Summer is here! Dance in the cool studio!

 

July 2024 schedule

Wednesdays

6:45-8:15PM - Beginner ballet
8:15-9:15PM - Beginner jazz (Leigh's Dance Party!)
Thursdays (No classes July 4th!)
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

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LET'S DANCE ALL SUMMER LONG!
Aside from Independence Day, I will be teaching all of July and the rest of the summer. It's a great time to be in the studio, especially when you need a break from the heat.

More fun - Zumba party with LPBC!
Company members MaLisa Martin and Samantha Mahony are holding Zumba classes on Friday nights at Inspire, 6:15-7:15PM. Loads of fun, great Latin music to dance to, and 1/3 of the proceeds will go to the company. It's win-win-win!

 

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LPBC News

Our first East Coast Ballet All Day workshops!

June 1st was a smashing success!
We had so much fun working with the dancers who attended our very first Ballet All Day event in Kingston, MA. Company members Amanda Singrassia (who owns Dreamworks Performing Arts Center & Wellness where we held the workshops) and Asher Taylor-Dawson not only taught Partnering but also performed with their respective dance partners, Cisco Sanchez and Tamar Cohen, which was such a treat for all of us. Company member Tom Misnik joined us too, coming all the way from Philadelphia.

Thank you to everyone who joined us. Can't wait for the next one!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you miss LPBC's video for Pride Month?
Check out the beautiful original duet created by Alexes Togiai Ciardi, Elena Castellanos, Jamie Haley and Jim Luna, performed by Alexes and Elena. Link here.

Let's dance! More videos for your home use !

Hello again, beautiful dancers!

Today I am holding an adult ballet intensive with some of our remote company members who live on the East Coast. We're calling it Ballet All Day! If you can't make it, why not do some dancing at home? As I did before, I'm posting a couple of YouTube videos which were recorded live during the pandemic: one with pointe work and one without.

Have fun!

From June 18, 2020:

Beginner Ballet

From May 23, 2020:

Beginner/Intermediate Ballet with Pointe

See you on June 15!

February Newsletter!

 

February 2021 schedule All classes in session as scheduled (view here). Please sign up online here. Outdoor class at Inspire on Saturdays 12-1PM. Sign-up in advance; limited to 6.   Valentine's Day Easy Online Partnering Workshop! Sunday, February 14, 5-6PM PST - No ballet experience necessary for your partner. It will help if you know arabesque, attitude and sousous. Only $20 for you and your partner. Sign up here. BONUS CLASS! Add on a 30 minute Easy Basic Barre at 4:30PM PST - held right before the workshop, only $10 for you and your partner. See image to right for where to sign up on the page. Access to YouTube video archives Beginner/Intermediate with Pre-pointe playlist is available! Link will be valid from 1/1/21 through 6/30/21. New Friday playlist includes November & December 2020 videos and will be valid through 6/30/21. VISIT my website for more information!     LPBC News Company Member Spotlight! The newest video in our ongoing series on our YouTube channel, Company Spotlights created by Alexes Ciardi, is an interview with company member Gina Buccolo.  Click the photo to the right and be sure to subscribe to our channel to see more in the series! Did you get your 2020 Company t-shirt? Every purchase helps support the company plus you look super cool in it! Design is by company member and artist Bill Reiss. We will do a group order so get to our website and place your order before FEBRUARY 22! Below Megan and Laila show off the long sleeve shirt. Both say the cotton is soft and fits as expected (comfy but not too roomy). And below are Samantha in a short sleeve and Jen in a tank. All styles look great!

Tips from the pirouette mini-workshop!

Hello beautiful dancers!

I'm so impressed with the group of dancers who attended the mini-workshop I held on Zoom this past weekend. Practicing pirouettes at home is not easy and these students were all-in. If you missed it, here are a few takeaways that you can try to apply on your own.

1. In every workshop I teach, I always try to give students a new way of approaching pirouettes en dehors. The fact is, every dancer responds to different images, concepts, and techniques. If the one I give you in a class doesn't click for you, maybe a different one will. That's why I tell students to never give up on turns. Saying, "I can't turn!" is not real. It's something you tell yourself or in some cases, something someone else might have told you.

I was told by a teacher I would never do more than a double turn. That stuck in my head for years!

The concept I introduced on Saturday was using the knee to guide the turn: an image of drawing a circle in the air with your knee, kind of like a compass (does anyone use compasses to draw perfect circles anymore?). This will prevent you from losing your rotation as you turn and also keeps you level. Once you are up in your releve, you let the head snap you around and let the knee guide you.

Compass drawing

2. The second thing I try to do in each workshop is to emphasize the rhythm of a turn, from preparation to landing. Every turn, inside or outside, attitude or arabesque, etc. has a rhythm to it. You need to keep that rhythm in your head - in your muscle memory - so you always do the same thing. But what is in your head is not necessarily in someone else's head.

On Saturday, I gave my dancers the rhythm of --

Reach

Reach the arms out

 

Look

Look at something

 

Land

Land the turn

If you can keep in your head a rhythm of Reach/Look/Land, you will have a rhythm for every single turn. My dancers reached their arms in front of them, saw what they were going to spot, and then landed the turn. Reach/Look/Land. Reach/Look/Land.

Honestly, it doesn't even matter what those three words are. They could be --

Prep/Spot/Land  

or Bend/Stretch/Bend  

or Start/Rise/End 

or Arms/Head/Knees

I prefer single syllable words because they pack a punch and are easy to recall. You just want to have a word in your brain that means - for you - what the start of the turn is, what word reminds you to focus on during the turn itself and a word that reminds you about finishing the turn.

Hope these 2 tips help you the next time you take a class or spend some time working on pirouettes. Especially now while you are home without a mirror, it's important to develop proper muscle memory. When you do get back to the studio, you will find turning even easier!

Happy dancing~

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!

Spring into Spring with 2 Pointe variations workshops coming to Inspire!

Hello beautiful dancers!

I am adding something FUN to the schedule which requires a sign-up before the end of February:

Pointe variations workshops!

The Bluebird workshop will be held at Inspire each Sunday, 12:30-1PM from Mar 1 through Mar 22; the cost for the 4-week session is $50.

Wondering what Bluebird is? It's from "Sleeping Beauty" with music by Tchaikovsky and choreography by Marius Petipa and it might look something like this:

 The Cupid workshop will be held at Inspire each Sunday, 12:30-1PM from Mar 29 through Apr 19; the cost for the 4-week session is $50.

Wondering what Cupid is? It's from "Don Quixote" with music by Minkus and choreography by Marius Petipa and it might look something like this:

(Attend both for $90 and save some $!)

Each week, I will break down a step or 2 that is challenging in each of the variations and we will learn the variation over the course of the 4-week session.

Please sign up in advance right here on my blog: use the drop-down menu at the top left of the blog under the banner to add the workshop or a class card to your cart.

Can't wait to start some fun SPRING variations! Happy dancing~

Holiday ballet! Special "Eve" classes to get you in a celebratory mood!

Are you ready for the holidays? No? Then come to class with me this week and on Christmas Eve morning and New Year's Eve morning to boost your spirit!

All of my classes will happen as usual this week and next weekend. I will be out of town 12/25-12/30. Check out my calendar below for information on each specific class and as always, contact me if you have any questions.


Now for the fun stuff: holiday classes with super fun music and loads of great energy!

pc: State Library of Queensland "Seven Swans"

Monday, Christmas Eve, 12/24 Morning! 

Makes a great gift to yourself!

10-11:30AM

Open level

Inspire Dance Studio, 457 Foothill Blvd, La Canada CA 91011

 

pc: State Library of Queensland "Clowns"

Monday, New Year's Eve, 12/31 Morning! 

A perfect way to end 2018 and start 2019!

10-11:30AM

Open level

Inspire Dance Studio, 457 Foothill Blvd, La Canada CA 91011

 

 

AND DON'T FORGET!

Sunday, January 6, Pirouette Workshop, 1-3PM, Inspire Dance Studio

"Turn" your year around with this workshop to improve your pirouettes (see what I did there?)

Sign up at the link at the top of this blog on the left hand side. Limited to 15.

Saturday, January 12, Company Intent to Join, 9AM and 10AM, Inspire Dance Studio

Make your intentions known if you want to be in the Leigh Purtill Ballet Company this year.

We have lots of wonderful things planned but be sure to know what we do before you commit. Check out the website!

New Adult Hip-Hop Workshop offered in September!

Hello all!

Below is a letter and flyer from Julie Paige, the owner of Inspire Dance Studio, about a new 4-week workshop she is offering for adults only in September. I wanted to share it with you in case you are interested in trying it or know someone who might be. Happy dancing!

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Hi Inspire Families & Friends,

I’m so excited to announce our FIRST EVER Adult Hip-Hop Workshop!  It’s time for the moms and dads of the studio to get a chance to dance at Inspire!  The workshop is a 4 week workshop Sundays September 9 - September 30th from 5:30-6:30pm.  Tuition is $64/student.  It’s open to total beginners (through intermediate) dancers and should be a fun and inspiring workout for us all!  To Register: Visit our registration page on the website and add yourself as a student!  Hope to dance with you all this fall!!

Most Sincerely,

Julie Paige

www.inspire-dancestudio.com 

New way to sign up for my workshops!

Several students had requested I add a shopping cart to my website in order to sign up for multiple workshops more easily. And now, I have one!

Pirouette workshop 2015

To use it, simply choose a workshop from either of the drop-down menus on my website and click "Add to cart." That will take you to the PayPal page. You can check out then or you can click "continue shopping" which will take you back to my website and you can choose another workshop.

(Hint: if you don't click "continue shopping" but want to add more workshops, leave that PayPal tab open and go back to the website tab. The cart will refresh automatically and you won't need to keep opening and closing it.)

You can add workshops from either location to your cart so if you want to sign up for a workshop at Dance Arts and then another one at Vonder Haar, they will both go into the same cart. You can remove items from your cart before purchase or change quantities if you are purchasing for a friend.

Whoo-hoo! Technology really can make life (or at least workshop shopping!) easier.

Happy dancing~

Important info for my students

1. I've added the March workshops at Vonder Haar to my website, so you can sign up for them in advance. They are:

3/5 contemporary ballet
3/12 pique and lame duck turns
3/19 pointe/variation
3/26 pas de chat & grand assemble

All Saturday workshops are at Vonder Haar in La Canada from 11:30AM-12:30PM and are limited to 12 students with a minimum of 4. The cost is $17. You can sign up in advance for all of my workshops being offered at both Dance Arts Academy and at Vonder Haar Center at my website here.

2. As of March 1st, the price of a technique class will be $16. A 5-class card will be $75 and a 10-class card will be $140. Note: my class cards do not expire so if you'd like, you can purchase a card at the current price even if you do not need it yet.

  Happy dancing~

Holiday classes and 2016 Workshops

To my local students, some information about classes over the holidays as well as my new workshop schedule:

In addition to my regular schedule this month, I'll also be teaching 2 holiday-themed classes on the mornings of December 24 (Christmas Eve) and December 31 (New Year's Eve). They will be open level that anyone can attend. If you're in town, I hope you'll come dance! They are always lots of fun and a great way to escape the holiday frenzy.

When: 12/24 and 12/31
Time: 10-11:30AM
Location: Vonder Haar Center for Performing Arts, 437 Foothill Blvd, La Canada
Cost: $15 (or you can use your class card)

WORKSHOPS AT DANCE ARTS ACADEMY:

Thursdays, 8-9PM, $17/workshop

Limited to 10 students with a 4 student minimum

 1/7 - traveling turns: chaine and soutenu
1/14 - barre cleanup: plie, releve and port de bras
2/4 - small jumps: brise, assemble battu and brise vole
2/18 - barre cleanup: tendu, degage and rond de jambe
3/3 - turns: pirouette en dehors
3/17 - barre cleanup: grand battement, developpe and grand rond en l'air

WORKSHOPS AT VONDER HAAR CENTER:
Saturdays, 11:30AM-12:30PM, $17/workshop
Limited to 12 students with a 4 student minimum

1/9 - contemporary ballet
1/16 - turns: pirouette en dehors
1/23 - pointe/variation
1/30 - jumps: jete and assemble
2/6 - contemporary ballet
2/13 - turns: pirouette en dedans
2/20 - pointe/variation
2/27 - jumps: saut de chat and grand jete

ALL workshops are suitable for all levels of dancers. The Pointe variation classes may be attended by students in flat slippers if they do not work en pointe.

I encourage students to sign up in advance as most workshops tend to sell out. SIGN UP HERE.

Happy holidays, beautiful dancers! And happy dancing into 2016!

Friday catch-up!

Happy Friday to all!

A few notes for students in LA and for readers everywhere:

1. Next week is Thanksgiving (what?!) but ALL of my classes, except actual Thanksgiving Day, will be happening. That means, Wednesday night too, for your last minute exercise before the big meal. And of course, come to class on Saturday morning if you need a respite from family and turkey. (Check my schedule below for the locations and times of all of my classes.)

2. A. 2 last workshops being held in 2015: Adagio #2 on December 3rd and Grand Allegro combinations on December 17th. Both at Dance Arts Academy from 8-9PM. Sign up at my website.

2. B. (or not 2B - ha!) Requests being taken NOW for January workshops at Dance Arts as well as a new series of workshops on Saturdays at Vonder Haar in La Canada. Yes, that's right: more workshops at another location and day! Contact me for more info and to get on the mailing list.

3. Looking for a good dance read? Check out my review of Lee Wilson's memoir, Rebel on Pointe, over at Dance Advantage. I also conducted a terrific interview with Lee herself, who happens to live in Los Angeles. Read it now and then get your own copy.

Happy dancing, everyone~

Step by Step: a new ballet workshop series starts June 18

Beautiful dancers, I'm so excited about a new series of workshops I'll be starting on June 18. Every other week, I'll be holding an hour long workshop devoted to breaking down and learning a couple of steps (for instance, transition steps like glissade or pas de bourree). Which is why I'm calling it:

I'd like to say I'm putting them all in a particular order because of XYZ or because I'm following a syllabus from some famous school but I'm not! I'm simply choosing steps I believe my students, and hopefully others, need to work on in order for them to grow as dancers or to move on to other levels of classes.

The first 10 scheduled workshops are:

6/18     Barre basics: plies, port de bras, tendus

7/2       Small jumps #1: changement, echappe, jete, assemble

7/16     Transitions #1: glissade, pas de bourree, chassee

7/30     Small jumps #2: entrechat quatre, royalle, sissonne

8/13     Transitions #2: balance, waltz, contretemps

8/27     Center adagio: developpes en croix, port de bras, promenade

9/10     Pirouettes: en dedans, fouette

9/24     Big jumps #1: saut de chat, pas de chat

10/8     Traveling turns: pique, chaine, lame duck

10/22   Big jumps #2: tour jete, saut de basque

Because they are every other week, I will have the opportunity to squeeze in additional workshops, should the need arise. For instance, if after the "barre basics" a group of students requests more time or more steps from the barre be broken down, I can offer a workshop the following week. 

Flexibility! After all, we are dancers! That is what we specialize in.

As with all of my workshops, the cost is $16/class. There is a minimum of 5 students and a maximum of 10. If the minimum is not met and the workshop is canceled, I will refund students' money by PayPal.

You can sign up for any of the workshops, regardless of your level, and you do not need to do them in any order (for instance, you can do Small Jumps #2 even if you did not do Small Jumps #1).

Important information!

When: Thursdays, 8-9PM, beginning June 18

Where: Dance Arts Academy, 731 South La Brea Avenue, LA, CA 90036

Cost: $16

To reserve your spot(s), go to www.leighpurtillballet.com and choose any of the dates/workshop titles from the pull-down menu and sign-up through PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account. If you have any questions, please contact me!  Happy dancing, everyone~

2 more technique videos - Pique and Saute!

A few years ago I shot a number of technique videos, many of which you have probably seen since they were on the blog a while ago. But I still had two more that my ninja webmaster didn't edit: pique and saute.

In the first, I demonstrate a degage pique so students can see how the toes hit the floor and the knee stays very straight. This is something you can practice at home.

In the second, I break down a saute in first position, from demi-plie through releve and saute. You can also do this at home; it's a very good strengthening exercise for dancers working flat and en pointe.

These are the final videos in this series called Fit Ballet with Leigh. From now on, any videos I do will be under the name, Leigh Purtill Ballet. (Same Leigh Purtill, just a bit older I suppose!)

NB: For those of you interested in the pirouette workshops, the Beginner on 4/30 has sold out. If you missed this one, you have 2 options:
1. If you are very new to turns, you can contact me to be placed on a list for a possible second Beginner workshop in late May or June.
2. If you have some experience and know the basics of turning, you can take the Advanced workshop on 5/14 and work on single turns.

Happy dancing~

Pirouette workshops!!

My life is not ALL about zombies! In fact, I very much enjoy teaching and hanging around the living, especially those who love to learn.

Upcoming Pirouette Workshops!

It's been 3 years since I've done a workshop for pirouettes but I love them. This time I will be doing 2 workshops, one for Beginners and one for Advanced.

Beginner Pirouette Workshop: Thursday, April 30th, 8-9PM
In this workshop, students will learn how to start, maintain and complete a single en dehors turn. We will focus on spotting, holding arms and retire, momentum, and balance.

Advanced Pirouette Workshop: Thursday, May 14th, 8-9PM
In this workshop, students will work on multiple en dehors turns. This will be more of a diagnostic class where I get to look at individual students and address their problems.

Each class is $16 and each is limited to 10 students, with a minimum of 5 students. If you are interested, please go to my website and sign-up: www.LeighPurtillBallet.com. The link is at the top of the page, in the center. Click the level you want and then go to the PayPal link directly below that. If the minimum is not met, your money will be refunded.

The workshops will be held in Studio D at
Dance Arts Academy
731 South La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles 90036

Binge ballet?

Perhaps these first decades of the 21st Century should be called the Binge Years.

We binge on television: watching seasons of "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black" back to back (to back to back).

We binge on reading: book challenges on Goodreads ask us to set goals of reading weekends or even days, and we devour entire series like "Harry Potter" and "The Hunger Games" in 24 hours.

We binge on writing: thousands participate in NaNoWriMo, devoted to writing a 50,000 word novel in a single month.

We binge on food and alcohol, of course, and social media. But can we binge on ballet? And even if we can, should we?

I do see people who discover ballet and throw themselves into it, taking three classes a week or more. Or they have been away for a while and decide they want to get back into it with a vengeance - and at the level they left it. Much like people who suddenly decide to take Zumba classes or start running or lifting weights, these dance students love it immediately and want to binge.

But bingeing on ballet doesn't make you better exponentially. Look at ballet as building blocks. You start with plies and tendus and degages and you get those under your belt and you move forward. But you can't do a jete without knowing how to do a degage and a coupe. You can't do a pas de chat if you don't know retire. You can't do much adagio if you can't stand on one leg without holding onto the barre. And you certainly can't do that if you don't take your time, find your core muscles, and practice.

It takes time to learn what the building blocks are. For one thing, they are all in French. And for another, they are not steps and movements we do naturally. They must be learned and if they aren't learned properly, the next steps built upon them will be skewed, like the Tower of Pisa.

The class I will teach this month, my Elementary Ballet Workshop, is a crash course in the sense that I will give people the basic tools for a beginner class. Plies, tendu, degages, and so on. The students won't master these steps as it takes years to truly master ballet but they will have the first layer of their building, the preparation for their structure.

Be patient with ballet. Don't binge. It's a lifelong pursuit, not an end goal. Happy dancing!

Elementary Ballet Workshop Signup is live!

For 3 Fridays in January, I will be teaching an Elementary Ballet workshop at Dance Arts Academy. It is designed for students who have no experience in ballet and would like a short "crash course." We will learn the basics of barre and center.

What: Elementary Ballet workshop
Where: Dance Arts Academy, 731 South La Brea, Los Angeles, CA 90036
When: January 9, 16 & 23, 2015, 6-7PM

Attire: Ballet slippers (thin socks if you don't have them) and leotard and tights (or leggings/shorts and tank top if you are more comfortable)

Cost: $60 for the entire workshop

The class will be limited to 12 students. You can reserve your spot in advance by paying via PayPal below, or through my website (www.leighpurtillballet.com), or in person with me. The class will be held with a minimum of 6 students: if the minimum is not met and you have paid for the class, you will receive a refund.

Upcoming events!

Hello beautiful dancers and happy holidays to you all! A few things of interest for those of you who are local and those who are not.

Coming up in 1 week! I'll be hosting a LIVE online discussion of Misty Copeland's new memoir, "Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina" on Friday, December 19th at 12:30PM PST/3:30PM Eastern. It will happen at Dance Advantage where my review of the memoir will be posted along with some possible topics for discussion.  Here are a few to think about:

Racial diversity in ballet
Economic discrimination in ballet
Teachers: external challenges we face with students
Students: dealing with and overcoming family obstacles
Parents: How far should parents go to encourage their children?
Curves and growth; how do we handle body changes in young dancers?

If you've got more, let me know so we can be sure to include them. I loved Misty's story and can't wait to talk about it with other readers. Book Troupe: put it in your calendar!

Next up: 2 Holiday classes with me!

On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve mornings, I will be teaching at Vonder Haar Center for the Performing Arts in La Canada, from 10-11:30AM. It will be suitable for beginners through intermediate level dancers and you know I'll have fun music to celebrate the holidays!

So come all ye ballet faithful and dance with me! And for more class schedule info, be sure to check the calendar below or email me about specific classes, if you want to know more.

Coming in January: Elementary Ballet Workshop

For all of you (or 12 of you actually, since this is a limited number workshop) who have wanted to take class with me but have no experience at all, this workshop is for you. For 3 Fridays in January, I will offer a workshop that covers just the basics of ballet barre and center. 

What: Elementary Ballet workshop
Where: Dance Arts Academy, 731 South La Brea, Los Angeles, CA 90036
When: January 9, 16 & 23, 2015, 6-7PM

Attire: Ballet slippers (thin socks if you don't have them) and leotard and tights (or leggings/shorts and tank top if you are more comfortable)

Cost: $60 for the entire workshop
You will need to sign up in advance through PayPal. I will post the link this weekend when signup officially opens. I am limiting the class to 12, with a minimum of 6.

Pirouette Workshop on 3/23

On March 23rd at Le Studio, I will conduct my third pirouette workshop.  A full hour of turns (en dehors only): the approach, the alignment, tips and advice, and practical guidance!  The workshop is limited to only 12 students.  As of this writing, I still have 4 spots left so if anyone reading this would like to attend, send me an email to confirm your spot.

What: Pirouette Workshop
When: Saturday, March 23rd, 1:30-2:30PM
Where: Le Studio, 57 Palmetto, Pasadena CA 91105
Cost: $15, to me by 3/16

Happy dancing~

Class 4 of Elementary Ballet Workshop

Our last class!  I was so happy to watch my students "graduate" today. I feel confident that they can attend one of my Basic Ballet classes (or another Basic Ballet class with someone else) and be absolutely fine.  Sure, the next step will be a challenge but they are armed with all they need to get started and feel good.

Here is what we worked on today:

At the barre, with music:
--Plie combinations in 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th, including grand plies and port de bras
--Tendu combinations in 1st and 5th, with port de bras and demi-plie
--Degage combination in 5th with port de bras and plie (assemble)
--Rond de jambe combination with a balance and rond en l'air
--Grand battements with plie (assemble)
--Sousous
--Changements and sautes in 1st

In the center, with music:
--Tendu and degage combinations
--Pirouette prep from 4th position

On the diagonal, with music:
--Chassees efface and croise
--Sautes en arabesque and retire

Reverence to finish the class

I'm so excited for them to move on, wherever it may be.  I think I might do another workshop, perhaps an Elementary Ballet II.  We'll see!  Stay tuned!