Simply Adult Ballet: the progress of one adult dancer who took up ballet later in life

[Terpsichore]

We are very lucky in this part of the world because Northern Ballet Academy offers a range of open classes in Leeds and Gomersal between Monday and Thursday while KNT offers classes in the studios of the Northern Ballet School in Manchester every day except Sunday.

I can also recommend Fiona Noonan's open class at Huddersfield University between 18:30 and 20:00 on Wednesdays.

 

I attend at least one improvers class for the over 55s in Leeds and one in Manchester but there are times when I can't resist a third class which is either Jane Tucker's in Leeds or Fiona Noonan's in Huddersfield on Wednesday evening.

 

On the very rare occasions when I can spare a couple of hours in London and have my dance kit with me I like to catch Adam Pudney.

[Fiz]

How lovely to have so much choice. My dance studio is starting a group for adult beginners so I might ask if I can join that. There's always something worth working on and it strengthens you too.

[LinMM]

I sympathise with the ballet gear thing!!

 

This is today.....but have to admit even over the top for me

 

In Bloch in London.....finally have size D in black footless tights ....a very long wait for these so decide to buy two pairs in case get rare again!

Go downstairs to replace pink canvas split soles.....current ones will,have a hole any minute.....then discover they have leather split soles. Try on two different style pairs ....cannot decide which are the best....so buy both....one for general class wear and one for performing ( to justify to myself the two pairs)

 

Arrive home this evening and cannot resist ordering another ballet skirt from " Dare to wear Pink" as she now has them on elasticated waist bands instead of tied wrap over ( not pink by the way but lots of very pretty material for ballet skirts and made to measure to,boot which is very important to people like me on the larger size!)

 

So Fiz you are not alone!! Glad to see you are back to doing so many classes.

I'm on just the three a week at the moment as have recently had an arthritic hip diagnosed.....not particularly unusual in someone my age but something that has to be managed properly if you want to keep on dancing!!

I now go swimming once a week instead of another ballet class.

[Fiz]

I'm sorry about your hip, Lin.

[LinMM]

Thankyou Fiz! The GP said that approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of the population of my age group would have something similar!!

 

It's not that bad if I space the classes out ....though every fortnight I do have two classes on consecutive days but love them both. I just hold back a bit on the grand allegro section if goes on a bit long and do yoga type stretches on the floor instead of stretches on the barre.

 

I love swimming and do some ballet stuff in the water as well so I'm still reasonably fit! Though Cardio could definitely be better....a bit of circuit training wouldn't go amiss I think!!

[Michelle_Richer]

That's lovely Michelle

 

It would be great to get him into a beginners class though perhaps he could be doing a class at the same time as you ......

Hi LinMM

 

Adrian will be doing the same beginners class and body conditioning class as me in the afternoon next term, unfortunately he will have a bit of time on his hands while I do the other two classes in the morning, perhaps he will have the opportunity to sun himself outside again. Next year RAD may add another level above their Improver 2 class which roughly is grades 6 to 8 , Im not sure how they will fit it in only there are about half a dozen of us that blanket cover all their classes from 10am to 5pm.

 

 

Fiz

 

Thanks for mentioning Etsy, I never knew they existed. I have been looking for a Spanish Skirt to take with me to Ballet West for the "Entrance of Kitri" from Act1 of Don Q. They are the only people where I have seen one, unfortunately its over £500, and I’m not willing to spend quite that much.

 

As for thinking buying ballet wear being addictive in a negative sense, you could think of it being a kind of retail therapy in a positive sense.

 

I guess I’m just well addicted to ballet full stop, and just gave up fighting it, I no longer count the classes I do, its not that important, for me its more about managing the time and cost to get out of it what I desire, especially as my studio hires are getting close to double figures every week now. I make use of any free studio time where I can. Only today (Sunday) at Elmhurst I usually make use of one of their studio during our lunch break, today it was a bit special as I had their studio theatre to practice my Gamzatti solo in.

Edited May 15, 2016 by Michelle_Richer

[esme]

That sounds impressive. Glad also to hear that your knee is better. I saw the Physio yesterday and finally my patella is back in place and KT taped and some more strengthening to do before I can do a full class and get back in the pointe shoes which she said should be in a couple of weeks - thank goodness! Foam rolling is great too. When you go to Ballet West do you do an individual intensive course of tuition or are you part of a group? It is such a beautiful setting. One final query are you doing pdd pirouettes on Demi and not pointe because of your knee?

Anyway, keep up the good work!

[Michelle_Richer]

Hi esme

The knee has its good and bad days, when I think its healed I gently try the fouettes again only to find a day or so later the knee gets extremely stiff and cannot quite fully get down in grand plies.

 

The Intensives I do at Ballet West are purely one-to-one. I am the only dancer in the school, it is closed down for the summer break, so I have it to myself. Gillian the Principal of Ballet West is my repertoire coach. The rep we work on is both selected and assembled/created by me, which are usually a hybrid version of various solo's mainly created from a combination of bits of RB, Bolshoi, Mariinsky and ABT, and of course a little bit of me and my coaches too. This year Im taking my boyfriend Adrian up so we can polish our Le Corsaire pdd, plus 3 solos too.

 

I never took pointe work far enough to dance properly on it, but I must confess doing PDD pirouettes on demi is extremely limited. Once our performance in Saint Petersburg is out of the way, I can see me going full out to develop my pointwork.

[esme]

Hi Michelle

 

Your intensives at Ballet West do indeed sound intense! What a privilege to have one to one with Gillian coaching you on rep and how good to be able to share your passion with your boyfriend too. What are you performing in Saint Petersburg?

 

I've just spent the afternoon sewing several pairs of pointe shoes and while I know my feet will hurt again initially, I'm actually looking forward to getting back to pointe and full class. Grand plies are a no no for me at the moment until this knee is completely sorted, so it is barre with demi plies and only centre adage for me at the moment but it will be worth it in the end. Hopefully very, very soon.

 

That part of Scotland will be lovely in the summer and I'm sure you will have a wonderful time and learn lots.

[BBSAdult]

This is in a separate posting, but thought I'd put it here as well.

 

Boston Ballet will be running their wonderful 2-week intensive again this summer.  It runs from August 1-12 at their beautiful 5 studio facility in Newton (just outside of Boston).  Classes are taught by their expert adult faculty and include technique, variations, repertoire and workshops on specific aspects of technique.  In addition, this year there will be a new conditioning program for adults, led by Peter Donohoe, a former Olympian who also works with Boston Ballet Company dancers.  Plus a physical therapist will be available onsite.

 

For more information, go to their website: www.bostonballet.org/school

They also have their brochure online: https://issuu.com/bo...890441/30000297

You can sign up online too!

 

A great chance to dance for 2 weeks and see a beautiful part of the USA!

[LinMM]

BBS also stands for Brighton Ballet School! I thought at first it was going to be advertising their summer school the first two weeks of August ......for those who can't get to Boston could be an alternative!!!

 

Is this Boston one for Adults ...eg say over 25 yrs old .....or just young people still intending for a career etc.

[Michelle_Richer]

Hi BBSAdult

Welcome to the Forum

Do you have a commercial interest in the Boston Ballet School, as it looks as if you may have, if so please check out: About BalletCoForum, Acceptance Use Policy, then down to Commerce on that page, Amongst other things it states “Members who have commercial interests must indicate that by adding a Signature line to their postings.” Hope that helps, as we would love to here more about Boston Ballet Adult Activities.

I for one have the following questions:

MASTER CLASSES:
On the two Adult Master Classes that took place in April, I note the BBS documentation states “Learn repertoire from Mikko Nissinen's acclaimed production of Swan Lake in a special class led by Company dancer, Corina Gill.

The two-hour Master Class will include:

A technique warm-up
Choreography from Act 3 of Swan Lake
A Q&A with Corina Gill and Head of Adult Programming, Christopher Hird
Selfies and autographs with Corina
Ages 18+. All levels welcome, but please note that some of the choreography may be more advanced.”

Q1 In view of the short class schedule (2 hours), can I assume an hour for technique warm-up and an hour repertoire. Was the repertoire being taught that of the Black Swan Solo?

Q2 I don’t understand the comment “but please note that some of the choreography may be more advanced.”?

 

2-WEEK ADULT SUMMER DANCE PROGRAM

August 1-12, Monday-Friday

SAMPLE SCHEDULE
5:30-6:30 pm Enrichment: New Conditioning Program and/or Modern
6:30-8:00 pm Technique
8:00-9:00 pm Repertoire and variations from the romantic masterpiece Giselle; special lectures

Newton Studio
863 Washington Street, Newtonville

Q3 Do I assume that there is no ballet class during the daytime?

Q4 I must confess that the time devoted to repertoire seems quite small in comparison to the other two activities, what is the thinking behind these?

Q5 What solo / corps de ballet pieces are likely to be taught from Giselle for this program?.

 

 

GENERAL QUESTION:
Q6 What is the maximum size of BBS ballet classes covering repertoire?

Q7 Are they taught as one gig group or are they split into two or more groups dependant upon aptitude?

Q8 On programs that have an end of course showing, is there any recommended dress / costume code for that performance, or is there a tradition that takes place anyway?


 

Edited May 26, 2016 by Michelle_Richer

[Kate_N]

The Boston Ballet SI is designed around working adults, and has classes in the evening. It's a great idea, and the BBS is a very good company & school. Their focus is on developing dancers' technique, perhaps more than learning repertoire. 

 

If you do to the parallel site to this one, Ballet Talk for Dancers, you can read some of the reports of adult dancers from this SI, which has been running for a few years now. 

 

There are some wonderful SIs for adults in the US - Sun King Dance Camps being the trail blazer in this respect.  I'm glad to see that various companies here in the UK are following suit. What I always notice when I'm working in the US, and going to daily class wherever I am (I always travel with tights, leotard and ballet shoes!) is just what good classes there are for adults in the US, and how lovely and well-trained (and often quite advanced) a lot of US adult dancers are. I do get a bit envious sometimes after a couple of weeks in New York or Washington DC about the amazing facilities, in comparison with the much more limited possibilities in small towns and cities outside of London ... <sigh>

Edited May 27, 2016 by Kate_N

[Sheila Beelam]

Ah, I hoped it was Boston in Lincolnshire! ????

[Kate_N]

Well, that's the original Boston, certainly!

[Colman]

Just finished my ISTD Classical Ballet Grade 1 exam. ????

[Fiz]

Congratulations!

[Kate_N]

Wow! How did it go?

[LinMM]

Did you get a nice examiner!!

[Michelle_Richer]

Hi esme

I’m not sure what we are performing in Saint Petersburg, I guess it will either be something from our summer show “The Four Season”, or something from our Christmas show, but those we haven’t discussed yet.

 

The trip to Russia is being done as part of the “ 47th World Congress in Dance Research”, this is what they say about the congress on their site:

 

“The Congress is organized by the Saint-­‐Petersburg Section of CID–UNESCO. The program includes: scientific papers, lectures, workshops, video presentations, exhibitions, performances.. We welcome specialists in cultural studies, art historians, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, philosophers, theologists, medics, choreographers, dance teachers, dance therapists, dance film directors and professionals representing all forms of dance from all over the world.”

 

 

I’m sewing too, mainly to get costumes finished before going up to Ballet West as our final run-thru is nearly always done in costume. I’m taking a couple of tutus up there but those are OK, my main focus is my Yellow and Black Spanish outfit for the Entrance of Kitri from Don Q, the other is Adrian’s outfit for our Le Corsaire PDD where he dances as Conrad the pirate.

 

Hi Sheila

Who knows what may happen in Boston Linc’s, it’s just up the road from me. I did look at one time at trying to hire the stage area of Boston’s Blackfriars Theatre, but its fully booked by other regular groups between performances. I’m now running a small rep group in Sleaford Linc,s, one of our ladies comes from Boston. I guess it’s a small world.

Edited May 28, 2016 by Michelle_Richer

[Colman]

The examiner was lovely, but intimidatingly senior. Very kind to the about ten of us doing grade 1 and 2.

 

The exam went ok: my final preparations were less than ideal since I managed to damage my calf on Tuesday and had a family event (my sons communion!) on the morning of the exam.

[Kate_N]

Sometimes having to squeeze something nerve-wracking in between celebratory events, such as your son's communion, can help. There's something about examiners in ballet, isn't there? One of the CDs my teacher uses for class has the announcement of each exercise, in very composed & serious tones!

[Colman]

It was almost worse than solemn: she was unnervingly chatty and helpful and cheerful! :-)

 

Anyway, onwards: school show in a month and we discover what madness our teacher has in mind for us on Tuesday.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Colman

[TabbyCool]

I got my exam result this week, Cecchetti grade 3, I got a merit, yay! I haven't seen the breakdown yet so I don't know which bits I did well at and which bits weren't so good, but I did alright overall :-D

[Fiz]

Congratulations!

[Kate_N]

Congratulations! A Merit is great. I was thinking about exam work the other day as we were doing the Cechetti ports de bras. The very technical display one has to do for an exam really puts you on the spot - you have to have very clean and precise technique. In class, one can fudge it a bit.   

[Colman]

Congratulations!

[Moomin]

Well done TabbyCool! Fantastic result. Which examiner did you have? There's nothing like an exam coming up to push your technique along ????

[BBSAdult]

Hi BBSAdult

 

Welcome to the Forum

 

Do you have a commercial interest in the Boston Ballet School, as it looks as if you may have, if so please check out: About BalletCoForum, Acceptance Use Policy, then down to Commerce on that page, Amongst other things it states “Members who have commercial interests must indicate that by adding a Signature line to their postings.” Hope that helps, as we would love to here more about Boston Ballet Adult Activities.

 

I for one have the following questions:

 

MASTER CLASSES:

On the two Adult Master Classes that took place in April, I note the BBS documentation states “Learn repertoire from Mikko Nissinen's acclaimed production of Swan Lake in a special class led by Company dancer, Corina Gill.

 

The two-hour Master Class will include:

 

A technique warm-up

Choreography from Act 3 of Swan Lake

A Q&A with Corina Gill and Head of Adult Programming, Christopher Hird

Selfies and autographs with Corina

Ages 18+. All levels welcome, but please note that some of the choreography may be more advanced.”

 

Q1 In view of the short class schedule (2 hours), can I assume an hour for technique warm-up and an hour repertoire. Was the repertoire being taught that of the Black Swan Solo?

Q2 I don’t understand the comment “but please note that some of the choreography may be more advanced.”?

 

2-WEEK ADULT SUMMER DANCE PROGRAM

 

August 1-12, Monday-Friday

 

SAMPLE SCHEDULE

5:30-6:30 pm Enrichment: New Conditioning Program and/or Modern

6:30-8:00 pm Technique

8:00-9:00 pm Repertoire and variations from the romantic masterpiece Giselle; special lectures

 

Newton Studio

863 Washington Street, Newtonville

Q3 Do I assume that there is no ballet class during the daytime?

Q4 I must confess that the time devoted to repertoire seems quite small in comparison to the other two activities, what is the thinking behind these?

Q5 What solo / corps de ballet pieces are likely to be taught from Giselle for this program?.

 

 

GENERAL QUESTION:

Q6 What is the maximum size of BBS ballet classes covering repertoire?

Q7 Are they taught as one gig group or are they split into two or more groups dependant upon aptitude?

Q8 On programs that have an end of course showing, is there any recommended dress / costume code for that performance, or is there a tradition that takes place anyway?

 

 

 

Thanks for your questions.  I'm sorry I didn't realize I had to state I do actually work for Boston Ballet.

 

Answers:

 

Q1 In view of the short class schedule (2 hours), can I assume an hour for technique warm-up and an hour repertoire. Was the repertoire being taught that of the Black Swan Solo?

The Master Class was an hour class taught by a company soloist.  The repertoire was the dance of the Princesses from Act 3 of Swan Lake.

Q2 I don’t understand the comment “but please note that some of the choreography may be more advanced.”?

We had some beginner students attend and this was to encourage them to go but understand that some of the steps might not be ones they had covered.

 

Q3 Do I assume that there is no ballet class during the daytime?

Correct.  There is an open advanced class in the Boston studio at 10am.

Q4 I must confess that the time devoted to repertoire seems quite small in comparison to the other two activities, what is the thinking behind these?

The repertoire is divided into variations and repertoire - based on previous years, it has been enough time to learn and prepare it.  The beginner level only does repertoire for the full 2 weeks.

Q5 What solo / corps de ballet pieces are likely to be taught from Giselle for this program?.

This is still being determined, but will like included the villagers from Act 1 and the wilis from Act 2.

 

 

Q6 What is the maximum size of BBS ballet classes covering repertoire?

Most classes don't go any higher than 25 students.

Q7 Are they taught as one gig group or are they split into two or more groups dependant upon aptitude?

There are 4 levels in the program - each level has their own class in technique and repertoire.

Q8 On programs that have an end of course showing, is there any recommended dress / costume code for that performance, or is there a tradition that takes place anyway?

There is no specific costume - students wear what is comfortable - normally in collaboration with the teacher.

 

Hope that answers your questions and encourages you to come to Boston!

 

 

 

[TabbyCool]

Well done TabbyCool! Fantastic result. Which examiner did you have? There's nothing like an exam coming up to push your technique along

Thank you! I'm not sure about the examiner, her surname was Hurst, though that mightn't be the right spelling!

[Bluebird22]

If she had short dark hair it was probably Gillian Hurst. She used to teach me - very very strict!

[Michelle_Richer]

Hi BBSAdult

Thank you for your comprehensive reply and your encouragement to come to Boston.

Sadly its unlikely, as  I would not see any great need being fulfilled  by coming, but socially I would probably enjoy participation in one of your courses.

I have a real passion for repertoire, to that end I use a private rep coach for two sessions every week, I also belong to an amateur ballet company where we are working on performance material all the year round.  I also work on my own repertoire that takes a good deal of practice and development, I have to hire suitable premises for my own use to fulfil that need, my hire for next week stands at 1 session in London, 3 sessions in Sleaford and 4 sessions in Surfleet. That is without my normal ballet classes which I of course I also attend.

 

My requirements are not just the joy of dancing something determined by the teacher from a named ballet. For me it works the other way round, the requirements are quite specific and are in the first instance defined by myself (the dancer), Not only will the scene be set, but from who’s version was the choreography or its parts derived, as much of my choreography is a hybrid from two or more ballet companies together with a sprinkling of that which has evolved from our own sessions.

 

During the summer each year, I select a few pieces for polishing for performance at what you might call an intensive summer school, in my case at Ballet West in Scotland. Again this takes place through one-to-one coaching. This year my selections are Le Cosaire Act 2 Grand PDD, Le Corsaire Gulnara’s variation, Le Corsaire / La bayadere Gamzatti variation and finally Don Quixote Act 1 Entrance of Kitri.

Oh and our final run-through of these pieces are always performed in costume.

 

Although I generally avoid many of the rep workshops on offer, as they seldom publish what they are teaching before the actual day and often the rep is simplified.

 

However I do miss meeting the regular dancers I have known for some considerable time. But never the less occasionally I do, do the odd workshop still. In fact last Sunday I attended English National Ballet Swan Lake Master class, only to meet a girl that I did a Summer school with 3 years ago.

 

For me there are a few ballet schools that give advance information as to what is being taught, that allow proper preparation to take place before the course commences, that works for me.

 

Finally the picture is of a 6 day Swan Lake intensive I attended a couple of years ago, most of the dancers performed in consume for the end of course showing, although it was not compulsory, for me it just goes with the territory.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Michelle_Richer

[Michelle_Richer]

I guess I have finally succumbed to the fact  my knee injury is not going to get better on its own, especially as my requirement to dance get even greater. The only thing that I can suspend for a few weeks is my 2 ENB classes on a Monday evening which really grieves me. However that has created the window of opportunity to see a Physiotherapist and also accommodate an additional rehearsal practice session for our summer show.

 

I don’t think anyone realised just how much we needed to put into this show, including our teachers, this is the first time as a small ballet company of around 14 to 15 dancers we have tackled a full ballet. For those of us that have been there from the start we are dancing almost every scene. Additional voluntary rehearsals have been offered at the weekends, as yet other than half term I have not taken them up, now I think I need too, as does the majority of our dancers. That will take me to a total of 9 hours a week rehearsal for that show for the next month.

 

Our show “Season of Joy”, a magical celebration of the seasons, is on the 9th July with performances at 5.30pm and 8.00pm at the Chelsea Theatre off the King Road, London

 

.

My other significant commitment is preparation for my week at Ballet West, with gosh, 6 hours a week with that one too, including two with my rep coach which includes one with my PDD partner Adrian.

 

Our highlight of last week was for Adrian and myself seeing ENB's "Swan Lake in the round" during Saturdays matinee performance, which at least did give us the opportunity to check out the Chelsea Theatre where we are to perform next month, which was particularly important for Adrian to be able to find it on his own on show day, as he is not that familiar with London.

The theatre was much smaller than I had anticipated although it has seating for 120 people, I guess one could say its quite intimate.

 

Sunday turned out to be quite special too, although it was a long drive to Birmingham in an unfamiliar loan car, as mine was being repaired. As I was one of the RADs Adult Associates dancing on the pop-up dance floor provided by Harlequin to Celebrate the Patron Lunch (Queens Birthday) at New Street Station shopping area. Adrian came along to watch and met the girls from my classes and got on extremely well with them, at least now he has some idea of who he will be dancing with when he does his first session next term. One of the requirement of dancing at that event, was, we had to purchase a green RAD green commemorative T shirt which we had to wear when we were not dancing, Adrian see mine and ask if it was possible for him to have one, I wasn’t sure. I checked with the lady in-charge of the T shirts and she did have a few spares, and even more surprising one to fit him too. When he put it on, he seemed so proud to be wearing it, it was a bit special for me too and made a happy ending to that day.

 

 

The visit to my Physio resulted in a diagnosis of a weak VMO muscle above the right knee. This visit was quite surprising, after quite a detailed examination of pushing pulling virtually every muscle and joint of my leg from foot to hip, what was most surprising was when I was asked to lay on this couch with the underside my right knee supported by a rolled up towel, the lower half of my body had a towel over it although I was wearing my leotard and no tights. I felt quite disappointed with the therapy that was taking place as I could not feel very much or have any real sense of what was taking place, however that all changed when I was asked to get up a check my retire position using the right leg. My left had previously been check and was above the knee, the right was about half way up the calf, any more and it was extremely painful. After whatever the therapy was, my right leg was easily raised above the knee in retire and without any discomfort what so ever, I was truly gob-smacked and just couldn’t believe it.

In reality that relief was short lived as the knee started to stiffen by the end of that evening. I came away with two different sets of strengthening exercises to do twice a day. I have since researched other VMO strengthening exercises that are somewhat more aggressive, I need to discuss these with my physio at next Mondays session, also I really want to see how she releases the VMO so effectively even though it is a little sort lived.