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Ballet is one of the most exhilarating forms of art to learn and is an excellent way to learn something new and expressive, combine joy, activity and work toward building muscle strength, control, gracefulness and agility at any age.

Finding a ballet class near you should not be a challenge. Look for popular ballet studios with large programs and check into the Adult Beginning classes. Taking ballet from a private studio is highly recommended over taking a beginning class at a sports facility as the studio instructors will have built a long term relationship with the community they serve and a few inquiries will let you know who teaches well.

You'll need ballet tights, a leotard and soft ballet slippers to begin. Sweatpants, shorts and tee shirts are note recommended as the instructor will want to see the lines you create as you reach for different positions and as you move across the floor. Leg warmers are welcome usually at the beginning of class but quickly will be discarded.

Be ready to really work! It takes considerable concentration to learn all of the combinations of steps but, like many new activities, it is arranged in a building block form. You'll see the work you did standing at the ballet barre repeated without the security of the barre in different activity in the centre floor.

Some ballet instructors begin class with a floor warm up to help stretch muscles and warm up before challenging them. Others forgo this step, and ease into the beginning stretches at the barre.

Visions of long necked, swan like girls laying flat on their legs or pulling their leg up and to the side, supported by holding their ankle in a 90 degree angle are really for the long term students. No one will ask you to do that in your first class!

Breathing, relaxing, listening and enjoying the music that accompanies ballet and really challenging yourself to try new movements and coax your body to mimic the position of the teacher and fellow students is fun!

There is a low and high energy impact in ballet. You can find yourself out of breath after a series of jumps at centre barre and recover during port des bras - movement of the arms only. The pace of the class will depend upon the teacher but you can expect use of French language. The three majors schools of ballet are Royal Academy, Cecchetti and Russian School. In ballet, it is courteous to applaud the instructor at the end of the lesson,though this formality is not always practiced.

If you are even wondering about how on earth you could stand next to a string bean like student with your body's faults and fats, don't worry. Adult Beginning Ballet provides an open, friendly environment to laugh, make new friends, enjoy dancing and learn to love the ballet.

You may want to watch a class, go to a performance locally or if available, try to attend visiting performers dance the classic ballets. Taking a ballet class is a special treat for yourself and your soul. Breathe, relax, indulge yourself in flowing with the notes of the music and have fun!

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Cooper.
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