March 11, 2014

Taking Class in a New Ballet Studio

I’ve only taken ballet classes in a handful of different studios since I started ballet almost two years ago now.

Philly Dance Fitness recently started holding classes in a new studio in Center City Philadelphia. Once the studio was finally overhauled with new floors and wall barres, they started offering a Beginner II ballet class there (and they’ll offer another one in a couple of weeks).

I was super excited for my first class there, especially I wasn’t able to make it to the previous night’s ballet class because of work.  The new studio is also super close to where I live and I can walk to class in about 20 minutes.

Even though I was excited, I was still a little nervous. While not as nerve-wracking as attending a class at a new studio with a new instructor and new ballerinas, I was still nervous as to what the new studio would be like. When I first got there, I went to the wrong place (PDF classes are upstairs while there’s a store front downstairs). Luckily,  I was quickly directed to the right place.

I was a little bit late, so I had to quickly throw on my legwarmers and slippers, which helped to distract me from my nerves a little bit.

It was a little weird working off a wall barre (at the other studio, we have portable barres), especially since they were a bit higher than I was used to. A corner of the room was blocked off for storage, which made organizing ourselves in the room a little difficult. Other than that, things went relatively smoothly. I’m excited to keep taking classes there, as well as test out the beginner class on Mondays.

Here’s some photos from our first class:

Post by Philly Dance Fitness.
Filed Under: Ballet, Ballet Class, Info Tagged With: , , Leave a Comment
June 19, 2013

From Campus Philly: My Love Note to Major Moment Studio

While I’ve been busy messing around with the layout and other tweaks with the new site, I wanted to take the time and share this post I wrote for my internship a few weeks ago dedicated to my ballet studio.

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phillydance

Dear Major Moment Studio,

I first approached you nervous with palms sweaty, unsure of exactly what an “adult ballet” class would entail. I pulled open your door and stuttered as I introduced myself to the ballet teacher with the vibrant red hair, curled into pigtail buns. I wanted to run away—who does ballet as an adult beginner anyway? But I stayed.

And I fell in love.

The studio is on the smaller side, located on west South Street, lumped between an apartment building and Magpie. The studio’s smooth hardwood floors and gigantic mirrors make up for its size.

Everyone who attends the classes is warm and welcoming—no one is going to scoff or laugh at you when you can’t get the hang of a move. We’ve all been there before.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s your first ballet class or your 2000th, everyone is welcome at Major Moment—male, female, 18 or 65. The students remind me that you’re never too old to start taking ballet. Every week, I get excited by the new students who walk in. Sometimes they’ve never taken a ballet class before; other times they’re returning after years of being out of a dance studio.

I just barely fit in the latter category: I took classes from ages 4-6. Then I participated in a slew of different sports: baseball, soccer, gymnastics, swimming, cheerleading. Who would’ve thought I’d return to ballet at age 20?

Major Moment’s owner and resident ballet instructor, Beverly, is charming—she may occasionally mix up her own two feet—but she always takes the time to make sure all her students don’t get left behind during an exercise. Beverly preaches that she doesn’t teach “baby ballet.” She knows adult beginners are capable of more than that. She pushes you to work harder, if you need it–but her corrections are always kind and gentle. She wants you to get better. This isn’t just a dance fitness class. As a student here, you learn real ballet.

Beverly teaches three levels of ballet classes (Absolute Beginner, Beginner II, and Advanced Beginner) that are offered through Philly Dance Fitness. She also never cancels unless it’s Christmas, New Year’s Day or Memorial Day.

Her motto is “No challenge, no change.” She doesn’t mind it when I show up to the Advanced Beginner classes, although I’m not quite up to that level yet. I go to challenge myself.

Major Moment Studio, I never thought I’d be able call myself a ballerina, but thanks to you I feel like I can.  Philadelphia has a great, burgeoning art scene–I’m grateful that I can be a part of it.

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You can check out the original post over on Campus Philly and check out Philly Love Notes for more awesome spots in Philly as well.

 

Filed Under: Ballet, Blog, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , 2 Comments
September 19, 2012

About The Adult Ballerina Project

Welcome to The Adult Ballerina Project. My name is Kristen Gillette, and I took ballet classes as a child for roughly 3 years. For ages, I debated getting involved in any one of the numerous ballet classes offered in Philadelphia, but I was too nervous to actually go through with it. In April of 2012 with a little encouragement, I finally faced my fears, bought my first pair of ballet slipper since age 5 and began taking classes at Philly Dance Fitness. I instantly fell in love, although I was never any good at it.

Starting ballet classes as an adult is terrifying. My goal with this site is to help those who are looking to start ballet as an adult gain the confidence to do so, as well as give some tips to get the most out of taking adult ballet classes. With this will come videos, advice from instructors, profiles on fellow beginner and adult ballerinas (including you, if you want!) and photos showing the hard work adult beginners are doing.

Check out my blog with my own personal experiences at Awkward at the Barre.

If you have any questions or would like to contribute to the site, feel free to shoot me an e-mail at adultballerinaproject@gmail.com or leave a response below.

Filed Under: Ballet Tagged With: , , , , , , , 4 Comments