This week’s profile is of Kelly, who wrote yesterday’s PVC Barre tutorial.
ABP: When did you start doing ballet as an adult?
KG: November 15 2012, 2 weeks before my 31 birthday.
Did you ever take lessons as a kid?
Yes, when I was younger. Then my focus moved to figure skating.
Why did you decide to take ballet as an adult?
It was a combination of things really. I really wanted to get back into shape, and the gym and other routes I tried just didn’t work for me as they were boring and became too much of a chore. I also wanted something for me, as I was starting to feel I didn’t do anything for myself after having my son, and felt all I was ever doing was working. And then there was my childhood dream of getting a real tutu and pointe shoes. I thought I was too old to start pointe, so i went searching for the answer to that and stumbled here where i found that wasn’t the case. While I could have gone and bought those things at any time, I wanted to legitimately earn them!
Where do you take classes?
I take classes at Pulse Dance Studio in Bedford Ohio 3 days a week. I’m in the advanced class and the pointe class (though, I’m currently demi pointe, but just bought my real pointe shoes to start in the next month!)
What is your favorite part about ballet?
Feeling accomplished every time i “get it”.
What is your least favorite part?
Right now I would say it is the frustration that I am not flexible enough, and i feel very clumsy sometimes because of it.
Who/What is your ballet inspiration?
I haven’t been to a ballet since I was little, so picking out a dancer is hard. But my inspiration to keep going and keep pushing myself is my 4 year old. He also funny enough is my motivation some days too.
What motivates you to keep dancing?
to keep getting better, to do something for myself, and to make my biggest cheerleader proud (and nothing is a better motivator than a tiny guy yelling “good job mommy! that was tricky!” whenever you stumble through the fouettes that you dread, or giving you hugs at the end of class telling you what a good job you did…)
Do you take any other dance classes?
No, but I have in the past taken tap and jazz as an extra curricular.
What are your hobbies outside of ballet?
Sewing mainly. I just finished sewing all the leads in our dance recital the Wizard of Oz. I push myself constantly to learn new things, and the tutus that I made for the show definitely fall in pushing myself!
What advice would you like to give to those who want to start ballet or have just started?
For those who haven’t started, try it! Most studios have free classes, whether it is one day, or an entire week. Try everything! You never know when something will click. Also, great work out, and if you wear high heels a lot, the stretches will help make your ankles more flexible, which in turn makes you look 100x better in those stilettos. (my teacher is always telling us that when the girls get lazy on their releves). If you just started, keep at it, it does get easier! I promise! No one is judging you, seriously. A pretty leotard and skirt go a long way to improving your posture, or maybe its just me 🙂
