Ballet4Life Talks Dance

Ballet4lifer of the Month- October!! Maureen en pli é in Ballet4life Ballet class Ballet4lifer of the Month is our lovely dancer and Move into Wellbeing helper, Maureen Sweeney. Maureen's smile lights up any room she enters and her positive attitude brings us joy. She is such a lovely, warm, giving person and we are thrilled she said YES to participating this month! Thanks, Maureen. Moving into Wellbeing with Maureen............   When did you start dancing?  I started dancing when I was 11. Instead of P.E I joined a dance class. Miss McQueen was our teacher believed dancing was one of life’s joys     What makes dancing so special to you?  Dancing releases all my happy feelings that even a ‘pensioner’ can participate and enjoy.    When did you start with Ballet4Life?  I started Ballet4Life 3 years ago as a result of a casual remark made by a friend. “Guess where I went on Saturday -  to a Ballet class for ‘Oldies’“ she said...

Ballet4Lifer of the Month- September 2021 We welcome long term Ballet4lifer Jo Marshall-Collins to the dance floor today. Jo is not only a dedicated and talented dancer, she is also a mother, wife, post graduate student, human rights advocate, and worker / volunteer for a variety of charities.  Take it  jeté  - away Jo, and thank you for participating! Jo as a child rocking the roller skater look with her sister    When did you start dancing?   At Miss Broach’s from age 4 to 6 (so the late 1960s), where after having done our class, we used to watch the big girls, including my sister, doing barre work with chairs. We wore little tunics rather than leotards and I’m pretty sure I had red ballet pumps. The pinnacle of my early ballet life was playing the role of chief bluebell in a ‘gala’, resplendent in a blue and green tutu made by my mother which remained my favourite party dress until I grew out of i...

Ballet4Lifer of the Month- August 2021 We welcome Eve Kells as our Ballet4Lifer of this month. Eve has a very curious and open mind and her questions and thought processes in our classes always intrigue and stimulate. It is our joy and privilege that this graceful and gracious person found us. We look forward to many more classes together. Thank you, Eve, and sorry we have only this one present day photos of you in our classes to share!  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...

 Ballet4Lifer of the Month- July 2021 We have an especially poignant story from dancer, playwright, actress, Claire Sara. She is the featured Ballet4Lifer for the month of July and her recollections, directions, goals, and joie de vivre shines through brightly and paints a most inspirational tale we can all be moved by. Thank you, Claire, and enjoy this, to  all of our readers. I started dancing when I was six. I remember my first end of year ballet concert like it was yesterday. We performed "Aladdin," and I was cast as a very enthusiastic little gold nugget from the magic cave. I suppose dancing was my first vehicle of creative expression. It seems most people who knew me as a child are able to recall (in rather quite a lot of detail) memories of my dancing and performing. I reunited with a primary school friend a few years ago, who fondly recounted a choreographed dance I had performed for my class called “Candy Girl” - at the end, he remembers me showering my adoring aud...

  BALLET4LIFER OF THE MONTH- JUNE 2021 We welcome Libby Gwyther ( Miss E. A. Gwyther MA (Oxon.) PGdip RNCM, we will have you know!)   this month, to share her thoughts and her stories. Not only is Libby an accomplished professional musician, teacher, loving wife and mum of two adorable children, but she is also a really good dancer and all round lovely person. Libby has sort of grown up with us and if we had one, would win the most adorable photo- as- a- child prize!  Thanks, Libby! When did you start dancing? 4 years old with the wonderful Miss Kim at Kimberly Cooper School of Dance, our local ballet school. There were only a few pupils in those days but the school has now grown into Kimberley Performing Arts Centre and is doing amazing work for the whole community.   Age 5, before pre-primary exam Young teen / start of secondary school- ish  What makes dancing so special to you? Moving to music! I’ve never been one to sit still for lon...