Ballet Lessons
Classes, levels, repertoire, and what three years of it actually taught me.
-
A Year at One Ballet Studio — What a Good Adult Ballet Space Actually Has
I’ve been at the same studio in Seoul for over a year. Rather than a location review, here’s the checklist it taught me — the small things that decide whether you keep going.
-
Adult Ballet for Men — What I’ve Seen from Three Years of Sharing the Barre
Search traffic for “men’s recreational ballet” keeps landing on my blog, and there’s almost nothing written for it. So here’s what I’ve actually observed, and what to know before your first class.
-
Repertoire Diary — Esmeralda Part 1: The Story, the Character, and Why Her Name Means Emerald
Before you can dance Esmeralda you have to decide who she is — and the answer is more interesting than “beautiful gypsy dancer”. Including the etymology that changes how you play her.
-
Repertoire Diary — Le Corsaire, Gulnare Act II Part 2: Eight Steps, and the Three Mistakes I Kept Making
I filmed the variation and went through it step by step. By the end, three corrections came up again and again — and they turned out to be the same problem wearing different clothes.
-
Repertoire Diary — Le Corsaire, Gulnare Act II Part 1: What the Ballet Is and What to Wear
Pirates, a shipwreck, a temple infiltration and one of the most famous pas de deux in ballet. Here’s the story behind Gulnare’s Act II variation, and how I chose the costume.
-
Repertoire Diary — La Fille du Pharaon, Part 3: Frappé, Piqué Turns, and Learning What Plié Actually Uses
The last forty seconds, and the correction I’d been getting for years without understanding it. Turns out I’d been gripping my calves the whole time.
-
Repertoire Diary — La Fille du Pharaon, Part 2: Every Correction I Got in the First 49 Seconds
Weeks three and four. Attitude that went nowhere, a pas de chat with no hang time, and the moment I realised I was covering my own face with my arm. All of it, written…
-
How Korean Ballet Studios Grade Adult Classes — Level 0 to 3, Repertoire and Private Lessons
Every studio names its levels differently and none of them explain what’s inside. I’ve taken Level 0 through 3, repertoire and private lessons — here’s what actually happens in each, and how to pick…
-
Repertoire Diary — La Fille du Pharaon, Part 1: Eight Weeks for Ninety Seconds
The first variation I ever finished. What the piece is, why the arms feel so strange, and how I chose the costume — deep blue and gold, for reasons that turned out to be…