What is &Ballet?
&Ballet is classical ballet adjusted to amateurs in the sense of its biomechanics, teaching methods and the overall approach to body and mind – and this is exactly what makes it different. Its purpose is recreational, and the overall call is a healthy body.
&Ballet establishes a balance between the body and mind, while giving you a GREAT BODY as a result – appropriate to each and every one of you, depending on your genetics and abilities, i.e. an OPTIMAL BODY.
It is enriched by exercises and motor tasks whose purpose is to create a balanced body activity and development, repair or relieve you of difficulties, and improve general mobility, strength, fitness and graciousness, regardless of age. It is fun and educational.
How did it come about?
&Ballet was conceived by Andrea Solomun, a ballerina, ballet pedagogue, the owner of the dance centre Andrea’s Room, a choreographer and the founder of the Dance Company &M.
It is founded on Andrea’s practical work with amateurs over the past 10 years. It contains theory from the elementary classical ballet school programme, methodically and biomechanically adjusted to amateurs.
It has been used and is being used in the Dance Centre Andrea’s Room as a recreational ballet class, but it was formally shaped in 2015 when it got its final form. Since then, it is being used with amateurs in Andrea’s Room. Since it is being applied in working with real people, it is proven to be successful. It also contains an important research component due to the application of classical ballet in working with average persons who never danced, and often did not engage in any previous physical activities.
Further benefits of &Ballet:
The body’s biomechanics play an important role in &Ballet because of its effect on the person’s health. &Ballet both works to prevent injuries and, through its biomechanical approach, makes the body stronger for a better and healthier everyday life. It uses a series of modifications to approach each body and each person’s physical abilities individually.
It helps, and often permanently resolves (depending on the time spent training it) the following issues: flat feet, wrong shift of weight in the feet, knee problems, and increases the decreased mobility of the pelvis and the hips, strengthens the weakened and dysfunctional musculature of the whole body, builds a strong body core which unburdens the spine and by doing so, resolves problems like scoliosis, kyphosis or lordosis. It works really well in resolving kyphosis and lordosis issues thanks to its work mechanics and the well-known “raising of the pelvis”. It helps in improving reduced shoulder mobility and activates neck muscles, thus reducing problems with cervical spine. It strengthens the gluteus, quadriceps and legs’ biceps muscles, bringing the power back into your legs and increasing the stability of the body. &Ballet is known for helping in reducing lumbar spine pain occurring due to prolonged and continuous sitting down or standing up. It also includes cardiovascular exercises, thereby improving the health of your heart and the overall fitness.
The cardiovascular component of &Ballet affects the overall physical ability and aptitude. Along with new physical and motor skills, the students are noticeably more fit.
Practicing &Ballet includes theory and working on steps and ballet “choreographies” (exercises), as well as a series of motor tasks that improve nerve structures once mastered.
&Ballet accelerates the detection of any imbalance in the body, which due to participants’ way of living and physical compensation results in many problems with the spine (lordosis, kyphosis, scoliosis) , hips (pelvis rotation and reduced mobility), feet (flat feet, hallux valgus), knees (painful knees and inability to do regular actions like a squat), and many others. Because of that, one of &Ballet’s main purposes is restoring the balance of the body with specific biomechanics’ tasks with the body.
It is extremely educational in the sense of understanding the anatomy and the perception of one’s own body.
Practicing &Ballet give you an elongated, beautifully defined body. It improves your posture and generally gives you more gracious and smoother body movements. As any other dance activity, it helps with depression and the lack of motivation because it impacts the production of serotonin (the hormone of happiness), thereby motivating the students to feel positive about exercise, to accept their own bodies, appearance and finally, themselves. It has a fully positive effect on the lifestyle of anyone who practices it.
Age, sex, previous experience and overall physical predispositions have no effect on the possibility of practicing &Ballet. It is simply for everyone.
What does the class look like?
A typical &Ballet class lasts 60 minutes. We work exclusively “in the middle”, without the use of the bar which is the usual start of the class in classical ballet. This way, we get better results in the overall stability of the body and faster body placement in adults, which is necessary for &Ballet. The class consists of the following parts: a short warm-up (5 to 7 minutes) specifically designed as an introduction for the next part of the class (a little bit more on that later), and a short stretch in the end.
The scope of the &Ballet programme encompasses most of the elementary classical ballet school programe. There is a difference in the duration of learning period, which is longer in &Ballet, and in the order of certain steps. Also, the &Ballet programe contains many additional exercises that aim to strengthen the body and improve the mobility of body parts that perform certain physical tasks in ballet, which can be difficult for some students due to their genetics and body shape.
&Ballet Levels:
1. &Ballet Beginners – A1
2. &Ballet Beginners – A2
3. &Ballet Beginners – B
4. &Ballet Beginners – C
5. &Ballet Intermediate – INT
6. &Ballet Advanced – ADV