April 2020 Newsletter

April 2020 schedule Classes are suspended through the end of the month, due to COVID-19. With luck and lots of social distancing, we will hopefully be back in the studio sometime in May. (Stay inside! Wash your hands! Don't touch your face!) In the meantime, please join me every morning at 11AM PST for Your Daily Barre with Leigh, live via YouTube. Each morning I broadcast a 45-55 minute long barre free of charge. The video is then posted on my channel for 24 hours so you can "take" it later if you miss it live. After a day, it becomes unlisted and the next day's video goes up in its place. Here is the schedule: Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday - beginner level Monday, Wednesday & Friday - intermediate level Saturday - beg/int level with pointe/pre-pointe exercises Donations, if you have the means, or use of your class cards is greatly appreciated. If you would like access to ALL of the videos, you can pay for a monthly subscription for $50. This will allow you to view every video from the current and previous months whenever you want! (e.g. pay for April and get both April and March; pay for May and get May and April, etc.) You can subscribe or donate via my website. You can also do a private or group lesson via Zoom. Contact me for more info about that. Thank you! VARIATIONS WORKSHOPS - update We will pick back up the first Sunday we are back in the studio! Videos from previous Bluebird workshops are available if you want to practice at home. Just email me!   Taking Class while Safer at Home! I love seeing all of you participating in the livestream classes or practicing ballet in your homes. You are all so resilient! Whether you're using a countertop, a chair, a table or your own barre facsimile, it's been so inspiring to see you finding space to do ballet. Some of you graciously shared photos of yourself at home which I am happy to include here. (top row: Annett Bone, Cornelia Tzana, Jenny Holland; middle row: Yvonne Tiffer, Rae Aaselund's "bar", Daniela Strong; bottom of the page: Sharon & Steve Collins) Special notes If you've enjoyed class, whether it's a regular technique class or the online classes, please consider leaving a review on my Google, Facebook, or Yelp pages. Your positive feedback can give new students a place to thrive under these unusual circumstances. Thank you! I am immensely grateful to have all of you in my classes and company.     Featured tip! Build your own home studio, even in a small space. Dancing at home! More fun links: This one comes from Daniela Strong - a nurse, mother and extraordinary dancer! If you've got a slippery floor, it's hard to work properly in flat slippers or feel stable en pointe; getting a piece of marley flooring is not cheap or, in these times, convenient. Daniela suggests this marley "hack": PVC Shower Pan Liner! In her words, " It has a similar texture but much cheaper." Thanks, Daniela!   LPBC News Currently, the company is not in rehearsals. The fundraiser is scheduled (for now) on May 23rd but that date is, as everything, subject to change. We are scheduled to perform "Sweet Sorrow" in October! The dates (for now) are October 17 & 18, 24 & 25 at the Manoukian Performing Arts Center. With fortune on our side, we will hold those dates!