The Adult Ballet Blog
by London Ballet Classes
Is ballet about hard work or luck - or a bit of both? What roles do genetics play in turnout, flexibility, suitability for pointe work, extensions and jumps? Is this different for adults and children? This in-depth article is a deep dive into this very topic. So if you are an adult ballet student frustrated with your progression, and unsure whether you’ve hit a roadblock or an anatomical limit, this article is for you!
Are you an adult ballet student who finds themselves extremely tight after every ballet class? Are you constantly foam rolling, using massage balls, epsom salts, and release techniques, but no matter what you do, you end up leaving class a bit too sore? You may find yourself wondering - is this simply because I worked hard in the lesson, or am I actually doing something wrong? Are you experiencing a loss of flexibility because of muscle tension? As an adult ballet student, it can be REALLY hard to tell whether the tightness you are feeling is because you’ve simply worked out new muscles or if it’s because you’ve overworked the wrong muscles. If this resonates with you, read on for a deep dive into this topic!
Last week our blog post featured 5 of Instagram’s most inspirational adult ballet dancers. This week they are back to share their top tips for Beginner ballet students. Read on!
We hope you will find this blog as inspiring as we did :) And here is a shout out to all the other incredible adult ballet dancers I come across on Instagram daily - thank you for sharing your stories with us!
If you have always wanted to try ballet, or if you are on your ballet journey but feeling discouraged or that there is no point, these women are the perfect pick me up! These 5 Instagram accounts feature some of my all time favourite adult ballet dancers sharing their #passionnotprofession. They prove how far you can come with hard work, dedication and spirit. Each of these dancers has their own unique style and quality, their own strengths and weaknesses and no doubt, each their own journey. They have not only grown into wonderful technical dancers, they make a significant and essential contribution to a new dialogue, one that encourages ballet as an art form without barriers. So sit back, read on and be inspired!
Turns require full-body co-ordination and the perfect amount of impetus and speed. They take years to master and whilst some of us take to turning naturally, many of us do not. Despite this, with consistent effort and focus, turning IS something we can all get better at. This post highlights 10 quick tips that can improve your turns. Which ones could you be better at?!
If you are struggling with what to buy a budding ballerina or a die hard ballet lover, we know how you feel!
Buying affordable and sentimental ballet gifts isn’t an easy thing to do! We have scoured the web over the past few weeks to compile this list of unique and personalised gifts, with starting prices as low as £8!
If you are reaching a point where you can memorise all the steps in class, follow routines and more or less keep up, it’s easy to stop challenging yourself to improve. And that is why you should participate in our Class Challenge! In your ballet classes over the next week or two, try to see how many of these you can do! Let us know how you got on in the comments below:
Do you feel like you spend a lot of time dancing but make relatively little progress? Does it feel like irrespective of the effort you aren’t getting any better? As with everything in life, improving in ballet is about working smart, not just working hard. Practice for the sake of practice is ineffective, we must employ a great deal of consciousness in order to progress. Read on for our top tips on how to get better faster!
Though we master the moves of ballet over time, it is always more of a journey to feel comfortable doing them, to feel that we are dancing as opposed to simply connecting a series of poses! Feeling like a dancer and being at ease in your movement is very difficult. If you feel a bit wooden or awkward and are wondering how you can make everything look a little bit more interesting, read on!
Adult ballet requires immense discipline, drive and determination. So many people who embark on their ballet journey later in life have these qualities and this is what helps them to achieve such remarkable transformation. But our intense desire to advance and progress is also what can make ballet frustrating and sometimes downright agonising! How do we balance our ambition with the need to surrender to our bodies and the ups and downs of the journey? And what is it that makes some of us so committed and determined, whilst others, who love ballet just as much, end up giving up?
Many adult beginners are keen to study graded work (typically RAD’s Graded Syllabus, up to grade 8), or vocational exams (from InterFoundation through to Advanced 2). Having completed grades as an adult and vocational work too (currently studying for Advanced 1), I can understand the desire to adopt an exam-based approach to your study of ballet. Having taken so many exams and having been asked about this particular topic so many times, I have reflected a great deal on what I think I gained from the experience and also what I believe some of the drawbacks were.
If you are still making up your mind on whether to pursue exams or not, this concise list of pros and cons may help you:
With so many incredible ballets on this Winter season, how on Earth do we decide what to watch and where?! We decided to make your lives a little easier by compiling information about the most exciting ballet shows into one place! Whether you want to watch The Royal Ballet or one of the less well known (but equally impressive!) companies, we’ve got you covered! Our list covers several companies, shows and locations, ranging from Royal Opera House to New Wimbledon Theatre and everywhere in between. We know it isn’t always easy (or affordable) to travel to the most popular venues, so definitely spread the word about some of these hidden treasures and help more people to experience the wonders of ballet.
If you are ready to embark on your ballet journey – congratulations! Ballet is an extremely beautiful and elegant dance form, but it is also extremely difficult and requires immense dedication and patience. This is why it can feel so daunting to walk into a studio for the first time. If you are about to brave it, the below tips may help you to get a better understanding of what your first class will be like. Good Luck!
