Ballet is a cruel mistress who won't let you go ...
I do joke to people talking about taking up ballet, that they have to be prepared to disappear down the rabbit hole... and may never resurface to their previous life.
I say joke but I regularly make 80+ mile round trips to take my normal classes Lady Bay Ballet, Hype Dance because of diary / teacher / level factors and feel little concern at doing a 200+ mile round trip to get class with other favoured favoured teachers and/or big names - a big shout to Karen Sant, Kevin Edward Turner, or David Kierce(DPK) there (and don't blush at those comparisons Karen you are a fabulous teacher and KNT is a fabulous organisation).
People think that people are being daft when they talk of 'ballet family' in relation to to the adult ballet community, but the reality is there are families of choice in dance , at all levels... even the most strait laced ballet class requires you to share yourself and your vulnerabilities with the others in the studio.
Two big parts of my 'Ballet family' which do have quite a considerable overlap are the community of dancers around The Ballet Retreat and the community that is forming with Powerhouse Ballet - time for declarations of potential bias here - I am a very happy paying customer of TBR . I am part of the management committee of Powerhouse.
with all this joyous talk , why is ballet a cruel mistress ?
She is a cruel mistress because you are never good enough... but it is a case that you are never good enough for yourself... one thing i've found among dancers both contemporary and ballet is that regardless of age / ability and 'dancing age' (i.e. how long you have been dancing) that people are always pushing to develop their skills... Often we (dancers ) are our own worst enemies, and that doesn't matter if you are 9, 19, 49 , or 89 years old ... in that we are never happy, you get your pirouette, you want a double, then you want it en pointe ... you manage a fouette and you want 32...
Even when you get a hearty dose of Aussie ballet master straight talking from Fiona Noonan or DPK...
comparison and perfection are the two biggest thieves of Joy ... yet as a dancer what do we spend far too long engaged in ... comparing ourselves to others - whether our peers or to the big names and seeking perfection rather than good enough ...
I say joke but I regularly make 80+ mile round trips to take my normal classes Lady Bay Ballet, Hype Dance because of diary / teacher / level factors and feel little concern at doing a 200+ mile round trip to get class with other favoured favoured teachers and/or big names - a big shout to Karen Sant, Kevin Edward Turner, or David Kierce(DPK) there (and don't blush at those comparisons Karen you are a fabulous teacher and KNT is a fabulous organisation).
People think that people are being daft when they talk of 'ballet family' in relation to to the adult ballet community, but the reality is there are families of choice in dance , at all levels... even the most strait laced ballet class requires you to share yourself and your vulnerabilities with the others in the studio.
Two big parts of my 'Ballet family' which do have quite a considerable overlap are the community of dancers around The Ballet Retreat and the community that is forming with Powerhouse Ballet - time for declarations of potential bias here - I am a very happy paying customer of TBR . I am part of the management committee of Powerhouse.
with all this joyous talk , why is ballet a cruel mistress ?
She is a cruel mistress because you are never good enough... but it is a case that you are never good enough for yourself... one thing i've found among dancers both contemporary and ballet is that regardless of age / ability and 'dancing age' (i.e. how long you have been dancing) that people are always pushing to develop their skills... Often we (dancers ) are our own worst enemies, and that doesn't matter if you are 9, 19, 49 , or 89 years old ... in that we are never happy, you get your pirouette, you want a double, then you want it en pointe ... you manage a fouette and you want 32...
Even when you get a hearty dose of Aussie ballet master straight talking from Fiona Noonan or DPK...
comparison and perfection are the two biggest thieves of Joy ... yet as a dancer what do we spend far too long engaged in ... comparing ourselves to others - whether our peers or to the big names and seeking perfection rather than good enough ...
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