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

[RuthE]

Gosh, 50-minute ballet classes sound a bit stingy...

[Fiz]

They didn’t used to be 50 minutes either. 

[Michelle_Richer]

I assume the 50minutes is to allow smooth changeover between classes. I must confess 50minutes does ring a distant bell of when I used to do the old Wednesday drop in class and Stretch and Tone in the same evening, at least one of them was I think was 50mins.

 

I checked the Sleaford timetable but that only states the start time, however Adult Ballet has in brackets 1.5hrs. This class was lengthened a year or so ago as a request from some of the dancers taking the UKA exams, all the dancers within the class were then asked if they wanted the extended class and of course it would cost more and everyone agreed. I guess there was no conflict of studio space as Sleaford has 3 studios.

 

Another interesting point is the Sleaford Adult Ballet class has no grade / level marker associated with it

[TYR]

50 mins is the traditional format for a psychoanalyst's appointment. Are they trying to tell you something?

Edited December 5, 2018 by TYR

[j3nesis]

Just dropping in to say hi - been lurking for a while and finally made an account 🙂

I've been on-and-off trying adult beginner ballet classes for a while, made the plunge and booked The Ballet Retreat for 12-13 January and Monday classes with Natalie Krapf at The Place next term. (Mondays one of the only days I'm available in the evenings.) I've gone to David Kierce's classes on Sundays and will keep going, and was thinking of adding the Russian Ballet School Adult Beginner class on Sunday afternoons - has anyone been to these? Any reviews or thoughts?

[Jan McNulty]

Hello J3nesis and welcome to the Forum!

[RuthE]

@swanprincess recommended the Russian Ballet School classes to me a few weeks ago, on this thread:

(Sadly I haven't been able to try them yet, nor have I been back to David Kierce's classes, because of the toe injury I mentioned on that thread - though that should be healed just about in time for me to start the City Lit classes on 15th January...)

 

[Michelle_Richer]

I managed to combine a Northern Ballet Nutcracker workshop on Leeds Grand Theatre stage, with a visit to Liz Atha, physio at Northern Ballet.

 

The workshop was real fun as usual and its always nice to meet many of the ladies that I have either done similar workshops with or class in Northern Ballets studios. I was surprised when our workshop teacher said she thought it must have been a couple of years since I was last there.

 

Like most workshops provided by professional ballet companies there is an opportunity to stay a watch company class take place on the stage. I left before that for my physio appointment at Northern Ballet.

 

I had pre-empted the appointment by submitting a 3 page detailed report that had led to my injury and the resulting history, my physio meticulously went through it, then became lots of tests and exercises which I of cause I didn’t do the exercises exactly as instructed , and was told not to think ballet, but to do exactly as she has said, and of course she would demonstrate it to make it clear, especially with no turnout, and no stacking of hips, grrrr that's not natural.

 

It seams I have a suspected detached muscle at the top left side of my right knee, as I developpe the thigh quickly cramps and the muscle looks like a localised knotted protruding lump, and of course soon begins hurts like hell. What I didn’t notice when contrasting developpe between the two legs, the left leg above the top of the knee remains smooth. However the right on the left inside has a depression as if something is missing (the possible detached muscle which has retracted back) . She also felt that the Glutes that side were showing signs of muscle wastage too.

 

The outcome of the meeting has two courses of action for me. The first is to see my GP to get a referral to a Musculoskeletal Specialist for an Ultra-scan, even if the detachment is confirmed my physio seams to think its probably been left too long (18 months) for them to recommend operating, also if they do operate it likely to result in a lot of scare tissue. But essentially we will not know for certain without the Ultra-scan conformation.

 

The other course of action is a series of 6 different types of exercise to be done up to the point of fatigue in order to strengthen what is left, that I am doing. The exercise program has been documented and emailed to me together with a short video of each of the exercises for clarity.

 

On a lighter note, after I left Northern Ballet I called in to the indoor market and found a supply of white strait feathers, rather than the more common fluffy ones, in fact I bought the lot all 6 packets. These are needed for our Silver Swans head dresses for their Swan Lake piece, I also managed to find a nice tiara in the main shopping marl for my Odette head dress as I will be dancing Odette’s solo for them. 

 

[TYR]

So I promised Kristian Ratevossian I'd take his class, and today, after doing Nina Thilas-Mohs' at Danceworks, I did. This is my first experience of Russian style and bloody hell, that's a hell of a barre. Also lots of turns, grandes battements, and assemblés. The legs feel like I usually do after a whole day on intensive week.

[Michelle_Richer]

Almost back to normal after the Christmas break, the break was very welcome but not without its incidents. I managed to get to ENB’s Nutcracker workshop  which is always fun on the Coliseum stage just before Christmas itself.

 

As a bit of a thank you to my partner Adrian for all his efforts doing PDD’s at Ballet West with me during the summer, I took him to Liverpool on boxing day to watch his favourite football team play while I went shopping, however on the way home the day after, one of the cars front wheel baring's started to make a horrible noise . I never thought we would get home without calling the recovery service, but we did. Unfortunately the garage that looks after my car didn’t return to work until the first Thursday in the new year and I was supposed to be in London the following Saturday for ENB’s Swan Lake workshop that morning, and a meeting with My Artistic Directory of the Alive Ballet Company with some of our ex dancers, to say our goodbyes before she emigrates to Australia.

 

It was late Friday night before I got the car back (wheel baring replaced), I went to check on the train time for the early start at ENB, as I had already purchased the ticket, only to find they were running a strange schedule, a journey that normally takes 50 minute was taking over 2 hours and there were less trains running too. It would mean I would have to be up at 3.30am to make ENB, so I decided to skip it and just make our meeting with my Artistic Director. Even that was a disaster, I tried to start the car, and the battery was virtually flat. As I was all dress up ready to travel, there was no way I was going to call anyone out to jump start the car, as I could easily end up at the same problem in Peterborough Train station when it was time to come home. I just had to resign myself to the fact I want going to make it.

 

I was pretty choked-up at not being able to meet her to say our goodbyes in person, however I did have a lovely half an hour conversation with her prior to the other dancers arriving. One of the tings she mentioned in her goodbye email was that when she gets settled there should be dancing and performance opportunities down under for her dances from the UK, wow how exiting. I guess other piece of good news that came out of this day; one of my friends was able to take my place at the ENB workshop.

 

Well that wasn’t all the bad luck for this festive period, I was expecting to return after Christmas to our BBT rehearsals with our existing teacher and Artistic Director even though he was starting work at Elmhurst full time in the new year, but the Body Conditioning class that follow would be run by a new lady. It seams for the time being there is no body conditioning and James Butcher with take over our rehearsals but the Company with remain BBT with guidance from our founder.

 

Looking on the brighter side, BBT have organised a 2 day Easter workshop on Juliet’s variation with the rep being taught by RB’s Sarah Lamb, needless to say I’m already booked on it and really looking forward to it. This is the type of workshop I love, it really works for me especially when I know what we are going to be taught, rather that the RAD culture where its something (unknown) from a particular ballet.

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6586467/Ballerina-Barbara-Peters-achieves-highest-accolade-possible-Royal-Academy-Dance.html

[Anna C]

2 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6586467/Ballerina-Barbara-Peters-achieves-highest-accolade-possible-Royal-Academy-Dance.html

 

Wowser! Grade 8 at 81 (ignoring the Daily Mail’s error about the RAD’s “most advanced exam”) - that’s a brilliant achievement! Many congratulations to that lady.  Wonderful. 

[Sophoife]

6 hours ago, Anna C said:

 (ignoring the Daily Mail’s error about the RAD’s “most advanced exam”)

 

Well, Grade 8 is the highest Graded level. And would we really expect the Mail to know about and/or understand the Vocational Grades? 😉

[Peanut68]

Humbled by this wonderful achievement & inspired to just keep dancing!!! 👍🏻😀

[LinMM]

Amazing to be motivated to take exams at 81 and to put in the hours required to pass it well!! 

 

Perhaps an an example of continue to use it or lose it!

[TYR]

OK so I had a dance-related dream last night, with the extra feature that I can remember the choreography:

 

prepare croisé 4th

tombé pas de bourré

piqué arabesque, arms to 3rd

sissoné fermé

repeat 2x, adding a small cambré

attitude derriére, on a relévé, allongé

ditto a la seconde

grande battement

failli through and repeat twice from the tombé

do a waltz turn with an allongé arm

second side

 

Also there was a whole staging - two parallel lines of big wooden boxes/sheds/some kind of cubical, light frame structure, set down in a hole, with the audience seeing it from above and behind my right shoulder. There may have been more dancers on the far side of the boxes; I was heading down the lane between them. I don't remember any music, but it wasn't silent as such, just missing the audio. The boxes are definitely nicked from Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and the down in a hole thing from Pina Bausch. Various bits of the choreography came up in class recently but I think the little cambré came from the documentary on Nureyev.

 

I am crushed that my subconscious mind is such a plagiarist.

[LinMM]

I have rarely had dance related dreams but around six years ago when I returned to ballet classes after a 20 year gap and could hardly get of the floor at all in jumps I had a couple of dreams fairly close together where I was jumping high enough to touch the ceiling ....flying round the room virtually ....and of course it seemed perfectly normal in the dream. 

A typical wish fulfilment dream I suppose....or ...was my subconscious saying I should have gone in for Astrophysics instead all those years ago! 

Though not long after these dreams I badly sprained my Achilles which took me straight out again for six months.....after overdoing the jumping in a workshop .......so perhaps an unheeded warning after all: Don't even think of trying for the ceiling just yet ....just keep your feet on the ground ....or there will be trouble!

 

 

 

 

 

[The_Red_Shoes]

3 hours ago, LinMM said:

I had a couple of dreams fairly close together where I was jumping high enough to touch the ceiling ....flying round the room virtually ....and of course it seemed perfectly normal in the dream. 

 

Funnily enough, I quite often have dreams too in which I perform incredible entrechats (dix or douze!) in which I'm hovering, virtually flying.

 

[LinMM]

They were pleasant dreams I remember they had a nice feeling about them. 

Unfortunately didn't help me get much higher off the floor for real.....though am slightly better now than back then! 

[RuthE]

I have “hovering” dreams a lot, but they’re nothing to do with dance, just getting around from A to B!

[MayKwok]

Six o'clock penché often feature in my dreams. As do pirouettes that I just keep turning and not come down. I'd slow down and mentally think "let's turn a few more" and I'd magically do another 3 or 4 before stopping in retiré and *then* coming down.

 

 

[LinMM]

If only these dreams were prophetic!

[Michelle_Richer]

Since visiting to my Physio at Northern Ballet I managed to get a referral from my GP back to see the same Orthopaedic surgeon that organised my MRI scan. The appointment arrived in the post soon after, only to be followed a few days later with over 20 duplicates of a cancellation and rebooking of another Orthopaedic specialist on the same date.

 

That has now taken place and that person has concurred with my physio’s assessment and has also said he can not offer a clinical solution to the rupture of the muscle as it has been too long since the injury. Initially he checked my strength pushing the leg forward and back but its height was far less than 45 degrees and he thought that was OK. I then demonstrated the bunching of the muscle with a slow sustained lift at not much more than 45degrees, the muscle bunching into a solid lump soon occurred and even when I dropped the leg, it took a second or too to subside and still considerable painful.

 

I have ask for an ultra scan to be done and he has agreed, he has also suggested I ask the ultra scan people to scan it during the severe cramping. I now have a date for that too in early February as it couldn’t be done on the day. I will also be asking for the images of the ultra scan to help define properly  the best course of action in strengthening what’s left with my Physio at Northern Ballet.

 

As it is my physio gave me a set of exercises to help with strengthening, I have combined them with various other exercises which include strengthening for pointe, which is really where the observation was first made by my teacher( the differences between the two legs) . As time has gone on we have taken a more holistic approach by incorporating some of exercises learnt from Ballet West last year and my also stretch class with Sander Blommaert. Although its only part way done, its being documented, set to music and ultimately each exercise will illustrate the muscle groups being targeted. At the moment this program take around 2 hours to complete, but its more likely to be nearer  3 by the time we are finished, so I’m not likely to run it for more than 3 times a week. For the moment I’m doing this in conjunction with one of my teachers but ultimately with the help of my Physio at Northern Ballet too.

 

 

[MAK]

Was nice to see the mirrors open for Barbara Peters on The Greatest Dancer this weekend - our household was definitely willing her on!

[LinMM]

Well it is lovely to see an 80 year old dancing in this way .....have seen other videos of her dancing....however odd for her to be on this show ....slightly incongruous with the title of the show ...The Greatest Dancer! 

Are there categories according to age on this show then? 

There is a £50,000 prize for winning this!! Though I suppose at 80 ...if she were to win ....she could set up some Grant for a young person needing the money for training etc.

Im not watching the show any more as it all seems a bit of a farce....who is it aimed at? Some very unlikely people got through in the first week so decided the show is at best badly named at worse a bit of old rubbish! 

Not that Barbara Peters was rubbish of course but what is she doing in this show? 

 

[Michelle_Richer]

This coming Thursday (7^th Feb) is the day for my ultrasound scan to confirm / or not the detached muscle above my right knee. The exercises given to me by my Physio in Northern Ballet certainly seam the help with strengthening, I can now developpe with the right leg to almost 90 degree and hold it for a good many counts.

 

However something appears to have bitten me in the bum. Recently I’ve started to learn Juliet’s solo for a rep workshop I’m doing with Sarah Lamb, most of it was going fine until I came across a turn which is repeated 3 times, the correct name of the turn I’m really not sure of. It appears to be a Grand Rond de jame en l’air en dehors en turnant, although many artists performing this piece tend to take the gesturing leg through an ellipse in terms of height. Although I can just about get the height initially in devant, but with the detached muscle in rotation I can’t sustain it and the movement looks awful. After struggling for quite a while, I had the bright idea of launching the Rond from just in front of second in an ellipse and then taking round to the back.  I know it a bit of a cheat but it gives me some additional height above 90 degrees and a nice shape.

 

Wow I thought that will get me by, however on the next day (Friday) I was starting to get pain in the right leg around the knee. Saturday was worse and Sunday today not much better. Too be fair I have had this before about 4 years ago when I was doing a piece from Le Corsair which had Fouette’s in it, that needed a trip to the physio too, and it turns out I was overturning (going too far round with the gesturing leg before whipping it in to retire). The down side of that was it took along time to clear up.

 

Monday I have a 2 hour rep session on this piece as I’m at the Ultra Scan department on Thursday which is normally my second session. I will check out with my teacher other options as it may be possible to treat it a bit like a grand pirouette and rotate the body during the turn, rather than afterwards.

 

I just hope this incident doesn’t mask the detached muscle in the scan due to possible additional swelling.

[TYR]

17 hours ago, Michelle_Richer said:

Grand Rond de jame en l’air en dehors en turnant,

 

Bloody hell. On intensive week last year we did the grand rond en l'air in every barre, which was handy as it was in one of the rep pieces, but turning with it sounds challenging. Not as much as turning *against* it would be, but enough.

[LinMM]

I have to say I don't understand the step Michelle is talking about .....she will have to show me next week.

I can only envisage a sort of ronde de Jambe en l'air turning coming round into an attitude to finish off the turn ....if it's turning that is 

or I suppose just extending into arabesque so that you finish with an arabesque turning ....but it would be only possible to do it once in my view not a repeat step as say fouetté turns are......you would not be able to bring the arabesque leg through quickly enough to start the next ronde de Jambe en l'air if it was repeated.

Are you talking about Italian fouettés Michelle? 

Edited February 4, 2019 by LinMM

[Moomin]

Can do a renverse with grand round de jambe movement but you’re probably right with Italian fouetté!

[LinMM]

I think I need to see a demonstration to see exactly what Michelle means!

It could be she is describing a combination of steps/ moves which appear to be like one movement. 

[Lily_883]

Is it possibly the renversé like move shown at 00:39 in this clip? 

 

[Michelle_Richer]

Thank you Lily_883 you are absolutely right, furthermore that is the Youtube clip we were give to base our rep on, but as always I tend to base mine on a number, as there are few aspects of this that are not quite as nice as they may have been.

 

 

Thank goodness today the right knee seems much better and after a 2 hour stint on this, so far tonight there are no ill effects.

 

Originally the combination was gallop upstage with the right leg in front, step left in front and renversé to face the audience, then grand rond the right leg front to back creating an ellipse with height with its crest just after a la seconde, left arm would follow the leg by bringing it up through first , through 5^th  on the crest in a sort of circular port de bra (see the clip), on landing the gesturing leg derriere, then another renversé to face upstage for next gallop.

 

Today’s version for me which I guess has just developed by feel rather than design although we did try a couple of ideas. The rond starts with the gesturing foot on the ground but slightly over-crossed with the supporting leg, the action of the opposite arm and for want of a better word flinging the leg up to the crest of the ellipse give it some additional acceleration to achieve a respectable height. Then turning like a pirouette on the fall, thus removing the need for the renversé to orientate the body upstage for next gallop. With this I had no ill effects on the knee thank goodness and the who movement doesn't look unattractive.

[sophie_rebecca]

Just to share with you all i was invited to dance in the USA at the Ballet Beyond Borders competition, as a late 30's adult it was something of a special opportunity but I still took a little convincing.

We landed at 23:58 on Thursday & got to the hotel at 01:30 ish, at about 04:30 I was awake (curse you jetlag!) & at 10am I was ferried to the studio to begin to learn the 10 minute dance the choreographer had been working on since May last year, the next 4 days were spent dancing 3-4 hours a day with about an hour & a half dedicated to learning the dance, luckily I was able to pick it up quite quickly, Monday was a rest day then Tuesday was stage walk through, we had a full grand concert piano on stage we had to check our positioning with.

Wed-Fri the competitions started so I made the most of the classes, it was rather amazing to be in class with professional dancers from Boston Ballet, Washington Ballet & Ballet BC to name a few, I was a bit intimidated going into the senior / professional class even more so when Charla Genn (who I'd taken class with in the previous week) told me I wouldn't be able to do all that was coming but to just sit out what I couldn't & listen / learn when I sat, it was good advice, I did well at the barre but about 3 or 4 movements into the centre things started to get very advanced so I swallowed my pride & sat out rather than trying to force it & ending up injured.

 

There's so much I could ramble on about but I'll save you the details, At the gala when we were getting ready there was none of the emotion I felt the first time I performed on stage I was just super focused on doing the best I could & not screwing up, the dance went well & we got an amazing applause which was so very kind, I was awkwardly waiting for the curtain to close but got waved up from the wings to take a second bow.

It took a long time to process all the emotions, we flew back the day after the performance which wasn't the cleverest idea but once home there were plenty of tears & I have so many amazing memories I'll treasure. I may be invited to another in LA later in the year where I intend to dance Gamzatti & this dance again.

 

Edited February 5, 2019 by sophie_rebecca