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So, You Want to Learn to Dance? - but....uh...I'm an adult....


Anjuli_Bai

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The only down side of ENB compared to Northern Ballet, ENB do not allow drop in dancers, you have to pay for the full term up front.

 

ENB levels are somewhat similar to that of Northern, however I have no experience of level 4 with ENB yet. But I do intend to try their next taster class. I think level 4 only runs on a Monday which is out for me, as my existing Monday classes support shows, So I am fully committed to them.

 

ENB Classes:

 

Absolute Beginners

If you are a complete beginner or have limited dance experience then this is the class for you. Absolute Beginners gives an introduction to ballet technique and is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people.

Suitable for ages 18+

 

Level 1

If you are a confident beginner, or returning to your love of ballet and want reminding of the basics, then this class will provide you with a good grounding in technique, including positions, alignment and lines. No previous ballet experience is required.

Suitable for ages 18+

 

Level 2

If you have a good knowledge of ballet technique and the basics, this is a progression class from Level 1. It is a faster paced class, and you’ll be challenged to learn more advanced turning and elevation combinations, as well as learning longer sequences of steps in the centre.

Suitable for ages 18+

 

Level 3

If you have a strong base of ballet technique and want to be challenged by longer and more complicated sequences at the barre and centre, then Level 3 is the right class for you. The focus will be on gaining greater skill and confidence, performing more complex adage, pirouettes and elevation combinations.

Suitable for ages 18+

 

Level 4

Level 4 is the most advanced class in the programme, designed to challenge experienced, confident dancers who are looking to further develop their technique and artistry. If you are a dance graduate, or in vocational training, and are looking for a non-syllabus, artistic class, then why not give it a try?

Suitable for ages 18+

 

BalletFit

BalletFit is a ballet-inspired pilates workout, which increases core-strength and flexibility. No experience necessary.

Suitable for ages 18+

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Balleteacher and Michelle_Richer, thanks for the information about the English National Ballet's classes for members of the public. I would not object to subscribing for a course of classes in advance.  I do my utmost to attend my classes at Northern Ballet Academy and The Base Studios in Huddersfield. 

 

Do let me know if and when you attend another class in Leeds, Michelle_Richer because I shall also try to take such class and look out for you.   In the meantime I wish you and everyone else in this thread a Happy New Year.

Edited by terpsichore
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Hi Terpsichore

 

I would imagine it will be towards the end of January, for the moment I'm keeping my ballet down to approximately 3 hours a day to let my ankles recover, a I almost make that with ENB alone. Also If I can keep to the end of the month for that it falls in well with my Romeo and Juliet Repertoire Workshop on Sunday 23 Feb, leaving me free to be at class with Scottish Ballet on Monday night in Glasgow, then Northern Ballet Tuesday morning if the Logistics fall into place. As Northern Morning classes and ENB are no problem as I used to include DanceWorks as well, but then timing was a bit tight.

 

I Will PM you when I know for definite as the Edinburg workshop is dependant upon RAD getting sufficient numbers.

 

A Happy New Year to you too.

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"Good Fuel In - Good Energy Out"

 

 


I wish I could be slender like a ballet dancer, maybe I should stop eating.

 

If you stop eating, you will stop doing everything else too - so that's not a good idea.  Ballet dancers don't look the way they do because they don't eat.  Smart dancers eat very well.

 

…the full text of this article from Ballet.co is available on the archive via this link:

 

http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_06/aug06/ab_doing_dance_18.htm

 

 

"Next time:  "All Things in Moderation"

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 I'm keeping my ballet down to approximately 3 hours a day to let my ankles recover,

 

 

Today for the first time in my life I did nearly 3 hours of ballet:

  • the over 55 improvers class at Northern Ballet Academy between 10:30 and 11:30 today
  • a shorter extra class called "improvers creative choreography" which turned out to be a continuation of the improvers class, between 11:40 and 12:20, and
  • my usual Tuesday evening class at The Base in Huddersfield between 18:30 and 19:35.

I really enjoyed those classes and am quite ecstatic. But I am also s-o-o-o-o exhausted.  

 

Before I go to sleep tonight I have to draft a computer services outsourcing contract and prepare a cross-examination for a trial on Thursday but the thoughts aren't flowing.

 

If only I had read Anjuli_Bai's amusing little post Good Fuel In - Good Energy Out where she refers to the advice of the Sybil at the oracle of Delphi μηδὲν ἄγαν which she has paraphrased as "all things in moderation.."

 

I had better get back to my contract. Or maybe the cross-examination.

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Congratulations VBee! Well done!

 

Anjuli, I am waiting eagerly for your next installment... "All things in Moderation", such an apt topic after the excess of the festive season!

 

I usually try to put in each at the beginning of the month.

 

Thanks for letting me know you are awaiting it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The title to this thread begs the question: why did we not study ballet as children?

 

In my case the answer is that my father disapproved of ballet and was very reluctant to pay for it though he paid for me to attend a very expensive independent school in London and never stinted on any of the other extras such as driving lessons. I was actually advised to take ballet lessons at one point because I was flat footed and badly coordinated but he would have none of it.

 

I think he had two objections neither of which was unreasonable in the context of the social mores of the day:  

  • immodesty of dress; and
  • the cynical use of ballet and to a lesser extent other arts and sports by the Soviet authorities of the day to deflect attention from an appalling political, social and economic system.

As for dress he and many others at that time thought that the classical tutu revealed too much skin which was often better left concealed on aesthetic grounds. As for the men, he considered that their costume revealed far too much of their reproductive anatomy than was consistent with public decency.

 

Now my father as a highly educated man was fully aware of the great ballet companies in democratic countries such as the UK and USA and that there was nothing inherently totalitarian about ballet but when the Bolshoi visited London the country went mad. Sales of Soviet Weekly and the Daily Worker soared and the subliminal message that was propagated was that a political system that could produce such excellence could not be all bad. 

 

So all through my school days the only way I could follow ballet vicariously. There was a wonderful exhibition of the Ballets Russes at the V & A.  Much more ballet was shown on TV which my mother and I could watch as my father lumbered off to his study or volunteered to take out dog for a walk. Something he would rarely do at other times and regardless of whether the dog needed a walk or not.   Yet another connection with ballet was with the Royal Ballet School students. Our school was just opposite the upper school in Barons Court and some of their students took our tube and got talking to us about their training.   In its striving for excellence it seemed to have much in common with ours.

 

When I went to university I was lucky enough to get a scholarship as well as a grant and a well paid holiday job for the British Council which enabled me to see a lot of ballet.  I joined the Young Friends of Covent Garden which had a wonderful ticket voucher scheme that enabled me to get generous discounts for the amphitheatre. The House closed in August and September so I could use them only in July and the Christmas and Easter vacations but during those periods I practically lived at the theatre. I also joined the London Ballet Circle and even found a weekly ballet class at our Athletics Union.  Also, Western Theatre Ballet moved to Glasgow shortly after I went up to St Andrews so I saw quite a lot of them.

 

All this stopped when I graduated and went to Los Angeles for graduate studies.  Life at an American University is very different from a British one. Everyone was very serious and intense about their work. There were no ballet classes.   LA has or had far fewer theatres than London and hardly any ballet.  I did spend some time in New York where I practically lived at the Lincoln Centre.  I saw many of the great companies of which the Dance Theatre of Harlem was my favourite.

 

After I came home I got stuck into a career, got married, moved back to Manchester and while I always read the dance critics, subscribed to the Friends and saw ever company that came to the Palace and still made the occasional visit to Covent Garden I never resumed classes or even saw as much ballet as I did before.  It was only with the death of my late spouse in 2010 after a horrible illness that I took a "ballercise class" (a combination of baller, pilates and aerobics) and took myself off to the Lowry, Palace and Grand.  The teacher of that class invited me to take her ballet class and I am not exaggerating in saying that it gave me a whole new lease of life.

Edited by terpsichore
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A continuation of the previous discussion:  "Good Food In  - Good Energy Out"....

 

 

 

"Diet and Dance - All Things in Moderation"

 

 

The dancers I've seen have such gorgeous bodies, so slender, I wished I looked like that!

 

 

Well, I’m not sure that several famous old painters would agree! They seemed to like bodies which were a good deal heftier! So, maybe it depends upon when you are living as to what is considered “gorgeous.” There are some societies that consider a slender body as a “deprived” person and think that if one is heavier (even fat) one is therefore happier – 

 

…the full text of this article from Ballet.co is available on the archive via this link:

 

http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_06/oct06/ab_doing_dance_19.htm

 

Next time:   "Adult in a Child's World"

Edited by Anjuli_Bai
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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm all new to this forum business but been reading all the articles and picking up some serious tips!

 

Im 25 and am doing my grade 6 idta exam in a couple of weeks, and am relatively new to ballet. Its my first exam. And have been doing ballet for about 4 years.

My teacher tells me ive got a naturally balletic style and i am quite flexible so im quite chuffed with that. :-) but i am getting off track.

Basically im curious to know people's opinions on whether a beginner adult dancer can 'plateau' as far as flexibility is concerened? I'm pretty please with my flexibilty as it is but am always working for more, but will i get to a point soon where i just can't go any further?

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I'm all new to this forum business but been reading all the articles and picking up some serious tips!

 

Im 25 and am doing my grade 6 idta exam in a couple of weeks, and am relatively new to ballet. Its my first exam. And have been doing ballet for about 4 years.

My teacher tells me ive got a naturally balletic style and i am quite flexible so im quite chuffed with that. :-) but i am getting off track.

Basically im curious to know people's opinions on whether a beginner adult dancer can 'plateau' as far as flexibility is concerened? I'm pretty please with my flexibilty as it is but am always working for more, but will i get to a point soon where i just can't go any further?

 

First - welcome to the forum!

 

As to your question.......everything we do at some point reaches a place from which it can go no further.  As to whether you get there "soon" - is an unknown.  In my own experience there was always another door to open.  One reaches a certain point of flexibility, but then one must learn to use that flexibility and have the strength to stabilize it.  Flexibility without a dance quality, without a sense of line, form and musicality is a sterile state.  So, there is always a new bend in the road to explore.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

 "Adult in a Child's World"

 

 

Well, I’ve been taking ballet class for a while now, no longer a beginner and I’m having trouble finding an adult class for my level. Seems there are only classes for teens and I am definitely not a teen!

 

This is a constant problem for the adult student. Finding a beginning class is difficult, but finding an adult intermediate class or beyond), in my experience, is even harder. 

 

…the full text of this article from Ballet.co is available in the archive via this link:

 

http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_06/dec06/ab_doing_dance_20.htm

 

 

 

Next time:  Dancing Injured, Dancing Sick (or playing the Guilt Card)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thank you very much.   I try to put the next one in at the beginning of each month.

 

This is an amazing thread and in fact is how I found the forum on google :) Can't wait for the next one :)

 

thank you very much.  I try to post up the next article  in the series around the beginning of each month.

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Dancing Injured, Dancing Sick (or playing the Guilt Card)

 

 

Someone told me that really good dancers dance even if they are sick or injured.

 

Somehow in the dance world, and even in other worlds such as sports, we've been given the idea that we must show up and perform no matter what.  This is known as a "guilt trip."

 

So, you don't think it's true?

 

Oh, I think its true - but that's not what makes a good dancer.  It makes a foolish dancer, and often a very sorry dancer.  There's a difference between someone making a responsible effort to perform - either on stage or in class - and malingering.  Whichever it is should make no difference to the teacher.

 

…the full text of this article from Ballet.co is available in the archive via this link:

 

http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_07/apr07/ab_doing_dance_21.htm

 

 

Next time:   Mind Your Knees and Hormones

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DD has a friend who 'sprains her ankle' or 'has an asthma attack' whenever she feels tired or outdone on the sports field. She has to be carried in the former case and allowed to sit and have a drink (mysteriously no inhaler has ever materialised and been used) in the latter - but always miraculously recovers fully after a rest.....

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I wonder if this guilt trip culture comes from what is expected for professional dancers.  For instance, if you are a director of a ballet school and one of the teacher ring in sick, would it be fawned upon? And for performing dancers especially at the start of their career would they be afraid their roll would be taken away?

 

As I have been suffering from bouts of fever (nearly 39C) for a couple of days now, I was contemplating our general work ethics (not just dance) and attitude towards sickness/injury.

 

(but rest assured, I skipped my ballet class last night! :( )

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  • 4 weeks later...

Mind Your Knees and Hormones

 

 

I've noticed that sometimes my balance is really good and on other days, well, it's all I can do to stand up straight in class.

 

 

Have you noticed that this is a pattern? For lots of people it is. Balance is a fairly delicate thing and responds to how we feel, if we are sick (or incubating an illness) and what our hormones are doing. That's especially true for women who have a much more distinct and graphic hormonal cycling. It's also true for knees.

 

Knees? Knees cycle?

 

How your body feels and responds has a great deal to do with hormones. It includes every part of your body: voice, mental acuity, mood, balance, how the joints work, muscle tension, hand writing, appetite, sleep, and so on.

 

…the full text of this article from Ballet.co is available in the archive via this link

 

http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_07/jun07/ab_doing_dance_22.htm

 

 

Next time:   "The Other Half - Tony"

Edited by Anjuli_Bai
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  • 5 weeks later...

The Other Half – Tony

 

This is my friend, Tony; he wants to talk to you….

 

Hi, Tony, nice to meet you.

 

As you can see I’m a guy, but I think I want to take a ballet class.

 

No “but” about it, being a guy and taking a ballet class is not mutually exclusive!

 

Well, it seems to me that people think ballet is for women.

 

There was a time when people thought that ballet was only for men.

 

Really?

 

Absolutely!  When ballet became part of the entertainment and activity of the French Court, women didn’t dance.  It wasn’t considered “the right thing to do” and besides they wore those heavy long frilly gowns and it was hard to walk let alone dance.  So, when the ballet story called for a female character, men danced it.  It was called “en travesti.”  Only gradually did women begin to participate.  Even as late as the early part of the 1800’s men dominated the ballet.

 

What changed it?

 

…the full text of this article from Ballet.co is available in the archive via this link:

 

http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_07/jul07/ab_doing_dance_23.htm

 

 

 

Next Time:  You Don't Have to Hear the Music to Dance

Edited by Anjuli_Bai
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