BALLET CLASS ETIQUETTE - Everything you Need to Know as an Adult Ballet Dancer | natalie danza
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 มิ.ย. 2024
- ADULT BALLET CLASS - everything you need to know to have an enjoyable and productive class!
There are some often unspoken 'rules' in ballet class which can be a bit confusing for new people so I wanted to make a video going through lots of them, I really hope it helps make things a bit clearer so everyone can enjoy their ballet classes!
Let me know the ones I've missed in the comments!
One other piece of etiquette: If you sweat excessively, please bring a little towel to wipe down the barre between exercises. Sometimes you travel on the barre a bit, and it's really disgusting to put your hand on a sloppy, slippery barre covered in someone's sweat. Also, because everyone is sweating a lot, please be very careful about perfumes/colognes. The heat makes them stronger. Many people have sensitivities and allergies, and I know if someone walks into class with a particular kind of perfume, I will be vomiting and have a migraine before the barre is over. Best to just keep clean and use deodorant, not rely on fragrances. And don't be afraid to ask a more advanced dancer for help if you won't be interrupting the teacher. A lot of us look intimidating, but that's just our "i'm thinking" faces, and most dancers are pretty friendly and willing to help.
Absolutely! Thank you for adding that! :)
Even the people at royal opera ballet follow all these tips! Very respectful and professional. You dont impress anyone by being inconsiderate or sloppy.
True, and for me dancers at the Royal Ballet are the some of the best on the world and also such a lovely group of people! :)
Another thing is curtsying when you’re late and waiting for the instructor to welcome you into the class, and acknowledging/ asking permission from the instructor if you need to leave early or in the middle of class for water, restroom physical reasons ect
Interesting, I have never experienced this in an adult ballet class. It was like that at the conservatoire but all my adult ballet classes have been much more relaxed and I know the teacher would find it weird if I asked to go to the toilet in class haha! Guess it just depends on the school and the teacher :)
Johanna King I totally agree and value this rule when someone is late/rushing in. Growing up, I learned you had to curtsy and wait quietly until the exercise is done, and then get the signal from your teacher to join the class. Never just rush in and jump in midway through plies etc
I had to do that as a kid lol
Man I remember one of my first times at the bare I went right to the back this thinking I'd be safe 😭😂
Haha an easy mistake to make, I'm sure you weren't the first nor the last! :)
My teacher always reminds us, a correction is not just for that person. It was a big enough problem that they had to mention it, so that means other people were doing it too. Whatever the correction, even if it's not aimed at you, still keep the correction in mind. ALWAYS.
Yesss!
This is very true. Also watch when you’re drinking! Stand up straight when listening and while other groups are dancing. Don’t sit. Don’t hold on or lean on the bars.
Thanks for the additions! :)
My teacher told me that the reason we turn towards the barre is to prepare for partner work because the barre is like your partner. Not sure how true that it though haha
I also cant help but do a little ballet curtsy at the end of class while clapping. Maybe it is something I had to do as a child.
Yes I was told the same thing in class weeks ago. The barre also represent a potantial partner.
True! Thanks for sharing :)
@@AriRHen So do I.
waw my teachers told me it's bad luck to turn away haha
One of the worst things is coming to class smelly and in the same clothes you sweated in in the previous classes. So, shower after getting sweaty in a class before going to class the next day.
Very nice video, thank you! 🤗
I had another tip in my mind: if there is a pianist, make sure, you don't stand in front of them (happened once while the group was waiting in line for the diagonale...) they need to see the dancers and also the teacher 😊 (it's soooo lovely to dance to live music ☺️)
So true! Thank you for adding that important point! :)
Im taking my first class in over 7 years and excited but nervous!!! This video came just in time! Thank you ! Your videos are beautiful by the way glad I subscribed! xo
Thank you so much Alexis! Hope your ballet class went well! :)
These are great tips! It's definitely tricky to find a balance between keeping things fun but also still observing the decorum and etiquette of ballet class.
It's a fine balance! Thanks for your comment Jessie :)
Honestly, you will have more fun if you know the “rules”. People won’t think you are rude and you’ll make friends- as well as feel more comfortable. It’s never fun to be the one that people make fun of or see as being a rude rube.
I had one hour a week starting when i was 14 and in 2 years my teacher told me all of these things, especially turning towards the Barre. I love your video, you explain the "rules" really well :)
Thank you so much Milena :)
Very good video! :) I'll try to do the full arms while marking from now on.
Another thing I hate is when we do grand battements and people around you aren't cautious! It's only human to forget the exercise, to be too slow or to just not be in the music. But make sure you're not doing devant when the person in front of you is doing derrière! And vice versa. They don't have eyes in their legs. So either dance it small to avoid bumping into each other or stand croisée if you're totally not in the music! And try to not stand very close.
So true, grand battements can be a nightmare if there are too many people! :)
if you are studying a syllabus and know it well you can help new class members at the barre by standing in front or behind so they can follow you.
So true, thank you Natalie!
This is such good advice! Thank you, and I will be sure to keep this in mind (and re-watch) before class!
Thank you! So glad you found it helpful :)
Theres only 2 of us in my class so im going to in the front or the back no matter what LOL
AMEN, sister!! Loved this video. Not sure if my suggestion is more relative to a company class, or advanced open class, but I think it’s respectful to allow the more advanced company members or advanced dancers to take front during center. (If they want it.) Even in open ballet classes where there are dancers of varying levels- there’s always someone who takes front who ends up not knowing the exercise and gets in the way of everyone. It should go without saying, if you’re not confident of the combination, stay toward the back.
Yes, I agree with you! Thanks so much for your comment! :)
Lovely . . . from a 66 year old creaky dancer. Nice to hear what always seemed natural. Especially the unspoken social agreements as to who goes front, which group, front or back, etc. Quite an experience worthy of an entire book.
I wonder if there is a ballet class etiquette book! You're right that there's enough to fill one! :)
@@NatalieDanzaBallet Go for it!
I'm taking my first class tomorrow and this helped a lot! Thank you♥️
I hope your class went well! ☺️
Thank you. I enjoyed this class!💛
Thank you Natalie! It is very helpful. There is another important subject which is how the more advanced students can empathize a little more with the less advanced. Sometimes they get on our way too!!! and it seems that there is no room enough for them and they can make you feel very uncomfortable
Thank you for raising this point Carolina. I don't have as much experience with this so I would love to hear your thoughts on what more advanced dancers can do in class to make everyone feel they can enjoy the class! :)
@@NatalieDanzaBallet while I was listening to you I remembered some bad moments when you start going to a class where everybody is more advanced because it is your next step and sometimes it is really hard because ballet also has this specific ego or competitive culture that we all have to overcome instead of concentrating on our exercises.
Brilliant video, thank you so much!
I think one tip about while the teacher is marking the combo at the barre is to NOT STRETCH! I know my teacher appreciates the full arms and marked legs, and even in less strict classes, it can be perceived as disrespectful to stretch on the barre. I got kicked out of class for doing that once.
Also, DON'T help other people. I know you might be trying to help, but you never know what modifications they might have talked to the teacher about, and also you're talking during the class. So be careful about that.
I guess it totally depends on the class atmosphere but it's fine to stretch at the barre in the adult classes I go to in Spain. I think the main thing is to be aware of what the class vibe is and if it's a new class, always go on the more reserved side (i.e. mark all the exercises and don't stretch unless instructed). As for helping people, correcting technique etc should be for the teacher but if someone asks me the combo in class I'm not going to ignore them! haha :)
Natalie Danza Ballet absolutely. Brilliant advice! 💛
One thing I did was going in the first group, as I learn by doing something and making mistakes that I can then correct. I had a huge problem with doing a similar mistake that someone in the first group made. I find it helpful to be in the first group so that I can learn from my own mistakes as it is easier for me to correct them rather than making my own mistakes and accidentally making someone else's mistake. It is good to learn from other people's mistakes as well, but I learn by experiencing the exercise first hand.
Even at university, I have to learn by actually doing something with the information in lectures rather than just reading through then notes over and over again.
That fine as long as your mistakes aren't getting in the way of or affecting other students in the class! :)
@@NatalieDanzaBallet
Not at all. I always check in with other students to ensure that they can see and that it's okay for me to be at the front. The front barres always have a bit more room, so that I don't kick anyone during grand battlement.
I'm taking a break from dancing right now to focus on some other hobbies I have and to focus on university. I am thinking of learning how to figure skate at the moment. :)
Wonderful! It's always good to have breaks when you feel you need them. Figure skating sounds like great fun :)
How about this: removing my Ballet Slippers and just wearing socks when the floor gets wet?
I think socks just make it hard for you to walk in the studio, let alone dance. If you have a slippery floor ask your perspective teacher about what you should do. Socks make a slippery floor a hundred times more slippery. However some more confortable shoes would be a dream honestly.I wear demi-pointe and they are a pair given by the devil himself😂.Pointe is much more confortable honestly.
Also if your unsure of the exercise but the teacher has moved lines and you end up in front, make sure you travel even if it’s not the right steps. Its really annoying for the people behind you that know what their doing, if they can’t do the steps because you won’t travel. Or maybe start more forward as you know you that you won’t travel as much, as the people behind you can’t go farther back because theirs a wall.
Very true! thanks Julia! :)
Nothing like a reminder to have that mentality
Thanks Melody :)
Thank you so much for this ❤️
Pleasure! Thanks for watching :)
One thing that my teacher is very specific about is NOT marking turns. If you are marking a combination and there's a turn, you can either put your leg arms into the position as if you're turning, or do the turn full out but do not do the turn lazily while marking because it is a bad habit.
Good one!
Love this and I'm a open class veteran. I was`once in a grand plié and tapped on the shoulder by a late comer who wanted me to scoot down the barre! If looks could kill. I do think the NEWBIES can't help themselves? It's the TEACHER who controls the class. If the teacher can give corrections on posture and technique, why not on etiquette? In this instance, taking the late comer by the hand until the music is finished then indicating, "Now you may join others at the barre". And TALKING. Only the teacher talk unless you have a question. I've been to a class where after they've done their enchainement in the centre, they chat. But they have to talk louder over the music then I couldn't hear the music!
Thank you for sharing your story 🙏🏽
I always tried to be a little more friendly than the average ballet person, by making jokes, etc., in class, but I can tell now, looking back, that I was being very rude, and I feel kinda bad about that!!
I also took a rather advanced class where I didn't belong, and I had to wear a rather loose pair of glasses that kept falling off and getting kicked by the dancer in front of me!!!
She was very good, and never got mad at me, but didn't look at me, either!!
Sometimes, I felt so intimidated that I just held on to my neck and tried to remember the combination!!
Looking back on this, I am embarrassed and can't believe that I put myself and my classmate(s) through this!!!
We all do our best until we know better, then we do better. Forgive yourself lovely ☺️
This is definitely me! I'm in two classes; an adult beginner (week 6) and an open adult ballet. I can follow the barre and about 20% of the choreographies so I do my best to stay out of the way of the pros. I've spoken about this to the entire class including the teacher (a Joffrey Ballet veteran) and they don't mind and in fact, encourage me to never miss a class because they say "it will come". I think that talking to attendees and instructors and telling them where you're at is often overlooked, especially because ballet people are SUPER friendly and several have taken me under their wing and often pull me aside to teach me things. I'm a 38-year-old beginner!
I love ballet
Me too!
Tnx Natalie.
Pleasure! :)
My ballet teacher always tells us not to stagger ourselves! She really likes straight lines haha
Ludkin-Finnie Studios This is a staggered two lines. Done so the back line can see themselves in the mirror.
x x x x x x
x x x x x
Straight lines from the side yes, but straight lines from the front too? So the people behind can't see themselves?
@@NatalieDanzaBallet Yeah, unless there is an uneven number of people, but we can still see ourselves in the mirror
On the theme of spatial awareness; don't get changed and dawdle in front of the area where dancers place bags and coats especially when a dancers are coming in / out of a studio!!! Ugghhhh!
In our ballet school the teacher said it is not done to whistle along with the music. I never did it after that and nobody else does! :-)
Another good tip! :)
That should be common sense. Don't irritate people by whistling along to music constantly.
In Center Practice, going across the floor. Is it OK to go a second time if there is room in the last group?
Good question and I think it really depends on the teacher. My advice would be to not do it unless you’ve asked the teacher if it’s ok ☺️
I'm so new, I don't even know what Marking is. Can someone explain this?
You mentioned one of my pet peeves:
Dancers obstructing the view of the teacher giving the barre exercise.
Here are some others:
Leaving belongings up against the mirror when there is plenty of space to leave them elsewhere.
Not tying hair back -- dangerous to other dancers if the hair is long enough and dangerous to the particular dancer..
Not wearing proper shoes.
Squeezing in between two dancers at the barre, shifting them out of their spaces.
People in pointe who should not be in pointe.
Eating in class (yes, I have actually seen that) or in a studio waiting room.
Cameras in class (sometimes the students themselves, other times, mothers watching a class). Good studios ban the cameras and the mothers.
Talking on the phone when the teacher is giving a combination (yes, I have actually seen that too).
Teachers not correcting for turnout. Major difference in quality for professional and recreational dance between Russia and the West is turnout.
Teachers not correcting at all.
Teachers not spending time to perfect certain steps. For example, brises across the room, front and back, do not slow a more advanced class down. Simple jumps to perfect the point in the air does not slow a class down. I guess it depends on the motivations of the teachers and students. Are they in class just to have a fun, fast class, or are they interested in improving? Are the teachers just teaching for the money, or are they interested in creating the best recreational dancers they possibly can? It's a controversial topic. I've talked to many people about it. The majority want to improve, although some are adamant that they are not interested in instruction to improve technique.
Hogging groups. In other words, more advanced dancers deliberately stopping less advanced dancers being in the group. Groups should be organized so that in each group, more advanced dancers are at the front of the group, with less advanced dancers behind in the same group. In some studios I have seen the last groups made up of inexperienced dancers struggling, because they have no one to follow. In some studios this is sorted out by the dancers themselves. In others it should be up to the teacher to see that more seasoned dancers lead the way in front of a group.
Attitude. I actually left one studio because of the snooty attitude of some dancers (more advanced but not so great themselves). I have been in class with top professional dancers, and not once - not ever - have they been snooty or oozed a superior attitude. They have always been humble, charming, decent, great to have in class, and needless to say, amazing to watch. It could be that they speak among themselves after class, but they are always professional in class. I guess that's one of the attributes that contributed to their being top dancers.
This is not really to do with etiquette, but in the West for recreational ballet, we need properly trained ballet pianists. They are all great pianists, but so often don't maintain either the tempo or nuance of the exercise - are not on the exercise. That's on my wish list. Having said that I have had the privilege of being in class with some superb ballet pianists. My experience is that when they use class to practice their own musical creations, it doesn't work well.
Thank you for your post.
Why is it a problem in your opinion if a dancer decides to bring a camera in the studio to film themselves? I believe it would be helpful for them to watch the film and figure out their mistakes.That is if they want to improve of course.
@@oblivionorb4805 There are various reasons for cameras being banned in studios, unless they are cameras/videos sponsored by the studio, with written agreement from those being filmed. In our modern era of instant and widely distributed communication, the studio has no control over what a dancer may do with the footage later. For example he/she may post it on the internet. If it shows, say, really bad technique or something else inappropriate, then that is not good for the studio's brand. If classes/drop-ins are held in company studios and the photos/videos are posted without disclosure, then people may be aghast at the "level of dancers at the company." If it catches another dancer who does not want to be filmed, then it risks lawsuits or simple hostility from dancers who don't want to be filmed. Filming may simply intimidate other students. If unions are involved, then it risks trouble with them.
Of course, that is why studios have mirrors: for dancers to see what they are doing right or wrong, albeit, dancers can become obsessed with the mirror thereby missing the head and body placements required. I agree that video is a good way to figure out mistakes, but it has to be done with permission of the studio -- at a minimum, as a courtesy and with any required restrictions.
Good companies and external studios in which I have done class simply don't allow cameras, not even after class. I have seen mothers reprimanded for filming, as they are watching their kids, ultimately leading to one of the several reasons mothers are totally banned from watching. Joy Womack is an example of what can go so terribly wrong with filming. She filmed her classes and performances from the sidelines. The Kremlin company members did not want to be filmed and asked her not to do so. Her continuing to do so for quite some time created huge dissension against her.
I think all dancers want to improve -- a conversation I often have about drop-in classes, with some actually not agreeing with me. Most, however, do agree. Ballet is so difficult, it is hard to wrap one's mind around people continuing to do it, if they don't want to improve. That leads us to young dancers from both recreational and pre-professional studios. All they want to do is improve and become professional dancers, yet most of them will never make it -- not even to a corps.
thank you for your additional points Norma! :)
I understand not eating in class but in most studios and schools I attended, eating in the waiting area or a section of the waiting area was allowed and even encouraged when I was younger. We were there for hours regularly and they really wanted to encourage us to eat and not starve ourselves.
@@tiryaclearsong421 I agree about needing to eat, but an eating room, away from the waiting room, would be great.
Hi Natalie I have a question for you. Are you British? My second question is do you have Facebook, Instagram, an email? My third question for you is how long have you been dancing ballet?
Wow people really don’t have common sense do they?