Category: Adult ballet

A Sit Down with Lynne Charles

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If you have not heard the name Lynne Charles before, ballet friends, you’re welcome. She will change your pointe work forever. She is an American who has spent most of her adult life living and working in Europe.

Former principal dancer with John Neumeier and the Hamburg Ballet, Béjart Ballet Lausanne, and principal permanent guest artist with English National Ballet, as well as professor of classical ballet, Lynne has made it her mission postretirement to push the evolution of pointe work in a holistic and safe way. It was so exciting to have the opportunity to sit down with my amazing teacher and pick her brain. 

How was 4 Pointe conceived?

As a dancer, pointe work or articulation in the legs and feet was my specialty. I was well known for being an extremely articulate dancer, which I learned from my teacher Robert Scevers, who has since passed away. The first year I moved to Europe, I would go to his home every night and hang on his stove and do barre with him. He retrained me. He promised me that if I listened to him and did everything he said, I would become a very articulate, wonderful dancer like Elizabeth Carol, a ballerina with Harkness Ballet who we both were big fans of. I trusted him. He also said, “It will make you have a long career,” which was true because I danced until I was 53. I didn’t have injuries or problems like most dancers have. 

When I retired and started teaching and coaching, I started noticing that dancers today are being required to do, ever since Billy Forysyth, such incredibly difficult pointe work—so much turned in and over the foot and back on the foot and just much more than is required in a simple classical ballet. I thought there must be a way to add something to the pointe class to make sure that in doing this, dancers can do it well but don’t get injured. 

I was a Professor at the Folkwang University in Essen and worked with contemporary dance students for five years. I learned a lot about the contemporary side of dance. This opened my mind to more possibilities. The only way dancing will survive is if everything evolves and changes. One does not want to ever lose in classical ballet the classical, pedagogical background or the essence, but over the last twenty years classical ballet has changed and evolved through pilates, Gyrotonic exercise, and sports medicine. I pride myself on being a teacher who’s very open minded and also looking to evolve my class. 

This all led me to wanting to do 4 Pointe. I had also watched a lot of things on YouTube and discovered there has been no evolution in pointe training. Pointe training has basically stayed the same as it was 50 years ago. I decided to use aspects of everything I’ve learned and work with dancers to discover and develop how to make pointe training better. 

I always say that right now, in the phase where my 4 Pointe is, it is never meant to replace a pointe class where you do piqués and all the classical pointe stuff. It is meant to be an addition. Within a year, I hope to have developed it so that it is a whole class. That being said, if you do my whole 4 Pointe barre, you have worked your whole body. 

What are some of the most important elements for an adult dancer preparing for pointe?

The correct shoes. If an adult beginner does not have a good pair of pointe shoes, it’s miserable. They will get blisters, have sore feet, it’s going to be an uncomfortable experience. Do some research. You may want to wear the same shoes as your favourite ballerina, but maybe those shoes are not good for you. You have to invest time and find out what kind of shoes there are. Try on 4 or 5 different shoes. Invest and try 2 different kinds, alternating until you see which works better. Your first time on pointe is an experience and you want it to be a good one, so you need to have good shoes. Pick a teacher that is interested in your well-being, not interested in making a buck. Otherwise you become one of the crowd. 

What advice would you give to adult students going on pointe for the first time?

I think in the beginning it is painful in the knees, hips, and lower back. This is normal. I would advise strengthening their feet with a TheraBand. Do some relevés at the stove when cooking to strengthen the ankles. I think if they are interested in doing it, more power to them. 

I have great respect for adult beginners. For someone at 40, starting ballet puts tremendous strain on the body. It’s a tremendous investment of your time and your energy. I think that sometimes adult beginners are not treated with enough respect for who they are and what they have achieved in their life. Some are double, triple mothers, have had a full-time job, and take care of families. It’s a whole different kind of person. It’s not a 12-year-old, it’s a mature adult. I think sometimes they are not taken seriously enough. 

If you can teach an adult beginner and a child, then you can teach anybody. The easiest thing to teach is a very talented dancer. Half your work is done. If you can get something out of an adult, that is a real challenge to your teaching qualities. 

Any final thoughts for the adult ballet world?

Don’t let anybody demotivate you. If you have two kids, three kids, a husband, a house, and a job and you still want to do ballet, oh my God, more power to you. And even if you don’t have any of those things and you want to go to ballet and you’re not 18, you’re 35, 40, 50, whatever—if it makes you happy, ballet is a wonderful thing to do and it’s a way to get in tune with yourself. I think anything you do that makes you happy, you should just do it. And ballet is not just wonderful for the body, it’s a wonderful art form. Don’t give up, don’t let people discourage you or make fun of you, just go for it. 

Thank you so much Lynne for sharing with us. I leave you all with Lynne’s mantra….

“4 Pointe is meant to be a somatic and mindful method of training dancers on pointe. I believe a dancer’s body is their tool and it must be cultivated with wisdom and respect, kept in good health, well fed as well as artistically nourished. This is the challenge of our generation. Therefore as leaders we must learn enhanced ways of transmitting valid and timeless information as well as further developing how classical training methods can be updated without losing the sense of what art is and why we do it.”

Find Lynne on Youtube….

On her Instagram…

https://www.instagram.com/4pointe/

And meet Lynne in person at our upcoming Adult Ballet Weekend Intensive on June 13th. Details here…..

Workshops, Master Classes & Intensives

Until our next plié ❤

A Sit Down with Marie Walton-Mahon Part One

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“PBT is about the feeling before the form”

In the last decade the adult ballet world has grown exponentially. Adult dancers are wanting more than a class where they are sandwiched between two perfectly molded teenage dancers in their community’s weekly class. It is a global phenomenon where we have created our own place in the ballet world, and rightfully so. We can dance beautifully, build strength and flexibility, and, with the right encouragement and teacher, meet our own personal dance goals.

PBT is the perfect way to safely meet these goals. What is Progressing Ballet Technique or PBT? It is a gift from Australia to every dancer, young or old. According to PBT’s website, Progressing Ballet Technique “is an innovative body-conditioning and strengthening program that has been designed to enhance students’ technique by focussing on training the muscle memory required in each exercise in all forms of dance. It is a unique training system using ballet-technique specific exercises to train skill acquisition in a graded and progressive manner from junior through to advanced levels. PBT helps teachers around the world prepare their students to receive the strength they need to achieve their personal best.”

Founded by Marie Walton-Mahon, PBT is the ingredient missing in every dancer’s regimen. She has been changing the dance world at as rapid a pace as the pandemic and the pandemic has pushed her to expand her latest program in the PBT repertoire-Progressing Ballet Technique for adults.

Her decades of experience, both dancing and teaching professionally, have led her to create a program taught in the best schools and practiced by professionals. It was such an honor to sit down and chat with her and be able to share with you, the reader. Our lovely hour plus interview was intended to result in a single post but has now evolved into a two part series. There was just too much valuable information not to share.

PBT has a new program for adult ballet students.  Thank you for thinking of us. What inspired you to create these courses just for adults?

The inspiration came really from the need and request from so many adults and I know there’s a whole resurgence out there for this love of movement, love of music. At first I kept telling them to just follow my Junior Program and work through the Junior Program and when they feel strong enough, move into the Senior Program. I had so many adults saying, “that’s great but I feel intimidated watching the children and I would like my own.” It came from requests and fair enough, adult students deserve their own program.

If they are going to take their training serious, students need to know the how and why before the movement. It’s a little bit like peeling apart an onion and then putting the layers together. PBT is about the feeling before the form. The ethos underneath it is that if they don’t understand where the movement comes from how can they stand up and do it. They are intrigued by it so why not give them all the information. They’ve got plenty of freedom to ask questions as my daughter and I are the ones answering questions every day.

How can PBT help adult ballet students as they begin or continue their journey?    

First of all if they have danced before they have to retrain and align things. If they have danced when they were young and had a big break, they’ve got an idea of their body but those muscles need to be tweaked again. The alignment needs to be there. It’s not about how high, but how the alignment is for the pelvis to sit right instead of just throwing things. And they can go into it just too fast. This prepares the mind and body to then train safely. It’s all about safety. Adults deserve this and should be treated seriously but it has to be safe or it’s not worth doing at all. It’s the feeling before the form. It works best if they have a PBT class and the elements of that PBT class molds into the ballet class to follow.

Where did the idea originate to use a fit ball in ballet class?

I have taught with a fit ball in the room forever-since they came on the market. Tweaking that alignment is so important. Because the ball is moving constantly, it gives the student that instant feedback. It resonates quite quickly. In ballet class if something is amiss, I’ll just bring the fit ball and put that same déveoloppé or grand battement onto the fit ball to feel it then stand up and repeat it. I am constantly referring back to it.

I have always been interested in trying to keep myself to be able to demonstrate enough, I started to work on a Reformer and did some Pilates. And that’s expensive. I love the feeling of it – the taking the weight out of it and using the Reformer. That feeling is wonderful, but how many of those students can afford those sessions? The cross training is so necessary, but ballet is expensive and they’ve got the shoes and everything else. How many can afford that? So I thought I’ll get a fit ball and just trial some of those things with a fit ball because they are cheap.

I bought fit balls for a ten-year-old class. I started to substitute a class every couple of weeks and we just called it BB Day, Ballet Ball Day. The parents viewed the class at the end of the term and commented how much the children loved it and were practicing at home. They said that instead of substituting a class, they would like to have a special class. And they improved drastically. It was absolutely amazing. It went from there and I kept creating more.

And so PBT began its inception and evolution. It is truly amazing how one creative teacher’s need to help her young students has evolved into one of the most in demand teaching programs in the dance world and beyond. This kind and generous woman is making the dance world a safer place one fit ball at a time. Stay tuned for my next post as we dive deeper into Marie’s personal advice for you, the adult dancer, on your journey.

Until our next plié ❤

A Sit Down with Madame Olga

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“Adult students should be taken as seriously as anyone”

Most Saturdays post Corona have become a new routine consisting of two cups of tea before the day starts followed by one of many amazing virtual ballet classes with the best the ballet world can offer. I have taken every chance to train with the best. Most days I find it hard to decide. Do I want a taste of ABT? A taste of Balanchine? The decision is daunting. That is until my first plié with Madame Olga. She had me at “one,” her hilarious shrill and signal that class had begun, and has had me ever since.

Amid her tough love approach to teaching, lies a kind and sensitive lady that just wants her students to believe in themselves and be the best they can be. In one breath she will say you are lazy and in the next she has you repeating a positive affirmation. Anything from “I am free to I choose freedom to I create my own reality,” she somehow knows just what her students need to hear on that particular day. Her hysterical comparison of an American’s turn out to a Russian’s will have you crying with laughter mid barre. Some days she will sing you a song at the end of class and if you don’t already know, Madame Olga is a triple threat.

But who is Madame Olga? She is the alter ego of Michael Cusumano, native New Yorker and former dancer with American Ballet Theatre. His professional life has extended beyond ballet including spending six years on Broadway in the musical Chicago as well as teaching. He teaches both as himself and Madame Olga all over New York. In his own words, “Madame Olga has been inside Michael since he was a kid. She was just always there.” The following is our recent sit down with his alter ego.

What is the secret to success for all ballet students?

The secret to success is you have to be resilient and never give up. You have to really love what you do or you can’t sustain the career.

What do you expect from your students?

I expect my students to stay open to different ways of learning, be kind in the world, and absorb as much as they can from all of their teachers. 

How do your students in America compare to your students in Russia?

My students in America and Russia are honestly very similar. I believe we connect on an energetic level and it just becomes an exchange of knowledge and love.

How do you encourage those that may never dance the role of Odette or Siegfried with a major company?

Most of us won’t dance the lead in Swan Lake and that’s okay. But you can dream as big as you want and dance it in your own world and that is just as beautiful. 

What advice would you give to an adult beginning ballet for the first time-someone that is maybe afraid of taking the first steps to join a class?

My advice is it’s normal to be afraid and have fear, but you have to do it. You literally have to just make yourself do it. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain in your life.

Should adult ballet students be taken as seriously as any other ballet student?

Yes adult students should be taken as seriously as anyone. The reason is because ballet is bigger than just dancing. It’s creativity and connection that shapes and enhances your life in a beautiful way in general. That is what makes a difference.

Thank you Madame Olga. Your kindness has inspired many of us during these challenging times. You have brought me back to my first love and given me hope when some days it feels there is little. I know I can speak on behalf of all your students when I channel you and utter your own words, “we love you.” We all look forward to your documentary and meeting you in person on November 15th.

Don’t miss our Adult Ballet Master Class with Madame Olga live via Zoom three weeks from today. Booking and info….

https://balletgothenburg.com/adult-ballet-master-classes/

Until Our Next Plié ❤

See the making of Madame Olga in the award winning PBS Short Doc When I’m Her.….

A Sit Down with Josephine Lee

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Photo Jazley Faith

“Pointe work in ballet needs to be a more holistic approach“

Amid a state of emergency in California, I had the chance to sit down and chat with pointe shoe guru, Josephine Lee from the Pointe Shop. She was forced to stay inside due to the raging wildfires and poor air quality that is plaguing her home state.

Josephine was born in South Korea and grew up in southern California. She danced for years as a child and then went off to college to study communication before returning to the dance world.

Who is the lady behind The Pointe Shop?

My mom was a pointe shoe fitter so not only did I dance as a child, but learned fitting from my mom. I started fitting when I was 14. After college, I opened a brick and mortar dance shop called The Dancer’s Choice. In 2014, I opened The Pointe Shop, my mobile shop.

What has your experience been fitting adult ballet students compared to younger students?

I love fitting adult ballet students. They are my favorite! They are so passionate. Their feet are as diverse as the children we fit. Adult students’ bodies are stronger, more set, and physically more stable than children getting fitted. While their feet are harder to mold, they can be molded and reshaped.

Are you seeing an increase in adult ballet students getting fitted?

Yes, definitely in the last 10 years. It has even become more acceptable in my native Korea where it used to be that dance was only for those training to be professionals. Recreational dance was such a revolutionary idea.

Are there any circumstances other than obvious injury, that you would not recommend or put an adult dancer in pointe shoes?

Yes, definitely. For example, those that come with injuries that they maybe did not even know they had. I trust a teacher’s discretion when it comes to pointe readiness, but they might need a physician referral from me instead of a pair of pointe shoes. It is definitely safer to fit an adult because they are stronger and more stable.

What are some tips you would give an adult student that is about to fitted for the very first time?

They need to be technically sound-taking at least 3-4 classes per week. The time period to achieve pointe for adults is a lot shorter than children, but they still have to be technically strong first. They also need to be stronger in other areas. Pointe is not just about the strength of the ankles and feet. They also have to have a strong core, back, arms. Just taking ballet class is not enough.

Any words of encouragement for those intimidated by the fitting process? Those fearful of not being taken seriously?

I see this all the time-adults that come in poorly fitted because the time was not taken to get a proper fitting. My advice is be vocal. Speak up when something does not feel right. Do a lot of research before going in to get fitted. Take your time.

Anything you would like to add?

Pointe work in ballet needs to be a more holistic approach. It is important to rest, sleep, eat well, and give time for recovery when needed. Everything accumulates, injuries don’t happen over night. Most injuries build up over time. Treat your body with more maintenance in mind rather than going through the motions.

Thank you so much Josephine for taking the time to chat and give the adult dance world the time and insight needed. We hope you and your loved ones stay safe from the fires.

Until our next plié ❤

Dancing Amid a Pandemic

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“We are in this together and will get through this together”

As the numbers of Corona Virus continue to rise while many of us slowly return to class, I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts on getting through this together.  I am not just an adult ballet teacher/dancer, I am also a Registered Nurse.  While I no longer work in bedside nursing, the Nightingale Pledge I took to promote public health and safety as a new nurse almost twenty years ago sits in every fiber of my being to this day.  The well being of my ballet students for me goes far beyond dancing safely and mindfully, but that they are mentally well too.  I try to teach and live by example, so what I teach them I try to teach to myself as well.  So how can we as dancers stay safe, happy, and healthy amid this pandemic?  Here are just a few thoughts.

Wash Your Hands

It sounds like common sense right, but did you know that, Corona aside, over a million lives could be saved worldwide each year with proper hand washing?  Nurse Florence Nightingale changed the course of history during the Crimean War when she saved thousands of lives by teaching hand washing-yet to this day, people are still dying because this basic skill is neglected.  That’s how important hand washing is.  It is key to the prevention of the spread of disease.

Wear a Mask

Wearing a mask is a proven way to safely lower the spread of Corona Virus.  Bloch has the best breathable masks I and many of my students have been using since we started meeting for in person classes.  Take regular mask breaks during class meaning when you grab a sip of water, find an open window where you can safely lower your mask to get fresh air.

Stay Home if You Are Sick

Stay home at the first sign of illness.  This is a sign your body needs rest.  If you are well enough, join a class online or warm yourselves up and stretch instead.  Whether it’s a headache, mildly sore throat, or just general sense of malaise, stay home.  I know how hard it is to want to get out of the house at every opportunity, but stay home and let your body rest.

Add a Few Things to Your Dance Bag

For those going back to the studio, protect yourselves and others.  Bring a towel to class if you will be stretching on the floor.  Keep your bag stocked with hand gel.  Hand gel before and after barre work.  Don’t forget your mask.  Keep a bag to place your soiled, reusable face masks in when you remove them.

Nourish Your Immune System

There are several things we know about the immune system-how it functions, what happens when it is dampened, and how to optimize it.  Exercise.  Get plenty of sleep.  Eat nourishing foods including plenty of fruits and vegetables.  Breathe and relax.  Start your day with a few moments of deep breathing while lying in bed or sitting on the side of your bed.  A deep breath lowers and stabilizes blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol levels (stress hormones).  Plan something weekly that relaxes you.

Take Care of Yourselves

I have read many posts in dance groups that so many of you have a hard time with online classes and dancing from home.  It makes me so sad that many have stopped dancing all together.  If you have put dancing on hold since the pandemic, try to find a way to move and breathe whether walking regularly or testing yoga, Pilates, or Progressing Ballet Technique.  Learning to adapt and change with the new world we live in is so challenging, but so important for mental well being.  Walk along the water with a friend or meet friends or family outside to fill your human need for nearness.  Take care of yourselves.

Nourish Your Ballet Soul

Teaching and taking classes during the pandemic have saved me these past many months.  My husband laughs because every free moment I have, I am filling with my favorite ballets, workshops for continuing education, and taking online classes with my favorite teachers.  In no other time in history have we dancers had the opportunity that the internet has given us during Corona times.  On any given day, you can take class with the greatest dancers on the planet.  A side note, while there are lots of amazing free classes online, please donate to the teachers if possible.  So many professionals are out of work and are struggling to make ends meet.

Time will only tell when life as we knew it will be back.  Instead, try to shape a new normal for yourselves.  Think positive and stay positive.  Remember, you are not alone.  Think of your ballet tribe around the world.  We are in this together and will get through this together ❤

Until our next Plié ❤