Kristen Gillette, Author at Adult Ballerina Project

Kristen Gillette October 15, 2015

Ballet Instructor Profile: Liz Borromeo

How long have you been dancing?

About 30 years.

Why do you dance ballet?

Ballet is where I began my training, and I continue to find new ways to improve my technique all the time. Doing ballet helps my focus and I especially enjoy taking class myself, as after a great ballet class, I feel like my mind and body get centered again…

Who/What inspires you to dance?

My students (of all ages) inspire me. I find that hearing a beautiful piece of music will give me instant inspiration to dance and create as well. When I am feeling emotions deeply, I am inspired to dance.

How long have you taught ballet?

I have been teaching ballet for about 20 years.

Where do you teach ballet?

I teach at my own dance studio as well as in various other studios in Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR. I also am a teaching artist in local public schools, though I focus my teaching more in Modern dance and dance for musical theater in those venues.

Who do you teach?

I teach students of all ages (from 2 to adult-including active Seniors).

What other types of dance do you teach (if any)?

I teach Modern dance (based in Graham technique primarily), Improvisation (including Contact Improv), dance for Musical Theater (mostly classic Jazz styles) as well as West African Dance.

Why do you teach ballet?

I love to see students make connections from class to class as they gradually master ballet. I like to encourage students who maybe think that ballet won’t be as enjoyable as other dance forms to give it a try and see them become inspired to continue their training.

What is your favorite ballet step to teach and why?

Pirouettes–actually turns of all kinds. Throughout my own training, working on turns has been a constant challenge, and I love to help students discover what they need to do to be successful with pirouettes. I find that for myself as a student, if I have a good turning day, it’s a great class, and if my turns are “off” it really influences how I feel about dance class…helping my students have a good turning day is a great feeling.

What advice/tips would you give to adults who want to begin ballet for the first time/adults starting ballet again?

I would say go for it and let them know that just having the courage to start (or return to) class is a huge success. Taking ballet is a chance to really focus the body and mind, it’s a fun experience with other adults (we have so much fun in our adult classes) and it’s really an accomplishment to dedicate time and effort to something that requires so much discipline. Ask questions, love the amazing thing that your body can do and let yourself enjoy dance class.

Filed Under: Ballerina Profiles, Ballet, Instructors, Interviews Tagged With: ballet, Liz Borromeo, Portland, Vancouver Leave a Comment

Kristen Gillette October 5, 2015

Relive World Ballet Day

Didn’t catch World Ballet Day? Did you have to work through part of it (I unfortunately did). Or if you just want to re-watch it, you can now watch The Australian Ballet, The Royal Ballet, and the National Ballet of Canada’s videos on YouTube:

The Australian Ballet:

Royal Ballet:

National Ballet of Canada:

Filed Under: Ballet Tagged With: National Ballet of Canada, Royal Ballet, The Australian Ballet, World Ballet Day Leave a Comment

Kristen Gillette October 2, 2015

Ballerina Profile: Renée O’Neal

When did you start doing ballet as an adult?

January 2014

Did you ever take lessons as a kid?

When I was about 9 years old, I used to have a coloring book called “Betsy Takes a Bow.” It told the story of a little girl named Betsy who takes ballet lessons and eventually dances the lead in Swan Lake. The best part, for me at least, was that the studio in the book was called “Renée’s School of Dance.” (I’m fairly certain that’s the reason that I never wanted to be a professional dancer – I wanted to run the show and own my own dance studio instead.) Anyways, the book had some pretty awful pictures of ballet positions and steps, and I tried to imitate them as best as I could. Even though I was a bit of a tomboy, my mom signed me up for ballet lessons (thanks, Mom!). I studied classical and contemporary ballet for many years, and I danced with two companies, the Tallahassee Ballet and Renascent Dance Theatre. After about 13 years, my heart just wasn’t in it anymore, so I stopped and went on what became an extended hiatus.

Why did you decide to take ballet as an adult?

I moved around a bit over the years (Maryland, Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia), and I would occasionally take a class here and there. Even though I loved ballet, for one reason or another, I found it difficult to commit to anything on a regular basis. I tried some other activities, specifically yoga and fencing, and it was because of those outside interests that I met a wonderful man, got married, and had a baby girl. We relocated from Richmond to SW Virginia a couple of years ago so that he could work on his PhD, and being a stranger in a new town, I once again found myself longing for the community of pink tights and pointe shoes. As a 40-year old mother of an adorable toddler, I knew that my post-baby body, my post-hiatus abilities, and my adult perspective would make for completely different dance experience. I researched the local studio options and spent a few months debating on whether or not I really wanted to “go back”. It was during this time of indecision that a chance encounter at a coffee shop settled the matter. I met an amazing dance teacher, Carol Crawford-Smith, and after speaking with her briefly, I took it as a sign that I should get myself to a barre ASAP! Within a week, I found myself in one of her adult classes and completely in love with ballet once more. Ever since then, I’ve taken classes at two studios, performed as a Court Lady in a production of Cinderella, became a member of the Ballet Project at Virginia Tech (BPVT), danced as the Mouse Queen and a Flower in the Nutcracker, and served as a costume designer and stage manager for BPVT’s spring show. It’s been an amazing year.

Where do you take classes?

When time and money permits, I drop in for adult classes at two studios – the Center of Dance and Little Leapers. I also enjoy the free open-level classes offered by the Ballet Project at Virginia Tech.

What is your favorite and least favorite part about ballet?

There’s no single thing about ballet that I love more than anything else. The leg warmers, the tights, the shoes, the smell of the marley flooring, the music, the sweat, the balances, the turns, the jumps, the aching muscles, the rehearsals, the stage, the performance. I love it all.

What I find the most interesting is how my preferences and abilities have changed to accommodate my older, post-baby body. Back in the day, I loved turns, especially combinations across the floor. However, I now find that turns are more of a challenge because my inner ear just doesn’t want to cooperate. It doesn’t matter how well I spot, if I try to do too many in a series, I get really super-dizzy. I’ve talked to an Audiologist and an ENT doctor, and they both said it’s most likely age-related. It’s a bit of a bummer, but I don’t let it stop me.

I’ve also noticed that my attitude (no pun intended) toward jumps is different. Petite allegro was never my forte, but I’ve found that I have more fun with it now than ever before. I also used to be fairly ambivalent about grande allegro, but now I look forward to leaping and soaring across the room.

Who/What is your ballet inspiration?

I’m inspired by anyone that works hard at what they do and enjoys doing it. I love to watch dancers that are willing to try every step, and even when they are overwhelmed, they still manage to smile, laugh, and keep going. There’s a girl that occasionally shows up to one of my classes, and she always puts in extra effort, repeating combinations in the corner, over and over, even after the music stops. Whenever I see her, I am inspired to keep going, to work harder, to try that combination again. Once more with feeling, indeed.

What motivates you to keep dancing?

It varies. The reflection in the bathroom mirror reminds me that I need to stay active. As a returning dancer, I’m fascinated by what my body can –and sometimes can’t– do, especially after having had a baby. Every class, for better or worse, is an opportunity to discover something new about myself, and I always feel an amazing sense of accomplishment when it’s over. Plus, I love that my daughter identifies me as a ballerina, so that’s a powerful motivator to keep dancing. When I come home, and she asks me in her sweet little voice if I had a good dance class, I just melt.

Do you take any other dance classes?

Living in a small town means that there aren’t as many chances to branch out, and having a husband in grad school and a toddler in day care means there isn’t a lot of time and money available for anything other than one or two ballet classes a week. Whenever possible, I try to participate in any opportunities that come my way. When the Aspen-Santa Fe Ballet came to town last year, I was lucky to be able to attend their master class. It was an awesome experience, and I learned so much.

What are your hobbies outside of ballet?

I enjoy crafty things, especially knitting, and I also enjoy playing board games. When the weather is nice, I love spending time outdoors with my husband and my daughter, which usually involves spotting airplanes, picking flowers, and looking for bugs.

What advice would you like to give to those who want to start ballet or have just started?

Don’t worry what anyone else thinks. Have fun with it. Just dance.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I think I’ve probably said enough, but I will add that I am grateful for this opportunity to share a bit of my dance experience with everyone.

Filed Under: Adult Ballerinas, Ballerina Profiles, Ballet, Interviews Tagged With: Renée O’Neal, Virginia, Virginia Tech Ballet Project Leave a Comment

Kristen Gillette October 1, 2015

Support Adult Ballerina Project — Grab a “anyone can do ballet” Shirt, Tank, or Sweatshirt!

As you may have seen on Facebook or Pinterest, I recently launched a Teespring store featuring some ABP merchandise. Just like the stickers I made earlier, I’ve put together a few shirts, tanktops and sweatshirts you can purchase with the ABP slogan, “Anyone can do ballet” on them. You’ve got a few different style and color options to pick from:

The store is at https://teespring.com/anyone-can-do-ballet-abp. I plan on using the profits from the sales to fund ABP, including hosting and other costs that go into the website and maybe (if I eventually sell enough) coming up with some sort of way to fund regular contributors. So if you want to see more great content, purchase a t-shirt or tanktop and show it off!

Filed Under: Ballet Tagged With: adult ballet, anyone can do ballet, ballet Leave a Comment

Kristen Gillette September 30, 2015

Running Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Bridge

I haven’t talked much about my running recently, but HQ and I recently got back into it at the end of the August and have been running an average of three times a week, slowly working our way back into it (and trust me, it’s felt like a struggle some of the time in Philadelphia’s humidity — even through September).

This past weekend, when the Pope was in Philadelphia, I wasn’t sure where we were going to get our longer run in. Usually we do it on the Schuylkill River Trail by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, but it was closed. The entire city was essentially shut down, including to cars (for the most part anyway).

So Sunday morning we started off by running down in the streets (not something you usually get to do here) when we decided to head towards the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The bridge was originally supposed to be open to foot traffic so that people could get in to see the Pope from buses that had been parked in Camden — but there was less foot traffic than they expected. So they opened it up to anyone, to run on the surface of the bridge.

I wasn’t sure if we were going to walk or run it when we got there, but we decided to mostly run it (with the occasional walk and picture break). In total, we covered six miles from home to to the New Jersey side of the bridge, further than we had ever covered before. Here’s all the photos we took: