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Dance classes increasing in popularity?


alison

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The Bolshoi cinema broadcast thread here http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/12388-bolshoi-cinema-broadcasts-2016-2017/#entry173579 has gone on an interesting digression, about whether ballet/dance classes are increasing in popularity.

 

Here is the trailer for the new cinema season. What do people think of it? Are they trying to attract people who have never been to the ballet before?

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/dance/what-to-see/bolshoi-ballet-launch-ballet-in-cinema-season-world-premiere-tra/

 

 

The trailer reminds me of the ballet segment in the annual Vienna New Year's Concert. If they can attract people who haven't been to the ballet before, so much the better! Perhaps they will be inspired to go and see it live.

 

I was chatting to one of the people who works at the DanceXchange last night and he said that this year there have been more people doing adult ballet classes than ever. I can confirm that classes have been larger this year. Around now, numbers start to drop off but there are still 10-15 in class and new people are coming every week. I've never known new starters this late in the term. The chap said that beginners street dance was more popular than every too. This can only be a good thing.

 

 

I don't know why I find re-broadcasts different (and less desirable) than live broadcasts, but I do. Completely irrational.

 

We've had a couple of people join our class (which has hovered around 15 people too, about 50% more than two years ago) in the last few weeks too. We did get coverage in the Irish Daily Mail recently, which might explain it, but it's really late in the term. Maybe people are tiring of the gym thing and looking for something more interesting to do.

Any thoughts? We certainly seem to have had a fair number of newcomers to my ballet class.

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I'm afraid I'm almost completely disconnected from TV popular culture - we sort of decided some time ago that between horses, martial arts classes, dance classes, music classes and so on that we didn't have time for TV and don't have access to "normal" TV services - so I'm not exactly up to date with what's going on there, but I suspect there's a couple of things happening, keeping in mind that I'm in Ireland:

 

* The popularity of the assorted talent/dance "reality" shows has put the thought in people's heads

* There's been coverage of the idea in media - as I said, the Irish Daily Mail (I know, I know) did an almost full page spread on our class in one of their lifestyle bits about a month ago - journalist came and did a class and they sent a photographer, did phone interviews. Led with a picture of Victoria Beckham doing something terrible too. They did it because an editor decided it was trendy.

* There's a wider acceptance of people, especially women, doing weird stuff, I think. The social cost of a woman in her sixties taking up ballet now is nearly zero - it may even be a social positive. That certainly wasn't true twenty years ago. 

* There's a reaction against the idea that we're basically waiting to die once we turn fifty, and that we can't do new stuff once we're past about 25.

 

[added]

 

It reminds me what happens in Iaido (japanese sword) class whenever there's a couple of samurai movies out. The influx of newbies slows after a while, but some end up staying. (Or, in our case, leaving to move to Japan!)

Edited by Colman
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There has been a definite change in the makeup of adult ballet classes since I started 20+ years ago. Back then, there was usually only one bloke in class (err me!). After the first decade, there was one other bloke who came for a year or two. He was well past 60 but I think he moved away and stopped coming. The only other chaps were at the classes that I attended at the real ballet school. One or two of the students would do the adult class as an adjunct to their training. Now there is usually at least one other bloke in class and sometimes three or four. We had the mayor come for a while, when the pressures of office would allow. Sadly he never wore the chain to class!

 

In Birmingham, the classes have always had a wide age span from 18 to 60+. We're getting more black men these days. There have always been black women, but rarely men. Several women whose heritage is of the Indian subcontinent, although no men as yet. They will, no doubt, come one day.

 

Why the increase in numbers? Perhaps for the reasons Colman said. Perhaps for other reasons too. I think there is a trend for older people to excercise more. We're getting more people through the door at the gym that I go to, and they don't seem to be put off by the body builders either.

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Still the only guy in my class. We've had two do single classes since I joined, but that's it. Currently almost no new Irish adults, but lots of their kids (Ireland: if you're not white and of British ancestry you almost certainly arrived here in last 15 years).

Edited by Colman
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I've noticed some new people join my class in recent months and they've stayed. It's great that more people are doing ballet, they might be inspired to see it live every now and again and then that's good for the arts. Apart from the fitness benefit, it's nice for more and more people to be aware that ballet is not girly, you don't need to be younger than 7 to start, and you don't need to be dressed in pink to attend classes, etc.

 

However, I've also noticed that some adults are going for the wrong level of class. This may have been discussed on this forum before? Maybe not an issue in somewhere like Pineapple in London because of the sheer numbers and levels of people going to classes. But in places smaller than London, I've seen adults who would be classed as beginners join advanced classes but no-one has pointed out to them that it's not suited to their level. I feel it's a shame because they would benefit from a lower-level class.

 

I've heard of adults dropping out of ballet because they say it is harder than they expected it to be and say something like, "I learnt loads at the beginning but then I just stopped learning any thing new and getting better". I think the repetitiveness of ballet surprises some people - you don't learn tendus today and never do them again because you've moved on/become more advanced.

 

I think programmes like Strictly Come Dancing and Diversity winning Britain's Got Talent must have helped make dancing more popular.

 

Just some of my thoughts.

Edited by Dancer Sugar Plum
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They might have good reasons for being in the wrong class, that being the time it is on. The Tuesday classes at the DX are 6:00pm improvers and 7:15pm for beginners. I can't make the 6:00pm class, so I have to do the beginners. It isn't a problem for me, I just make things harder and the teacher sets more difficult variations. I did feel a bit embarrassed the other day, when I did a big finish ending in a drop to one knee and she announced to the class "Don't be put off by things like that". (There were a lot of first timers.) Fortunately, Thursdays tha class times are the other way around, so I'm in the right class.

 

I don't think you ever stop learning in ballet. Last night, we had a substitute teacher and he set a tendu variation that I've never seen before.

 

As to adults dropping out because it is harder than they expected, I know of a recent case. Earlier in the year, we had a new chap come to class who had been dragged in by his girlfriend. He said it was hard to "contort your legs that way and wreck your knees". Of course, he mean turnout and we turnout so that we don't wreck our knees. He stopped coming after a couple of weeks, but she still comes.

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I've been very fortunate down here in the West country (having moved away from the possibility of getting to the studio Trog describes!) to have found an excellent new studio. I can't get the variety of classes that I used to have (I remember the Tuesday & Thursday classes Trog describes) but my teacher is very very good. 

 

But our regular "Back to Ballet" class regularly has 15 students, and our teacher is expanding the number of adult ballet classes she offers. There are now 3 classes on offer, all not much above very basic Beginners, but so well taught that I think I'm technically stronger than when I did advanced classes taught by soloists from BRB. Our teacher is good at pushing absolute beginners, but like others I notice that some who think they're quite advanced, are actually not.

 

We've recently had quite a "character" in our classes. Someone who thinks she is a very advanced dancer, but is actually delusional, and obviously watched too many "ballerina" films. She does her own thing at the barre & in the centre. It is hilarious, really - she doesn't follow anything our teacher gives us.  If it weren't so funny, I'd get quite angry - it looks like a lack of respect - I think it's delusion and, sadly, mental illness. But can be potentially dangerous in grand allegro - I've ad to steer around her doing her "ballerina interpretive dance" in the corner, when we are doing what our teacher has set for us. 

Edited by Kate_N
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Sadly I know of someone like you mention Kate. Truly Delusional.An average dancer at best who is always saying how good they are and on about these advanced Solo's and repertoire that they study and can dance but are strangely reticent when it comes to actually demonstrating any of these skills when ever they have an opportunity to...

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If someone is of a personality to be disruptive in an advanced class and not consider others around them surely they would be equally disruptive in a beginners class though? I don't personally generally have a problem with people being in a class that may not be their exact level. I think it's to be expected with adults to some extent because classes have to be fitted around so many other commitments. A 6pm class would be nigh on impossible for anyone working standard days or waiting for a partner to come home to take over childcare. I totally accept that if someone affects your own safety/ enjoyment that is a problem but if someone has less than perfect technique but clearly just loves coming to class they can bring something very positive to the whole group????

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Well, it is hard: I'm a reasonably active chap, and that first month to six weeks was hard, painful as new muscles get exercised and confusing. I knew it would be - it always is when you start something like this - but a lot of people don't expect that. And it stays hard: that's the point. If I was easy it wouldn't be worth doing.

 

As to advanced classes, we quite often do the advanced adult class, staying down the back of the barre or room and trying to keep out of their way - the teacher will simplify for us. There are only three hours of adult classes available a week, and you get the hours in as you can.

Edited by Colman
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If someone is of a personality to be disruptive in an advanced class and not consider others around them surely they would be equally disruptive in a beginners class though?

 

I've experienced both - someone in an advanced class who couldn't follow the combination well enough, but didn't realise they needed to get out of the way. And now this delusional non-dancer in a beginner's class (the person in question is not even a standard beginner ballet dancer - she just makes it up).

 

We all end up with things we can't do, or make mistakes in the middle of a combination, or just lose it. It's human. And I know that when I do a more advanced class (never Pro level of course  :o ) so I can learn & push myself - I stay at the back, I go in the second group, and if I don't follow, I just step back & keep out of everyone else's way.

 

I think the difficulty of people going to classes above their level is when they don't understand class etiquette and particularly the "Give way to those dancing" rule! My current teacher is brilliant in very tactfully managing this delusional student, but I know this student puts off some of my fellow students, particularly when she goes in the front line (it's very distracting to have someone doing a combination of yoga./acro/non-ballet poses when we're doing pirouettes from 5th!) or when she tries to correct others. 

 

It must be difficult for people who run studios though - ballet IS hard, and all the publicity about ballet as 'exercise' and all the lithe slim bodies used to advertise it across social media (and the regular newspaper reports of adult ballet) give people without any experience of ballet the wrong idea. So I think teachers of adult classes sometimes maybe have to balance how they'd run a class ideally with how to run a class according to their ideals.

Edited by Kate_N
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It is difficult all around though, because limited numbers often make it impractical to 'stream' adult dancers into anything more than 'beginners' and 'everyone else'. I would also say from personal experience that there is a massive difference between the returner who did ballet as a child no matter how long ago that was, and the complete novice (i.e. me) who had their first lesson aged 45 years. I picked up the barre work reasonably well aside from my knees cracking loudly, but anything rotational is extremely hard as my body frequently refuses to do what the brain tells it. When I eventually mastered pose turns it made me so dizzy that going across the studio gave a similar effect to drinking a large G & T. I do hope though that I have never spoiled other people's enjoyment of the class. There are some real benefits to doing ballet such as improvements to posture and core strength that I could not get from running and circuit training. None the less it can be very intimidating to dance alongside people who are easily Adv 1 standard when I am grade 2 on a good day. I would love to find a class that focussed much more on the barre work but there don't seem to be any outside of London.

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Love the vision of your delusional dancer correcting others, Kate_N.   What a shame privacy laws preclude a video of it, but maybe it would make a good gala piece?

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There was a child at DD's school who used to correct others - even when she was attending a class at the level above her own as she hadn't been able to attend her own class. Delusional is right. Also very annoying for those being corrected! Luckily they laughed it off ????

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I think the problem away from big centres like London is that there are just not ENOUGH people willing to attend ballet classes regularly and so the teacher has to include pupils of varying levels....though most get very good at setting two versions of some things in the centre work....one for beginners and one for more advanced students.

 

You have to,laugh though.

Our Saturday class is at Alive Gym in Brighton and usually had a core of 8-10 people who came regularly.

Then one week there was this big free trial of classes at the Gym and so one morning we arrived to find about 25 people there!!!

 

This class only costs £7 anyway!! But did any of these people turn up the following week? Well...no!

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I think the problem away from big centres like London is that there are just not ENOUGH people willing to attend ballet classes regularly and so the teacher has to include pupils of varying levels....though most get very good at setting two versions of some things in the centre work....one for beginners and one for more advanced students.

 

This is so true. If I streamed my adults into classes appropriate to their ability I'd only have one in each group! It's not viable as it is. So I have to manage all levels at once. Not easy but it can be done. Even if numbers improve I simply haven't the space in my timetable to run different levels.

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