So glad you’re finding ways to modify to make ballet a joy for you! 🥰🩰

Thank you 🙏😊🩰

So glad this has worked so well for you! Thank you for the kind words! 🎉🙏🥰🩰

You’re so welcome!

I’m so glad you are feeling better and using your love of ballet on your healing journey. 🙏♥️🩰

I’m so glad you’re starting ballet! It’s a wonderful journey- so good for body and spirit!🥰🩰

Thank you for your kind words! I’m so glad my teaching is helping you! 🙏💖🩰🎉

Yes, it takes a lot of subtle strength to support the upper body! 😉🩰✨

Glad it was helpful! I also have arthritis in my knees and with a little bit of mindful accommodation, it doesn’t prevent me from doing what I love (ballet!). I hope you will continue to feel better with your knees! 🙏🥰🩰

It may or may not change in future; however, grand plié is NOT necessary. Demi-plié is all you really need for effective ballet practice. 🥰🩰✨

CONGRATULATIONS!!! So glad you tried it! 👏🏻🎉✨🥰🩰

Then please do start! You can do it! You don’t need to be thin to learn (and love!) ballet. Ballet can help you in everything you do! 🙏🥰🩰✨

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I love to finish with a bit of a festive feeling. 🥰🩰

So glad you enjoyed it! 💖🩰

You’re so welcome! I’m glad you’re rediscovering your ballet (and flexibility). Yes, a neutral pelvis makes ALL the difference!!! 😊🩰✨🎉

Thank you! Happy new year!🎉🩰♥️

So glad you like it! 🙏🏻🥰🩰

You're most welcome! Thank you for your generosity! 🙏🏻💖🩰

Oh I'm so glad it helps!! 🎉🙏🏻🥰🩰

So glad it’s helping you rediscover your body and your joy in ballet! And thank you for your kind words. I always hope my teaching style welcomes people and helps them to feel confident and joyful, even as they are working hard! 🥰🩰✨

Wonderful! I'm so glad you're enjoying the video! Ballet movements will definitely strengthen and stretch your arms and entire upper body. 🤗🩰

It sounds like you're making some wonderful changes, and I'm so happy to hear you are adding ballet to your life!!! In addition to strengthening, stretching, and toning the body, ballet is a journey of self-discovery that can build great confidence and joy! As you describe the weight you want to lose and the way you currently feel about your body, I find myself hoping you will begin your ballet training with the objective of bringing more delight to your life. Yes, ballet will shape your body in ways that will make you look taller, leaner, more graceful, etc. But how much weight loss is associated with this transformation is not knowable, as each person is different. That said, I have found that when a person engages their body in a joyful and kind way, the focus shifts to the happiness they feel and staying motivated becomes effortless. Finding joy in your body is fundamental to helping you love yourself (no matter what the scale might say on any given day). And when you are no longer hating the weight or the way you think you look, I can promise you that your body and mind will feel so much lighter!! AND I am sure that doing ballet regularly will help you lose weight over time. I've seen this kind of transformation in others and it is SO INSPIRING to witness someone grow in skill, compassion, and personal joy! This is my wish for you. 🌸🩰💖

@@everydayballet thank you so much for your beautiful and thorough reply! I really am choosing ballet instead of other physical activities because I think it can bring something to my soul that's been missing for a while... I played the piano since I was a little girl, but after my teacher passed away I was devastated, and several things that followed that event hurt me deeply, and I haven't been able to go back to it (it's been almost five years). However, I still keep my love for classical music and I feel this is a very suitable way for me to find the path home again, albeit from a different direction. I always found ballet fascinating but from a distance because, as many, I thought I was too late to the party. I feel this reconnection will help me rebuild my original self and widen my horizons. I'm not saying I will magically get back to playing the piano like I did by talking up a new activity somewhat related to it; I feel this will help me channel my grief over it, easing my mind and my soul, and finding new motivation may allow me to break this negative circle. I think I can find courage to face music again, to face my image, and with the advantage of doing something good for my body as a result of using it to enjoy myself in spirit. This makes sense in my head, I hope I am being coherent.

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I am so sorry for your loss and the grief and trauma associated with the death of your piano teacher. I hope that you find healing and hope on your journey. As someone who knows and loves classical music, I think you are so right to choose ballet as a possibility! That said, different teachers have different approaches, and not every ballet teacher will instruct with compassion. As you are probably well aware, professional ballet has a particularly brutal reputation, and many teachers believe in a perfectionistic standard that leaves a less-than vibe in the room. So I would just say that if you find your studio experience leaves you feeling less-than, unseen, unsupported, or in any way treated with unkindness, THAT has to do with the instruction and NOT ballet itself! I started Everyday Ballet as a love letter to ballet and the very tender, exquisite part of a person that longs to know its grace, beauty, and power in their own lives. I have found that compassionate instruction is the key to experiencing profound meaning, connection, and expression through ballet training. AND it makes for incredible progress!! Please remember that the beauty you feel is Beauty that IS ALREADY IN YOU. If somehow the ballet training is compounding your negative feelings about yourself, it may be that 1) you are being very harsh with yourself, or 2) your instructor is bringing a sense of harshness/judgment to the training. If it is the latter, please consider changing instructors rather than giving up on ballet! I KNOW that ballet can help heal your fractured sense of self and bring a new sense of meaning, beauty, and joy with it! 🥰🩰

@@everydayballet I've heard that several times online since I started developing an interest in ballet. I will definitely take that into account. I chose the studio of a well accomplished dancer from my country, and former director of the national ballet company. As a side note, I also know his sons, who went to the same school than me. I asked for an interview (they actually recommend having the interview before signing up), and it was held by one of the teachers. After that I met the director. They were very kind and reassuring, and their approach is to prioritise students having a good time while making progress. Last week I ran into the younger of his sons on the street, who greeted me enthusiastically and already knew I signed up (he teaches there sometimes, and has his own studio). It feels very promising and welcoming, but things can always happen. I'm really glad to have taken this step. I will definitely let you know how things go when I start!!

Hi. I understand--this video was made when I didn't have proper equipment and unfortunately, I do not have a way to change the sound levels now. But I hope perhaps you can still enjoy it at a lower volume. 🥰

Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you so much for your generosity! 🙏🏻🥰🩰

So glad it helped!! :-D

So glad it’s a good fit for your mornings! 🎉✨💛🩰

So inspiring to hear you returning to ballet at 78! And I'm delighted you enjoy my videos!🙏🥰🩰

Yay!!! So glad you enjoy it!

Lovely!!!

Congratulations on starting ballet! I hope it is a journey of joy for you!

Glad you enjoyed it!🩰

You're too kind! I definitely have my days of feeling less-than, but when I'm doing/teaching ballet, I feel so wonderful--it is such a blessing!

I try to eat my fruits, veggies, and lean proteins, but I also have a bit of a sweet and salt tooth! 😊

Thank you 🥰🩰

You can start with my Ballet Basics playlist to learn the basic moves 🥰🩰

Part of this is simply genetics-I was always slim. The next part is being active and eating a moderate diet. And the next part is the type of activity (ballet) that creates long, lean muscles and beautiful posture-all of which have the effect of lengthening (and therefore slimming) the body. But I want to be very clear, that you DO NOT need to be particularly slim to do ballet well! Ballet will transform your body with posture, flexibility, strength, tone, etc. And most importantly, it can transform your body confidence-not because of exactly how you look, but because it can help you feel joy, beauty, and power in yourself! 🌸🩰💖

Thank you for the kind words! 🙏🥰🩰

Wonderful question! The answer depends on your ideas for yourself in ballet. If your main idea is pleasure and healthy activity, then 30-50 min twice per week (or even 20 min several times per week) is lovely! If you are training for a specific goal (like one day dancing en pointe), you will need more dedicated time and training. I always encourage newbies to start slow and steady, exploring the joy and pleasure that ballet can be before setting goals. Because when you enjoy something, the challenges become energizing, the possibilities expand, and the motivation is always there! Hope this helps! 🙏🩰✨