How long do i have to dance the basics?

[dobby]

Hi, I´m wondering for how long do i have to dance basic ballet?

I have dance it for two years (in January)

Are there any certain things that you must learn before you enter the higher level:unsure:

I´m not that good at doing pirouettes

[Victoria Leigh]

Dobby, I'm not quite sure what you mean. Is the class just not progressing? You mention pirouettes, and pirouettes are really not "basics". We all do all of the "basics" every day, in every class. It's just that more vocabulary gets added and the combinations get longer, perhaps faster, and more complicated.

[Guest ingve]

Yes, the basics will stay with you all your dancing life. Without repeating the "basics" in each class, you will have a hard time to do anything more advanced. And the longer you dance, the more you will get "hung up" on and starting to explore the basics.

 

It is like waking up in the morning. I am sure you have your routine on how you get ready for the day, then to make the best out of it. It is pretty similar with the ballet basics

[Redbookish]

I was once told: "The plié is the first thing you learn, and the last thing you perfect." I take that to mean that we do the basics every day, and get better at them, as well as adding more complex and demanding steps as you go.

 

And I think for us adult dancers, keeping on with classes which teach the basics is usual, and a good way to embed good habits in our bodies.

[Mazenderan]

I like to take a class that's simpler than I'm used to alongside my normal class. Simpler combinations allow me to really focus on turn-out and utilising my upper body, for example - which can sometimes slide a little in more advanced classes where the combinations are complex.

 

I also find it really useful for working on things like facial expression, use of the head, spotting - things that are ingrained for those who attended ballet classes as a child, but which require lots of practice for adult beginners.

 

Have you talked to the teacher about your concerns? Or another student who attends the intermediate class?

[MJ]

I would suggest speaking to your teacher, asking if you could get additional corrections to improve your technique. This will improve your technique.

[olddude]

Hi, I´m wondering for how long do i have to dance basic ballet?

I have dance it for two years (in January)

Are there any certain things that you must learn before you enter the higher level:unsure:

I´m not that good at doing pirouettes

Yes and no. OK, this is just my perspective - a (very) late-starting adult.

 

At some point the beginner class no longer challenges you. You are still working on refining the basics (actually you will always do so!) but you are starting to crave more.

 

The answer is simple - add a more advanced class, without giving up the lower level class. I myself had actually taken classes for 18 months before a teacher suggested this - I was so ignorant that I did not know that I COULD take more than one class a week For me, it was another 18 months before a teacher told me to stop taking the total-beginner class. Even at that point, I felt I was still learning things in that class - so I remain committed to taking at least some classes at the lowest level I can get away with, as well as some classes where I am lost half the time, at the highest level the teacher will let me take. They are equally valuable.

 

Oh - incidentally, there's a reason that the Richmond adult dance camp always has pirouette classes at every level. We are most all of us trying to do a better job of that!

[ripresa]

It's hard as adults to know when to progress up. I think after 2 years, you should be out of the total beginning phase, but if it still challenges you, and you still have fun in it, continue to take the class, but maybe scout out higher level classes and see if you can take them at the same time, per olddude's suggestion.

 

Generally I measure how challenged I am in class by: how much I sweat and how panicked I am.

If I find my attention wandering off, or being bored by a teacher's combination or looking at the clock then the class is probably not for me.

[whatsthepointe]

I think there are certain milestones that helped me decide I was ready for the next level, such as being able to hold my (modest) turnout in the center, coordinate arms and legs in moderately complex combinations, hold a relevé for the required counts...

It also depends on the teacher's goals. Find out what your teacher is trying to teach you at this point. If you feel comfortable with it, then you can definitely take a new challenge!!!

[dancingjet]

Without commuting quite a bit, the classes I'm taking now are basically all I have access to. So in dobby's other thread where I expressed my own curiosity about what makes someone a beginner, advanced beginnner, etc. it wasn't because I was worried about moving up or not. It was curiosity. Children's classes are based on some sort of criteria (at least at the two schools I've seen my own DD at). When a teacher looks around an open class of adult dancers, what would she or he see that would indicate someone's relative proficiency? I'm guessing some of it is subtle, but I'd love to talk about it some. Perhaps hearing some of those would give us adults students new corrections to think about, new goals to strive for? (Not that I don't have plenty. I guess I'm just curious!)