The Adult Ballet Studio

Chelsea Weidmann joined The Adult Ballet Studio for this episode! She is a ballet instructor and the founder of Geeky Ballerina, a platform offering resources and curriculums for ballet instructors and students alike.

Chelsea has been teaching ballet for more than 25 years, She taught for Ballet West Academy for four years and has an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts. She’s fully ABT certified, fully certified in mUvmethod and certified in level 1 of PBT.

She says teaching is a big passion for her and has dedicated her time to developing in-depth teaching resources, curriculums for various levels of ballet, and a framework for what she views as the nine elements of artistry, all available on her website.

She also has a monthly newsletter and moderates the New Ballet Teachers Group on Facebook. In this episode, Chelsea shares her journey to finding her own space in the ballet world and offers her advice for other dancers to do the same. She also shares insights on developing a classroom for adult ballet dancers versus for kids and teens and ways adults can take care of their mental and emotional well-being while engaging in an art form that is physically demanding. Check it out!

Vote for The Adult Ballet Studio in the arts & design category for the Women in Podcasting Awards! Voting ends October 1st: https://www.womenpodcasters.com/vote

Music in this episode:

Waltz of the Flowers - Tchaikovsky

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light - Kevin MacLeod

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100310

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

@eblosfield  | [email protected]

Support this podcast on Patreon! https://patreon.com/TheAdultBalletStudio?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Joining the studio for this episode is Helen Banks, owner and CEO of the sustainable dancewear brand, Imperfect Pointes! 

Helen founded Imperfect Pointes in 2020 out of frustration at the lack of dancewear brands focusing on sustainability. After working in fast fashion and seeing the darker side of the fashion industry, she was upset by the amount of waste going to landfills and the poor working conditions in some factories where dancewear is made. To support her journey in launching a more sustainable method of producing and selling dancewear, she studied sustainable business leadership at the University of Cambridge and is now on a mission to bring about what she calls “a dancewear revolution.”

While not a dancer herself, Helen became interested in the dancewear space in part by watching her daughter develop a love for ballet. Imperfect Pointes’ main objectives are to create a community where everyone who loves ballet can feel included through representation, diversity, and body positivity, and to make sure that the company isn’t adding to landfills and is helping to keep plastic waste out of oceans. The company is committed to repairing, reusing and recycling while aiming for zero waste. All of Imperfect Pointes’ products are made from recycled materials, such as nylon.

Helen also wants to encourage the broader ballet community to make changes by educating other dancewear brands on switching to more sustainable production practices. In this episode, she shares tips about what everyone, from individual dancers to studios to brands and companies, can do to practice sustainability. Check it out!

Vote for The Adult Ballet Studio in the arts & design category for the Women in Podcasting Awards! Voting ends October 1st: https://www.womenpodcasters.com/vote

Music in this episode:

Waltz of the Flowers - Tchaikovsky

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light - Kevin MacLeod

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100310

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

@eblosfield  | [email protected]

Support this podcast on Patreon! https://patreon.com/TheAdultBalletStudio?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Pirkko Markula, contemporary dancer and professor of socio-cultural studies of physical activity at the University of Alberta in Canada, is in the studio!

She has a Ph.D in kinesiology and major sport sociology from the University of Illinois. Beyond academia, she’s a dancer herself, previously training in the Dance Department at the University of Illinois with an emphasis on Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor,  and José Limón techniques. She is currently a choreographer and dancer for Initial 6, a contemporary dance company for dancers above the age of 40 at the University of Alberta.

Combining her love for movement and academia, one of her areas of research is dance and exercise in contemporary culture, with an emphasis on dance and the aging process. Through her Psychology Today blog, Fit Femininity, she examines how adult ballet dancers discover a new sense of self in a ballet class. A collection of essays Pirkko edited alongside colleagues and students in January 2018, titled “The Evolving Feminine Ballet Body,” explores a range of topics regarding the ways ballet has influenced contemporary culture throughout its evolution. 

In this episode, we discuss how the ideal ballet body - both celebrated and criticized at times - has evolved alongside ballet as an art form, how ballet has contributed to broader cultural narratives, and especially, how body ideals in ballet have influenced societal views of femininity, beauty, and womanhood. Check it out!

**This episode discusses body image and touches on disordered eating, which can be a sensitive topic. That discussion begins around 14:00 and continues until 29:00, for any listeners who want to skip ahead. 

Vote for The Adult Ballet Studio in the arts & design category for the Women in Podcasting Awards! Voting ends October 1st: https://www.womenpodcasters.com/vote

Music in this episode:

Waltz of the Flowers - Tchaikovsky

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light - Kevin MacLeod

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100310

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

@eblosfield  | [email protected]

Support this podcast on Patreon! https://patreon.com/TheAdultBalletStudio?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

The Adult Ballet Studio has another special guest for this episode! Cecelia Beam, faculty member for adult ballet and dance classes for people with Parkinson’s at San Francisco Ballet, is in the studio.

Cecelia is a former dancer, training at School of American Ballet in New York City and graduating from the high school ballet program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. After dancing in Oakland, California, North Carolina, Indiana and New York, Cecelia found teaching. She earned a master’s degree in ballet at Indiana University and has taught ballet at universities and private ballet schools, including Mills College, Indiana University, and San Francisco Ballet School. 

She has a passion for teaching ballet for adults, and in addition to that, she manages and is the lead teacher for San Francisco Ballet School’s Dance Class for People with Parkinson’s and has coordinated San Francisco Ballet Adult Education Programs for more than 15 years.

She shared some of the ways she structures her classes to make them as inclusive as possible while remaining committed to ballet technique and challenging her students. She also talked about the ways she’s seen ballet change throughout her time studying it, and where she hopes things are headed in the future. Check it out!

Vote for The Adult Ballet Studio in the arts category for The People's Choice Podcast Awards! Voting ends July 31. https://www.podcastawards.com/app/signup

Music in this episode:

Waltz of the Flowers - Tchaikovsky

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light - Kevin MacLeod

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100310

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

@eblosfield  | [email protected]

Support this podcast on Patreon! https://patreon.com/TheAdultBalletStudio?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker Daniel Watt is in the studio for this episode! Dan is producer and director of the award-winning documentary “Everybody Dance” — currently available on iTunes, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime, which is offering it for free in recognition of the month of July as Disability Pride Month.

The film follows five kids with different disabilities and their families as well as their dance teacher, Bonnie Schlachte, as they prepare for their end of year recital. Bonnie is founder and director of Ballet For All Kids, a non-profit program that teaches classical ballet and other dance styles using The Schlachte Method - a certified curriculum developed by Bonnie to accommodate all abilities, body types, and learning styles in ballet. The film explores how dance has changed the lives of these kids and many others studying through Bonnie’s organization.

“Everybody Dance” won in the category of best direction of a documentary at the 2023 Chita Rivera Awards. It was a 2022 Cleveland International Film Festival nominee, premiered at the 2024 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and most recently, was nominated for an Emmy in the independent programming category in Los Angeles.

Dan began his dance career in Cleveland, Ohio, and continued studying in New York City and Los Angeles. He performed with the Joffrey Ballet in Los Angeles before transitioning into a career in film, in which he spent five years in film development at Columbia Pictures and five years working at Syco Entertainment, a London-headquartered music, television, and film production company founded by Simon Cowell with Sony Music Entertainment. Dan has previously worked on the 2013 documentary “One Direction: This Is Us” and was a producer on the award-winning documentary “The Center: Gibbons and Guardians.”

He joined the podcast to talk about the process of creating “Everybody Dance,” his dance and film career, the importance of taking risks and following your passion, and what projects he’s working on next. Check it out!

Vote for The Adult Ballet Studio in the arts category for The People's Choice Podcast Awards! Voting ends July 31. ⁠https://www.podcastawards.com/app/signup⁠

Music in this episode:

Waltz of the Flowers - Tchaikovsky

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light - Kevin MacLeod

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100310

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

@eblosfield  | [email protected]

Support this podcast on Patreon! https://patreon.com/TheAdultBalletStudio?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Julie Dupas, founder of Amsterdam Amateur Ballet and Morlaix Ballet Camp, is in the studio for this episode!

After beginning ballet in her 20s and noticing a lack of performance opportunities for adult ballet dancers, Julie founded Amsterdam Amateur Ballet, an inclusive and affordable amateur adult performance group based in Amsterdam. She also founded international summer camp Morlaix Ballet Camp, in which adult dancers take class, learn and perform a complete ballet alongside professional dancers in the course of eight days.

Julie studied jazz as a form of dance for most of her childhood and eventually went on to become a scientist with a PhD in biology. She taught biology for five years before deciding to switch careers, founding two ballet non-profits and working as a pilates instructor. 

She joined the studio to discuss how her science background has served her in ballet, how dancers can build strength and flexibility with pilates, and what she hopes adults take away from her classes. She also discussed the anxieties, and ultimately, the benefits of making a mid-career shift and her advice for other adults beginning ballet later in life. Check it out!

Music in this episode:

Waltz of the Flowers - Tchaikovsky

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light - Kevin MacLeod

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100310

Artist: http://incompetech.com/ 

@eblosfield | [email protected]

Support this podcast on Patreon! https://patreon.com/TheAdultBalletStudio?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Adriana Pierce is a dancer, choreographer, and director based in New York City, and she joined the studio to talk about her work elevating queer artists in ballet, creating community, and her career in classical ballet as well as musical theater! 

Adriana is the founder of Queer the Ballet, an initiative with the mission to widen the scope of classical ballet by producing queer work by queer dance artists. Queer the Ballet says on its website that it seeks to “queer” our ballet spaces and explore choreography often absent from ballet stages.

After training at School of American Ballet, Adriana began her dancing career with New York City Ballet and Miami City Ballet before realizing another dream of hers - working in Broadway, film and tv! She appeared in the 2018 Broadway revival of Carousel, in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 West Side Story film, and in the 2019 limited series on FX, Fosse/Verdon. 

She’s currently the associate director and associate choreographer for Justin Peck’s “Illinoise" on Broadway. Adriana’s other choreographic work features movement and partnering that allows dancers of all genders equal agency, dismantling the traditional gender dynamics of dance. Her choreography has been performed by American Ballet Theatre, Carolina Ballet, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, Ashley Bouder Project, and more. She’s also completed residencies with Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU and Bridge Street Theatre, and she was recognized by Dance Magazine as one of 25 to watch in 2022.

Music in this episode:

Waltz of the Flowers - Tchaikovsky

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light - Kevin MacLeod

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100310

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

@eblosfield | [email protected]

Support this podcast on Patreon! https://patreon.com/TheAdultBalletStudio?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Sander Blommaert is in the studio for this episode! He’s the founder and director of Blommaert Ballet School in Birmingham, England, and a former first artist at The Royal Ballet company. Since the school’s official founding in 2021, BBS has become known as an audition preparation school, working with young students pursuing professional ballet careers as well as offering classes for all ages. Over the last two years, students studying with BBS have secured over 100 places at vocational schools.

Sander spoke about his time dancing professionally at The Royal Ballet company, his work as an instructor and ballet school owner, as well as his work with the adult ballet community. Founding BBS in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns made him realize that offering online one-on-one teaching services as well as online classes is an important part of his school’s mission to expand access to ballet. Sander also shared that he taught 100 ballet classes in 100 days over Instagram live during the pandemic shutdowns, raising seven thousand pounds for the UK’s National Health Service. Check out the episode to hear more!

Music in this episode:

Waltz of the Flowers - Tchaikovsky

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light - Kevin MacLeod

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100310

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

@eblosfield | [email protected]

Support this podcast on Patreon! https://patreon.com/TheAdultBalletStudio?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Aubrey Lynch II, dean of students and director of ABT Wellness and RISE with American Ballet Theatre in New York City, joined the studio to talk about his work to further mental health and DEI initiatives at ABT and beyond! He focuses on mentoring students at ABT and providing resources for them, as well as expanding access to mental health resources that support the whole dancer in and out of the studio. He also works to build upon ABT’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to make ballet a more welcoming place on stage, in the audience and behind the scenes. Prior to joining American Ballet Theatre, Aubrey was the dance director and chief education and creative programs officer at The Harlem School of the Arts. Before transitioning to arts administration, he was one of the final dancers hand-selected by Alvin Ailey to join Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Aubrey was an original company member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and he was an original cast member of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Disney's The Lion King. Aubrey also acted as the production's associate choreographer, and later, the associate producer. We talked about the importance of self-reflection in ballet, providing visibility for BIPOC and female dancers and choreographers, and why access to mental health is so important for dancers. 

Music in this episode:

Waltz of the Flowers - Tchaikovsky

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light - Kevin MacLeod

Barroom Ballet - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠

Source: ⁠⁠⁠http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100310⁠⁠⁠

Artist: ⁠⁠⁠http://incompetech.com/⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠@eblosfield⁠⁠⁠ | [email protected]

Support this podcast on Patreon! ⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/TheAdultBalletStudio?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link