Basic ballet vs. Beginner ballet - what's the difference?

Beautiful dancers, every teacher has a different definition of their "beginner" level. For some instructors, beginner is what brand new students start with, learning the positions of the feet and how to stand at the barre, etc. For others, it's a class that lots of different dancers take, including advanced dancers, and students do everything from plies to pirouettes.

(And for the record, I believe ALL dancers can benefit from a beginner or even a basic level class, regardless of their experience. Sometimes we learned things wrong or not at all! And sometimes we just need to focus on the technique and not complex choreography.)

**If a class marked Beginner has a finite number of classes, then generally speaking it will be a class for brand new students.

**If a class marked Beginner is ongoing and students can drop in at their whim, then generally speaking it will be a more advanced or "complete" class.

My Beginner level is the latter of the two above types. Students are expected to be familiar with:

--plies

--positions of the feet and arms

--tendus, degages, grand battements

--ronds de jambes

--developpes

 --compound steps like pas de bourree and balance

--glissades, jetes, assembles, chassees

They don't need to be experts at it all! But having been exposed to these steps or concepts will make my Beginner class a lot easier for them because it's more like Beginner/Advanced Beginner.

After the pandemic, I realized that a lot of my more advanced students would probably need a Beginner class to ease them back into the studio so the Beginner class began to include far more advanced dancers than it would have pre-pandemic. 

But I still wanted a place for brand new students! So that's when I decided to start my Basic class. This is the class for learning all of the steps above and so much more:

--port de bras

--classroom conventions and etiquette

--holding the barre, moving the head, engaging the audience

It's a great class for someone who has no experience in ballet or dance, a dancer who has had an injury or lengthy time away from the studio and needs to move slowly and mindfully, or anyone who wants to refresh their muscle memory or learn proper terminology.

So why am I telling you this now? Because I have a super awesome  

Thursday night Basic class at 7PM  

(at Inspire Dance Studio)

and I will be opening a  

 Saturday morning Beginner class at 10AM 

(at Inspire starting August 7th & it will also be hybrid) 

HAPPY DANCING, EVERYONE!

Ch-ch-changes: Meet Blossom, my new studio dog! And more...

Beautiful dancers and local students!

If any of you are on Facebook, you've seen Your Daily Blossom, a fun photo of my new dog, Blossom, that I post every day. She's about 4 years old, a miniature poodle mix, and she loves being in the studio! I've always wanted to have a dog in my class.

Blossom is still learning the ropes. She sometimes follows me when I demonstrate at the barre or in the center but much of the time she will stay in her bed. I have to teach her "stay" so she won't follow me - if anyone knows how to train dogs and would like to help me, I will gladly barter for classes. She knows how to sit and she knows her name.

She has a lot going for her: her size (tiny), her temperament (playful and happy), her lack of barking, and her hypoallergenic coat. She loves to be petted and will often roll onto her back in front of a student for a belly rub. She also likes to greet each student when they walk in the door.

So far, I haven't met a student who has not liked her! But I wanted to tell everyone about her so they know she will be there on Monday and Wednesday nights. Saturdays are too long for her and currently, my Tuesday and Thursday classes are at Dance Arts which doesn't allow dogs.

Which brings me to another change...Dance Arts Academy, a fabulous studio in LA, is closing its doors at the end of June. It's tremendously sad! Flamenco dancer Carla Luna opened it almost twenty years ago, transforming a former bowling alley on the second floor of a building on La Brea near Wilshire into 5 studios of varying sizes. The place was a treasure for all kinds of dancers, from classical ballet with Reid Olson and pre-professional studies with Marat Daukayev to modern dance and jazz and tap, it was a welcome rest stop for dancers who were touring Los Angeles, for new residents to the area, for dancers who wanted a variety of teachers in many disciplines.

Unfortunately, the area has been getting more and more populous with many developments on the horizon. The new owners of the building don't want a dance studio, which is such a shame. So many beautiful studios are being bought and demolished! Just before this was the famed Debbie Reynolds Studio in North Hollywood. These studios were institutions!

For dancers (and studio owners) affordability is absolutely imperative. Dancers don't truly need much: an open floor plan, raised floors, barres and mirrors for ballet, a dressing area and bathroom, and in LA especially, a place to park. Let's be honest: dance isn't exactly a money-making business. We get by and we do it because we love it, but it's not really a business that will get you rich. (If anyone knows how, please share!) But where a yoga class can pack a small room mat-to-mat, a dance studio needs space to move. Where do we go to find that? That's the problem in a city like LA: there aren't many undiscovered areas where rent is cheap. (And yes, if anyone knows the answer to that, please share!)

What does that mean for me and my classes? Well, we'll be moving. Tuesday and Thursday classes will be at 2 different studios on the east side. More details on this will follow soon but for now, let's just dance at Dance Arts Academy and enjoy the big beautiful space that Carla created!

Happy dancing~

New floors at Inspire

For all my beautiful local dancers, here are some photos from the studio last night. The floors in Studios 1 and 2 (2 is where I teach) have been quadruple sprung and covered with medium gray marley.

If you're thinking about coming to take class with me, I hope these photos will encourage you!

If you're not familiar with sprung floors, construction begins with a basket weave of plywood that is layered so there is space between them and a lot of "give." The number of layers at Inspire is 4 which means it's got a nice give without too much bounce. It is this space and give that helps you jump properly and gives you enough height to roll through your feet. It also is more gentle on your joints: knees, ankles and back.

On top of the plywood is a layer of vinyl flooring called marley. It comes in different thicknesses and slicknesses. Some versions of marley are very light gray and shiny while others are close to black and more matte. The texture is slightly different for each and will result in a different amount of friction under your feet. Super slick is not very good for ballet or bare feet, for instance, but quite good for ballroom. The dark matte gray is good for bare feet, not bad for slippers. The medium gray is good for all, especially pointe.

Last night was the first night the new floors were down at Inspire. The marley will level out as it settles. Here are a few pictures from my classes:

 

I wish I could have gotten them in motion so you could see the difference during jumping and turning! Happy dancing~