My first year of ballet

With the approach of my first anniversary of taking regular ballet classes, I find myself reflecting on my training over the previous year. One thing I’m very happy about is my consistency with dance over the last year. I haven’t missed a single week of class! In a way, consistency is easy, because my dance class is probably one of the best moments of my week! But then, there are always competing priorities for adult dancers. There are always so many important things to do! I feel the “sticktuitism” I have shown over the last year is a bit of an accomplishment. It says a lot about my interest level and my passion for ballet. In the spirit of celebration, I would like to share some of the ways I’ve grown and some hopes for the coming year.

1. Posture

It seems to me that my posture has improved considerably. When I started taking classes, I remember noticing anterior pelvic tilt. This is a type of posture where you sort of tilt your pelvis forward, leading to the appearance of your butt sticking out and a protruding belly. I’ve had to make a lot of effort to improve this, and I think I am seeing results. I’ve also come to somewhat better understand how posture works as a foundation for general ballet movement, enabling dancers to execute some of these impressive amazing technical skills.

I am sure that this improvement in my posture will really help, and it is already helping my dancing. Posture is about more than just grace. It seems to be a basic technical necessity in ballet. Since I have been dancing in many different styles for a long time, I have always appreciated the importance of posture in dance, but with regular ballet classes, correct dance posture is increasingly becoming habitual to me.

2. Turnout

Another area of improvement is my turnout. This ballet principle dictates that feet, knees and thighs must be externally rotated from your body. It is an essential aspect of the ballet aesthetic. I’m sure my turnout has improved over the last year. How do I know this?

One day before class recently, I looked down at my feet and noticed I was standing in first position. I thought to myself- well maybe I’m forcing something. Then I remember lifting my eyes to my knees and being surprised to see they were pointed in the same direction as my feet. At that point, I thought – wow my turnout is improving -and actually improving from the hip joint, rather than from my feet! I believe that one factor helping with this is my growing understanding of turnout itself. I have come to understand that it is more about actively engaging muscles. Turnout is not just a physical ability that you are either born with or acquire with time, but it’s a process of working your muscles in various ways. The muscles you engage vary according to the position you are standing in.

3. Strength

I am pretty sure I’m stronger now than when I started dancing a year ago. This is an easy one to miss because I often feel as though I am struggling during class. I have to remind myself that growth is incremental. Even though I still feel shaky, the things that challenge me are somewhat more difficult than those of a year ago. For example, I’m coping better with relevé coupe, but I still find relevé attitude extremely difficult,

4. Knowledge

I have seen improvement in my general knowledge and understanding of ballet. I am starting to understand ballet lines, the expected symmetry and the muscles one has to work to achieve those lines. I am also getting a clearer picture of the effort ballet requires. I must say that effort is usually more than I expect, more effort in every area- more strength, more stamina, more awareness. Every time I go to class, I realize that I have to challenge myself more than I expected, in all kinds of new ways.

5. Confidence

The final thing I would mention as an area of growth is my confidence. I feel my confidence has increased over the last year and this is reflected in the fact that I have started a YouTube channel! It’s something that I’ve been thinking about doing for some time but just didn’t. Now that I have finally taken the leap, I have discovered a world I didn’t even realize existed. The whole adult ballet dance community online has truly been wonderful. I have found so many other adults like myself, learning and just enjoying ballet. This has helped me to find my place as an adult ballet dancer.

Looking Ahead

You may have noticed that I don’t mention any particular moves or skills. I’m still trying to assess whether I am seeing this kind of improvement. My ability changes from day to day and the progress does not seem to be linear. We will see what happens in the year ahead.

In my next year of training, I would like to see improvement in my balance, especially when on demi-pointe on one leg. I would also love to see better extensions, both in terms of my flexibility and my strength to lift my leg higher. This year, I strained my hamstring while working on my flexibility. so I would like to continue flexibility training once my hamstring heals. Most importantly though, I would love to be just as consistent as I am now and just as excited with the same love for ballet that I feel now, or maybe even more as time goes on!

I hope this post may help give you a sense of some ways you might see improvement over your first year if you are starting out. Of course, everybody is different and you might not see the same things I’ve seen. Please share some of the same experiences if you are at the end of your first year. I would love to know what your experience has been like and how you have grown!