With warming tales to melt the frost that December has brought, we give you the Ballet4Lifer- of- the -month of December! 

Alicia

Alicia Liu, is a more recent Ballet4Lifer member and has impressed us with her lovely personality, her clean technique and impeccable work in class, and her joy of movement and risk taking, all whilst balancing being a working Mum and a Wife!

Alicia in our Saturday 10.30am Ballet Class with Beatrice 

It is our delight to had this over to Alicia !

When did you start dancing?

I’ve always loved moving for as long as I can remember! When I was 3 or 4 years old, I started doing Chinese folk dance in Beijing. At that time, ballet wasn’t something accessible and popular for kids to do in China. My mum was doing a research fellowship with the Ford Foundation and one of her colleagues introduced me to a ballet class when I was 6 years old. This developed into a lifelong hobby.

Alicia doing Chinese folk dance in Beijing

What makes dancing so special to you?

I think dancing has always had a special place in my heart, but my relationship with dance has evolved with different stages of my life.

I was fascinated by ballet as a young girl and started doing classes after school. I remembered the first time watching Giselle live in a theatre, I was mesmerised by the moving performance. We used to queue for a long time to get tickets for live performances. Occasionally they were touring groups of the Russian State Ballet. Eventually I joined the weekend classes that were run by National Ballet of China Junior School.

Dance practice in class

I had some amazing teachers who inspired me at the start of my journey. However, as I entered my teens I was getting increasingly anxious by the peer pressure and felt frustrated by the strict preparations required for the dance exams. The aura of performance on stage started to slip away and I found myself losing the original passion for ballet.

At the same time, I was also going through a major change in life. I moved from China to study in the UK in 2003. I took a break from dance and embarked on a different adventure.

It was not until a few years later when I was at university, a friend asked me if I’d like to join her to try an open ballet class at Danceworks, it was a surreal and yet familiar experience - in a completely different environment, the class was taught in English rather than in Chinese, although funny enough, all the dance movements were actually in French! I enjoyed myself very much. Much to my own surprise, I started doing regular dance classes again in the evenings after work and at weekends.

What do your ballet classes do for you?

Looking back, I feel dancing for me is a journey through physical, mental and emotional self-discovery. As I’m moving through different stages in life, it always brings me back to that pure happiness I felt as a little girl moving around with music.

For work, I’ve moved to New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai and back to London, but I’ve been going to regular adult ballet classes wherever I lived. I continued these throughout pregnancy and returned soon after giving birth to my first child. I’m hoping to continue this through the birth of my second child next spring. Dance has become one of the rare things that I’m doing just for myself. It has provided me with a special space that I can truly relax and enjoy myself. I'd describe it as an oasis in the middle of a hectic world!

Alicia backstage with her friend

When did you start with Ballet4Life?

I discovered Ballet4Life when we moved to Chiswick in 2021. It was a much needed relief to be back in class in person after a long break due to Covid!

What makes B4l so special for you?

Ballet4Life is such a unique, loving and caring community. I find myself dancing with a group of like-minded people - something so rare to find these days! I feel like I’m going back to school, being nurtured and looked after. It is also a chance to appreciate each other, and all the efforts made by the wonderful teachers at B4L and of course, the founder Donna.

The Ballet4Life performance this May was very special to me personally. With Covid lockdowns in the past few years, I was sad that I never had a chance to take my toddler to experience any live performances. I feel so fortunate to have him and some family members see me on stage briefly during the performance. I was also pleasantly surprised that he sat through the entire three hour show as a three year old! Now he’s happy for me to go for my dance class on Saturday. He has since started ballet classes at school and started attending street dance classes on Saturdays. The love for movement is infectious!

All images and clip from the Ballet4Life Showcase Summer 2022, Fundraiser for the related charity Move into Wellbeing ®

Do you get to see dance performances regularly? If yes, do you have any favourite companies, dancers, performances you have seen recently?

Ah good question! Juggling with a young family and work I wish I could see more dance performances these days. I love Wayne McGregor’s contemporary ballet choreography and his visual style - something I wish I was exposed to earlier in my life, perhaps when I was a frustrated teenager who fell out of love with ballet!

I remember watching his show Wolf Works by Royal Ballet a few years ago. I was fascinated to see ballerina Alessandra Ferri in her 50s back on stage to portray Mrs Holloway. It was so moving. 

I also loved watching some of the new choreography performances by Chinese dance companies when they were touring in the UK. A few years ago I saw The Peony Pavilion by National Ballet of China and an innovative contemporary dance group Tao Dance Theatre Group at Sadler's Wells. Two completely different styles and yet both are stunning performances in their own right. 

National Ballet of China - Curtain Calls

TAO Dance Theater at Sadler's Wells-promo image

Do you have a favourite Ballet4Life class?

I’m taking the Saturday morning class taught by Beatrice at the moment. She’s such a fabulous teacher and I also love the other great fellow dancers in the class too. It has a very positive vibe!

What do/did you do for your “day job?” and/or what were you educated/trained to do as a profession?

I run Singing Grass Communications, a business and marketing consultancy advising on access and development strategies for the Chinese market.( Please visit : https://www.singinggrass.com/about ) Our clients are in the creative industries. So, for example, we have worked with some of the menswear fashion brands such as Kent & Curwen in partnership with David Beckham, as well as entertainment and publishing brands like the LEGO Group and The BBC studios.

It’s slightly separate from my dance life, although I did run into a Wayne McGregor’s dancer once as he was a model cast in a client’s fashion show!

Do you have any tips for someone wishing to start dance training as an adult?

It’s never too late to start! We have a different understanding of our own body at different stages in life. Dance is the most natural movement of our body. You might be technically strong when you were young, but in my case, somehow, I was far less mentally and emotionally involved in the movement. I certainly enjoyed much more of my second stage of dance training as an adult. Plus, there are now so many online video tutorials that you can watch to learn about specific movements, as well as access to company rehearsals and open classes.

Do you have a favourite part of class/ ballet step you love?

I've always enjoyed a good ballet barre warm up and also getting myself mentally back to the 'dance' zone! In terms of ballet steps, my favourite would probably be the various jumps - an amazing Saut de Chat to finish the class!

Has Covid-19 changed the way you have dance in your life?

Totally! It was pure madness at the beginning of the lockdown with a toddler locked at home. It used to be my guilty pleasure to do a short online video class during my son’s afternoon nap, but it was often interrupted by him crying, or him holding his duvet trying to join me for some bizarre barre exercises!

I’m so glad that I’ve kept it going. I’ve also bought a proper floor mat at home so I can secretly practise while I’m on conference calls for work! Although nothing beats an in person class, I’m happy that Covid-19 has enabled a hybrid way of learning/practice. I can now do a quick online class at lunch hour while working at home, and go to Ballet4Life for my local in person class!

 

Thanks to Alicia again for participating and for her insight and kind words. 

All images and video are copyright Ballet4Life and/ or Alicia Liu excepting the image from Sadler's Wells.