite a bit of money overall - now coming from the tuition fee. And still our students say they get no advice or help <sigh>
×
×
  • Create New...