Individual class study

[autumngrl12]

Hi this is my first post here. I have been thinking about taking classes again and was wondering what do you think is the best way for me to go about it. I studied for a year when I was 13 then again a few years back I went in for one adult class where the core was based around Vaganova method. I don't know how this differs from the basic type as I was really only familiar with the classes I took when I was beginner-intermediate years ago.

 

But the class was very intensive it seemed, little barre work and lots of combination steps/centre work. It was nice but a little fast paced for me. But I dont want to do a boring beginners course again. So I just stopped going also beng that it was not affordable then.

 

Is there a chance to do individual study.... Or even self learning with soft shoes. I don't know what kind of class I'm looking for even but I feel very young and I take performances seriously. I would probably like some more individualised focus, I also get bored and frustrated very easily. Dance was alsway my escape not a source of confusion......!!

 

Please help!!

[Serendipity]

You only really studied for about a year. Although you might consider it boring, you may well do best with a proper beginner class. The reason for this is that you really cannot do anything complicated unless you have reasonable command of the basics - center (core balance, not "center work"), proper turnout - muscles to activate, etc.

 

If you can get a few times per week and really apply yourself, you could move up when you are ready, if there are classes around.

 

I'm in my 32nd year of ballet, and I still take beginner class once a week, alongside more advanced ones the rest of the week. It's not at all boring because I spend a LOT of time tuning in to my body - the core, the feet, the turnout from the hip, use of the floor, space, etc.

 

When I was at the Richmond Adult Dance Camp, on the last day I "bugged out" to the lowest level, thinking it would be easier on my body. Not so! Although the combinations were easier, my standards for myself were set higher BECAUSE I could focus on the use of the body, rather than trying to remember combinations.

 

The key to making any level of class interesting, in my humble opinion, is focusing on what YOU are doing with YOUR body. So a beginner class would help you get to that point.

 

I hope this makes some sense....

[Redbookish]

Welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers, autumngrl12, ad particularly to the Adult Dancers' section.

 

What you describe is pretty normal for returning dancers, increased by the fact that you say that you only studied dance for a year when you were 13 and then intermittently as an adult. In the grand scheme of learning to dance, that is a very short time!

 

Like Serendipity, I would say that you really need that beginner's class! If you think that the basics are boring -- well, maybe ballet isn't for you? Or maybe you need to do a basic ballet class, for good technique, and then liven up your dancing life with some other styles (hip hop or contemporary or jazz)?

 

But I remember a wonderful saying -- "The plié is the first thing you learn, and the last thing you master." I think the deeper meaning of this saying is to remind us all that ballet is built on the very basic stuff that some dancers learn from the age of 8. We still start every class with pliés, from the beginners' level to professional class.

 

As for self-study -- with only a year of solid instruction, and some later drop-in classes (if I've understood your post correctly?) then I'd say that that would not be possible -- ballet's something you really can't teach yourself -- professional dancers still do class everyday and expect their ballet master/mistress to keep on teaching & coaching them. From us adult beginagainers through to top professionals, we are ALWAYS learning from our master/mistress teachers. And you mention "soft shoes" -- these would be a given. I hope you're not thinking about going on pointe by yourself!! (well, you're an adult, you can if you want, but that way injury lies ...)

 

Like Serendipity, I do a range of class levels -- from beginners through to a pretty advanced class when I'm really fit & in training. The beginners class is often the hardest, as the teacher's focus on turnout and alignment in simple movements is laser-like. In the more advanced classes we're working on longer enchainements and more complex versions of steps, and sometimes <ahem> I know my technique gets a bit sloppy in order to move quickly and in more complex combinations. So a beginners class once a week is very, very good for me!

 

Good luck in finding the right class or combination of classes!

 

Maybe others here can chime in on how to make a beginner's class UNboring?

[whatsthepointe]

If a beginner class is not somewhat repetitive & boring, it means it is not a good beginner class. If the teacher asks a student in his/her 4th week of training to do a full pirouette en dehors, it's not a good teacher at all!!!

 

There are many ways to make a class more interesting: lots of explanations, a teacher actually giving corrections, good music, etc...

[Laschwen]

You may also find that an adult beginner class is not what you recall from your teen years as a beginner class at all. There is a wide range of what you might find for a level in what adult classes call beginner for what is taught and how fast the class moves along.

Either way, have fun.