Adults are invited to immersion classes at Ballet Tennessee
Imagine gliding across the stage in a series of bourrées—steps so small you appear to be in motion while standing still. You look like you’re not quite touching the surface. Sure, you say to yourself—if I was ten (or fifty) years younger, ten (or fifty) pounds lighter, less stiff, less sore, less filled with self-doubt.
Well, that feeling of flight—combined with the deep study and mental focus that make it possible—can be yours to experience this very summer.
Anna Baker-VanCura, executive artistic director and co-founder of Ballet Tennessee, is offering a summer immersion experience for adults who are seeking a true dance experience. If you can take an afternoon for yourself every day for just three weeks, this may be the one most rewarding way you can invest your time ever.
Your body type, years, or ability to place your feet in a perfect 180-degree first position have nothing to do with whether you should immerse yourself in dance. In fact, they’re beside the point. The point is to surround yourself with teachers who will meet you where you are now, then treat you with perceptivity, rigor, and kindness as they help you progress.
The adult summer intensive session will feature daily ballet lessons, pointe class for those who are ready, modern dance, and improvisational movement. Guest artists, the same nationally-established dancers who train Ballet Tennessee’s pre-professional cadre, will work with adults at every skill and age level.
“This program is for older teens and adults—there is no top age,” Baker-VanCura tells me. And while the curriculum for adults may involve the same movements as the youth curriculum, the benefits can be quite different.
For children and youth, the study of dance can lead to focus and self-confidence. For adults, dance may translate into other areas of life, such as their careers.
“The discipline of learning the technique refines how adult students approach life,” Baker-VanCura observes. “They may be more disciplined in areas where they want to see results.”
Then, too, there’s the joy of attempting something difficult and succeeding.
Baker-VanCura says participants may say something like, “I thought I was crazy when I decided to sign up for a ballet class, but now I’m so proud of myself. I like how I move. I understand how music and dance go together.”
Plus, research studies have shown dance is great for mental health, sharpening memory, increasing sociability, and reducing anxiety and depression. In fact, physicians in the UK are beginning to prescribe dance classes for conditions from dementia to mental health issues.
If your schedule doesn’t permit a full immersion program, consider taking a master class in ballet, modern dance, musical theater and jazz, also available at Ballet Tennessee this summer.
Younger dancers ages 8–12 may consider auditioning for Dance Alive, now in its second generation as a free outreach program in collaboration with Chattanooga Youth and Family Development.
Guest faculty members for the summer programs include Jere Hunt of Rioult Dance in Astoria, New York, and local artists Crystal Newson and Nia Sanders. Ballet Tennessee faculty instructors for the summer intensive program include Anna Baker-VanCura, Monica Coulter, Catherine Gaudreau, Jenison Owens, and Lauren White.
These are all insightful, demanding teachers. And if you haven’t lately—or ever—put yourself into the hands of a great teacher, it’s a sensation like no other.
Baker-VanCura, who was a principal with Ruth Page’s International Ballet Company and toured with the American Ballet Theatre, links good teaching with receptivity.
“I was excellent clay,” she says of herself as a younger dancer. “When a choreographer would come in I was so excited, so present. That malleability, that plasticity, are what makes me a very good teacher. Having trained with great teachers myself, and taken teacher training courses here and abroad, I have developed a good eye for helping dancers identify and apply information. It is important to know how much to say, when to let a dancer work on his/her own, and when to encourage a dancer to push for a bit more.”
How do I sign up?
The adult summer intensive program will be tailored to the needs of the adults who register, so reach out soon and start a conversation with Ballet Tennessee by calling (423) 821-2055.
Classes will run from Monday, July 1 through Friday, July 19 from 11:30 a.m. through 6 p.m. at Ballet Tennessee’s studios, 3202 Kelly’s Ferry Rd., Chattanooga, TN.