Ballet4Life Talks Dance

J for Julia says: A few weeks ago there was a buzz of excitement at Ballet4life, as founder and director, Donna had been nominated as a finalist in two categories of the Hounslow Business Awards!  They were for Entrepreneur of the Year, for Ballet4life and also for Charity of the Year, for her much loved charity, Move into Wellbeing® for people with Parkinson's and other mobility restrictions. Much to her regret Donna was unable to attend this prestigious event, and I was therefore fortunate enough to represent Ballet4life on this important occasion, which was held at the Hilton Hotel in the beautiful grounds of Syon Park. Inside the setting was magical, with rows of fairy-lit twinkling trees and elegantly dressed guests sat at tables, laden with tasty dishes of food! What was not to like?! We all waited with heightened anticipation for the main event of the evening...the results! There were many diverse companies assembled all hoping for a successful result. Fi...

S & J Talk Ballet Friday update for all dance lovers out there, especial those 55+! First up Susan, of S J talk Ballet, is on a break at present to deal with pressing family issues. We wish Susan continued strength and we give her our unlimited support. She still thoroughly enjoys her adult ballet classes with us and insists that those keep her grounded and full of vim and vigour. J for Julia, on the other hand, has been dancing and socialising non-stop! She attended the #HounslowAwards http://www.hounslowawards.com/ recently on behalf of @Ballet4life.com and @Moveintowellbeing.org.uk Ballet4life's Director Donna was a Finalist for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Move into Wellbeing® was a Finalist in the Best Charity of the Year Award. Her next blog after this one will reveal what happened so watch this space! For today she wanted to blog about Monday morning Ballet Barre Class with our newest bright star, teacher  Chris.  Julia says...

S- Susan, of S&J Talk Ballet , has been on a break dealing with some pressing family issues. She just recently dusted off her ballet pumps again and waltzed back into the studio to the ballet barre to join in classes.We wish her all the best for this new season! J- Julia, of S&J Talk Ballet , has just written about returning to the ballet basics; the positions and their importance. Hi to all new dancers, Now that the Autumn Ballet4life term has arrived, I am really looking forward to learning some new moves and techniques whilst enjoying the joy that ballet brings! Recently I was asked by Donna, director of Ballet4life to pose for the beginner course information sheet, to show the ballet positions, and it made me realise how important it was to re-learn/learn the basic positions, as once these are mastered the door is opened to the magical world of enchantment that ballet brings... During this wonderful new ballet experience, you will be constantly sup...

Back to the Barre with J of S and J Talk Ballet Julia shares her thoughts on getting back to classes now that Autumn is creeping in. Photographs: All rights reserved. may not be reproduced without permission. Julia in Ballet Class at Ballet4life. ( Pictured here is  the other Monday morning ballet class with Chris but we will be taking photos at Mark's class again soon) Hi to all those of you out there that love dance!! Now that Autumn has arrived and it's getting quite chilly I find it's REALLY good to warm up those toes at ballet class. Today I arrived feeling nippy and left totally toasty, and that wasn't just my toes!.... Mark Kimmett, who trained at the Royal Ballet School, and is a former dancer with Rambert Dance Company and Scottish Ballet, is one of Ballet4life's newer wonderful teachers, and what a privilege it was today to be a student in his class. To start off with, there was a great warmth of welcome on arrival, which was followed ...

We have been so busy with classes, performances, and festivals that our blog has been a bit neglected! Now J as in Julia of S&J Talk Ballet gives a report on the Ballet4life dancers' performance www.bedfordparkfestival.org Images: Ballet4life all rights reserved The weather was perfect and the festival revellers in good spirits at the amazing Bedford Park Festival, held at Turnham Green the weekend of the 10th and 11th June. Under the excellent tuition of one of the Ballet4life teachers Rebecca Scott, a group of enthusiastic dancers took to the ballet barre at the bandstand and confidently performed some lovely exercises followed by a lyrical  centre dance sequence, to a lively and much appreciative audience....another great success for Ballet4life established and run locally for the last thirteen by founder, teacher, and former professional dancer Donna Schoenherr.

More dance reporting in from S of S & J Talk Ballet Image- Pointe Class- All right reserved Ballet4Life Susan's thoughts on her Saturday Pointe Class The Saturday Pointe Class at Art’s Ed takes place following the Beginner Improver Ballet Class and is taken by Mark Kimmett and as usual, Mark brings his own personal style of teaching to the class. The class is attended mostly by ladies (although we have been joined by a male dancer on a few occasions) of very varying ages and as it is a drop- in the class size fluctuates. The class is fun and as we are already warmed up from the previous class we get straight to work at the barre with exercises such as rises on demi- pointe and then full pointe progressing to pas de bourrée. There is usually some centre work as well where we are encouraged by Mark to ‘present ourselves’.  We are all given individual advice and support from Mark and I feel we are all making progress and I personally look forward to the day when I ...

S of S & J Susan's Saturday snippet: Bloch's online sale ends at midnight Monday 29th May and now it is up to 65% off. It is a great opportunity to grab some bargains on some new dance gear! Susan dancing in class with Mark Kimmett. All rights reserved. 

J as in Julia of S & J Talk Ballet on our recent Dance Showcase which raised funds for Registered Charity Move into Wellbeing® The talent was remarkable, the atmosphere electric and the audience roused!! Yes, all these ingredients came together at 6 o'clock at the Ballet4life Showcase last Saturday evening. The show was a combination of many dance and movement skills.... Teachers performing modern and lively dances, often encompassing their own unique choreography, followed by their students, either dancing snazzy jazz routines or perhaps in some cases more graceful, delicate balletic ones! All participants were individually introduced by Ballet4life Founder and Mentor Donna Schoenherr, with proceeds to be donated to her much loved and Registered Charity Move Into Wellbeing®. This particular group, later l ed by Beatrice Ghezzi, one of our talented dance teachers,  performed a wonderfully enthusiastic and fun movement piece, which led to much clapping, w...

What J for Julia has to say about Mums & Babies and the Monday Ballet Barre Class! Having experienced my first Monday dance class last week, I have to say it was a very unusual event for me as it was the first time I had taken place in a ballet class that ages ranged from 6 weeks, (yes that is correct!) to well we won't go there but lets say a little more mature adults...! Strangely enough, it all worked well, as the 6 weekers were firmly attached to their mothers by a safe baby sling, whilst their mothers gently swayed back and forth, and although the mothers were the, of course, the ballet pupils, the babies were soothed to sleep by the melodic and beautiful music of the class. The class also worked well for those of us also who were not accompanied by babies, and it is a very confident building class for beginners to attend. Lovely Becky teaches this class at the bespoke dance studio at St Peter's Hall on a Monday from 9.15-10.15 and it is a beginners ballet ba...

S- Susan  of S & J talk ballet on  frappé   Frustrating Frap pés! I am wondering if any other ‘Ballet4lifers’ have trouble executing the frappé exercises.  If my feet carry out the single frappe exercises correctly I feel that my hands are doing their own thing! Double frappés are often just a jumble especially if I have my eyes on the person in front of me despite them doing it correctly. I often feel that my toes are curling up between the striking of the floor and the return movement, whether they really are or it is just my imagination, I am not sure. Perhaps I over think the exercise and should just get on with it but I always get a sinking feeling when the words “ now let’s do frappés”. I hope that one day I will conquer the exercise but until then I would love to hear if anyone has any tips they can pass on. Images: Susan in Ballet4life Beginner Improvers Class with Mark Kimmet. All rights reserved.

J  - Julia- on the group outing to see @TheRoyalBallet Murder, passion and insanity were witnessed by myself and a group from Ballet4life when we visited the much-anticipated ballet production of Mayerling last Friday at the ROH!  We all certainly enjoyed taking in the rustic costumes, ever changing scenery and superb dancing and even an unexpected bit of Opera singing!! Empress Elizabeth was played by 1st Artist Tara-Brigitte Bhavnani, @tarabhavs who had recently given us a wonderful Masterclass at Ballet4life, and even though she felt unwell prior to her performance she still danced brilliantly. An evening to be remembered by all, and it was a true story!... Images: Julia and other Ballet4lifers at Tara- Brigitte Bhavnani's Masterclass. All rights reserved.

Susan shares news about a special ballet performance coming up soon! The Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith will be hosting a 40-minute version of  "The Secret Garden" danced by the London Children's Ballet Company on May 30th and 31st.  The London Children's Ballet company was founded 23 years ago by Lucille Briance and this ye ar over 500 children between the ages of nine and sixteen auditioned for just 30 places. So if you want to see some young ballet stars of the future this is not to be missed. Donna adds: and I think some Ballet4lifers have children in the company as well! Must organise a group outing! Image: Susan in Beginner Improver ballet with her Ballet buddies. All rights reserved

3 May 2017 Tuesday's Ballet4life classes for 50+ Two wonderful dance classes today were enjoyed by the 50+ ladies, with our lovely mentor and teacher Donna at the helm, gently moving us on towards gaining more confidence in our dance abilities. One 50+ er Anne even felt confident enough to share briefly with another 50+ lady the start of a new dance sequence we had just all been learning Nice that everyone is so friendly.... Then an exhilarating Pilates/dance class was much enjoyed by all with our excellent teacher Becky, comprising of fab up-tempo music and slick dance moves! With more practice, I'm hoping to conquer the windmill arm movement, which I find quite tricky, and so next week will see if I can get any top tips from Becky or the others in our group.... Images of Julia in Becky's 50+ Dance & Fitness Class on Tuesday mornings. All rights reserved.

From S of S & J today Susan says on #InternationalDanceDay Image: Susan in Beginner Improvers Ballet with Mark Kimmett All rights reserved Just to let people know that Bloch are offering 15% off on their website until midnight Monday 1st to celebrate international dance day. You need to quote IDD17 at the checkout. Have a great weekend! 

BALLET4LIFE.COM · MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017 18 Reads Hi everyone, Founder and Director of Ballet4life Donna here. Spring brings new things such as growth, change, and opportunity. I recently asked two lovely dedicated 50+ adult ballet dancers at Ballet4life to start writing for us about their experiences with dance, on the side, as they progress with their classes, technique, and confidence in the classroom. They were rather receptive so I think it is the time to launch their stage on which their words will dance, work hard, help others, and inspire people to come and dance in the local area. Images: Ballet4life Director Donna Schoenherr- All rights reserved Susan and Julia , S & J, I will hand this over to you and soon will be publishing many more of your words. As a warm up to their first performance, I will quote some of their recent writings/comments already shared with Ballet4life. Here are two samples for your reading pleasure. ...