Ballet4Lifer of the Month- August 2021
When did you start dancing?
I started
ballet classes when I was 12 years old. I soon realised that this was late by
traditional standards, but can recall making up dance routines long before
that, to the tune of Atomic Kitten and others! I was a true noughties child who
pleaded with Santa for a dance mat
(which I still remember fondly). This was part of a craze of dance games which
swept amusement arcades at the time, which saw people imitating an avatar by
timing the movement of their feet to a series of arrows on a screen. I’m not
sure that counts as ‘dancing’, but it was great fun all the same! I come from a
big family and was inspired to start ballet classes after hearing that my
brother’s wife-to-be, whom my sisters and I idolised at the time, used to do
dance when she was young.
What makes dancing so special to you?
Dancing is the
one thing in my life that makes me truly appreciate my body. That probably
sounds strange, but I always liked reading as a child and performed well
academically because I enjoyed the experience of going to school. I loved
learning (still do) and although I played a bit of netball and badminton, I was
recognised more for my intellect than my physical prowess. That’s not to say
that I didn’t enjoy sport; I suppose I just didn’t identify as ‘sporty’ and
didn’t regularly engage in team sports outside of school. So now when I reflect
on why I enjoy dancing, I can’t help but think it is the physicality that
appeals to me as much as the artistry of it. In effect, dancing is transportive
for me; it provides a rare opportunity to get out of my head and into my body,
channelling any mental chatter into coordinated (or sometimes not so
coordinated!) movement.
When did you start with Ballet4Life?
A few years
ago, I discovered Ballet4Life completely by chance. It was in the aftermath of
an unexpected bereavement, when I was deliberating over whether to stay in
London or relocate home to Ireland to live with my family. My parents – who are
never short of good advice – suggested holding off on any major decisions for
up to 12 months, as then I would have time to adjust and make a more objective
decision. During that time, one of my sisters bought me a gift card for ballet
classes and that was how I found out about Ballet4Life. My first ever B4L class
was Beginner Follow-On with Chris and since then I have been taking more
General level classes with Jo and Mark as well as Intermediate/Advanced drop-in
classes with Beatrice. I also started contemporary class with B4L, which I
love, and did Alina’s character class on Zoom, which I would love to get back
to at some stage.
What makes B4l so special for you?
For me, what
is so distinctive about B4L is the teaching style and community ethos. As a
late beginner to ballet and someone who is not a particularly tactile or
kinaesthetic learner, I previously struggled to find dance classes at the right
level. Other schools offered classes that were either far too advanced for me
or just too basic for someone with a good few years of dance training (who
considered it, in the words of my first ballet teacher, a ‘serious hobby’).
Schools offering ballet classes that are sufficiently challenging but conducted
in a supportive and friendly manner are surprisingly hard to come by! With
that, I can honestly say that the B4L teachers are one of a kind. They are all
wonderful teachers in their own right, with unique and distinctive
personalities, but have come together under Donna to create such a positive
learning environment for dancers of all abilities. At first, I worried a lot
about struggling to remember an exercise or being slow to pick up choreography,
but the more classes I have attended, the more I have felt my confidence grow
and my passion deepen. With that has come the confidence to get to know other
‘regulars’ in the classes, which has increased my enjoyment tenfold. Confidence
was critical for me, as I had a start-stop relationship with ballet between the
ages of 18 – 26 following the sudden and untimely passing of my first teacher.
There was a point in time when I feared that going back to ballet would only
make me grieve Miss Fiona all over again, but what I found at B4L is that the
teachers actually share a lot of the traits which I so admired in her. This
includes the ability to explain a movement through relatable, every day imagery
(the example which immediately springs to mind is that of a ‘gooey’ plié being
like a moist sandwich...) and the helpful tendency to sing the beats or steps
of an exercise over the music so as to keep the dancers moving in time. From a
purely practical perspective, I also love the ‘drop-in’ format of B4L classes
since I like to learn from different teachers, plus travelling between England
and Ireland means I can’t always commit upfront to attend an entire term’s
classes. I always miss it when I’m away, although it's great to be able to do
the Zoom classes from Ireland now.
Do you get to see dance performances regularly? If yes,
any favourite companies, dancers, performances you have seen recently?
Before the
onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, I signed up to the ‘Dance Pass’ ticket scheme at Sadler’s Wells. This allowed me to see
live dance performances with much greater regularity than I could otherwise
afford, but doesn’t feel so appropriate at a time when audiences need to
support the arts to the greatest extent possible. The Royal Ballet has a
special place in my heart because one of their First Soloists, Melissa Hamilton,
was trained by my universally-beloved first
ballet teacher. I
would say I have a soft spot for traditional ballets like Swan Lake and festive
favourite The Nutcracker, but generally am drawn towards modern re-imaginings
by the likes of Matthew Bourne. If I had to pick a favourite company it would
have to be Northern Ballet, primarily on account of their supreme creativity. I
just love the emphasis that they put on storytelling as well as classical
technique. I went through a phase of eagerly awaiting tickets (hawk-eyed!) for
their series of literary productions and, over the course of several years,
have had the pleasure of witnessing A
Midsummer Night's Dream; Cleopatra;
The
Great Gatsby, and Jonathan Watkins’ standout
interpretation of George Orwell’s 1984.
Unlike Orwell’s novel, which conveys the idea of state control through explicit
reference to ‘Physical Jerks’, a form of mandatory daily exercise, Watkins’
production has a more insidious, quietly threatening tone. This
review captures the brilliance beautifully. As
regards specific dancers, I sometimes think there is a tendency for students of
ballet to favour the greats, which for me include Anna Pavlova; George
Balanchine; Margot Fonteyn, and Rudolf Nureyev (amongst many others!). I also
find myself hugely drawn to outliers like Misty Copeland, who started ballet
even later than I did, or those who constitute local success stories, like Monica Loughman.
My ‘guilty pleasure’ favourite dancer would have to be Maddie Ziegler, from the
admittedly painful-to-watch but successful American reality series Dance
Moms.
What do your ballet classes do for you?
In addition to
the benefits you might expect, such as muscle definition, improved posture and
flexibility, ballet classes afford me the opportunity to connect with
like-minded people who share my passion for creative expression. With its
unique combination of technical expertise, artistry and musicality, ballet is
unlike anything else I do in the week. Regardless of how ‘well’ or ‘badly’ I
feel a class has gone, I always leave the B4L studio feeling happy and relaxed.
Do you have a favourite Ballet4Life class?
It’s
impossible to choose! One of the reasons I love Ballet4Life is that every class
and teacher is genuinely different, so all deserve to be taken on their own
merits. In addition, group dynamics are inevitably influenced by the individuals
in attendance, meaning no two classes are ever the same. This term I have
particularly enjoyed the Intermediate / Advanced classes and restarting Pointe
work, not least because I missed being able to turn and travel from my living
room on Zoom.
Is there any dance style you wish to study
but we do not offer presently?
I
would love to learn some ballroom dance styles, maybe the Quickstep or Foxtrot.
The kind of training that amateur dancers get on TV shows like Strictly Come
Dancing is just amazing to me. My boyfriend is nervous about getting
his dancing shoes on, but I think I have now convinced him to give it a try.
Next stop, Blackpool Tower ballroom!
What do/did you do for your “day job?” and/or what were
you educated/trained to do as a profession?
I currently work as a client service and
relationship manager for a law company which was set up to challenge
traditional operating models for the delivery of legal services. It is probably
best described as a marketplace business which
facilitates the provision of services, knowledge and products (in this case,
all legal) to a range of corporate clients, including but not limited to banks, law firms,
commercial and technology companies. The organisation's ultimate
aim is to transform the way in which the business of law has traditionally been
conducted, much in the same way that the likes of Uber and Airbnb have impacted
the transport and hospitality sectors. The curious thing about my day job is
that I don’t actually have a legal background or any formal law training. I
originally studied Modern Languages (BA French & Spanish) at St Hilda’s
College in Oxford and subsequently worked in a consumer policy team for
Amazon.fr and Amazon.es (ask me about this sometime after class – you wouldn’t
believe some of the stories!). I then fell into law when one of my sisters
referred me for a recruitment coordinator job at another legal consultancy. At first there was
a fair bit of groundwork for me to do with regards to understanding
the industry and its challenges, but now my role is definitely more
skills-based than knowledge-based. I tend to spend the working week consulting
(and sometimes consoling!) the company’s clients. Once I understand their needs
and parameters, I then liaise with the relevant internal teams to craft and
deliver an appropriate solution. On any given working day, you will find me
dealing with various operational crises (‘putting out fires’, as they say) and
always striving to balance the best interests of the company and our clients.
Do you have any tips for someone wishing to start dance
training as an adult?
There are
three things I wish someone had told me when I began learning to dance, which I
think are relevant regardless of when you start. They are:
1) be curious;
2) be brave,
and
3) be patient!
It is only
really in the last few years that I have begun to acknowledge and experience
the power of a positive outlook when learning a new physical skill and, for me,
that mindset has been transformative. It is never too late to learn or start
something new, especially when it is for your own enjoyment (I speak from
experience on this point, as my parents have both taken up musical instruments
– along with a whole host of other creative endeavours – since retiring). What
is great about the dance training at B4L is the emphasis on knowing your own
facility and capability. You are always supported and encouraged to work within
the limits of your own turnout, flexibility, mental agility and more. I would
therefore advise anyone starting later in life to give due consideration to how
they learn best. Every dance school and style of training is different and some
have a much more competitive ethos or one-size-fits-all approach; I personally
find that demoralising, but know it may be motivating for others. As I see it,
someone who starts dance training as an adult might take a while to get to
grips with the technique, but will typically have much greater self-knowledge
and a deeper understanding of how their own mind and body operate. When I
started dance training as a pre-teen, I don’t think I really felt or
understood the actual mechanics of a lot of the movements in ballet; rather, I
watched the teacher and watched myself in the mirrors and tried to imitate what
I saw. I am still sometimes guilty of that in class, but increasingly have
learned to connect the theory to how each movement or exercise actually feels
in my body, which takes a lot more maturity.
Do you have a favourite part of class/ ballet step you
love?
I like how
momentum builds as you progress through a dance class, so tend to favour
jumping or travelling steps, which typically come at the end. That said, each
part of class serves an important purpose and, on any given day, I might prefer
one sequence of exercises to another. I have a love/hate relationship with
turning steps (pirouettes) but was always considered a good jumper when I was
younger. I remember going through a phase of feeling very self-conscious about
the shape and size of my thighs, which was alleviated by my former teacher
declaring I had the perfect legs for beats!
How has Covid-19 changed the way you have dance in your
life?
Prior to the
onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, I associated dance with being present in a
studio, theatre or other performance venue. Even watching dance on TV felt
somehow removed, since you lose the full sense of immediacy and physicality
which comes with dancing or seeing dancers in the flesh. I was slightly
sceptical about the value of online dance classes for this reason, but in fact
was pleasantly surprised how much strength and technique I seemed to have
retained at home purely through the discipline of putting on my shoes each week
to join regular Zoom classes. I still much prefer dancing in the studio, but Covid-19
has given me cause to think about the impact of dance when experienced through
different mediums. What inspired and impressed me most about the dance world
during the pandemic was the incredible resilience, versatility and creativity
of dancers to continuously adapt and push the boundaries of their
art.
Anything else you would like to add, please feel free to
do so.
Nothing else to add (I think I’ve probably said more than
enough!) except some photos from my formative dance days. Sorry they are a bit
blurry – crazy how much cameras have improved in the last decade and a half!
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