About
This blog is going to document my journey into the world of Ballet! As an uncoordinated guy in his twenties I’m not sure how successful my foray into this art form will be, but I’m sure it’ll be fun and I’m going to share everything I learn along the way!
About Me:
I’m a 23 year old graduate student in New Jersey, studying for a PhD in Mathematics. I’m originally from the UK but came over here for Grad School. I was not a particularly sporty child and at 17 weighed a portly 270lbs. Heading to university for my undergraduate degree I gave up chocolate, candy, potato chips (and still haven’t eaten any for over 5 years now) and took up rowing. I competed for my college’s first VIII and heading over to the States took up cycling (due to being unable to compete in Crew at my university). I recently dropped some more weight and am now around 180lbs, pretty much exactly where I want to be.
Even though my research area is Mathematics, I have always appreciated the arts – playing classical guitar and singing chorally for many years now. Although I have had much exposure to music, literature and art, I have never been exposed to Ballet or Dance and this is where this blog comes in.
About This Blog:
So due to a variety of reasons (see my post) I’ve decided to try Ballet. Now I am a complete beginner, have only seen a couple of live Ballets in my life and am fairly uncoordinated. That being said, I am very excited for this and am going to put my absolute all into this experience. Along the way I’ll be documenting my experiences on this blog – so expect tales of lessons, clothing (surely I’m not the only one who finds dance belts a little intimidating?!?) and all things Ballet. Obviously I’m no expert (far from it) so please feel free to correct me or give me advice through comments on posts – I’m here to learn, after all!
I also want to say a huge thank you to David Hunter from Ballet For Men who has not only helped me with lots of questions so far, but also helped me set up this blog and hosted it for me. He is a truly awesome guy, and has a great site that is useful not only for guys but anyone interested in Ballet – check it out! (And I was under no obligation to say how awesome he is, it’s just fact!)
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
One step at a time…..literally! Be patient with yourself–and most important–enjoy!
Good luck. The journey into ballet is really awesome, the dance belt isn’t as bad as it seems ad trust me is so handy in class full of girls!
Just keep your head about you, there’ll be times of so much frustration because you’re a ‘latecomer’ but push through that and it’ll all work out!
Adding you to my blogroll!
You go for it! Keep challenging yourself, and you will find you are able to do more than you’d ever thought you could!
And thank you for sharing your experiences with your readers, this way, we can also learn and get inspired by them!
Let me know if I can help you in any way! H
Hiya David!
Just out of curiosity, what type of Maths is your research on? Hadn’t realised you were a mathmo too! – Maths +Ballet my kind of thing
L.
Hi L!
Yeah, Maths + Ballet is kind of an awesome combination! I’m just finishing my Masters and specialized mainly in Combinatorics but for my PhD it looks like I’m going to go into either Experimental Maths (the use of computers in combinatorics research) or Mathematical Foundations of Computation (studying how computers do maths, and how to improve them doing maths). Where do your mathematical interests lie?
David
I too am excited to find a fellow math and ballet combiner. I did things sort of the opposite order. I grew up as a ballet student starting in preschool and dancing all the way through high school. Now I am an undergrad doing my degree in applied mathematics, and I love math! I hardly dance at all now, just cant seem to find the time. I take open classes here and there when I can, but outside of large cities it seems to be quite difficult to find adult classes. But I feel like all my years of ballet help me in my life as a math student now! Like being able to pick up combinations quickly and remember choreography just helps me with memorization in general.
Found your blog through the top dance blogs contest and have really enjoyed what I’ve read so far and look forward to reading more.
good luck with your ballet and also grad studies! (I took my first combinatorics class this past semester)
Fascinating to find your website! I’ve been dancing since I was a kid, and am still dancing now. Did pursue a B.S. in Mathematics before switching to Economics and Finance through graduate school (I sold out … that was before the Tech bubble). Through it all, I’ve been completely into the arts and literature. Hard to find people who are all over the place like I am.
Anyway, feel free to visit my new-ish blog. I have some ballet-related photography in it (my new passion).
http://thefoolishaesthete.blogspot.com
Just came across your blog… what fun! I have a B.S. and M.S. degree in Engineering, did graduate research in laser physics, and love math. I believe ballet dancers have a natural aptitude for math, computer science, languages and music – it could be because these disciplines require that certain centres in the brain be well-developed, or it could be that engaging in these disciplines develops those areas in the brain. Ballet dancers usually have strong spatial-temporal reasoning skills, recognize patterns very quickly, and are very logical in their thinking. I think that adult beginners who are scientists, engineers, mathematicians or linguists have an advantage over other beginners in terms of the speed at which they can pick up ballet combinations (and reverse them!), and their understanding of the differences in pathways, body directions, levels, musical rhythms, and the ways in which jumps and turns are categorized. I look forward to reading more about your adventures in ballet, and hope you will explore my blog.
Hi Dave, new reader here!
It’s really nice to have a fresh and new blog from the perspective of a male dancer. I hope to follow you on your ballet journey.
I just found this blog and will definitely keep reading! I love following a fellow dancer’s story.
Your blog is inspiring!
I’m a male student at uni too and wanted to take up ballet earlier this year but due to classes being full I’ve opted to try contemporary dance for this term; am enjoying it a lot but I still find that my interest in ballet just continues growing so most likely will sign up for a ballet class earlier for the next term.
Dave,
Your story is unique to say the least, but kudos on stepping up to the barre.
I’m an American student doing a project on adult beginners, and I’m in desperate search of males who decided to take up ballet. I would need to ask you a few questions, maybe by e-mail or Skype. I’m hoping that you’ll respond.
Best,
Dana