Northern Ballet Restarts its Open Classes

Photographer Mtaylor848 Licence CC BY-SA 4.0  

 

Northern Ballet Academy Open Classes For All Improvers Class Jane Tucker, 22 Sept 2020 18:45 - 19:45

Not quite the same as usual because the class was 30 minutes shorter and live-streamed over Zoom but at least the Northern Ballet Academy Improvers' Class was together again. Once again we could train with our wonderful teacher, Jane Tucker.  We met on Tuesday rather than out usual Wednesday which will be a problem for me as I usually attend Karen Sant's Pre-Intermediate Class in Manchester on Tuesday evenings. From now on I shall have to alternate between the two.  But it was very good to see in gallery view faces I had not seen since early March.

Jane usually starts our studio class with a walk around the room adding arm exercises, breaking into a trot, changing direction, skipping facing in and then skipping facing out, and finally jumping Jacks and stretches. None of that was possible in our kitchens or living rooms but we still managed running on the spot and other exercises.  The tendus facing the barre (in my case a high backed kitchen chair), pliés, tendus, glissés, ronds de jambe, fondus, développés, grand battements et cetera proceeded as normal.

We then moved to the centre with tendus front, back and each side before attempting an adagio.  My favourite adagio from Jane's studio class is Minkus's Descent into the Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadȅre which starts off in the usual way but includes some additional refinements that I have never been able properly to master.  That, of course, cannot be performed safely in domestic premises but Jane gave us something equally lovely to do that started with a port de bras, balancés, soutenus, more balancés, some gentle single pirouettes and finishing on demi with arms in fifth.

We omitted the usual chassés pas de bourré and three pirouette turns which I dread because I get them right only occasionally and the grands allegros which can be anything from zig-zags to grands jetés that I adore.  In my very first ballet lessons as an undergraduate at St Andrews in 1968 my teacher, Sally made me do a lot of jumps - far more than the other students - because I was then the only student in her class who could fulfil particular roles.  I've never found ballet easy - not even when I was 19 - but I found the jumping fun.  My favourite bit of choreography is the bronze idol dance from La Bayadere.  I much prefer it to Shades, Cygnets or Juliet's dance which Jane has also taught me.

However, we did have pirouette exercises which I found I could do better in my kitchen than I can on carpet or even in the studio.   We also did some very tiny jumps in first and second.   Before we knew it we were in cool down.   It is always a good sign when a class seems to have finished far too early as it did for me yesterday,  We all unmuted and gave Jane a well-deserved round of applause.

Northern Ballet Academy offers classes for everybody.   For seniors, I can strongly recommend the Over 55 class with Annemarie Donoghue.  I can't always attend it because it meets during office hours.  I must also congratulate Northern Ballet on following the lead of English National and Scottish Ballet in running classes for Parkinson's.  I have donated to the classes run by those other companies and I shall support the Academy's financially.   For more information, visit the Open Classes for All page on the Northern Ballet website. 

The Coster gets his Answer - the Royal Ballet School's Open Classes

Covent Garden   Source Wikipedia

Do you remember the conversation between the coster and the porter about the new open ballet classes at the Royal Ballet School?  The coster got really excited about those classes but he doubted that they were the likes of him or even  me:

"Cor! Wouldn't it be great to do one of them classes. Always fancied lifting a ballerina. But I suppose you've got to be Carlos Acosta or Lauren Cuthbertson to get in there. They do say you need "previous experience" after all. What do you reckon that means?"

The porter couldn't help him so he had a little word with me and I sent a little email on his (and indeed my) behalf. Here is what I asked:

"I would love to take Paul Lewis's classes but I am uncertain as to what is meant by the phrase "some previous experience of ballet." To be more precise I would like to know whether my "previous experience" comes anywhere near Mr Lewis's required entry standard.

I never studied ballet as a child but I did take some classes when I was an undergraduate at St Andrews between 1970 and 1972. I took up ballet again last year and spent one day a week in a mixed age, mixed ability class in Huddersfield. These classes were supplemented by Northern Ballet's weekly classes for students aged over 55. I am very keen and I work hard but I am rather elderly (65 tomorrow) and I am certainly not as strong as I used to be. I wobble like a jelly in arabesque and I cannot always get pirouettes from 4th or pose pirouettes right though I try. I live in the Yorkshire but I work in London could contrive to be in London every Wednesday except the 19 if I were good enough and if there were space on the course."

Here is the School's reply:

"Thank you for your enquiry about our Adult Ballet Open Class. We hope the information below answers your questions and look forward to seeing you in class.

Description of the class: this is an inspiring recreational class, accompanied by a musician, set at a General level for adults with some previous experience of ballet. Paul works hard to ensure that participants of all abilities enjoy and benefit from the class.

Day and time: Wednesdays, 7.00 – 8.30 pm.

Venue: Upper School, 46 Floral Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DA. Doors open from 6.30 pm.

This term’s dates: Wednesday 12 February – Wednesday 2 April (including half term – Weds 19 February). Easter holiday: Weds 9 & 16 April

Teacher: Paul Lewis, RBS 1st Year Boys’ teacher.

Cost: £10 per class, payable to the teacher on the evening (this will be payable via our website soon, but not yet). This is currently a drop-in class with a maximum of 30 in the class. This is a new initiative and we thank you for your patience while we set up online booking. Until then, please call our Enquiries team on 0207 836 8899 on Wednesdays after 11 am to book your place for the evening class."

Now the words "Paul works hard to ensure that participants of all abilities enjoy and benefit from the class" seem very hopeful and suggest that they would let me in and that I could learn something but I have been warned by some knowledgeable folks on BalletcoForum not to get my hopes raised.

Post Script

There is an interesting account of what happened at Paul Lewis's class of the 19 Feb 2014 by Michelle Richer in the "Doing Dance" thread of the BalletcoForum.

"Wouldn't it be loverly" - Royal Ballet School Open Classes

Porter This song is set in Covent Garden a tomato's throw from 46 Floral Street.  

Coster That's the Royal Ballet School, in'it?  So.......

Porter The most famous ballet school in the country if not the world

Coster So ..............

Porter Where some of the finest dancers in the world have trained.

Coster So?  'Aven't got all day.

Porter And some of the world's best teachers teach.

Coster S'pose so.

Porter And now it's open to the public.

Coster Cor blimey! Stone the crows!  You mean anyone can take a class there?

Porter That's what it says on the website. New Adult Open Ballet Class: "inspiring recreational classes with piano accompaniment aimed at people with some previous experience of ballet."

Coster  Who's the geezer what's teaching this course?

Porter   Paul Lewis.

Coster Didn't 'e use to dance with Northern Ballet Theatre? Down in M-a-a-a-a-n-chesta?

Porter  Yeah 'cept it's in Leeds and calls itself Northern Ballet nowadays.

Coster   Where's Leeds?

Porter   Dunno. Somewhere near Bradford I've 'eard.  Manchester way. North of Birmingham.

Coster When do these classes run?

Porter  Wednesdays between 12 Feb and 2 April between 19:00 and 18:30.

Coster And 'ow much do they charge? 

Porter  £10 per class.  Less than a round of drinks in the Nag's 'Ead.  And you don't get cirrhosis of the liver. neither.

Coster  Is that some kind of dance move?  A bit like a tour en l'air on steroids.

Porter   Err  not exactly. 

Coster Cor! Wouldn't it be great to do one of them classes.  Always fancied lifting a ballerina.  But I suppose you've got to be Carlos Acosta or Lauren Cuthbertson to get in there. They do say you need "previous experience" after all.   What do you reckon that means?

Porter Dunno, But you can always give 'em a bell on  0207 836 8899 or email 'em on access@royalballetschool.co.uk.

Coster  Probably not for the likes of us or 'er what's written this dialogue. What's er name?  Terps something or other,

Porter  Probably. But we can still dream can't we.

Coster  Wouldn't it be loverly though.

Porter Loverly!