Ballet Re-boots coming this week!

Monday, July 8th:

Beginner re-boot!

***For everyone who has taken my beginner class at Inspire Dance Studio, you know the level has been creeping up...and up...and up...because some long-time students wanted to gain more vocabularybut my advanced beginner classes at Dance Arts were too far to travel to. Now that Dance Arts is closed, the BEGINNER class can go back to what it was: an encouraging and supportive environment with very basic combinations and an emphasis on building technique. Whether you are brand new or want to clean things up, THIS is the class for YOU!

Days and Times: Monday & Wednesday 8-9:30PM, Saturday 9-10:10AM
Location: Inspire Dance Studio, 457 Foothill Blvd, La Canada Flintridge 91011

Tuesday, July 9th:

Advanced Beginner re-boot at Live Arts LA!

***With the move from Dance Arts, my ADVANCED BEGINNER class will slide into the slot between my Beginner and Intermediate levels. It will be great for dancers who want to challenge themselves and for those who would like to work en pointe. I am moving it to Live Arts Los Angeles, a 2000sf marley covered sprung floor studio in Glassell Park and I am looking forward to meeting new people from the area! NB: I'm trying to move this class to a later start time but have not been confirmed for that yet. Until then, it's at 7PM.

Day and Time: Tuesday, 7-8:30PM
Location: Live Arts LA, 4210 Panamint St, Los Angeles CA 90065

Thursday, July 11th:

Advanced Beginner re-boot at Inspire!

***As with my Tuesday class, this ADVANCED BEGINNER class is perfect for students who want more than a Beginner class but aren't quite ready for Intermediate. It's also in the studio where I teach my Monday/Wednesday/Saturday classes so if you're close by and used to that studio, you will love this too. NB: beginning in late August (or sooner) this class will likely move to a 7:15 or 7:30 start time due to some studio conflicts.

Day and Time: Thursday, 7-8:30PM
Location: Inspire Dance Studio, 457 Foothill Blvd, La Canada Flintridge 91011

 Got questions? Just ask!!

Vacation reminder, studio location change and GALA!

Local dancers, friends of dancers, company members, friends of company members and patrons of ballet/dance/the arts, a few housekeeping items before summer is fully upon us:

1. Vacation!
After my company's Gala on June 29th (do you have your tickets yet? Get them at Eventbrite!), I will be taking a week off to visit with my parents and to recharge my batteries for new classes and new choreography for the October show.

Last classes BEFORE vacation:
Saturday, June 29th, Inspire Dance Studio
9AM Beginner
10:15AM Intermediate
11:35AM Pointe

First classes AFTER vacation:
Monday, July 8th, Inspire Dance Studio
6:30PM Intermediate
8PM Beginner

2. New classes/new locations!
With the closing of Dance Arts Academy at the end of June, I will be moving my Tuesday and Thursday Advanced Beginner classes to new studios.

Tuesday 7PM Advanced Beginner moves to Live Arts LA:
Starting July 9th
4210 Panamint St
Los Angeles, CA 90065

Thursday 7PM Advanced Beginner moves to Inspire Dance Studio:
Starting July 11th
457 Foothill Blvd
La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011

Sad that Dance Arts is closing

Happy that I've found a new studio!

3. Gala!
Come see my company perform its brand new original ballet, Hotel at the End of the Universe, about a time-traveling hotel that visits the Roaring 20s, the Far Future, the Jazz Age and more! Also, our fabulous invited guests will be performing in the second half of the show: Esencia Flamenca, Gulistan Dance Theater, Free2BeMe dancers, Terpischore Now, and Christina Carlisi as Martha Graham. Our hosts for the evening will be Matt Marr and Jake Anthony from CabarGAY. 

It's one-night ONLY for a Galactic good time!

Saturday, June 29th, 7PM at the Colony Theatre:
555 N 3rd St
Burbank, CA 91502

Get your tickets at Eventbrite! 

New classes in new locations! Come dance with me!

I'm excited to tell you some news about my classes:

1. Beginning JULY 9th - Tuesday 7PM Advanced Beginner is moving to Live Arts LA in Glassell Park!  2000sf open studio with marley, a large dressing room/lounge and stretch area, water cooler, bathrooms, and unrestricted street parking, very conveniently located right off the 2 freeway near the 134 and 5.

More:
I love this space! It's a hidden gem that deserves more notice! Many of my friends teach here (Carol Guidry on Sunday mornings; Bertha Blankenship on Monday evenings and Saturday afternoons; Helen Nasillski on Friday mornings) and I have always wanted to teach here myself. The space is huge and very spacious - high ceilings, skylights and windows - with a marley-covered sprung floor. I love taking class here so I know I will love teaching here too. 
Bonus:

Water cooler! Just bring your water bottle and stay hydrated. 

2. Beginning JULY 11th - Thursday 7PM Advanced Beginner is moving to Inspire Dance Studio in La Canada! Studio is quad-sprung with marley, dressing /stretch areas, water cooler, bathrooms, plenty of free street parking including a small private lot in back, right off the 210 freeway near the 2.

More:

I've been teaching at this studio since 2014 (!) after I decided to be a completely independent businesswoman and go out on my own. I love this studio and I love how my classes have grown. Julie made it even better by building a quadruple sprung floor and adding marley which gives us such a great cushion for our knees and ankles.

Bonus:

I now have all levels of ballet available to my students in this location. From beginner to intermediate and pointe, all of my students will have access to the 3 levels of classes I teach. I might also start a new pointe class here afterward.

3. With this move comes a re-launch of my Beginner class on Monday and Wednesday at 8PM. It will be a true beginner class! 

More:
 As my classes have evolved and my core group of students have become more experienced - but not quite experienced enough for the intermediate class - the beginner class has tended to skew more advanced, with us doing pirouettes and bigger jumps and more complex combinations than I would typically do with my beginners. By making this change, I will give those advanced students another level of class and thus be able to make this beginner class one for real beginners.

Bonus: On Wednesdays I'm going to add 15 minutes of men's conditioning and steps for a small additional fee.

4. June 30th-July7th - Vacation, no classes will be held.

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~

Thursdays at Dance Arts are getting BIGGER!

Beautiful local dancers and friends~

 

Beginning this Thursday March 7th, my Advanced Beginner ballet class at Dance Arts Academy on Thursday nights will be moved into the GIANT STUDIO! I'm very excited we can do some big jumps across the floor and super waltzy combinations. 

 

We'll be testing the waters to see if the studio size is a good fit for the class so be sure to come in and check it out!

What: Advanced Beginner Ballet in the BIG STUDIO

Where: Dance Arts Academy, 731 South La Brea Ave, Los Angeles 90036

When: 7-8:30PM, starting March 7th

If you're new to the studio, check out my parking info blog post so you know where to park. See you in class!

Important information for my students about my move

Hello beautiful dancers!

As many of you know, I am moving my Monday and Wednesday evening and Saturday morning classes from Le Studio in Pasadena to Vonder Haar Center for Performing Arts in La Canada. As of Monday, October 13, I will be renting space there as I do at Dance Arts Academy. My schedule at both locations will remain the same with two minor exceptions. See my calendar at the bottom of this page for specific class times.

I'm very excited Leigh Purtill Ballet (that's me!) will be at both of these amazing studios and I'm thrilled it will open up more opportunities for performances for my students. More on that to come!

A few important changes to note:

1. Class cards - Leigh Purtill Ballet class cards can be used at both locations. You can buy them online here through PayPal or at class. Cards are payable by credit card, cash or check no matter where you buy them. A single class is $15. 5 classes are $70. 10 classes are $130. A 30 minute pointe class is $10. Class cards are nonrefundable but they do not expire.

2. Please do your very best to arrive a few minutes early to sign in with me, pay for class, etc. at both locations. The studio owners have requested that all renters be diligent about starting and finishing on time, which means allowing time for switching classes and for wrapping up. I will be starting as on time as I can and finishing a few minutes before the class period is up in order to be considerate of other renters.

3. If you arrive late, please sign in between barre and center so that I may finish on time and get to the next class I have to teach. I will be a PIA reminding you all of this (sorry in advance!) but it will mean you all get the most class time possible.

4. Two simple but important rules at Vonder Haar:
 - no street shoes in the studio
 - no food or drink other than water in the studio

Please help me by following these rules (or don't be surprised if I ask you to leave your shoes and coffee outside!). The floors are beautiful hardwood and anything other than water will damage them.

Thank you in advance!

The locations for both Dance Arts Academy and Vonder Haar Center are listed on the left side of this page. The phone numbers are the front desks of the studios. They can give you information about their studios, parking, etc. but for questions about my classes specifically, you can email me at LeighBalletLA at gmail dot com. Or you can call me directly at 323-640-6804. That's Leigh Purtill Ballet (that's me!).

If you have any questions at all, please ask!