It's still summer in the studio!

 

September 2024 schedule Wednesdays 6:45-8:15PM - Beginner ballet 8:15-9:15PM - Beginner jazz (just like a super fun Dance Party!) Thursdays 6:30-8PM - Basic ballet 8-9:30PM - Open level ballet Saturdays 9:30-11AM - Beginner ballet 11AM-12PM - Pointe/pre-pointe Sundays 10-11:30AM - Intermediate ballet 11:30AM-1PM - Basic ballet SIGN UP FOR ALL CLASSES HERE Please consider posting a review! If you have posted one already on Yelp, Google or FB, thank you SO MUCH! And if you haven't, I would truly appreciate it. Positive words from current students really encourage new dancers to try a class. Thank you in advance! Review on Yelp Review on Google Review on Facebook     LPBC News Early bird savings until 9/7 for the return of "Sweet Sorrow"! October 19 & 20, 2024 at the Lanterman Auditorium in La Canada, CA! Have you missed our zombies and our tragic star-crossed lovers? Well, mark your calendars for their rise from the crypt this October. And if you can't see it in person, we'll be streaming on Halloween weekend. Even if you've seen this show before, we have NEW characters, NEW music, NEW storytelling. We are never satisfied - we constantly evolve to respond to our audience and give them more reasons to come back to the theater. READY TO BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW? Tickets are on sale now with an EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT!! Get them at Eventbrite! See you at the show! Check out some of our dancers in rehearsals for the stage. Werewolves and Ravens, oh my!

Use it or Lose it! A mantra for 2022

Hello beautiful dancers~

We're not yet finished with 2021 but I am starting to think about what 2022 will look like. If, like me, you were disappointed in 2021, I think it's because we expected "normal" to return. That, according to many experts, will never happen and we need to move on from that. 

But if you looked very closely, 2021 was a massive improvement over 2020!

~Miracle vaccines became available to everyone in the space of a few months. 

~Dancers in my area were able to return to the studio (with masks, but still, such a better place to be than in your living room).

~Some dance companies like mine performed in a theater with a real live audience (including Fred Armisen! What?!).

~Many people, including myself, traveled again to see loved ones.

Remember 2020? NONE of that happened. 

Okay, so let's think about 2022. We all wanted to use the pandemic as a learning tool, right? Some of you learned to bake or play music; some of you realized you hadn't been spending enough time with family or friends and made resolutions to see them more frequently. It's natural for us to want to come out of this (or make peace with still being in it) by creating new rituals or life lessons.

Honestly, I have a hard time sticking to promises to "be good to yourself!" or "seize the day!" or "live every day like it's your last!" Those are great things to remember but most of the time - for me - they don't stick. Something critical will happen - like an accident or a health scare - and in the moment, I will think, oh my gosh! that could have ended terribly! I'm so grateful it didn't! In reality, I think it's hard for any of us to live by those sayings because, well, life goes on. You have to work and buy the groceries, feed the dog and pay the rent. Everyday things tend to trump the big once-in-a-lifetime things because they press on you to get done. It's hard to tell the DMV you didn't get the smog check because you were seizing the day.

What's easier for me to use as a guide for living is a practical saying, something that is not just a personal philosophy or wishful thinking but actually something that I can follow. So this is one that I think can guide us all, whether we are dancers or just regular humans who want to dance:

USE IT OR LOSE IT.

The best thing about this very practical saying is that you can apply it to a huge range of things.

1. Your body (the obvious one, of course). We've long known that joints require constant lubrication which breaks down as you age. Movement = lubrication. Movement is what minimizes inflammation (i.e. arthritis) so if you continue to exercise daily, you keep your body - spine, knees, shoulders, etc. - going longer and with less pain. Daily movement also keeps your heart healthy, your muscles strong, and improves your balance - all of which are important for aging bodies. And no matter what age you are now, your body is aging. That's just life, lol.

 

2. Your brain (the second obvious one). Many of us experienced brain fog during the pandemic, whether we were infected with COVID or not. It comes from being quarantined, from not being able to get out and interact with others, and from never-ending Zoom meetings. Being in lockdown, uncertain and anxious for so very long results in depression. If you haven't felt it, you know someone who has. This is a sneak peek of what our brains do when we age: it's harder to remember names and places, harder to get excited about doing something we used to love, harder to envision a future that is different than what we are experiencing now. Keep your brain active through reading (don't just listen to a podcast or watch a YouTube video), fun puzzles like crosswords or Sudoku or word scrambles, and writing. Each time you challenge your brain with a new word or concept, it starts to form new grooves in it (remember, the human brain typically stops forming neural pathways by young adulthood but we can continue to forge new ones if we want to). Creating new pathways and forming new connections contribute to a healthier brain.

3. Your good dishes (or furniture or wardrobe or perfume). What are you saving these things for? What day are you waiting to wear them or serve food on them or sit on? The Queen of England is not coming to visit you any time soon. You can substitute any celebrity you like in that sentence. Seriously, though, why not use your candlesticks when you're eating a Wednesday meatloaf or a Friday pizza? Unless you have collectible Star Wars action figures that lose their value as soon as you open them, then you're wasting an opportunity to feel good, look good or smell good.

4. Your friendships (romantic, familial or just friends). The phone rings and we see the caller and let it go to voice mail. They're gonna want to talk forever and I don't have time now. Or there's a text or email that you don't reply to. They want to get together and I don't have time now. Well, what are you waiting for? What's more important? If we have learned anything from the pandemic, it's this: don't count on tomorrow or next week or next month. Not to get too morbid but, sad fact, you or your friend might get sick and that day won't come. Isn't it better to pick up the phone and say hello now? Or make a plan to grab a coffee some afternoon? If the person talks a lot, then tell them you have a "hard stop" so they know in advance you have to leave. Trust me, you will feel so much better when you do this. You will ask yourself why you waited so darn long.

5. Your dance class (you knew this was coming, lol). Everything in the previous paragraphs - body, brain, possessions, friendships - is wrapped up in a dance class. Dance helps your body and brain stay young and healthy; a class is an opportunity to dress up for yourself; our dance community surrounds you with friends. You don't need to be a professional dancer to get something (some things) from a dance class. Lifelong learning keeps your brain engaged and regular exercise strengthens your immune system. Friends help keep you sane and fulfilled. And when you get your fancy leotard or leggings out, put a drop of your favorite essential oil on your wrists, and snap a selfie in front of the barre, you feel good about yourself for yourself. Mental and physical well-being all in one place: dance class.

I wish everyone a very happy new year! Please stay healthy if you can, try to avoid stressful situations that can tax your immune system and your patience, and post this motto above your desk:

USE IT OR LOSE IT!

Getting back to the studio! A guide to safe dancing

Beautiful dancers, it's been quite a year (or more!). For most of you, it has been a year completely devoid of ballet. For others, it's been ballet class in your living room with a makeshift barre on the rare occasion you have some bandwidth after work and other responsibilities. For a few, it's ballet with a real barre in your home, possibly a scrap of marley or even a raised floor, graduating to outdoor classes on concrete.

No matter what your situation, you have not been dancing in the same way you did pre-pandemic (PP). And no matter what, you can't walk into the dance studio and expect to see/feel/move anything you saw before. 

I've been in your position too. I have been working in my home, teaching on Zoom and then on concrete outdoors. I have a regulation barre, some marley and a slightly cushioned mat but it's nothing like a sprung floor with a wall of mirrors and SPACE!

Recently I've been lucky to get to a few in-studio classes so I can confidently give you some helpful information about YOUR safe return.

1. Lower your expectations. 

Nope, lower than that...keep going. There you go. Did you do triple pirouettes PP? Great! Now, don't expect anything more than a single. In fact, pat yourself on the back if you can balance on demi-pointe without falling over.

 

2. Make friends with yourself. 

For a year we haven't been in a room filled with mirrors in shape-revealing clothes. We might not be happy with what we see because it won't look like us PP.  THAT IS OKAY!  Do not judge yourself. Be happy you are healthy and are in a dance studio. Look at yourself in the mirror and appreciate that your body is alive and strong enough to be in a class. Many - many - others are not. Be grateful to your body that it made it through a VERY difficult time.

3. New mantra: low and slow.

It will be very tempting to run around the studio. I know. I did it when I first walked in. Jumps should be very low, barely off the ground, and you should concentrate on rolling through your demi-pointe and springing up. Do the allegro half-speed for a while until you find your muscles and build back your strength.

4. Balance, balance, balance.

Prepare to spend a LOT of time finding your balance again. One of the most critical parts of balance is orienting our bodies in space. Think of it like being on a boat out at sea with no land to focus on. You feel woozy and nauseous because you aren't stabilized with a visual image. This is what has happened at home for a year. We need the barre, the mirror, and other people to stabilize ourselves. This takes time. Practice. And then some more.

5. Choreography uses muscles too.

And they might not be in the best shape right now. We joke about "pandemic brain" and being foggy and never knowing what day it is. When it comes to remembering combinations in class, our brains might not be quick to pick them up. Understand that this will also take practice. Don't worry if you have trouble with right and left. If you were on Zoom for a year, that was confusing.

6. Masks are not easy to dance in.

I wear 2 masks: a paper one under a cloth one and I pinch the nose to give me breathing room. The hardest part is turning because it changes my proprioception. A small price to pay for feeling safer than with just one. For now, masks are the rule in the studios where I teach and I personally don't mind them. I imagine that when I can finally take it off, I will be amazing! And so will you.

7. Take your time.

Everyone is different. We all had different pandemic experiences and we are recovering in vastly different ways. Some of us can't wait to do all the things. Some are still not ready to leave the home studio. All of this is fine. For now, I am doing some classes hybrid, some in-studio only, some online only. I would like to make it easy for everyone to return in their own way and at their own time. 

🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰

Want to join a ballet company? Join LPBC!

Hello beautiful dancers! 

Whether you're local to Los Angeles or live outside the area, we'd like to invite you to apply to be a member of the nonprofit amateur adult ballet company, Leigh Purtill Ballet Company. 

In 2021, we believe we will be doing rehearsals and performances over Zoom, perhaps some outdoors and in person, maybe a hybrid show where dancers perform both in-person and outdoors as well as over Zoom. We require that dancers who want to perform attend regular classes and keep up their technique and to attend quarterly company meetings virtually. They will also be asked to assist in promotion and outreach. For remote members, this might mean helping with social media, involving their local dance community, encouraging local fans and dancers to attend a virtual event/donate; outreach might look like contacting certain communities in their local areas to invite them to participate in a virtual workshop of some kind.

We are excited about the wonderful opportunities we have in reaching out to audiences and dancers in other parts of our country and globally! Our company thrives on the innovations and ideas members bring to us.

 

We believe we can create a community of dancers 

that extends beyond physical location.

If this is something you'd like to be part of, please click through, fill out the form and provide a video by January 31, 2021.

Happy dancing, everyone~

Be bold...be big...be the bear

Beautiful dancers, if you go camping or hiking or if you live in the foothills of a mountain like my students in La Canada Flintridge, you've probably heard the advice about what to do if you are confronted by a bear.

Make yourself big.

You won't ever be bigger than a bear, unless it's a baby in which case your instinct will probably be to hug it because it will be so cute. When that adult bear rears back on its hind legs and roars at you, it will take every ounce of courage you have not to run away.

cc lic Magnus Johansson

Instead, you stand your ground, rise up on your toes and flail your arms. You rawr! back at it and show it you're not scared. (Good luck with that, btw...)

By forcing yourself to be big and tall and wide, you are defying your own anxiety about being in a frightening situation.

Which brings me to ballet. 

For many dancers, coming off the security of a barre where you might be standing behind someone who knows the combinations better than you, where you are clutching something for support, where at least one foot is on the ground all the time, is frightening.

It's scary to move and turn and jump in the center and when we feel that anxiety, we tend to make ourselves smaller. Our legs don't extend as far as they might be able to; our arms collapse over our chest and waist; our heels barely leave the floor when we jump. Our fear makes us small. The result is pirouettes that spin rather than float, terre a terre jumps, and overall weak lines in an adagio.

In a classroom, we might get away with this by telling ourselves we're just tired or we don't know the combination well enough to do it properly, or in some cases, we might say the room is too crowded and there isn't enough space to be big.

Hmmm...I call BS on that last excuse. There's always room to make yourself bigger in a crowded class: stand in the back, angle yourself in a corner, move more conscientiously of your fellow dancers.

And for the other excuses? Defy your fear. Fight your instinct.

Make yourself big.

1. When you are feeling anxious about your jumps, push yourself higher off the ground (assuming you are properly warmed-up and working through your feet). Use your center to get off the ground and propel yourself up rather than out. By jumping higher, you will give yourself more time to roll through your feet on the landing, time to straighten your knees in the air, and time to execute the steps.

2. When you are anxious about your pirouette, push to a higher releve, hold your arms higher and farther away from your body, widen your back and open your lungs. By making yourself bigger and wider and rounder in a turn, you will float more and longer and you won't spin.

3. When you fear the slow extensions of an adagio, think about starting your developpe from the top of your thigh and unfolding outward. Use your arms to lengthen your body in the space. Pull your knees up and engage your "under-buns" to stabilize yourself during a pose or promenade.

In all instances, making yourself "bigger" than you are - taller, wider, rounder, higher, longer - will help you. It will also give you more confidence when you're not feeling so secure.

cc lic State Library of Queensland

 Happy dancing~

Want to Join a Ballet Company?

Come dance with us!

The Leigh Purtill Ballet Company wants YOU!

That's right, we do. LPBC, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is an amateur ballet company for adults in the Los Angeles area. We are excited to announced our 2019 season will begin with a Company Intent to Join on Saturday, January 12, 2019.


What the heck is that? you may ask.

Well, let me explain...most dance companies require an audition in order to join their ranks. Often this consists of a ballet class, at which you nervously show up with a head shot and resume and get a spot at the barre. At various points in the class, you may be asked to leave (some companies eliminate people during a barre, sometimes between sides!). Some companies will wait until the class is over and then email you or not.

It's so frightening! Isn't it? I sure think so. And so much competition! Everyone around you is trying to earn a spot - and you know there are very few of them per season. Not exactly the way you want to begin a relationship with other dancers and an artistic director.

At LPBC, we don't believe in competition like that. You should always strive to do your best because, well, don't you want to do your best?

We also don't believe in eliminating people like that. We want to build a community, not divide it. We want dancers who support each other and you can't encourage others if you're only thinking about yourself.

Instead of an audition, we are holding an Intent to Join on January 12, 2019. You choose which class is suitable for your level, either the 9AM Beginner or 10AM Intermediate (be on time please! or early so you can sign in!) and then you...take the class. That's it.

Well, not exactly it. We want to see you be part of the community, friendly with others, supportive and encouraging. We want to see you love ballet and that you are ready to do the kind of outreach the company does. We want to see that you believe, like we do, that Ballet is for Everyone. It's not about body type, size, shape, color, etc. It's not about perfect technique (although we work toward the best technique we each have). It's about what YOU bring to US.

So come to class on January 12, 2019 at Inspire Dance Studio and show us your Intention! 

It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with what the company's mission is, what our plans are for the season, and what our schedule for performances is. Know before you commit. And then do it. You know you've always wanted to join a ballet company and LPBC is a great community of ballet souls to join. We love ballet.

6 weeks til showtime!!

Hello beautiful dancers and friends of dancers and zombie lovers and friends of zombie lovers!

Did you know...

--"Zombie Ballet" won the second episode of the Gong Show this summer?

--We were invited to perform for the second year in a row at the ScareLA horror convention in Los Angeles?

--An hour long production is coming in 6 weeks?

On October 8, at the Lanterman Auditorium in La Canada Flintridge, the Leigh Purtill Ballet Company - the nonprofit company I formed in January - will present the premiere of "Sweet Sorrow, A Zombie Ballet." Shows are at 4PM and 7PM. Tickets are on sale now through Eventbrite; $25 in advance and $30 at the door.

Don't wait! Get your tickets now!

Thank you very kindly for your support!

Yes, you may have this dance!

Some of my awesome beginner students

Recently I was reviewing the progress of a student who is fairly new to ballet (and honestly, if you haven't been dancing for a decade, you're still new in the eyes of ballet!) and I noticed that he was only now - after a few years with me - starting to make his presence known on-stage and in class.

In other words, he was giving himself permission to dance.

What does that mean - permission? We are all adults. Can't we do whatever the heck we want?

Yes and no.

We absolutely can do what we want but often there is an internal voice telling us not to. It's telling us:

You're the wrong body type.
You're too slow.
You're not smart enough.
People will think there's something wrong with you.
People will laugh at you.
Only privileged people are allowed to do that.

And for "privileged" you are welcome to insert "white, rich, thin, and female" because if we are all adults here, we need to be honest about how ballet has always been represented.

Nutcracker Party scene 2016

You all know my philosophy about ballet being for everyone and you all know I try to be as inclusive as I can with my classes and my performances and now with my company, Leigh Purtill Ballet Company. I don't need to talk more about that.

Look, you're an adult. You've decided to come to class. You bought a class card and some new slippers and tights and you've made some friends.

Now tell yourself it's okay for you to dance. In fact, it's more than okay: it's a must. You must dance. You must make your presence known in class and on stage. You must dance as big as you can be, as tall as you can stand, and as expressive as you can feel.

copyright 2016 Bill Reiss

You deserve a spot at the barre so take it and stand there and dance, damn it. Work your turnout and lift your arms and your chin and open your eyes and see that everyone in your class wants to be there too. That's the beauty of adult ballet: you all are choosing to be there. No one is forcing you. Your mom isn't dropping you off while she goes to the grocery store.

Each of you has your own story to tell - now tell it through your body. We want to hear that story.

Happy dancing~

A Trio of Tips for Thursday!

Not one but 3! No matter what level you are, I have a helpful dance tip for you!

1. Beginner:

Promenade - one of the biggest errors I see in students attempting promenade (which is a series of small heel lifts to turn in place and can be executed in arabesque, attitude, retire, etc.) is that they begin the movement with their hips, knees or shoulders. 

The very first thing you do to begin a promenade is to lift the heel. There should be no weight at the back of the foot during promenade or else you will find yourself rocking back and forth and eventually falling off your leg. Unless otherwise choreographed, you should keep a very straight support leg with knees pulled up by your quads and hamstrings. As you turn in place, do not allow the support leg to bend or the knee to go soft. Maintain the position you are turning in by lifting and lowering the heel by about 1/4" or 1/2" but not usually more than that.

2. Intermediate:

Pirouette arms - in my ongoing quest to dissect and diagnose pirouettes and to offer guidance to students who struggle, I would have to say the #1 problem I see is the arms are not held in front of the body for the entire turn. Whatever position you are taught (a classic first position, a higher first position, a portrait style low first position, crossed arms, etc.) you must keep them in front of you until you finish the turn and roll down.

Pirouette anxiety, whether you are working flat or en pointe, usually causes us to pull back with our upper body. We fear falling which often makes us collapse in our centers. Our shoulders slump or roll and our arms droop or get left behind during the turn. Some of us fling our arms open to second long before the turn is completed.

Instead, try to bring the arms very quickly to your first position as you push up to releve and hold them there! Don't let them open or drop until you have completed the turn and can see yourself in the mirror in retire before you open the arms and roll down. I can virtually guarantee you that your turns will improve if you do this.

3: Advanced:

Finishing the lines - some of the most beautiful things in ballet are the lines that are created on stage. For example, an arabesque does not need to be higher than ninety degrees to be gorgeous but it does need to be finished. Same with arms: they may swirl and swish through the air but when they are posed, they must be finished with fingers extended and elbows lifted. How many times have you been in the audience and gasped at the stunning lines of professional ballerinas? They know how to get very last inch out of their legs and arms.

You can too! But you must focus on arching the top and bottom of your foot, reaching through your back to the palms and fingers of your hands, lengthening the back of your neck and holding a strong core. When you practice these things at the barre (rather than simply flinging your arms and feet away from you), you will have beautiful lines in the center. Your movements will be complete and you will avoid that weird strobe effect that you see on stage. If you are in the corps, you absolutely must finish your lines or you will look out of sync with the other dancers.

Hope these tips help you! Happy dancing~

Sleeping Beauty this Sunday, June 19th!

Local friends and dancers! This Sunday, my adult dancers (beginner through advanced) will be performing a truncated version of the beautiful ballet, Sleeping Beauty, alongside the children and teen dancers of The Vault Dance Studio.

Our version of the ballet is simple, fun, and only about 45 minutes long!

Yes, it IS Father's Day and we know you want to be with Dad but the weather is predicted to be over 100 degrees. Trust me, Dad doesn't want to do a cookout that afternoon. He would MUCH rather be in a cool theater. And wouldn't you too?

The show begins at 4PM and is expected to last about 2 hours, including the ballet, a short intermission, and the second half recital dances from The Vault. All in all, a lovely afternoon. You can come to the show and be out in time to take Dad to dinner.

For the TLDR crowd:
Show Date: Sunday, June 19th
Time: 4PM
Tickets: $18 available at the door
Location: Lanterman Auditorium, 4491 Cornishon Avenue, La Canada Flintridge 91011

Tickets Available for Sleeping Beauty!

The dancers of Leigh Purtill Ballet and the dancers from The Vault Dance Studio in Pasadena will be performing a shortened version of the story ballet, Sleeping Beauty, as part of The Vault's Spring Recital.

Tickets may be purchased through The Vault Dance Studio. Call Christina at (818) 472-6477 or visit the studio if you happen to live close by. Tickets may also be purchased at the door on the day of the show.

Show date: Sunday, June 19, 2016
Time: 4PM
Location: Lanterman Auditorium, 4491 Cornishon Avenue, La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
Tickets: $18 (all general seating)

Happy show time, everyone!

Design by Bill Reiss