BalletRocks1

Merit for me too! #teammerit 😁

I'm lucky enough to be able to do classes and shows in the same building, and we get a rehearsal on stage usually the week of or the week before the show, as well as on show day - we get a chance to work on spacing and whatnot but it's not without issue!! A few years ago I was in two pieces back to back in our evening classes show and had to do a "pretend" walk off as the lights dimmed and the second group came onto the stage in darkness. I basically had to walk towards the wing and then circle around to my starting position for the next piece - but of course I went walking right into one of the others coming on for the second piece! Nearly knocked the two of us over (thankfully it was just a bump and some whispered apologies and the performance went well 🙂)

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Sorry I didn't reply earlier on - for caught up in work and exam prep! My exam was this morning (9:30am!!) and I think it went quite well. Fluffed a few arms here and there, but overall pretty good! the free allegro was a bit of a brain teaser so early in the day but we marked it four times through before doing it full out. Started with the left foot in front in 5th, facing the front, and did glissade derriere, assemble over, two changement, three assembles over, and then another changement (to then go on the other side). Kept wanting to do another glissade instead of the three assembles over!! This is the leotard I went for in the end (in the blue) : http://www.movedancewear.com/leotards-move_zia_backless_turtleneck_leotard/4296/ I got a bit excited and bought a few options, but this was my favourite! Not great if you need a bra but the material is nice.

Any advice on what sort of leotard to wear for the IF exam? The guidelines say sleeveless and has to be black, royal blue, navy blue or purple, but I'm struggling to find one that meets the spec and I feel moderately comfortable in. I'm no good with anything that has thin straps as they either cut into my shoulders painfully or roll right off, but I'm not fussed about wearing a bra underneath so a low/cutout back is fine. The biggest issue is finding one that fits around the cake pouch (i.e. my stomach) and doesn't pull down too much at the chest!! I'm doing the exam in the November/December session this year so still have a bit of time to find something ☺️

No - I was next door in ballet whilst jazz was on, and I popped through at the end of the jazz class as my second class was in the same studio!

The last intensives were 10am to 4pm

Hey everyone! Just an update on the KNT Danceworks summer intensives - this is Karen's most recent post: *** KNT DANCEWORKS SUMMER BALLET INTENSIVES *** * REPERTOIRE CONFIRMED - La Bayadère * 15th - 17th August: Beginners Ballet Intensive 18th - 20th August: Advanced Ballet Intensive The intensives will be held at The Dancehouse Theatre in Manchester and taught by the lovely Jane Tucker (Northern Ballet Theatre) who has taught at KNT Danceworks several times now and knows us well. Your average day will start with a warm up/body conditioning session, a ballet class and end with repertoire classes. The repertoire you'll be learning is from the beautiful ballet La Bayadère. Please comment below if you're interested in/want to book yourself on our intensive and I will send you a registration form and more info as soon as I have it. The prices are £200 for one summer intensive (3 days) or £350 for two summer intensives (6 days). There is a £50 non refundable deposit included in the price to secure your place. Our past summer schools have been great fun so I hope to see you there :-) Thanks, Karen I can't make the whole thing this year due to work, but it would be great if some of you could make it!

The advanced level one will be quite advanced - not professional level, but definitely a good bit more than intermediate. I attended both the beginners and advanced courses last year (my legs took quite a while to forgive me for it!) and they were both a lot of fun, so no mater which one you could make it to I reckon you'd have a good time! There's also been no decision on repertoire yet so if you've got anything you'd like to do, feel free to make a suggestion!

Michelle - yes I was aware that going as a drop-in student was an option, but it just wasn't feasible this time for me to go (hopefully one day I'll get a chance!). I think I probably would do most of the classes, so I felt like I was getting loads out of the day. Oooh what class was she in Tulip? On Monday I was in the Advanced Ballet and Beginners Jazz classes, and on Tuesday I did Beginners Ballet, RAD Inter Foundation and Pointe - was she in any of those? In relaton to the KNT Danceworks Intensives in April, I should add that there is a limit of around 25 people - both days are filling up quite quickly so email info@kntdanceworks.co.uk to reserve your place if you're interested in coming along!

I hope some of you can make it! It's quite popular amongst our class regulars so you should get in touch as soon as possible if you want to come Michelle - I asked in class tonight whether we knew what bits of R&J we would be doing, but I don't think a decision has been made just yet. If I do find out I'll mention something in the forum, although it may well end up being a surprise for everyone Unfortunately, time and money got in the way of me attending the classes at Elmhurst! A few things came up for me that meant I would miss a couple of the classes, and most of my disposable income was going into saving for a holiday to New Zealand that I'm going on soon. Hopefully I'll get to some later in the year, or next year!

Hi everyone! I thought this would be the best place to post this but if you think it would be better somewhere else, please do let me know! KNT Danceworks in Manchester (the place where I take my classes) is going to be running a couple of day-long adult ballet intensives in April! Details are as follows: Dates: Beginners - Friday 8th April 2016, 10am - 4pm (This level is suitable for complete beginner and beginner dancers) Advanced - Saturday 9th April 2016, 10am - 4pm (This level is suitable for intermediate and advanced dancers) Repertoire: Romeo and Juliet Teacher: Jane Tucker Price: £50 (£20 deposit included in the price payable ASAP) Venue: The Dancehouse Theatre, Oxford Road, Manchester The announcement was posted on the Facebook account our teacher uses and there's been a lot of inerest already, so if you think you'll want to come along then email info@kntdanceworks.co.uk as soon as you can to register yourself! I'll be going on the Saturday - I would love to do both days but I'm about to take three weeks off work for a holiday so won't be able to swing another weekday off so soon! If you've go any questions please feel free to let me know!

Wow I've not read this for a while - there are lots of new posts! I personally like using the barre, but I also don't mind doing some barre exercises in centre - pliés are always a good one to check whether I've been gripping the barre or just resting my hand on it. For the KNT Danceworks show pieces, the teachers usually just pick a song and choreograph something to it (obviously it takes a lot of effort to do this!), adapting as and when needed for different abilities and spacing issues and whatnot. The repertoire class are going to be performing a bit from Swan Lake - we've pretty much learnt it all and are just refining every week to get it looking perfect I don't know who else from that class reads this but I think everyone has been doing fantastically well! Anyone who is interested in coming to see the show please do come and watch - it's on 30th January at The Dancehouse Theatre in Manchester (I'm not sure if tickets are on sale yet or not, but they're usually quite cheap). Most of the evening classes that run have a performance - there will be ballet (including a pointe piece), tap, jazz, contemporary, Chinese ballet (always a crowd pleaser!), and there is usually also belly dancing, African dancing, flamenco, and a class that uses hula hoops (the piece they did last year was amazing!!).

I know somebody has mentioned earlier about RAD adult classes, but I can't find the post that mentions it!! There will be some RAD adult associate classes running at Elmhurst, starting in September - once a month for four months. I'm definitely planning on going and I know a couple of people that are also interested When I first contacted them about a month ago about the classes, I was told that not too many spaces had been taken up and that if not enough people applied for the classes they would be cancelled I'd hate for the classes to be cancelled because of not enough interest, and it might be nice to meet some of you in person! Here's the link to the Facebook post with all the info - https://www.facebook.com/RADMidlandsandEastEngland/photos/p.901610963260847/901610963260847/?type=1&theater.

With the adult workshops it's up to you which level you decide to do - although if you're not sure whether to go for beginners or advanced then you can always get in touch with info about how much dance you've done or how long you've been dancing for etc. and you'll be told which one is the best for you The beginners intensive was like a reasonably tough beginners class - not so easy that we were all bored, and not so hard that nobody could keep up. Everybody who attended kept up well, and I know there was a wide range of experience in the class. The advanced intensive was similar in that it was harder/faster than some of our usual advanced classes, but not so much that we couldn't keep up with it. Most people managed pretty well - there were a few of us who attended both the Swan Lake and Giselle intensives so by the end of the week our brains (and my legs) were failing us somewhat!! Haha We're hoping that there will be another short intensive around Christmas time, so keep your eye out for any information! (I'll probably post something on here if it does go ahead). If you think you might want to come along and you have any particular dates or repertoire you'd prefer to do, then let me know and I can pass the info on (Karen is currently asking for some suggestions so she can try to plan something that people will want to do at a time when we can go!).

Michelle, I understand that you like to know exactly what you're covering before you do an intensive/workshop so that you can "fully understand the objective and execute it as efficiently as one can" - but what I don't think you seem to understand (or maybe you do and just haven't mentioned it) is that this approach to these sort of things can cause issues. For example, if you're told before what repertoire we're covering and you attempt to learn some of it beforehand, then you might get to the intensive/workshop and find out that you're actually doing different choreography - this means that not only have you wasted your time learning it, but that you're more likely to make errors during the intensive/workshop as you're having to try and forget the choreography you've learned whilst also learning new choreography. I have to say that I do agree with Kate_N where she has said "you need to be prepared to change the way you do things for a specific teacher or choreographer" - each teacher has their own preferences on how something should be done, and as the students in the situation we need to listen to them. It can be awkward to change the choreography last minute, everybody will agree with that, but as dancers we need to always be prepared for something like that to happen. I am quite new to ballet and have dipped in and out of performing arts for most of my life (I did a fair bit of Irish dancing when I was younger, and dropped in and out of drama for years), so I understand where Kate_N is coming from - plain speaking is something to be careful about in this kind of environment. You will be recognised and respected for any knowledge and talent you have. Plain speaking and is likely to offend or upset some people. If you do have any comments or suggestions about how something should be done then you need to take these privately to the teacher - if they agree with your suggestions then good for you, and if not, well you'll just have to get on with it. I have quite friendly relationships with all of my teachers, but I would never dream of teaching or correcting them - they have been training and performing nearly their whole lives and I highly doubt that I would know more than they do (unless they need to know anything about spreadsheets or The Sims - I've spent an awful lot of time on both!). I can't say I've ever met a dance teacher who was willing to be taught/corrected by a student, so the teachers/coaches you have referred to in your post must be the special exceptions. I don't remember Jane simplifying anything from the Act 1 solo - can you specify how it was simplified/what it was simplified from? Your comment (regarding the choreography) about trying "desperately not to take it in my long term memory" and how you want to "reburn the original Bolshoi / RB version into the body" brings me back around to my point above about how as dancers, we need to always be prepared for something to change. You chose to spend your time (or some of it, anyway) learning a different version to what we were taught, and you needed to be prepared to learn something different at the intensive - and from what you have posted above, it doesn't sound like this was the case. If you're going to be performing a bit of Giselle at some point then it might be handy to know a couple of different versions just in case your teacher wants to change something. I had a fantastic time at both the Swan Lake and Giselle intensives - they were a lot of fun (Jane is a great teacher) and everybody that I've spoken to is really glad that Karen organised them for us (I'm including myself here!) the classes were great, and the rehearsals were good too (I felt like the LAB ones were very stop/start). For anybody that is interested, Karen has posted some pictures from the Giselle intensive on Facebook - the link to the page is here. I know Karen is hoping to be able to run some more intensives towards the end of the year (all depending on the availability of the studios and teachers), so keep your eye out for any information! We'd love to see you all there

It sounds like some people have misunderstood the clothing required for this - you can wear whatever you want for the classes and rehearsals, but for the final performance you need either a white leotard/any leotard and a white t-shirt and a black skirt (for Swan Lake) or a black leotard/any leotard and a black t-shirt and a black skirt (for Giselle) - if everybody was wearing something different for the performance it would distract from the dancing (which is kind of the whole pointe [get it? ] in the first place). For those of you coming to Swan Lake I'll see you bright and early tomorrow!!

Michelle, it's not about competing with others for me either - please don't take my comments that way. I'm not going to the intensives to try and one-up anybody or beat them at something, I'm going to have fun and do something different to my regular classes. Whilst there are people such as yourself at events like this that want to get a lot out of it and are going with the intention of learning choreography and "living the role", as you have put it, there are going to be people like myself that are simply going to have a good time. I feel that at something like these intensives/courses, it's better to have everybody on an even playing field where possible - there is always going to be varying levels of skill, which is unavoidable, but asking us all to wear the same simple, easy-to-find costume seems like a fair way forward. Whilst I love a good tutu (I still wear my LAB one on a regular basis, in my regular classes - a couple of us [sometimes just me!] will wear tutus in the beginners class on a Tuesday, which we started doing about two years ago now I think), and do own a few, not everybody is willing to spend that kind of money for something they might only use once or twice (although if I ever win the lottery, everyone in my class can pick one out!). I'm not sure why you needed to put 'I will be there' all in capitals in your last post? I'm not trying to make you not come to KNT - I was just pointing out from some of your comments that it doesn't really seem like you want to be there. If you are coming though (and you don't change your mind before Thursday!), then I hope you get out of it what you're looking for. And if you decide it's not something you want to do again, then that's totally your decision (although I can only see these getting better every year so I think you'd be missing out!!). Just for anybody that is interested in attending the KNT evening classes next week, this is time timetable: Monday 6:30pm - 7:30pm: Complete Beginners Ballet 6:30pm - 7:30pm: Advanced Ballet 6:30pm - 7:30pm: Improvers/Advanced Tap 7:30pm - 8:30pm: Beginners Jazz 7:30pm - 8:30pm: Advanced Contemporary 7:30pm - 8:30pm: Beginners Tap Tuesday 6:30pm - 7:30pm: Beginners Ballet 6:30pm - 7:30pm: Advanced Jazz 7:30pm - 8:30pm: Advanced Ballet Wednesday 6:30pm - 8:00pm: Intermediate/Mixed Level Ballet 8:00pm - 9:00pm: Ballet Repertoire - Improving Beginners/Intermediate Level (we generally choose something different every week, rather than working on one thing over several classes - we've done some Coppelia, Swan Lake, Don Q and Nutcracker so far) Thursday 6:30pm - 7:30pm: Complete Beginners Ballet 7:30pm - 8:30pm: Beginners Contemporary Workshop 7:00pm - 8:30pm: Advanced Ballet Only another day to go before it all starts!

Youngatheart, I think you’ve managed to put into words what I was thinking! Not everybody wants to know the exact details of what is being covered in advance - if nobody is told what we’re covering then we’re on a fairly equal playing field in terms of prior knowledge of choreography. Personally, I wouldn't be watching any of the videos of the scenes we’re doing unless we were outright told we were doing that exact choreography - if the videos were only intended as a general guide I wouldn't bother watching them. I’m *okay* at learning from videos, but I wouldn’t want to waste my time learning from one only to have to forget it all and do something different if it was modified for us. Moomin has also made a good point that it’s important to adapt for those that attend - I know a few really amazing dancers attending the advanced intensive at KNT, and then there will be people like myself who have brains that know the steps and legs that don’t necessarily follow!! Michelle, I’d hardly say it’s a “rigid non-disclosure”, as you have put it - you are aware that this is the first year KNT have run anything like this (I've mentioned it a couple of times and you've also mentioned it yourself) and it wasn’t felt that people needed to be made aware of which choreography we’d be using as a source. Picturesinthefirelight has made the point that the teacher may only decide a few days beforehand - luckily in this case, based on your previous posts, Jane Tucker already had an idea of what she wanted to do. I have to say I really don’t agree with you when you’ve said that “by providing the info for those of us that want to work at it in preparation, is in no way detrimental to those that don’t” - how is it fair that only some people get prior knowledge of what we’re covering? As I’ve mentioned above, it seems fairer to me to not give anyone any information about the choreography, then we’re all on an even playing field. It’s kind of like school exams (not that this is an exam) - you can study beforehand and you may have been taught something before, but you're not allowed to know the questions on the exam (I hope that makes sense!). I have been in classes before where somebody has pointed out that what we’re being taught is different to the way they learnt it, but I do agree that it isn’t common for this to happen – although when it does happen, it is so beyond irritating to me and to other people in the class that I have wanted to leave early. Having been the person on both side of the situation you described (about moving across the floor in pairs), I can admit that I am very happy to help people that are struggling with an exercise if I know what I’m doing, but that I can find it intimidating to ask for help from someone who is better than me or who seems like they know a lot more. I definitely disagree with you on what we have to wear being “awful” – the idea of wearing something plain and simple is so that we don’t get distracted by big/fancy/pretty costumes and we can focus on actually dancing and performing. What to wear for Swan Lake is also very simple, with the same idea of being able to focus on dancing and not what we’re wearing. (Anna C has also made this point quite well above!) As for the LAB Swan Lake intensive a couple of years ago, I guess we had very different experiences of that - I really enjoyed it and thought that teaching it in bits and pieces and then putting it together at the end was a great idea (it certainly helped me as I didn’t have to try and remember a lot in one go). I also don’t remember lots of people struggling - I thought we’d all remembered it quite well, but maybe that was just my impression from speaking to the others that attended. And I ballet classes I always find it’s best to go with the majority vote - if most people prefer to simply something, then it should be simplified. If you’re doing a performance and most of the people in it are having issues with part of the choreography, then it’s easier to change the choreography than the people. You keep mentioned about how you think an intensive should be run - if you don't like the way that the KNT intensives are being run, then nobody is forcing you to go. You're paying money for this but you don't seem to be excited about going - that seems like a bit of a waste to me. The only thing we should be forced to pay that nobody wants to pay for is taxes! On a plus note, I’ve been to classes Tuesday, Wednesday and today, including our beginners pointe class on Tuesday and doing the beginners ballet barre tonight on pointe, and my dodgy feet are holding up well (although after having two weeks off my legs are protesting a bit!). No more pain than a general ache now For anybody attending the KNT intensives next week, the normal evening classes will be running Monday - Thursday if you fancy doing a bit more dance in the evening!

I've only just come across this thread - I've had the same issues with Planet Dance for a long time. Whenever I ordered something it would take forever to arrive or something would be missing or wrong - and then when I contacted them to arrange for returns or exchanges they were awkward and unhelpful. The last time I ordered something online from them there was a leotard missing - I called to check and was told it was out of stock and they would be getting some within a few days, so I should have mine within a couple of weeks. I was in no hurry so that was fine with me. This was well over a year ago and I'm still waiting..... Dance Direct is my favourite - they can be quite limited on stock depending on what brands you like, but they are very efficient with deliveries (I've spent a fair bit of money with them over the years I've been dancing). The Bloch website is also quite good, as is Move Dancewear. Just Ballet are very friendly to deal with, and eBay is great for getting stuff cheaply - but the deliveries can vary from fantastic to awful (it completely depends on who you order from).

Hi Michelle, I can't say I really see where you're coming from with needing the information on what repertoire we'll cover - personally, I'm quite happy to leave both to be a surprise! Both Giselle and Swan Lake and great ballets, so I'd be happy to do pretty much anything from either of them (as long as I get to prance around for a while pretending I'm Darcey Bussell I'm happy!). I haven't asked what we'll cover as I'm not bothered (I'll be happy just to go), but if you need to know what we're going to be doing then you'll just have to ask (bear in mind that as Karen isn't teaching the intensives she'll have to check with Jane Tucker - which means she won't be able to reply to you right away). I'm not sure I ever actually looked at the information we were provided for LAB beforehand, other than to find out what I needed and where to go. I figured that they teach us everything we need to know for the performance whilst we're there (other than basic technique and the like), so there wasn't much point. As you have mentioned in your post above, this is the first year that KNT Danceworks have run any intensives for adults, so it is a learning curve - if the intensives are put on again next year then it'll be easier to plan and put together everything that is needed as we'll have a bit of experience to call on. I have mentioned in previous posts (a couple of times I think) that you should get the full information pack soon, which includes all of the information on what you'll need to wear/bring - the forms that you'll have had so far are only intended to capture basic details, which I recall was also how LAB did things last year (there was a simple application pack with basic information about what we'd be doing, and then a second one further down the line with more detail). If you do have any constructive suggestions on how you would like to see things run, then feel free to private message a list to me and I can pass it on to Karen (I'll see her this week in our regular classes). Only a week to go until Swan Lake! Also, as a side note, have you all heard about what happened to Jonathan Olliver? He was a great dancer (I've only seen him perform in recordings, never live), and it's such a shame about what happened to him.

Hello all! Michelle, as I've mentioned in a previous post (#1666), Karen deals with all of the emails to KNT Danceworks herself and it's likely that she had hundreds more to respond to, so was simply too busy to formulate a longer response for you. As well as these adult intensives, KNT is running several day summer schools for children at the same time - so Karen is currently exceptionally busy replying to queries. If you were only sending your registration form and confirming that you'd made the payment (that's what it sounds like above?) then I'm not sure how long a response you'd want for that? Personally I'd be quite happy with a simple 'thank you', acknowledging that the payment/form had been received (and stopping me from wondering whether I'd turn up on the first day only to be told the payment and form had never been received). Bellini Pointe & Michelle - I've got absolutely no idea what we're doing for Swan Lake (I was quite happy to leave it to be a surprise if I'm honest!). I trust that Jane Tucker will come up with something really fun (I've always enjoyed her guest teacher classes), so I'm happy to wait to find out. As long as I get to pretend I'm a swan for a little while I'll be happy! I don't work for KNT, but I do help out on a volunteer basis when I'm needed! I help with the children's classes on a Saturday morning (taking money from parents for the classes, answering questions about the classes/KNT/teachers etc.) and I'm helping with some of the administration for the adult intensives - I work in administration so I offered to bring my work skills in to help out You should get the information pack soon and all of the information about what you need to wear/bring and how to get there and whatnot will be included - if you have any burning questions though, feel free to ask and I'll answer what I can! Terpsichore - injuries suck!! Hopefully everything will be back to normal for you before the intensive starts. I've currently got something going on in my left foot (nothing broken/fractured, GP thinks it's something soft tissue based) that flares up doing certain exercises, and a dodgy right ankle that is prone to sprains and strains. Just don't overdo it before the intensive, rest as much as you can and if the pain gets any worse then stop and go back to your doctor. I'd recommend bringing a mini first-aid kit with you if you can make it to the intensive, with all of things specific to helping your injury - I'll be bringing one that has lots of stuff for my feet/ankles in case either of them decides to go a bit funny on me. Not long to go now! I can't wait

Hi Michelle, Ah right, if you have a lot of stuff then a car will be needed! I'd recommend checking for any road closures the night before you set off - like I mentioned, there are a lot of roadworks going on at the minute! An entire section of Oxford Road by the University of Manchester is being closed to traffic for four weeks starting next Monday (the 10th), so the traffic flow around The Dancehouse and the City Centre will be affected. The Ibis is only about a two minute walk from The Dancehouse - depending on which side of the hotel your room is on you migth even be able to see The Dancehouse from your window! If you can, though, I'd recommend asking for either an internal facing room (if they have any) or one away from both roads - there's a club across the road from the Ibis that is quite popular, so it can get pretty noisy. The car park that you've mentioned is one that's part of the University of Manchester - if you follow the link http://www.estates.manchester.ac.uk/services/operationalservices/carparking/carparks/, you'll find information about pricing. I'm not sure if we've ever been in the same KNT classes Terpsichore, but I do recognise you from your picture (not sure if you recognise me!) so I've probably seen you around! Terpsichore & Bellini Pointe - I'll see you both at Swan Lake!

Hi Michelle, The Royal Ballet School studios were incredible (especially the air conditioning, given how hot it was that week), but I'd expect nothing less of them! In terms of getting responses, the email account and phone number are all monitored by one person (Karen Sant), who also teaches adult classes as well as running the classes for children - so she's always extremely busy! You will get a response, but it might not be straight away. The intensive this year is the first one we've ever had at KNT, so it's going to be a whole new experience for everyone involved! We're working on creating a pack of further information which will hopefully be sent out soon (keep an eye on your emails!). I can answer a few of your questions: - Drinking water will be allowed in the studio, but no food - There is a cafe area in the building where we'll all be able to eat lunch, or if you wanted to go out for food there are loads of nearby places (such as Subway, Wasabi [a sushi place], Nandos, Greggs etc., and a few nearby shops including SPAR, Sainsburys, and Tesco) - There is no car pack attached to The Dancehouse, but there is one on the street behind and another across the road (which happens to be the old sit of the BBC), as well as several more within walking distance. Both are reasonable prices, but I'd recommend not bringing a car if you can avoid it. Our public transport is excellent, with very frequent buses (every minute or so) in and out of the City Centre along Oxford Road, right past The Dancehouse, and Oxford Road station is only a couple of minutes walk away (Piccadilly Station is about ten/fifteen minutes, depending on how quick you walk). There are some roadworks going on around the City Centre and the University of Manchester (which is just down the road from The Dancehouse) at the minute, so driving by car will be quite tricky - The information pack will include anything that you need to know about what to wear/bring There is no official social outings planned (that I know of), but a lot of the class regulars will be at the intensive so I imagine we'll probably just arrange something at the time - but if something is arranged beforehand, then it will be mentioned in the information pack. Hopefully this helps a bit! (Also, as a side note for anybody who cares, the username refers to two different parts of my life - I studied Geology at University, and I love to dance. Kind of made sense to go with BalletRocks!)

Hi Michelle, not sure if you'll recognise me from the profile picture or not but I went to the LAB Summer Intensive last year (Don Quixote) and the year before, and I'll be at both of the KNT Danceworks ballet intensives this summer! KNT Danceworks is where I go for all of my ballet classes, all of which take place at The Dancehouse Theatre - which also happens to be the home of the Northern Ballet School, so you can rest assured that the studios are of a good standard! Not sure you meant it to come across this way, but it sounds from some of your previous posts like you aren't too impressed by the school? I hope we can change that!! I've been taking classes there for nearly 4 years now and I've never had a problem with the facilities available - and the classes have been running for about 8 years, with student numbers increasing more and more all the time. When KNT Danceworks first opened, there were only 2 classes a week (both ballet, one beginners and one advanced), and now there are 18 classes in various styles, as well as private lessons that you can book and classes for children that run on a Saturday morning. We usually do a couple of shows each year with all of the other evening classes at The Dancehouse Theatre, and we've also had the opportunity to do a few other things as well (including Chance2Dance a couple of years ago, a flashmob in Manchester City Centre, and a performance for charity that was organised by one of the women who comes to class). Jane Tucker, who is teaching both of the intensives, has done some guest teacher classes for us before and they are always really fun so I'm sure the intensives will be the same! All of the KNT Danceworks teachers are great too, and one or two will probably be around during the intensives if you have any questions! Also, Tulip, there are KNT Danceworks classes in Liverpool - if you search for KNT Danceworks Liverpool on Facebook you should find the page, which has info about the classes. They've not been running for as long as the Manchester classes, but from what I hear they are just as good! Good luck with all of your other dancing things this summer, and I'll see you at the Giselle intensive in August!