Drop-in classes in London

[Balletina]

Hi, 

We are going to London at the end of August & I was wondering if anyone could recommend any drop in ballet classes suitable for a 13 year old currently studying RAD advanced 1 ballet but also interested in contemporary? I have been looking at Pineapple & Danceworks although I understand a lot of the classes are aimed towards adults so I was wondering firstly if there were any classes that she be allowed to attend & secondly I am unsure what level of class would be best suited to her. 

 

Thanks

[Stellar]

Ballet Boost with Emma Northmore do classes at pineapple, at the end of Aug. excellent classes, look at the website, you have to prebook though

[Balletina]

Thank you. They look great but unfortunately the dates don't tie in with our stay

[LinMM]

I'm trying to think but it's difficult for younger dancers  in August as a lot of places are either on holiday or do run summer schools but these would have to be booked so not really drop in.

Look up Natalia Kremen school in case she is running holiday classes for her pupils and she might allow the odd drop in....this is Russian though ....could be interesting to try ....especially as your DD is studying Advanced level ballet .....she should be able to cope!! 

London Russian Ballet in Clapham may also be worth checking out their website .....again if your DD doesn't mind being a tad adventurous! 

Most of the RAD places are closed though or as I say running summer courses that you have to book on in advance.

[Guest]

Have you thought of Tory Jestyn Trotter's Contemporary Ballet classes at Pineapple? Like most open classes at Pineapple or Dance Works these are also drop-in classes. There is a very wide range of ages, especially in the summer.

[LinMM]

I always do a summer school at Pineapple in the first week of August ( for adults post 18) and most years there are a lot of young people around doing various classes ...looks more jazz dance though ...these are holiday courses I'm pretty sure so may be worth checking Pineapple out in case these classes are drop in.

[Balletina]

Thank you. I will check all of those out. Dd has done some Russian ballet before so would enjoy doing a bit of Russian ballet again. I think I underestimated how difficult it would be to find a few drop in classes for her. For those of you who are more experienced in taking drop in classes would she be better in the elementary level or the advanced? I picture the advanced being more professional level

[bethany]

When my daughter has done an occasional class at pineapple they haven’t had any problem letting her join in. They just check she’s happy with the level. There have always been some teenagers in the classes. Standard tends to vary in open classes anyway x 

[Balletina]

40 minutes ago, bethany said:

When my daughter has done an occasional class at pineapple they haven’t had any problem letting her join in. They just check she’s happy with the level. There have always been some teenagers in the classes. Standard tends to vary in open classes anyway x 

Thank you bethany. That sounds great. Are there any classes you would recommend?

[LinMM]

She can always try an elementary/ general level drop in class first and if it's not challenging enough then go for more advanced.

London classes are a bit notorious though as even in a fairly easy level class you can get a rather wide mix of ability!! 

Because she is at an Advanced level she may not mind a class aimed at Adults.....if they are okay to have her ...as again you can get a wide age range with some nearer 18 and some nearer 50plus!! If she was more of a beginner then I wouldn't recommend such a class but she will probably cope okay with the Dance side and I'm sure none of the adults would mind a younger student! 

[LinMM]

Anna du Boisson has a ballet class most days at 1 pm at Danceworks which is a general level class and she is very popular as a teacher and also,she has experience of working with young people as she also runs an Academy for young dancers ...The West London Academy I think it's called.

[MAK]

Kate Webster runs drop in RAD vocational classes on a Sunday morning at Central School of Ballet - details on the website under Central Nights I think. I understand that though the classes are aimed at adults, teenagers can definitely attend as long as an adult accompanies them. Dd1 (14) is planning to go to some.

[bethany]

8 hours ago, Balletina said:

Thank you bethany. That sounds great. Are there any classes you would recommend?

We live in the north so we usually book train tickets a few months ahead. Because of this she can’t decide on a class in advance but there’s usually one she can do while we’re in London.

She’s done jazz / lyrical style classes, I don’t think she’s done ballet as we don’t go often.

Last summer she did an adult class and she was one of 4 teenagers in it. The adults were definitely more advanced but they had no issues with the teenagers being there. They all just got on with the class x 

Edited July 27, 2018 by bethany
Spelling

[_emeralds]

I haven't lived in London for some time, so forgive me if my info is incorrect....

 

But yes! I'd agree the 1pm weekday class at Danceworks is a good one to try. There's a mix of ages/abilities in there; from professionals to adult recreational dancers. There are usually a good few young people in that class too; so it won't be intimidating for your daughter. Anna is a fantastic teacher; so warm and welcoming, and so musical, and because of her connection with Young Dancers Academy and West London School of Dance, YP are always present and welcome.

However, it is unlikely to be Anna herself teaching in the summer holidays, not sure if cover teachers are yet announced on the Danceworks website, but covers in the past have been Raymond Chai, Darren, Denzil Bailey, Adam Pudney. All of whom I would recommend. Adam's class is perhaps the most challenging, but if your daughter is studying Adv 1 I'm sure she'll cope.

The 1 o'clock class also has amazing accompanists, including John Sweeney. Taking class to his music was always such a joy!

 

As for your daughter's interest in contemporary, yes she could try Tory's Contemporary Ballet class at Pineapple. Tory's great! Another suggestion would be Liz Alpe's Advanced ballet class at 2pm on a Saturday at Danceworks. Her class is very 'free', with lots of rolling through and dynamic emphasis. Her accompanists are fantastic too. She had one musician who played bongos, guitar and piano.

 

As for levels, that's a difficult one...It so much depends on the teacher. Some give harder classes than others even though the 'level' will be called 'General' for both.

If your daughter is in Adv 1 she will have probably covered most of the steps in an advanced or professional open adult ballet class. However it's the pace and unset nature she may not be used to. The Advanced and Professional classes mark exercises much less and move at a quicker pace. If she's done a lot of unset classes she'll be more prepared for this. She probably is a little young for Professional classes but would be ok in most Advanced classes. Elementary/General/ Intermediate classes would be fine for her.

 

As for specific contemporary classes, I have no experience of those. I'm sure someone else on here can help.

 

Hope your daughter enjoys it! 

[Jan McNulty]

Here's another thread:  

 

[Coffeemum]

My vocational dd is similar standard and age and loves Ian Knowles' elementary class and Emma Northmore's advanced/general, both at Pineapple. You get lots of vocational children at both of those classes in the holidays. 

[Balletina]

4 hours ago, MAK said:

Kate Webster runs drop in RAD vocational classes on a Sunday morning at Central School of Ballet - details on the website under Central Nights I think. I understand that though the classes are aimed at adults, teenagers can definitely attend as long as an adult accompanies them. Dd1 (14) is planning to go to some.

That sounds great. Silly question but I'm assuming the accompanying adult doesn't have to participate in the class?

[Balletina]

12 hours ago, LinMM said:

Anna du Boisson has a ballet class most days at 1 pm at Danceworks which is a general level class and she is very popular as a teacher and also,she has experience of working with young people as she also runs an Academy for young dancers ...The West London Academy I think it's called.

Thank you LinMM your posts have been really helpful. We will definitely check this out

[Balletina]

3 hours ago, _emeralds said:

I haven't lived in London for some time, so forgive me if my info is incorrect....

 

But yes! I'd agree the 1pm weekday class at Danceworks is a good one to try. There's a mix of ages/abilities in there; from professionals to adult recreational dancers. There are usually a good few young people in that class too; so it won't be intimidating for your daughter. Anna is a fantastic teacher; so warm and welcoming, and so musical, and because of her connection with Young Dancers Academy and West London School of Dance, YP are always present and welcome.

However, it is unlikely to be Anna herself teaching in the summer holidays, not sure if cover teachers are yet announced on the Danceworks website, but covers in the past have been Raymond Chai, Darren, Denzil Bailey, Adam Pudney. All of whom I would recommend. Adam's class is perhaps the most challenging, but if your daughter is studying Adv 1 I'm sure she'll cope.

The 1 o'clock class also has amazing accompanists, including John Sweeney. Taking class to his music was always such a joy!

 

As for your daughter's interest in contemporary, yes she could try Tory's Contemporary Ballet class at Pineapple. Tory's great! Another suggestion would be Liz Alpe's Advanced ballet class at 2pm on a Saturday at Danceworks. Her class is very 'free', with lots of rolling through and dynamic emphasis. Her accompanists are fantastic too. She had one musician who played bongos, guitar and piano.

 

As for levels, that's a difficult one...It so much depends on the teacher. Some give harder classes than others even though the 'level' will be called 'General' for both.

If your daughter is in Adv 1 she will have probably covered most of the steps in an advanced or professional open adult ballet class. However it's the pace and unset nature she may not be used to. The Advanced and Professional classes mark exercises much less and move at a quicker pace. If she's done a lot of unset classes she'll be more prepared for this. She probably is a little young for Professional classes but would be ok in most Advanced classes. Elementary/General/ Intermediate classes would be fine for her.

 

As for specific contemporary classes, I have no experience of those. I'm sure someone else on here can help.

 

Hope your daughter enjoys it! 

Thank you. That is very helpful. Dd does do a few unset classes each week but we will definitely avoid the professional classes as I imagine them to be very fast paced

[Balletina]

1 hour ago, Coffeemum said:

My vocational dd is similar standard and age and loves Ian Knowles' elementary class and Emma Northmore's advanced/general, both at Pineapple. You get lots of vocational children at both of those classes in the holidays. 

Thank you. I will check out both of those classes 

[Guest]

Also have a look at The Place in London. They offer a wide variety of classes both contemporary and ballet all at a range of levels. You can pre book on their website.https://www.theplace.org.uk

 

[lollylamb1]

Karis does some great classes and has some advanced ones over summer, sometimes teenagers attend too: http://www.enavantballet.co.uk/group-ballet-classes/

[MAK]

18 hours ago, Balletina said:

That sounds great. Silly question but I'm assuming the accompanying adult doesn't have to participate in the class?

Funnily enough I said the same thing! I am hoping that it's a case of staying in the building or possibly the studio. 

[taximom]

Have a look at what is available at The Place for contemporary and ballet for contemporary dancers

 

[Balletina]

15 hours ago, MAK said:

Funnily enough I said the same thing! I am hoping that it's a case of staying in the building or possibly the studio. 

I'm glad I wasn't the only one that thought that! 

[Balletina]

Thank you. You have all been so helpful

[LinMM]

Do let us know if your DD does manage to attend any classes in the end. She will probably enjoy the ballet shops around the Covent Garden area at any rate! 

[Balletina]

On 28/07/2018 at 22:22, LinMM said:

Do let us know if your DD does manage to attend any classes in the end. She will probably enjoy the ballet shops around the Covent Garden area at any rate! 

Thank you LinMM I will. She will definitely love the shopping