Beginner Classes in Boston/Cambridge, MA

[Guest bonnetskater]

Hi, I'm new here.

 

I am an adult figure skater looking for some ideas of places to take beginning ballet in the Boston/Cambridge, Massachusetts area. I have never taken ballet. I work so it needs to be after work hours. Any recommendations? I am hoping to improve my flexibility, turnout, get better pointed feet and improve overall grace with some ballet classes. For anyone who knows skating, my skating is adult silver level. Thanks!

[Guest Chedva]

You can't get any better than Boston Ballet, and yes, they do have beginner classes. Elementary (beginning) ballet is offered in Boston on Wednesdays, 7-8:30 and Saturdays, 9:30-11. In their Newton studio, it's offered Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-8:30 and Saturday, 10-11:30. Here's the link: Boston Ballet Adult Classes

 

If you want a shorter, and I presume more relaxed, class, you might want to try Paulette's Ballet Studio in Newton. The class is offered on Mondays from 6:30-7:30. That's my class, and I neither danced nor skated. In fact, the class may be too slow for you!

[flygirl]

knock, knock,...don't forget Dance Complex in Central Square, Cambridge. I posted a comment about it earlier today in the Moms and Dads forum..."Delightful open teen/adult class"....

[dido]

You might want to be aware that all the "Elementary" classes I've been to in the area presume a few years of ballet training and a fairly broad knowledge of steps. The terminology can fly pretty fast and if it's not familiar can be discouraging. Both Boston Ballet and Jose Mateo's offer introductory courses (Mateo's is 8 weeks $100--not sure about BB).

 

But I'd also like to add that I take class at Boston Ballet, the Dance Complex and Mateo's and have enjoyed the experience in all three studios. Good luck finding what you need.

[Guest bonnetskater]

Thanks for the input and links. Chedva, is Paulette's near the T Green Line/Commuter Rail? I would be coming straight from work and don't have a car.

[Georgia]

I have seen the adult ballet classes at Boston Ballet and I would not be comfortable going in there as a beginner. I think they sometimes offer six week beginner courses occasionally. The best thing to do would be to call.

[Guest Chedva]

bonnetskater, I'm not sure about Green Line access to Paulette's (I drive), but you might want to get a map and take a look. It's on Oak Street near Needham Street (just over the Needham border). Or you could call the T and ask.

[Xena]

Hi Bonnetskater, and welcome to the forum. I found this thread on one of our other forums, and thought it may be of interest to you..

http://balletalert.com/dancersforum/index....showtopic=21313

 

Jeanette

[AB2]

Bonnetskater,

 

I can vouch for the adult beginner classes at Boston Ballet. BB offers "AB1" and AB2" (hence my screen name!), two adult beginner series for dancers with little or no experience. The classes run in two semesters and can prepare you for the open elementary level. Check out the website at www.BostonBallet.org

 

I danced as a child. When I came back to dance as an adult I combined liturgical dance with ballet training. I have taken class with several different teachers at BB in both their Boston and Metrowest studios and they are all fantastic. It always helps to have a teacher who enjoys teaching adults. !

 

Good luck

 

AB2

[Hilarion]

Thanks for the input and links. Chedva, is Paulette's near the T Green Line/Commuter Rail? I would be coming straight from work and don't have a car.

 

Unfortunately, it's nowhere near the Green Line or commuter rail. The Riverside Line goes through Newton, so there might be a bus connecting one of the stations with the vicinity of Paulette's.

 

I am a perpetual adult beginner, so I have plenty of experience with local studios that offer classes more or less pitched to my limited skills. These include:

 

Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre, in Harvard Square, has 8-week sessions for adult beginners for $100. The Thursday classes (6-7:30) are for absolute beginners. The current session is already nearly halfway through, and is set to end February 24. If you can wait until the first Thursday in March, you can get in on the ground floor with the next course. The URL is www.ballettheatre.org.

 

The Cambridge Center for Adult Education ("CCAE") is on Brattle Street in Harvard Square and also has an exercise studio on Huron Avenue near Fresh Pond. CCAE's ballet courses are generally 6 to 8 weeks long and cost about $130. The courses are extremely popular but the studio on Brattle Street is too small relative to the size of the class. Their URL is www.ccae.org. Search for Ballet (Monday nights on Brattle Street) and for Ballet Barre (Saturday mornings at the Huron Avenue Exercise Studio).

 

The Boston Center for Adult Education on Arlington Street in Bay Village, not far from Arlington Station on the Green Line, also has ballet classes. Though less well-known than their counterparts in Cambridge, they are (in my opinion) better taught and less claustrophobia-inducing. The studio is oddly decorated with a nautical motif - just in case you feel at sea. Go to www.bcae.org.

 

The Dance Complex, in Central Square, Cambridge, has ongoing introductory and beginners classes. You can pay per class or purchase blocks of classes. Since the classes are ongoing, the level is usually geared to students who have been coming for a while. Consequently, the classes may be, or at least may seem to be, more advanced than you might think when you see the word "introductory" in the class title. See www.dancecomplex.org.

 

Fresh Pond Ballet, in Porter Square, Cambridge, has ongoing classes for beginners, but the instructor is, in my experience, more sensitive to the needs of all her students, not just the ones she sees more often. NB: the studio is very small and has columns, so you better already have good spatial orientation skills, or radar. See www.freshpondballet.com.

 

I see that other people have talked about the adult beginner classes at Boston Ballet. Luckily for you I have my registration information right here. The 2005 session is taught in two locations, but only one of these - the main studio, on Clarendon Street in the South End - is accessible by public transportation. It's a couple minutes' walk from Back Bay Station (Orange Line and the Needham commuter rail) and a little further from Copley station on the Green Line. The course called AB1-1.2 (Adult Beginner Level 1) is taught twice a week, Monday and Wednesday, 7-8:30, with the first class on Monday, January 31 and the final on Wednesday, June 15. Cost is a flat, up-front $360 for all 18 weeks. Call Kirsten Hwang at (617) 456-6263.

 

One final note of caution - as you look about you will see offerings for elementary classes. In the context of ballet classes, "elementary" is much, much more advanced than any introductory or beginners class.

 

Hope this helps!

[AB2]

Thanks for the input and links. Chedva, is Paulette's near the T Green Line/Commuter Rail? I would be coming straight from work and don't have a car.

 

Unfortunately, it's nowhere near the Green Line or commuter rail. The Riverside Line goes through Newton, so there might be a bus connecting one of the stations with the vicinity of Paulette's.

 

I am a perpetual adult beginner, so I have plenty of experience with local studios that offer classes more or less pitched to my limited skills. These include:

 

Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre, in Harvard Square, has 8-week sessions for adult beginners for $100. The Thursday classes (6-7:30) are for absolute beginners. The current session is already nearly halfway through, and is set to end February 24. If you can wait until the first Thursday in March, you can get in on the ground floor with the next course. The URL is www.ballettheatre.org.

 

The Cambridge Center for Adult Education ("CCAE") is on Brattle Street in Harvard Square and also has an exercise studio on Huron Avenue near Fresh Pond. CCAE's ballet courses are generally 6 to 8 weeks long and cost about $130. The courses are extremely popular but the studio on Brattle Street is too small relative to the size of the class. Their URL is www.ccae.org. Search for Ballet (Monday nights on Brattle Street) and for Ballet Barre (Saturday mornings at the Huron Avenue Exercise Studio).

 

The Boston Center for Adult Education on Arlington Street in Bay Village, not far from Arlington Station on the Green Line, also has ballet classes. Though less well-known than their counterparts in Cambridge, they are (in my opinion) better taught and less claustrophobia-inducing. The studio is oddly decorated with a nautical motif - just in case you feel at sea. Go to www.bcae.org.

 

The Dance Complex, in Central Square, Cambridge, has ongoing introductory and beginners classes. You can pay per class or purchase blocks of classes. Since the classes are ongoing, the level is usually geared to students who have been coming for a while. Consequently, the classes may be, or at least may seem to be, more advanced than you might think when you see the word "introductory" in the class title. See www.dancecomplex.org.

 

Fresh Pond Ballet, in Porter Square, Cambridge, has ongoing classes for beginners, but the instructor is, in my experience, more sensitive to the needs of all her students, not just the ones she sees more often. NB: the studio is very small and has columns, so you better already have good spatial orientation skills, or radar. See www.freshpondballet.com.

 

I see that other people have talked about the adult beginner classes at Boston Ballet. Luckily for you I have my registration information right here. The 2005 session is taught in two locations, but only one of these - the main studio, on Clarendon Street in the South End - is accessible by public transportation. It's a couple minutes' walk from Back Bay Station (Orange Line and the Needham commuter rail) and a little further from Copley station on the Green Line. The course called AB1-1.2 (Adult Beginner Level 1) is taught twice a week, Monday and Wednesday, 7-8:30, with the first class on Monday, January 31 and the final on Wednesday, June 15. Cost is a flat, up-front $360 for all 18 weeks. Call Kirsten Hwang at (617) 456-6263.

 

One final note of caution - as you look about you will see offerings for elementary classes. In the context of ballet classes, "elementary" is much, much more advanced than any introductory or beginners class.

 

Hope this helps!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[AB2]

One note on the Boston Ballet studio and public transportation to Newton, the commuter rail is across the street. Check the mbta.com website for the schedule if you plan to go. It doesn't run as frequently as the T but I wanted you to have the information nonetheless.

[Diana180]

Anna Myer's Tuesday/Saturday beginner classes at the Dance Complex tend to have a lot of new people at this time of year, and are quite beginner-friendly. When you look around, though, be aware that the most advanced students in the class may have been going to it for many years.

 

I went to some Elementary classes at Jose Mateo over the holidays and they really are fairly advanced - on the same level as advanced beginner/lower intermediate classes at my home studio. I would not suggest attempting them without doing at least Mateo's two-term beginner sequence or something like it first. They are small classes, though, or they were when I was there, and 90 minutes long, so if you move on to them you will most likely get lots of corrections and make fast progress.