Well…since we are featuring a lot of adult ballet content for this month it only stands to reason that our “Dance Blog Spotlight” should follow suit…please give a warm welcome to the witty author of “Adult Beginner“…
1. Can you tell readers a bit about your background in dance?
Ok so this one time, when I was like three, I snuck out of bed and got to stay up late watching ballet on PBS with my mom, and it was totally magical and I was so caught up in it all and I told her, “that’s what I want to be when I grow up.”
And instead of saying something nice and parental she said, “Oh, honey. Dancers train their entire lives. If that’s really what you want to do with your life you have to decide now.” and I was like, what, seriously? Now?!? I’m frikin three! Holy crap never mind!
But I always liked ballet, kinda secretly…
So, skip forward twenty-nine years and there I am, Bam! An adult beginner at age thirty-two.
2. When did you begin your blog—and why did you start it?
It was February of 2010, and for the previous five months solid I’d been coming home from ballet class and telling my husband all these stories about all the crazy stuff we were doing, and how it was all hilarious and strange and super exciting and omg and blahblahblahblah.
And I didn’t know anyone who’d started ballet as an adult. Like, Anyone. And I wasn’t seeing anything about adult beginners on line, it was all professionals and advice for hard working teenagers looking to go pro, and it was all Deadly Serious. Like, No Laughing In The Ballet.
So it kinda seemed like there was space out there? Like, if no one was saying what I was saying, maybe I should say it?
My husband encouraged me to get blogging- we were early adopters of twitter within our group of friends, he and I actually shared an account for a long time because we weren’t sure if this whole twitter thing was really going to take off. Ha! So twitter let me get used to the idea of saying things out into the Internet without being shy or afraid of who was listening in, and my husband pointed out that a blog is kind of like a bigger twitter.
3. What does your blog cover?
Well, I pretty much just go to ballet class, and funny stuff happens, and I write about it like I’m talking to a friend. And most of my friends don’t know anything about ballet. So, like, I’m learning more and more but I’m still seeing ballet from the perspective of Would This Make A Good Story To Tell At A Cocktail Party? And usually the answer is yes because ballet is hi-LARious, especially when you’re barely two years into it at age thirty-four.
4. What has been the best part about participating in the dance community online?
It’s been really awesome to find out that there actually are A Lot of adult beginners out there!
Ballet is not a weird thing for a grown up to try!
And, ok, this has happened maybe once or twice: sometimes people write in and say they are trying ballet or starting up a blog because they’re encouraged by Adult Beginner. That totally blows my mind. Like, seriously. It’s amazing and crazy and it warms my tiny little ice chip of a heart to think that my goofy blog made a difference for somebody. Honestly I try not to think about that too much. Keep your head out of the clouds, Adult Beginner!
And really the best part is making ballet friends with people I’d never have had the opportunity to hang out with IRL, but here we all are, just chillin’ on the Internet.
5. What other dance blogs do you read?
Um, can I just say all of them?
Ok:
I love your interview series you’re doing here at 4dancers,
Love how Nichelle at Dance Advantage really brings us all together, like with her Top Dance Blogs, and her Nichelle’s Notes, she’s such a proponent of The Scene,
The Ballet Bag ladies are wildly informative and very cool,
Ballet Scoop understands the importance of a pretty leotard post,
I’m on those blogs at least once a week.
The blogs I tend to check obsessively, though, are the totally subjective, totally opinionated, first person experience type blogs:
Like Tights And Tiaras. Always fun to see what Henrik will say, because he’s such a cool guy, and, as he says, Norwegian.
Have a soft spot for Dave Tries Ballet because he was the first adult beginner I found, not too long after I started, so, like, in a way I feel like we’ve been on this journey together. Plus he’s just so endearingly earnest you just gotta root for him. Also, I think Dave Tries Ballet might be the best blog title of all time. I mean, it explains the everything in just three words: he’s a dude, he’s a beginner, it’s a ballet blog. Brilliant.
Tutus&Tea is a gorgeous feast for the eyes,
Rori Roars has a busy busy tone that gets me going. That girl is always up to something! She is taking care of business.
Pointe Til You Drop has an elegant and generous tone that kinda wraps me up in a big cashmere hug,
The Royal Ballet section of Kingdom Of Style is great: very dark and beautiful and very heartfelt,
Melancholy Swan has a real and direct voice, no sugar here,
Leotards And The Buns In Them is lots of fun. I mean, it’s a dude en pointe! Whuuuuut?!
Four Eyed Ballerina puts her library studies to awesome use with a whole category of reviews of ballet books. And I love me some ballet books.
And there are lots more, and I find new ones all the time and get excited about them. Yay Internet!
BIO: The Adult Beginner took her first ballet class ever at age thirty-two, and has basically never shut up about ballet since. The Adult beginner writes a blog of the same name, and takes ballet class from an old Russian dude who is The Real Deal. The Adult Beginner looks forward to Good Pirouettes and Being Slightly Less Awkward.
Adult Beginner, your blog is so cute and hilarious! I would love to have you as one of my students.
What does your mom think about you being a ballerina thirty years later?
Ooh, that would be fun! Maybe if I ever get a free moment out of my currently crazy work schedule I’ll sneak into a class someday.
And about my mom, first off I would never claim to be a ballerina! Except in the most joking of ways! As in, “Omg, Did you just see me do that barre-stretch on the supply shelf in the break room? I am *such* a ballerina right now!”
Hee!
Pretty sure she doesn’t remember that conversation at all, pretty sure that’s one of those casual things you say to a kid that you just never know is gonna stick with them Their Entire Lives. Plus she kinda lives In The Moment. She did tell me recently that I look great and I was like, “it’s the ballet!” and she was like, “that’s great!”
Plus, I gotta say, I think that story is a much worse reflection on me than on her, I mean, my three year old self could’ve just as easily said, “yup, that’s what I want, sign me up” and then tried it and given up and moved on to something else instead of truly believing that I had to decide right then for reals and forever. Kids are weird, huh?
Loved reading about the adult ballet topic! I teach adult ballet and try to cover beg/intermediate levels in one class which can be challenging. I feel adult ballet is so underrated with yoga, pilates, and some zumba classes which are preferred by many. ballet feeds the inside as well as the outside. Floor barre can be a great way to start you off! I recommend it to all ages! ALL! 🙂
It is challenging to teach all those levels! 🙂 I do that as well…
Nice observation on the inside/outside of ballet. I agree! Thanks so much for dropping by and commenting!