Four Classes, Four Teachers…

So this week I stepped up my Ballet a bit. And when I say a bit, I mean from 2.5hrs to 5.5hrs!

Normally I take two 75 minute classes each week (Mondays and Wednesdays at ARB) but this week I decided to also head into New York on Saturday to take a couple of classes at the Joffrey Ballet School.

I’m going to talk about all four classes, and the four teachers I had, and compare them all – I got very different things from each class and if you are deciding between different styles of classes hopefully this might help!

Class 1 – Ballet 101 at ARB School with Mr. Douglas Martin

Okay, so first up was my regular class at ARB with Mr. Martin on Monday. Mr. Martin’s mantra is that putting people in the deep end is the best way to learn how to swim. I personally like this approach when it comes to learning Ballet – it means that I have never had a boring class with him, and he manages to keep the balance between stretching us and not making us feel uncomfortably out of our depth.

One interesting teaching tool he used this week was getting us to correct each other while in fifth releve. As he pointed out, if we can recognise what other people were doing wrongly (such as leaning back or not lifting the rib cage) we were more likely to be able to correct ourselves. This was not only an interesting exercise, but later in class, when we had to hold a position, I tried to imagine what I would correct on myself if I was looking as an outsider. So I suppose the technique worked!

One other thing we worked on was the femininity/masculinity of our movements. This l consisted of doing pique arabesques across the diagonals twice, first with “wafting arms” then with “spartan arms” – inherently feminine and masculine moves. The challenge was, for the guys to make the wafting as masculine, and for the girls to make the spartan position as feminine as possible. This reminded me that Ballet is primarily an art form – something that can easily be forgotten in the midst of the technical work.

Class 2 – Ballet 101 at ARB School with Mr. Edward Urwin

So Wednesday’s class was Ballet 101 again at ARB and would usually be taught by Mr. Martin. But this week we had Mr. Urwin instead. Mr. Urwin is a member of the company and teaches the boy’s class that takes place before our class on Mondays and Wednesdays. Usually there is only one boy in his class so I guess it was a bit of a change for him to suddenly have 10-15 adults!

Mr. Urwin concentrated a lot more on the basics than Mr. Martin. This was really great, and made me look at some moves with a new eye. That being said, we also covered some new moves, like assembles. He also concentrated a little more on our arms, and making our centre work more of a ‘performance’. I suppose this is to be expected from a company member – every day for him is working towards a performance.

One really useful image he used was about having your arms in second. He first pointed out the three points of rotation: shouder, elbow and wrist. He then showed how they should be aligned, before finally telling us to think of water flowing down our arm to the end of our fingertips. This last image really helped it click in my head and whenever I thought of it I found I could adjust my arms more easily.

Class 3 – Advanced Beginner at Joffrey School with Ms. Dena Moss

So on Saturday I packed my bag with two sets of ballet clothes (tights, t-shirt and dance belt) and headed into the city on the bus. On the web, the 1:30-3:00 class had been advertised as “Beginner” which was suitable for “anyone who has had some ballet training” – which I guessed (and was told by others in my Ballet 101 class) was the best level for me. However, arriving at the reception it turned out it was actually “Advanced Beginner”. I said to the receptionist I would only take the true “Beginner” class at 4:00-5:30 instead of both as planned. On second take, I asked what level “Advanced Beginner” was. The receptionist replied that it would be the same as “Beginner” and that it was just naming convention at the school. After a little reassurance I decided “what the hell” and signed up for both classes.

The studio was huge – around 3 times the size of the studio at ARB, and the class had at least 3 time the people in it! In walked Ms. Moss (If the name sounds familiar, it may be because Ms. Moss is one of the authors of The Joffrey School’s Ballet Fit book) and we launched straight into class. Without any marking we launched into Plies – with a couple of differences in the exact sequence to what I was used to. Luckily I was sandwiched between two seemingly experienced dancers at the back of the studio.

Soon, Ms. Moss was over to me, and she got me to lift my rib cage and give her my foot. She pointed out that during my tendus I wasn’t pointing my foot enough. She also moved me so I could see the mirror better. This made me realise that I still don’t look in the mirror anywhere near enough to be useful. I still think I am slightly nervous about staring at myself in the mirror (due to my issues with body image etc) but really need to start using this tool more and more. Also, if I look in the mirror and see something looking half-decent it makes me proud and I stand a little taller and walk a little prouder for the rest of class (if not day) which can only be a good thing.

I felt quite a bit out of my depth during Barre work, especially as a some of the combinations she didn’t mark, just said a string of words and off we went! Next up we were on the floor for some stretching and core work. This is something we don’t spend much (if any) time on at ARB, I think partially because our classes are 15 minutes shorter. What I did like was that even though we were doing fairly standard stretches, we still retained musicality while conducting them, making them less like gym work and more like actual dance moves.

We cracked out some stretches, crunches, on floor rond de jambes and some batterie work (wow, they hurt!). Next the girls got to do some gentle stretching while the guys had to drop and give her some push-ups (in time with the music of course). I was a little surprised, but then again I suppose if I ever have to do lifts (which I seriously doubt!) the arm strength will come in useful!

Finally was center work – and I’ve never felt so out of my depth during a Ballet class. So much so, I actually stayed out of a couple of the combinations, observing from the back or side (a couple of others did this too). Following the lesson (there was no Reverence which I found strange) I went to thank Ms. Moss and apologise for misjudging the class level. However, she turned to me and said that I was not completely out of my depth and that I did just fine. I’m not entirely convinced she was telling the truth, but she then carried on by saying that I have amazing feet and arches, I just need to use them more. She also said she would be happy for me to come back to the class whenever I want to.

Class 4 – Beginner Ballet at Joffrey School with Ms. Stephanie Godino

After quickly grabbing a bagel and coffee I headed back  for the second class. I was slightly surprised to see a couple of dancers in the class in pointe shoes but tried not to let it intimidate me and as soon as she entered the room Ms. Godino was full of energy, and had a great rapport with the class which put me at ease.

During the Plies she came over to ask my name and adjust me slightly (the usual need to lift my chest). I was impressed that she remembered my name for the whole of the lesson, often calling it from the other end of the studio when she saw something wrong. She said during the tendus and frappes for me to point my foot more, and when I did she complimented me on my feet and arches (nice to get the compliment, even if she only noticed while correcting me!).

The level of this class was, I felt, much more appropriate for me than the class with Ms. Moss. Sure, I still felt stretched, but I didn’t feel so out of my depth. We worked on some stuff I hadn’t covered before, and also concentrated a lot on head direction which none of the other teachers had mentioned much. I managed all the Barre work and we then knocked out another set of stretching, core work and push-ups before starting center work.

And then, get this, I DID A PIROUETTE! To be fair, it probably wasn’t recognizable to anyone else as a pirouette, but it was something remotely resembling a turn on demi-pointe with my non-standing leg in passe! We had to do both en dedans and en dehors with both legs and although they were nowhere near the standard of most of the class, I felt proud of them. I coped pretty well with the rest of the center work (even getting a compliment for my saute arabesque) but I struggled with the glissade in one combination. I get the move theoretically, but still get confused if I have to do it in a combination. Nevertheless, when thanking Ms. Giodano she complimented me, asked where I was from, and when I would be back!

Conclusion

So all in all, which teacher and class did I prefer? Well, I would have to say all of them! By that, I mean that all the classes complimented each other nicely – some concentrating on basics, others on stretching me; some spending more time on arms, others on the head; some pointing out the technical parts of a move, others the performance aspect of the move. While I think I’ll wait for a few months before heading back to Ms. Moss’ class, I definitely want to head back to Ms. Giodano’s class whenever I’m in New York. I’m also going to start working more on my core strength in between classes (as well as those push-ups for lifts!).

That’s all for now, but feel free to post your thoughts about teaching styles in the comments section!

Until next time, keep on dancing!