My Ballet Story

​

Like many of you, I have been dancing ballet since before I can remember.  I studied at the pre-professional level at my home-town studio in Florida, The Ballet Conservatory of Winter Haven. The studio I grew up in was a Cecchetti school and I completed Cecchetti's Grade V Intermediate Level (the flic flac combination in Grade IV still haunts me). As a teen, I was lucky to attend summer intensives hosted by the Cecchetti Council of America, at the Washington School of Ballet in Washington, DC and I studied both the Bournonville and Vaganova methods as well. As an adult I have continued to take classes in Washington, DC at Joy of Motion, Washington School of Ballet and in New York City, at Ballet Academy East and The Joffrey School of Ballet.  I have also attended adult ballet summer intensives hosted by Kathryn Morgan and Amy Novinski.

Ballet is my heart, my home, the language I love to speak. I am definitely a b+ Ballerina, I don't have sky-high extensions or flashy grande jetes, but my heart beats Tchaikovsky's Sugarplum Pas de deux.

 

I wanted to start b+ Ballet Theatre because, while I adore the high quality ballet training I get at my weekly drop-in classes and the adult summer intensives I've attended, I've been missing something in my adult ballet experience. I miss the fun of rehearsing for performances, the camaraderie of cheering on my fellow-dancers, the special intimacy of backstage, the exhilaration of the performance, and the post-performance celebration.

 

Though performance opportunities for adult ballet dancers do exist, the extremely high standards of our beloved art form can spoil those experiences for some of us sensitive souls .  We all know ballet has a perfectionism problem, and the painful experiences many of us had in ballet growing up can come rushing back if a teacher or director doesn't care about the emotional safety and psychological well-being of their dancers. I remember thinking to myself as I danced through tears during one adult ballet rehearsal- "I'm middle aged! This is my hobby! It shouldn't have to be like this!" And the idea of the b+ Ballet Theatre was born. I envision creating a friendly, encouraging community for adult ballerinas to enjoy learning and performing classical repertoire safe from shame, fear, envy or that old feeling of not-good-enough.