Pacific Northwest Ballet gives us a look at the Advanced Men’s Ballet Class at this year’s summer intensive.
The Best Time to Start
The best time to start ballet, is as soon as you can. But the easiest time for a new dancer to start taking ballet classes, would be in the fall. Summer is ending now, and a lot of the advanced summer intensives are coming to a close. New ballet classes will usually begin at the same time regular school starts in the fall . This is the point where some dancers will advance to a higher level of classes and it is also the time when beginner classes start from the very beginning, the very basics. While it is possible to not know anything about ballet, and start a few classes in and get fully caught up, it will be easier on you and the teacher if you start at the beginning. Some studios may offer special “New Beginner” classes to get students up to speed for the regular beginner classes, but these are a bit rare. Ballet is an art form based heavily on technique, and those techniques are learned from the basics. Your technique will be better if you start as close to the beginning as you can.
Finding a Studio
There are dance studios in every part of the country. Even a very small town may have multiple studios to choose from. Choosing a studio can be a tough and serious decision. If you don’t know anybody who currently takes ballet, it can also be confusing.
The Professional Company’s Open Class
There If you live in a big city with a professional ballet company, they most likely offer open classes for Teens and Adults. These are great classes, often taught by dancers in the company. They are often in the same studios the professionals rehearse in, which are fun to take class in and easily add to the excitement of taking ballet. You can find out schedule and price information for these classes on the ballet company’s website. It is usually listed under “School” or “Classes” and listed as an “Open” class.
Here is an example of a professional company with open classes: PNB Open Program
College Classes
Colleges and universities often offer ballet classes. Some classes do not require you to be a student, but others do. It is worth checking out your local college or university to see what they offer. If you are a college student currently, it would be a great idea to see if you can fit a ballet class into your schedule. Sometimes these classes are longer, or can go into more depth. It is also nice to be in a class with other college students who may be closer to your age. Plus you get some college credit.
The Local Studio
Finding a local studio near where you live isn’t usually very hard. Check the phonebook, or just Google ballet and the name of your town. You may already noticed some studios. Choosing between multiple studios, or deciding if the studio in your town is where you want to study, can be tricky. Find the studios and see if they have a website or any ads. Studios are usually used to people stopping by to find out information about upcoming classes or getting registered. If you are unsure of when they are open, you can call or even e-mail them to inquire about their beginner classes. See if they have ones for Teens and/or Adults.
Pay attention to how the studio reacts to you being a male who wants to take classes. That may sound funny, but it can make a big difference. You want to dance at the studio that is excited to have male dancers. Some studios may cater only to ballet classes for young girls, don’t offer opportunities for performance, and don’t really know how to teach guys. If there is a guy ballet teacher or director at the studio, take note. In some areas of ballet, guys are trained a bit different from girl dancers. Having a guy dancer in the studio can help. But a studio with no guys, and excited to have male dancers, will still treat you well.
Ballet Studios with Performance Opportunities
A ballet studio that provides opportunities to perform is usually the best studio to go with. Most studios have an end-of-year recital, but some have actual ballet performances also. Some studios are integrated with a local ballet company. This type of studio is great opportunity for guys.
Guys are needed for performing. It is much more restrictive to a company if they do not have guys to fill male roles or do partnering roles with the girls. Local companies often have trouble finding enough male dancers. It is typical that they will have to hire dancers from out of town. You want the opportunity to perform, it is a big part of learning ballet, and local companies need men to perform. A win-win situation.
Here is an example of a studio integrated with a local company. Olympia Dance Center is the studio, and Ballet Northwest is the company.
Scholarship Opportunities for Male Dancers
Ballet classes cost around $12 to $15 per class. Eventually you will want to be taking multiple classes per week, as many as you can fit really. That gets expensive. Studios with performances and local companies need guys to perform and they are often willing to pay for or wave the price of classes for men who take ballet and are willing to perform. It saves them the money they would have to pay for an out of town dancer, makes it easier for them to fill roles, and gives their female dancers opportunities to learn to partner.
These scholarships are a great opportunity for male dancers. Most places will have the scholarship dancers doing odd jobs around the studio. It could be just cleaning up, helping with some paperwork, or even teaching classes if the dancer is more advanced, but it is very worth it. You can save a lot of money, hundreds a month.
Finding More Ballet Classes for Men
The more classes you take, the faster you will advance. As a minimum you will need to take one class a week. But soon after you get started, this will not be enough. Think hard about how you can fit your classes into your schedule. Find a studio that suits your needs and is excited to have you. Finding a studio that will help you grow as you become a dancer is a great place to start.
