STAFF REVIEW - BEGINNERS BALLET
Visiting Adore Dance in London was an amazing experience, that reminded me of my love for dancing – something I’d always enjoyed when I was younger.
My dance partner Annie and I hopped on the train from Brighton to Hackney Wick and made our way to the Adore Dance studios. With a quick changeover from London Victoria to Hackney Wick on the tubes, we arrived at the studios and were greeted ever so warmly by Connor, the Principle and Co-founder of Adore Dance. Connor was hosting all four dance classes this evening in the studio. Annie and I were slightly delayed by tube problems (typical London!) Connor made this to be no bother and welcomed us through the doors to get stuck in with our class – Beginner’s Ballet !
An aspect of the class I immediately noted was the atmosphere created by Connor in the studio. Due to Connor’s welcoming nature, everyone in the class were relaxed and extremely friendly. I must admit I was slightly nervous for the dance lesson. Although I was once a dancer, I hadn’t had any practice for a few years. Luckily, any nerves were put straight to rest after a warm welcome from our fellow attendees and Connor’s easy going nature. All the previous nerves I had towards dancing had vanished and I realised the reason behind these classes is to have fun, let loose and leave with a sense of self achievement!
The classes are small and harmonious, with a maximum of 10 participants attending. There were 8 attendees in my ‘Beginners Ballet’ class, making the lesson feel very remote and personable. I felt this was the perfect number for a beginner’s lesson. Although there were a range of different levels and abilities within the class, Connor would regularly make his way around the room to ensure we all received encouraging and effective feedback. I found this helped me to improve and motivated us all to dance to the best of our abilities.
Connor is very skilled within the dancing world and projects this onto his students, no matter the class he’s teaching. He demonstrated every move, thoroughly and repeatedly, which I felt really upped my confidence in performing these movements myself. He was also always dancing alongside us in case you had forgotten something!
Although this class is for beginners, Connor was amazing at incorporating lots of movements into the lesson that made the class exciting and had you feeling like you were a pro. A variety of dance techniques were taught to us throughout the one hour duration of the class. We warmed up and began with basic positions such as pliés, releves and suates, and before I knew it, we were moving onto mini routines! This was typically practised in pairs of twos, so that Connor could pay close attention to all of us individually, giving us consistent tips and comments. I felt like this one hour class helped me to master skills and movements that had taken me a year to grasp when I used to dance regularly!
I loved the mirrors placed all over the walls of the Adore Dance studios. I could see what I looked like (not so preferable, at points!) However, this aided my learning, making it easy to improve my standard of technique.
The class went by super quickly and I had a fantastic time. I have never attended a lesson with such a respectful and kind atmosphere. You could really sense that everyone was there to have fun and enjoy their hobby together. That in itself made the class something really special to me.
The Beginners Ballet Class at Adore Dance was an incredible experience. I would recommend it for those who are keen to put their love of dance into practise or are looking to explore a new hobby.
Thank you to Connor and the team at Adore Dance for an unforgettable evening!
