The Miracle that's wrought by tickling the Ivories of the Old Joanna

Igor Zapravadin.                          Standard YouTube Licence

Because last week's class at KNT was so good (see "So what was so great about it exactly?" 20 Jan 2016) I feared tonight's would be something of an anticlimax. In fact it was even better and one of the reasons why it was even better is that we had a pianist. There are some lovely recordings for ballet classes on the market but there is nothing like a live pianist especially when he or she plays something from a well loved ballet. I remember being transfixed by strains of Mendelssohn's Dream from the next door studio at Quarry Hill and fighting back tears as memories of Sibley and Dowell flooded back.

Although we have pianists for most of our classes at Northern Ballet we are taught to honour them. We curtsy to them in the reverence. One instructor, Elizabeth Rae, taught us to curtsy with our hands over our hearts. "You've always got to show respect to the maestro" she explained. A classmate who had studied at one of the best schools in London corroborated her. "They have real power" she warned. She told me a story about a pianist from her student days,

"If you got on the right side of the pianist he would play 'I feel pretty' for your turn. If you upset him he would serve up 'Nellie the Elephant'". 

Consequently I always make a point of thanking the pianist as well as the instructor though I would probably do that anyway.

The other reason why tonight was so good is that we had our rehearsal on the stage of the auditorium in which we are performing. What a stage it is!  I thought the Stanley and Audrey was big but The Dancehouse's is even bigger. When the house lights are up and you peer into the seating are it looks and feels cavernous.

Our rehearsal did not get off to a good start but Karen coached us patiently. We performed it in the studio a couple of times. Then Karen led us onto the stage. The first run through needed some adjustment particularly with the last movement but we practised it a couple of times before Karen called it a day.

I didn't go home immediately because some of the members of our class were in the pointe class and several of us wanted to watch them. I was quite impressed but Karen saw room for improvement. She drilled them as she had drilled us and the second time through they were even more polished.

"You must think I'm terrible" muttered Karen as she dashed past.

"Not at all" I replied. "Mark had told me you had high standards and expected nothing less than the best." 

That was true by the way. Vlad the Lad, his mum and dad, Gita and I collared my teacher Mark Hundle at the stage door of the Empire after he had danced two shows in Dick Whittington on Boxing Day and wanted nothing more than to get on with his Christmas (see a Liverpudlian Whittington 27 Dec 2015). It was Mark. incidentally, who encouraged me to dance in this show and for that I am very grateful. In that suggestion he was backed up by Mel who once saw me dance (see Mel Wong The Dance DID go on - Northern Ballet Academy Show 2014 29 June 2014).

Today we got our costumes which in my case is a mesh dress over a black leotard. I'd been worried that it might not fit because it is made by Bloch whose idea of extra large seems to me to be an anorexic stick insect. But in fact it does fit and I feel so good in it.  I shall be 67 on the 14 Feb so I am not sure how much longer I can keep dancing. But for the moment I can. And I love every minute of it.

So folks, if you find yourself in Manchester on Saturday night and feel like you need a break from assembling your Billy flat packs or a change from propping up the bar of the Lass o' Gowrie, The Briton's Protection or The Old Monkey you could do a lot worse than come to the Danchouse at 19:30  and watch us Move It.  All that entertainment for a fiver. You won't get much better value than that.

Happy New Year! Christmas is over. Now if you want to work off those Mince Pies .....

KNT Dancworks Manchester: Ailsa Baker, Josh Moss and Karen Sant
Standard You Tube Licence


I was 63 when I took up ballet. Save for a few classes when I was an undergraduate at St Andrews in the early 1970s I had no experience of ballet. My first classes were at The Base in Huddersfield. They were not easy because I was the oldest member by several decades but we had a good teacher and I persevered. In September 2013 I joined Northern Ballet's Over 55 class where all the other students were about my age. That was one of the best decisions I ever took in my life. We have an excellent teacher in Annemarie Donoghue and the other students are lovely. Here is what I wrote after my first class with Annemarie: Realizing a Dream 12 Sept 2013.

My classes with Annemarie gave me sufficient confidence to try classes with other teachers. I tried Adam Pudney's class at Pineapple which I enjoyed tremendously (see Pineapple 20 Nov 2013 and Another Slice of Pineapple 12 July 2015). I took classes with Christopher Hinton-Lewis (see It's an Ill Wind - Review of Northern Ballet's Beginner's Class 6 Dec 2013) and Elizabeth Rae and attend regulalry Jane Tucker's class at the Northern Ballet Academy. I have appeared in the Academy's end of term shows (see The Time of My Life 28 June 2014 and My Second Ballet 5 July 2015) which we even took or tour to Morley (see Growing Old Disgracefully in Morley 28 Sept 2015). I ventured south to Sheffield (see More than just Hype - Beginners and Improvers Classes in Sheffield 14 May 2014), across the Pennines (see So Proud of Manchester - KNT Danceworks Complete Beginners Class 29 Aug 2014) and I even found myself dancing in the ballroom of Liverpool Town Hall (see It's not every Class that you can use Lord Canning's Eyes for Spotting 9 Sept 2014).

My favourite dance studio is KNT' in Manchester. Classes take place in the studios of the Northern Ballet School on Oxford Road.  There are some great teachers as you can see in the video and I have yet to meet kinder or more supportive classmates. There are classes in all sorts of dance every day of the week except Sunday (see Adult Dance Class Timetable). Last Summer I attended Jane Tucker's Swan Lake intensive and enjoyed it tremendously (see KNT's Beginners' Adult Ballet Intensive - Swan Lake: Day 1 18 Aug 2015, KNT's Beginners' Adult Ballet Intensive - Swan Lake: Day 2 19 Aug 2015 and KNT's Beginners' Adult Ballet Intensive - Swan Lake: Day 3 20 Aug 2915). KNT are presenting a show on 30 Jan 2016 and I am in it. :-)

Another good class that I have discovered very recently is Katie Geddes's at Dance Studio Leeds (see Dance Studio Leeds Beginners' Ballet Class 23 Oct 2015). Again, there is a great teacher and some lovely people in the class. Katie organized a delightful Christmas party on 4 Dec 2015 and a trip to Northern Ballet's The Nutcracker on 18 Dec 2015 (see Northern Nutcracker 19 Dec 2015). One of the delights of just about any dance class is the opportunity to meet interesting new people in all walks of life and I have made some great friendships through ballet.

So this is how I spend my week.  On Mondays I go to the beginners' class at Dance Studio Leeds between 1945 and 21:15. On Tuesday's I attend Karen Sant's beginners' class at KNT in Manchester from 18:30 to 19:30. On Wednesday I attend Jane Tucker's improvers' class at Northern Ballet between 19:00 and 20:15. That is a particularly challenging but also very worthwhile class because if you aim for the stars you may actually clear the bar. On Thursday's I attend Annemarie Donoghue's over 55 improvers class at Northern Ballet between 11:00 and 12:15 which is also pretty stretching. If I miss a class earlier in the week for any reason I cross the Pennines for Sarah Butler's beginner's class at KNT between 18:30 and 19:30 on Friday. I have also attended the Saturday afternoon mixed ability class between 15:00 and 17:00.

If you live anywhere near Manchester or Leeds those are the classes I recommend. If not, here are some tips to find a class that's right for you. If you live in or near London you are spoilt for choice. Londondance.com lists dance classes in just about every dance style in every part of the metropolis on its Dance Class and Workshops page. I have only attended Adam's class at Pineapple but I have watched some of the classes at Danceworks and can't wait to try some of them.  KNT runs classes at Studio 76 at 76 West Derby Road and Dolphin Dance Studio at Dolphin Dance Studio at 42 Devon Street in Liverpool on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (see Timetable). Dancexchange runs all sorts of classes in Birmingham. Scottish Ballet runs a wide range of adult ballet classes at the Tramway in Glasgow (see the Get Dancing page on Scottish Ballet's web site). Ballet West offers body conditioning for adults at Taynuilt on Tuesdays and Thursdays (see Ballet West Outreach Timetable 2015/16) as does Ballet Cymru in Newport on Mondays between 18:30 and 19:30 (call Jenny Isaacs 01633 892927 or email jennyisaacs@welshballet.co.uk for further details).

We are busy compiling a database of adult dance classes up and down the country. If we find any gaps we shall do our best to find a teacher and premises to fill them. If you are an RAD or ISTD teacher, carry the appropriate insurance and accreditations and are prepared to teach adults in your area do get in touch.

Elizabeth Rae

This morning our Over 55 class at Northern Ballet Academy was taught by Elizabeth Rae. As you can see from her biography on Northern Ballet's website she has enjoyed a glittering career as a dancer, teacher, choreographer and author. It was a pleasure and a privilege to be taught by her.

We have two classes on Tuesday: an hour of barre and exercises in the centre and then an extra 30 minutes for those of us who want to improve (or in my case learn) pirouettes and jumps.  It was quite challenging for all of us and particularly for me but Elizabeth gave us lots of useful tips and information which she delivered with considerable wit. For instance, always keep your little finger in view when doing grands pliés because you keep your back straight and transfer your weight to the ball of your foot and not the heel when doing turns.  Although I have been trying my best for ages I still can't do pirouettes properly and I get really frustrated with them but Elizabeth's exercises really helped. She taught us to do tours lents in retiré and while I was a long way from  getting it right I was a closer to getting it right than ever before.

After class we gathered round to thank her for her teaching and in a short conversation that followed she spoke to us briefly about her career.  She danced many important roles with Frankfurt Ballet and there is a lovely picture of her with Richard Sykes of that company on her Northern Ballet web page.  I googled her and found that she danced as Lisa Rae when she was on the stage and I found lots of other beautiful images of her.

One of the reasons I take as many ballet classes as I can is the precious interaction between teacher and student which you can see in the clips from Moscow and San Francisco (see "Adult Ballet in Moscow and San Francisco - could have been Leeds or Manchester" 2 Oct 2014). I have heard great dancers from the past such as Antoinette Sibley talk fondly about their teachers (see Le jour de gloire est arrive - Dame Antoinette Sibley with Clement Crisp at the Royal Ballet School 3 Feb 2014 and modern ballerinas like Lauren Cuthbertson and Elena Glurdjidze talk in the same way about theirs.  I will never be a ballerina but I can at least experience that aspect of their lives.