Life at Ballet School

As a young dancer, I found that the dream to which we aspired was shrouded in mystery- yes, we all want a vocational school place, yet it is often unclear as to what life at ballet school actually involves. So, I thought I would share my daily schedule, and what I get up to during my time at Ballet West. Unlike most schools, our timetable changes on a weekly basis, so it can be quite varied- last half term, we had about 24 hours of classes a week, whereas this week we've had 35. We have an hour and a half ballet class every morning, starting at 9, so we are expected to be in the studio for 8.30 to warm up. Then after ballet, we have another class, lasting an hour, such as contemporary or choreography. We have conditioning 2 or 3 times a week- a general conditioning class, then a ballet related one. Also, there is a written anatomy exam which we are required to pass, so once a week there is an academic lesson to focus on that. We don't have a set lunch break, we simply have breaks throughout the day so can decide for ourselves when to have lunch. In the afternoon we have a few more classes- so usually 5 or 6 hours a day- such as pointe or pas de deux. Once a month is "Jazz Week" when a guest teacher comes in to teach jazz- his name is Jordi, and he is incredibly enthusiastic!!! 

In the evenings, we often have rehearsals for choreography assessments, we have also recently started rehearsals for our tour of The Nutcracker. On Saturdays, we usually have an RAD class, followed by rehearsals. There are no classes on Sunday's, so we get the day off, to relax and prepare for the next week!