Jamie's Ongoing Ballet Thread

[JamieG]

It looks like my old thread was closed, perhaps because I hadn't posted in about three months. However, do not fear loyal readers, I have been happily continuing with ballet regularly. For those who haven't read the old threads, I have been taking adult beginner ballet classes for almost three years now, despite being untrained, well-over thirty, and, um, male-bodied. I take the classes in male mode, so sorry, no tutus or pink tights, although in my own time I do occasionally enjoy dressing as a ballerina and practicing the skills I've learned.

I am still strengthening my ankles for releves on one foot and working on my balance. Thanks to regular stretching, my arabesque and jettes are looking much better. I am also getting better with combinations that move across the floor, especially those that have complicated changes. My instructor commented this week that I was finally moving "lyrically," i.e., gracefully to the music. Despite this, there was one point where upon landing a jump my arm nearly hit the lady in front of me. I apologized and said, "Didn't you know that ballet was a contact sport?" which got giggles from those around me.

I also took a jazz class this week. The air conditioner was not working well, so the room got hot. We were are all drenched in sweat. The dancing was non-stop and we moved quickly to various pop music. The teacher said that was my best jazz class, and it does seem to be coming easier to me. I still struggled in the combination, which included about seven different steps. Although I could do each of the steps individually, I have trouble smoothly changing from one to the next. But I kept at it, and although it wasn't always pretty, I basically kept up with the class.

In both classes, it was just GGs and me. I love being part of an activity that is so feminine, and to be accepted as just another dancer by all of the ladies.

[Beverley Sims]

Nice to see you back, I think threads here have an expiry time of about a month without a reply.
I am glad you are progressing well.

[boink]

Glad you're having fun with dancing. I took some dance as a kid. It's good exercise, and forces you to think about how you move your body. Finding some grace and lyricism in your own movements is definitely a good thing :)

[Persephone]

So cool, Jamie! I admire you for sticking with it.

Hugs,
Persephone.

[jennifer_cd]

hi jamie. i see you are in eastern pennsylvania as i am :) do you mind sharing where you take your lessons? :)
jennifer

[Sarah V]

Hi Jamie! Was wondering where you had wonderred off to. Glad to see things are still going well with your classes. Mine are done for anohter year in two more weeks. Still enjoying them immensly. Are you able to take class over the summer? If you are you are lucky. My studio is all kids for the summer's. But I, like you, will continue with home practice in anticipation of the coming fall schedule.

[Randee]

Glad to hear you are still doing well in your classes, Jamie. Always appreciate your reports. You bring back memories of my jazz/ballet classes with my girlfriend well into my thirties as well and, like you, it was just me and the ladies who naturally treated me like just one of the girls. No pink tights or tutus either, but I was very much embraced for dressing in leotards over matching tights with them, still as a male. But it did not stop them from having me learn the all girl number for the recital and loaning me a wrap skirt to dance out of. This led to talk of me dancing with them in the recital costumed as one of the girls, treating it just like a costume and a performance. My gf dressed me in one of her recital costumes at home and made me up to see how closely we might pull it off. Such fun anticipating it though we ultimately decided I would not pass, not nearly like you. But it was so exciting talking about it like it could really happen.

But after three years in class with ladies who know you, the idea of you performing as one of them and coming to class leotarded like one of the girl dancers to fit in may come up. If and when it does, my advice would be to go along with it not letting on that you are a cd. Let them have the fun of dressing you and making you up to fit in as one of them, make you their creation. You know how much you would love the chance to dance on stage en femme with the ladies. Play along at every suggestion from them and you just might get your chance.

[JamieG]

This week's class was a bit smaller than usual, maybe 14 students in total, and many of those showed up late. The weather was really bad and apparently an accident shut down one of the major routes to the studio. It was nice to have a smallish class, as we each got individual attention. I got lots of compliments from the teacher, especially on my stretches and coordination of my arm movements. I felt like I nailed the changements and did decently on most other exercises. However, I apparently still struggle with keeping my back perfectly straight on plies. We also tried pirouettes for the first time this semester, and I know I've got a long way to go before I'll master them. I tend to fling my body around not quite making a full revolution and nearly falling over; not exactly the picture of grace.

Funny note: in the ad for the summer session of classes it says that although you can wear whatever you want, dedicated students should wear black leotards and pink tights. There is no mention of this being just for the girls. Maybe I should just show up that way and see what happens... :daydreaming:

[Persephone]

Funny note: in the ad for the summer session of classes it says that although you can wear whatever you want, dedicated students should wear black leotards and pink tights. There is no mention of this being just for the girls. Maybe I should just show up that way and see what happens... :daydreaming:

I can't imagine how tempting it must be! I'd have gone screaming yellow bananas nuts long before this! Maybe you could say it would get you more into the spirit of the pirouettes?

Hugs,
Persephone.

[Darla]

Heck - it should be no big deal to wear women's attire, dance wear is pretty unisex for the most part. I used to wear pink tights and a black leotard with leggings over that, pink women's ballet slippers (hated how the men's shoes had such a high vamp- not pretty like the women's). Legwarmers too during the cold months. I'm sure the girls all thought I was on the fence sexually, but I was accepted as long as I danced hard. Didn't get any date offers though! If you do get the chance to go en femme (or a variant thereof) make sure to wax or shave. Nothing worse than hairy legs or pits. Keep dancing! I loved it - always made me feel so girly. And good for the posture, which helps looking feminine. So jealous - keep it up.

Darla

[Randee]

There's your chance, Jamie! I would jump on it. At worst they will take it as making a funny that you maybe borrowed your wife's leotards and tights to take the notice literally. Nice of her to share. After all, you have proven yourself to be a dedicated student after 3 years. They know you and you will still be the same person to them regardless of what you are wearing. So be the man you are and enjoy the excuse you have been given to take class in the same black leotards and pink tights as the ladies at least once like you have always wanted. And who knows how well you will fit in. You will always wonder if you don't. Your friends in class might want to keep you in them going forward. It worked for me better than I imagined.

[JamieG]

Our summer session is in full swing. There's lots of new students, including a few preteen girls and another guy. As a result, we are taking time on the basics, and I found myself getting bored at times. But then I realized that I still wasn't doing everything perfectly, so I have still have plenty to learn. In general, my confidence has improved, I seem to make fewer mistakes, and when I make mistakes, I'm doing a better job at self-correcting. I've managed to book some studio time so I can practice on my own once a week in addition to class. I'm using this to practice my pirouettes and combinations that I struggle with. At the end of the last class the teacher said, "You really enjoy ballet don't you? You like the work and the mental part of it." I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying how feminine it made me feel!

[CamillaCD]

Good to see you're still active Jamie. Summer holidays here, so no classes for me until mid August.

Up til now one of the classes each week has been a beginner's class. Some might think that that these classes would get boring after a while. Sometimes yes, but then I concentrate on doing the moves correctly, trying to remember the corrections the teacher has given me.

I too practice pirouettes besides class. Sometimes I get a bit too eager, with sore neck muscles as a result :-)

[JamieG]

I've had a few more classes since I've last posted. I'm still making progress and having a good time. The guy I mentioned before is still coming. He's built like a tree; very tall and muscular. I feel positively petite next to him. Our teacher likes to have any males in class dance side-by-side and after one class mentioned, "You two dance well together." We were both kind of unsure about how to take that remark. Although after the fact, I had this image of a pas-de-deux, with me in a tutu of course and him doing lifts. Weird, huh?

My most recent class went very well. Often the teacher commented to me, "Great work!" or "Excellent!" Sure, I messed up a few times and received a few corrections, including the usual one for my posture. However, this time when she corrected me, it seems I was able to stand the way she wanted me to. "See, that's it!" she said. The dancing part of the class (a typical ballet class involves work at the barre, some stretching, and then is followed by combinations of steps that are actual dances) went really well. We did two different combinations in the center and then another that moved across the floor. I'm really having fun with this now; picking up the steps quicker and making fewer mistakes. Although I used to dread the last part of class, I now anxiously await it. I love to dance!

[Beverley Sims]

Jamie,
I always read your thread as I see you evolve,
for instance I like your avatar now.

[Kiltie]

Hi Jamie and congratulations on sticking with the ballet dancing and making a success of it! Hope you continue to enjoy it. I remember as a boy here in Scotland being taken to Highland dancing classes which was always predominantly girls. However they too wore kilts as their dance dress as did we boys so that was enough to encourage me to do the dancing. I did enjoy it and did it till I was about 17 I think and have to say wearing the lighter weight kilts which were specially made for highland dancing was the best feeling ever. They were made to swing and flare out more than normal as we did the various steps and movements and that was all part of the skill of the dance. Anyways good luck with the ballet and I'll keep my eyes open for more of your updates.

[JamieG]

We recently wrapped up our last class of the session. I am continuing to do well with the new combinations that are thrown at us; I make mistakes, but they are relatively minor and I can get myself back on track. After the barre work, we had a good aerobic workout, with a fast paced folk-dance back and forth across the floor, followed by a series of jumps in place, and then more movement across the floor involving alternating a waltz step and jumps. I was breathing heavily by the end of class, but I wasn't done...

I took an additional jazz class afterwards to make up for a class I missed last month. Although I've only taken a handful of jazz classes so far, this was by far the most intense. One move we learned involved going into a crouch with one leg stretched behind us, then rapidly standing and kicking this leg out to the side as high as we could go and repeating. Another involved posing with arms stretched in an L-shape and one hip thrust to the side, and then dropping to the floor, then repeating to the other side, changing the step every eighth note of a fast pop song. The next day my lower back muscles cried out every time I bent forward. When we were practicing this, she had one student demonstrate saying "Up girl, down girl, up girl, down girl,..." Then she had the class do it, saying the same thing. One of the ladies said, "But, what about J?" as I was the only "guy" in class. Of course, I didn't mind be lumped in with the girls, but I didn't say so.

Near the end of class we learned a dance to 12 bars of music (with a different kind of step every couple of bars or so) and repeated it for about 15 minutes straight. I was proud of myself: although one combination gave me trouble at the start, I kept at it. By the end, I was only really goofing up one of the transitions between steps but then getting quickly back on cue. However, I was drenched in sweat and felt like I was about to fall over when we finally stopped.

We concluded with stretches. I'm finding that I'm getting really good with my side splits, able to spread my legs and drop my chest to the floor without too much effort. Although we don't do them in class, I'm also finding that my front splits (one leg in front, one behind) are almost there too. I can go from a standing position to sitting on the floor in a split with only a slight bend in each leg. I'm also getting more back flexibility. When lying on my stomach, I can bend my back so that my chest is perpendicular to the floor, without my crotch coming off the ground.

After class was over, I had a nice chat with classmates outside. It was really nice to talk about dance and the instructor and just be accepted into this group.

So now poor me has to wait three weeks for more ballet lessons. I do still have some studio time reserved, so I will try to keep myself from getting rusty.

[Karen Francis]

How do you remember all the different instructions, i.e. the choreography? And then to "hit the marks" on the floor as the routine progresses? Even in the beginner classes i took if we did just a short group of steps I got confused. But give me a keyboard and it's a different story...
Lots of girls here want to hear more, so keep it up.. thanks

[Sarah V]

Glad to hear your summer classes are going well to Jamie. Mine are too. Starting back to the regular fall schedule in a few weeks. Keep it up and enjoy!

[JamieG]

How do you remember all the different instructions, i.e. the choreography? And then to "hit the marks" on the floor as the routine progresses? Even in the beginner classes i took if we did just a short group of steps I got confused. But give me a keyboard and it's a different story...
Lots of girls here want to hear more, so keep it up.. thanks

Hi Karen,

I have to admit it's not easy. The first few years this was one of my biggest problems: remembering the choreography and then smoothly transitioning from one step to the next. I've gotten so that when the teacher lays out new choreography I watch her very closely and follow along. When we do learn a new dance, she's breaks it down step by step and then gradually builds it back up until you have everything. It helps that often times we learn a variation on something I've seen before. Even so, as a novice who's struggling just to master the steps this is difficult. Now that I've done most of the steps in one class or another along the way, I can focus more on putting them together. However, I think the biggest thing is repeatedly learning new combinations in a short period of time has greatly improved my short-term memory. Honestly, if I suddenly got fed up with CDing (:eek: hah, as if that would ever happen), I think I would still take ballet. It does wonders for the mind and body.

[CamillaCD]

This is also my greatest struggle, and getting older isn't helping. I wonder if the professional dancers have some kind of special trick to remember all the moves. Too often I get lazy and resort to copying one of the others. It isn't good because you'll be that fraction of a second behind.

When rehearsing for the show we (adult beginners) had last Christmas I wrote the moves down to practice at home. I must have done the dance at least 100 times. I think that when you know what to do without much thinking, it is then you really start to dance.

[Cam]

Remember Jamie, they do make leotards for men. Durring the 20 plus years I was on stage, I regularly dressed in a fashion sitar to the GG's. that is, leotard and tights. They thought it strange at firs but when I explained to my partner that if it was better for them to dance dressed this way, it was better for the men a well and as such safer for the laidies.

[Cam]

The key is repetition. I spent 20 plus years on stage and honestly never forgot a step. I still remember numbers I danced in my early teens.

[JamieG]

I wanted to let everyone know that my ballet lessons have started back up again. "Yay!" Not too much to report. The class was a good size, with a mix of old and new students. One other guy was back (not the big dude, but the other one). I noticed he was actually wearing tights for a change, although he kept his shorts on over them. I did well on some things, and was a bit off on others. I got a mixture of compliments and corrections from the teacher. However, it was clear that I'm a bit out of shape. I was sore for a few days afterwards, and that usually doesn't happen from a single class anymore.

[JamieG]

I have had three more ballet classes since the last post. We now have a new guy in the class. The classes have been pretty large, and at times it was so crowded at the barre, we had to adjust the angle of our grand battements (high kicks) to avoid hitting each other. I'm still getting a health mix of compliments and corrections, and it's frustrating that I can't seem to get the posture right. I'm really trying, but I can't see what she's seeing, so its hard to know why I'm still getting it wrong.

BTW, I ran in to the other guy from the summer recently, and he was like "Hi, do you remember me?" I shook my head. He said what sounded like "Dan C.". I still couldn't place it. Then I realized, "Oh, dance, not Dan. C." Sheesh!

[Persephone]

Thanks for the continuing updates, Jamie.

It is so great that you are sticking with your ballet! I think you are terrific!

Hugs,
Persephone.

[CamillaCD]

Thanks for the update Jamie. I am continuing with my classes too.

My thread seems to be closed, so I'll write a few words here. This semester started a month ago. Now there are 3 adult classes, one for beginners, one for veterans and one that has become one for those in between. The school "headmaster" agreed that I couldn't call myself a beginner any more so I'm taking the last two. My body seems to cope with the load (2 x 90 minutes plus an hour at home), but I have to watch out for my left knee. Too many high jumps or deep bends seems to trigger some irritation in it. According to a specialist it looked like Hoffa's syndrome.

[Allesandra Rhodes]

Hi hon, been reading back through this thread. It's great to know some of you all actually are taking classes. Over the last year I've grown a strong interest in ballet, no not just watching movies. I purchased my own pointe shoes, first just liking the 'look' of them. But the first pair was too small. So I got the right size and sowed my own ribbons on them and used gel tips and those sheep fur material toe protectors thingys. Even wearing them feels fabulous, then getting up on a toe feels incredible. However I'm a little late in the game to really do any type of classes, having a couple slipping disks in my back I really doubt it's a safe idea so rather think of me as an admirer. I do however consider it to be a pure feminine art form. And thus such beauty requires much physical aptitude and discipline. So well done to those of you really serious about it. And I'll be reading the replies in this thread :)

[Nicole Erin]

I took ballet classes about 10 years ago. One was some dance school and the other was for a semester at the college I was at.
At the college class, our so-called final exam was we had to design a dance to the song of our choice. Yeah we had a few weeks to prepare so it was good. I did mine, it went well of course but after that day I just lost interest. Like one day I was a (wanna be) dancer and the next, all gone. No clue why, it should have boosted my interest but it was like I was just done.

So I might ask - for the late beginners, is it possible to develop anything close to a 180 turn-out without forcing? I used to force mine and I believe that further messed up my right knee.
I always read that after adulthood it is not possible but never knew how factual that was

[JamieG]

The school "headmaster" agreed that I couldn't call myself a beginner any more so I'm taking the last two. My body seems to cope with the load (2 x 90 minutes plus an hour at home), but I have to watch out for my left knee. Too many high jumps or deep bends seems to trigger some irritation in it.

I am so jealous that you are taking two classes a week and that you've "moved up a level." Unfortunately, due to work and family responsibilities, I have to stick with just the beginner class. However, I'm still learning, so it's not a waste of time.


However I'm a little late in the game to really do any type of classes, having a couple slipping disks in my back I really doubt it's a safe idea so rather think of me as an admirer.

Hi Allesandra, it's never too late to start ballet for recreation and exercise. Your slipped disks are obviously a concern, but you might be able to do some of the exercises. If you're really interested in trying it, I suggest you talk to your doctor and a local ballet teacher. I know I have had few back troubles since I've started ballet exercises.


I took ballet classes about 10 years ago. One was some dance school and the other was for a semester at the college I was at.
At the college class, our so-called final exam was we had to design a dance to the song of our choice. Yeah we had a few weeks to prepare so it was good. I did mine, it went well of course but after that day I just lost interest. Like one day I was a (wanna be) dancer and the next, all gone. No clue why, it should have boosted my interest but it was like I was just done.

That's strange that you burnt out on dance. Your final-exam sounds like fun. I wish I had taken dance in college.



So I might ask - for the late beginners, is it possible to develop anything close to a 180 turn-out without forcing? I used to force mine and I believe that further messed up my right knee.
I always read that after adulthood it is not possible but never knew how factual that was

I have pretty good turn-out and I started late. However, I think a lot of it is genetics. I was very flexible as a kid, so I think my ballet has just helped me recover that flexibility. Our teacher tells us that good form is more important than 180 degree turnout. This may be because she knows none of us are on our way to being professional dancers, but nevertheless we don't force it. We do a lot of stretches that help, and I often practice them when I'm not in class.

[Rachel Morley]

Hi Jamie - Congratulations on sticking with the ballet dancing and making a success of it! I enjoy reading about you being the only guy in a class of women as it reminds me of a time I was the only guy in a class of women who did step aerobics. It was quite a few years ago and was at a small local sports center. All the women wore leotards over cycle shorts or tights. At first, I wore a guys t-shirt and guys sports shorts, then after a few weeks I changed my top to be a women's sports tee, then a few weeks later I wore a women's leotard with a pair of loose women's sports shorts until finally I wore the same as the rest of the women in the class. A women's leotard over women's cycle shorts with women's tennis shoes. By this time I was being completely treated "as one of the girls" and no one seemed to mind at all.

The other things you share about your classes that I enjoy reading about is the way the instructor speaks to the class as if everyone is female. Eg: "Up girl, down girl" etc :) This also reminds me of my step aerobics classes as the female instructor always used to address the class during the workout as "ladies" she would say things like "come on now ladies, push it, one and two and three" etc .. I loved every minute of it and it seemed like because I or no one else mentioned it she seemed to do it more and more. :)

[NathalieX66]

Neat!
Jamie, thanks for your inspiration. I think someday I would like to try flamenco dancing....on the girl's team , no less. Olé!

[Randee]

What Rachel said. Being the only guy the the all ladies class makes it almost natural to be treated like 'one of the girls' while participating. And dressing in a leotard and tights, even a more unisex style/color, helps to blend in. Nothing but in encouragement from everyone.

[JamieG]

So I just finished my last ballet class of the fall. We now have a long break (til January) before classes start back up again. I'll have to see if I can find a way to keep practicing while I wait for classes to start back up. It was another exhausting session, with lots of jumps, and continuous moving across the floor with little time to take a breath in between. As usual, I got corrected on my posture, but then when I tried to straighten up, my instructor was like, "Excellent! Much better!" Maybe I am teachable? Some of the combinations came very natural to me; others not so much. I think I'm close to getting glissades, but am not quite there yet.

[Sarah V]

Jamie:

Don't know what type of a home you have or how much room you have at home, but have you considered setting up a home studio practice area, or a little ballet corner in a room? I have a room in my home that I have set up as exercise/workout room and I purchased some years ago a adjustable portable ballet barre' for it, and that is what I use for home practice. I have a TV and DVD/VCR player hooked up in this room so I can workout and do stretching, yoga, pliates, or simple ballet video's. Most folks will tell you it probably is not a good idea to learn ballet from just doing home video's and I fully agree. But if you are already knowledgeable and just using them to supplement your training while at home or when school is on hiatus, then I don't see a problem with using them.

If you can't afford a home barre' you can build one yourself out of PVC pipe or install one on a wall. Feel free to PM me and I can give you the instructions along with some titles to the ballet training DVD's and Video's I use.

[Linda E. Woodworth]

Hi Jamie,

I too have started taking adult beginner ballet classes for the last couple of years. I could follow what you were working on but have yet to achieve a lyrical look to my dancing.

I'll look forward to reading your next post on your classes.

[JamieG]

Jamie:

Don't know what type of a home you have or how much room you have at home, but have you considered setting up a home studio practice area, or a little ballet corner in a room?

I have thought about it. I'm not sure where to get a big enough mirror without laying out big bucks. How important is it to have wood flooring too?


Hi Jamie,

I too have started taking adult beginner ballet classes for the last couple of years. I could follow what you were working on but have yet to achieve a lyrical look to my dancing.

I'll look forward to reading your next post on your classes.

Always great to meet another ballet girl. I'd love to hear about how you got into ballet and how it's going for you, whether in this thread or in a PM.

[Sarah V]

Ms. Jamie:

That is the only thing I have not gotten yet is some mirror's. There are a few companies that make light weight or other mirror like materials that you can get. I have seen some pictures on a dance site where people are doing selfies with just a big framed mirror (like one you can find at Home Deport or Ikea) in the picture background leaning against a wall opposite them where they are working. What I have been waiting for, now that I am at a point in my life where I have the financial resources to do so, is to find a clothing business, or possibly some type of exercise, martial arts or my wish be granted, a dance studio going out of business where they are selling off their premises fixtures. Then I would pick up the mirror's that I really want. Since I am not in my final home,.....yet, I am waiting till that happens in a few more years, before I get the final ballet/workout room that I truly want.

As to a floor, the current room I am using is carpeted as I do not own the home. When I lived in the Chicago area, the room I used in my town-home had a wooden floor. Ideally, if you had the room and the money to throw at it, you would put in a sprung wooden floor into the room you were going to use. Since most of us can't do that, then I am 50/50 with really needing a wooden floor. I think most general exercises done at the barre' can be done on a short shag/pile carpet without problems. You could also probably get away with doing some simple center work on carpet I would think. You probably could not dance full out on carpet, but that would also require some space to dance in anyway. If you were going to be doing pointe practice at home, then I think it would be better to do it on a hard wooden surface. For what it is worth, I have seen a lot of dancer pointe selfies taken in bedrooms on carpet, in kitchens on linoleum, in house entrance ways on tile and/or wood flooring. FYI, you can also buy a small square of portable wooden like surface to lay over carpet or concrete floor which is esp. made to give a dancer a small space to do pointe practice at home.

A few years ago now, I found a perfect home with an area that would have made a terrific in-home ballet studio no less than two days after I put in an offer on another home and to this day I still beat myself up for not buying that house.

If you want to bounce any other thoughts off me, just PM me dear and I would love to help.

[Linda E. Woodworth]

Hi Jamie,

I'm sorry for not seeing your message sooner but I am new to the site and lost where the thread was. I just saw your reply today.

As far as the decision to take ballet lessons is concerned it boils down to I ain't getting any younger and it was something I've wanted to do.

I have always been fascinated by woman's clothing and I remember as a young boy, 6 years old, peeking in the door of my younger sisters ballet class. I wanted to dress like them and take lessons. However; a boy in the midwest in the 1960's didn't ask his father to take ballet lessons. It would not have been well received. (When we told me father about my starting ballet lessons he was not happy and never wanted to hear about it again)

I finally realized 3 years ago that I wasn't getting any younger and that I should just go ahead and do it. My wife supports me and my kids think dad's nuts! Works for me and best of all I get to wear tights all the time at home working out and practising.

My official reason is for exercise, toning and stretching. These are all valid reasons but the real goal is to give me the grace and poise to be a better woman when I'm dressed.

I have one lesson a week and practise at home about 3 days a week. I have a protable barre and do this in the foyer which has a wooden floor. I can do barre work and some simple center routines.

My biggest problem right now is finding a studio that fits my skill level. I am still very much in the beginner stage. My first studio had a wonderful teacher but let her go when they had financial trouble. The Student Teacher (unpaid intern) they got to replace her left a lot to be desired. I switched to another studio and was warmly received. The problem here is that their beginning adult class is actually more an intermediate class as I am frequently the only true beginner present. The teacher doesn't teach but runs through something once maybe twice and thats it. I'm supposed to figure it out by watching and then doing. Sorry, but that isn't teaching and I'm getting more frustrated by the day. Add to that a lack of adult classes where I live and there aren't a lot of options available.

Right now things are in flux as I get ready to leave the country again for work. Another 4 month contract overseas. I do take my ballet slippers with me and try to do some simple barre work in my room. It keeps me limber and more in practise.

Give a shout if you want. I'll be here until next month. I do not have access to this site while I'm gone.

Sincerely,
Linda W.

[JamieG]

It's been a month since my last post, so I thought I'd fill you all in. I'm about halfway through my break between ballet sessions. Work has been pretty busy, so I haven't had much time for home practice. I do try to work in a little demi-pointe whenever I get a chance. I've especially been working on demi-pointe and maintaining balance on one foot. When I first started, I didn't have the strength for one foot to push me up, but that is changing. Not only can I rise to demi-pointe on one foot, I can sometimes balance there for a few seconds. I'm working towards doing a retire en demi-pointe and being able to hold it for 30 seconds. This is something I just haven't been able to accomplish in class. I don't think I'll ever be able to do pirouettes if I can manage this simple thing. I'm also trying to work in some stretches where possible. Unfortunately, I haven't been keeping up with them, and I've lost a little bit of the splits I had achieved.

[Adriana Moretti]

I am very interested in learning some ballet...I feel that the moves they do are extremely feminine, and ballerina workouts and stretches are just what we need to achieve a more feminine figure and tones the correct muscles. Any advice to get that body in shape with stretches etc? Perhaps a handy you tube video?

[JamieG]

Hi Adriana,

To learn ballet, you really need to take a class. The instructor can catch things that you don't see yourself and make corrections to ensure you have proper form and don't hurt yourself. However, you can learn some basic exercises from the Web, like how to do plies in the five positions. If you want a ballet-themed workout, try the New York City Ballet Workout DVD. Have fun!

Jamie

[CamillaCD]

My session ended a week and a half ago. I have signed up for 2 classes a week the next term.

The last class was a bit special. I had to skip a class some weeks ago due to work. To compensate for this we can go to one of the other classes the school offers. So I picked a class saturday a week ago.

Normally this would be filled with age 12+ girls. This time they had a public performance somewhere, so only me and another from the adult class showed up.

Being only 2 there was more time for the instructor to correct the mistakes we were doing. We spent extra time with piruettes. It turned out the both of us had this fright of falling. I am 6' tall so my brain is saying it's a long way down. Doing one turn is easy, but with 2 I sometimes get the abort! abort! from my brain.

One of the things the instructor said rings a bell with what you said in post #40. She said that we should be concentrating on getting "up", not only on demi-pointe, but also with of the whole upper body. I know I have been a bit lazy on the demi-pointe.

I had a go a couple of days ago with concentrating on getting "up", and I have to say that there is something there.

The school is planning to put up "Alice in wonderland" next summer at the end of the term. They have already begun casting for the main roles. They're going to send out a mail to everyone asking who will commit themelves to be a part of the show. I'm afraid I'll say yes :-)

I found this inspiring documentary on an adult beginner ballet class in San Fransisco: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtuGVjmmmAs. So to those contemplating on starting with ballet, there really are no excuses.

[Sarah V]

We've been off class most of this month, due to my school's production of the Nutcracker and with the holidays. I miss class a lot!!! Will be getting back to it in the spring semester beginning next week. I did though help out back-stage with my school's Nutcracker production and had a blast. If any of your schools put on some type of a production, I would encourage all adult students to help out with it.

[JamieG]

Being only 2 there was more time for the instructor to correct the mistakes we were doing. We spent extra time with piruettes.

That must have been nice to have what amounted almost to a private lesson! Glad to hear your further along with your pirouettes than I am.



The school is planning to put up "Alice in wonderland" next summer at the end of the term. They have already begun casting for the main roles. They're going to send out a mail to everyone asking who will commit themelves to be a part of the show. I'm afraid I'll say yes :-)


Go for it! I bet there would be some great costumes, even if they make you dance a male part.


We've been off class most of this month, due to my school's production of the Nutcracker and with the holidays. I miss class a lot!!! Will be getting back to it in the spring semester beginning next week. I did though help out back-stage with my school's Nutcracker production and had a blast. If any of your schools put on some type of a production, I would encourage all adult students to help out with it.

That sounds like fun. Of course, it would be difficult to be there and not be envious of all the dancers.

[Sometimes Steffi]

Hi Jamie - Congratulations on sticking with the ballet dancing and making a success of it! I enjoy reading about you being the only guy in a class of women as it reminds me of a time I was the only guy in a class of women who did step aerobics. It was quite a few years ago and was at a small local sports center. All the women wore leotards over cycle shorts or tights. At first, I wore a guys t-shirt and guys sports shorts, then after a few weeks I changed my top to be a women's sports tee, then a few weeks later I wore a women's leotard with a pair of loose women's sports shorts until finally I wore the same as the rest of the women in the class. A women's leotard over women's cycle shorts with women's tennis shoes. By this time I was being completely treated "as one of the girls" and no one seemed to mind at all.


I am a member of a local Gold's Gym and they have a lot of classes there.

I regularly take step aerobics, Body Pump (weights for women), yoga, pilates, Body Flow (a combination of Yoga, pilates and Tai Chi) and sometimes Zumba. I want to take thier Bollywood dance also. I just finished a belly dance class at a local rec center. Most of these classes are a bunch of women and me and sometimes a couple of other guys. I wouldn't be nearly brave enough to go in a leotard, but I have gone to yoga and pilates with toe nail polish on, and in bright colors, not clear.

[Brooklyn]

I love dancing too!! It's fun, healthy, builds confidence, and you get to meet lots of people, like you mention.

[CamillaCD]

It does look simple when watching the guys doing the pirouettes. Just recently I watched a ballet on my home cinema. I get a bit envious when the actor does 3 (or was it 4) turns from 4. position and stands steady as a pole afterwards.

I think I have discovered an additional error I have to unlearn. Watching the documentary I linked to I noticed the instructor saying something about not moving your arms during a pirouette. When I start the pirouette I tend to have a tennis backhand move with one of the arms. Looking at it from a physics point of view this does not help getting the maximum angular momentum.

Do you watch ballet on DVD or Blu Ray ? The ballet I was referring to is called "La fille mal gardee" (http://www.amazon.com/Fille-Mal-Gardee-Carlos-Acosta/dp/B0018MRAZC/). Maybe not as popular as "Swan lake" or "The Nutcracker", but I highly recommend it. It is a happy romantic comedy with an easy understandable plot. I haven't seen other versions, but in this one the ballerina has some wonderful facial expressions in many of the situations. And this being a video you get to see them close up too. In addition, to tickle your interest, there is crossdressing/drag involved :)

[Sarah V]

Hi Jamie: Just a quick update for you. We just started the spring term this past week at our studio. I had a great class yesterday. I thought for sure I would be pretty stiff and tight after not doing any formal class for almost a month being off over the holidays. But I actually managed to do quite well. Our teacher gave us great combinations which I really liked though out the entire class. We (the adults in the class) made her promise to keep repeating a few of these combinations so we can work on them repeatedly every week so that we can get them memorized down pat. We adult students want to see if we can pull them off to just the music, as a class, without her help, at the end of this semester.