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Hello and welcome to Drinks at 
the Bar, a podcast where we 

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breakthrough the 4th wall and 
discuss everything about dance 

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and the theatre industry. 
My name is poor James Rooney, a 

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dancer, choreographer and dance 
teacher based in Copenhagen, and

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I am your host of Drinks at the 
Bar. 

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And today we are joined by the 
northern beauty that is Saran 

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Jones. 
Hi everybody, I'm Saran Jones, 

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director of the Dancer's Studio 
London, classical ballet teacher

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and actor with the Royal Ballet.
Former actress with Coronation 

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Street, Currently starring in 
Hostage, available on Netflix. 

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Sounds really random. 
I really like her nose. 

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Yeah, I think she's got a really
interesting nose. 

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Anyway, here we will discuss 
everything from hearing 

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backstage stories, touring 
shenanigans to deep deep tish. 

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Issue. 
To deep tissue massages, to 

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deeper issues like body image 
training, the reality of being a

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freelance dancer, and much more.
With guest professionals, we are

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here to share our knowledge, 
experience, and help you with 

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any questions or problems you 
may have. 

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About living on the old. 
I'm going to meet it about 

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living on the old Brompton Rd. 
with constant cycle of police 

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cars and an ambulance with guest
professionals. 

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We are here to share our 
knowledge, experience, and help 

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with any questions or problems 
you may have about dance and 

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navigating the dance world. 
Hi love, how are we? 

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Hi, my darling, all good. 
Thank you. 

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How are things in Copenhagen? 
Everything that's good. 

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I just started my brand new 
class that I'm teaching at the 

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local musical theatre school. 
We have started doing a, a 

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ballet class, but based for 
people who are not ballet 

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dancers. 
Like it's especially created for

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people who are not ballet 
dancers. 

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So it's, you know, people who 
who are musical theatre 

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performers. 
Basically it's a ballet ballet 

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class for professional dancers 
who are not ballet dancers. 

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That makes sense. 
Yeah, that makes perfect sense. 

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So a safe space for people 
because lots of them want to do 

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ballet class, but they don't 
feel comfortable going to your 

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normal open class because they, 
yeah, they feel uncomfortable. 

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So we created a safe space for 
them and it's great. 

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It's really cool. 
I'm really happy with the 

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concept and how it's been 
received. 

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Well, Congrats. 
And it can be, you know, as we 

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know can be very intimidating 
walking into a ballet class with

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ballet dancers. 
And if you're if you're 

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speciality is not classical 
ballet, but you still love 

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ballet or then you've created 
the perfect space and that 

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sounds, sounds marvellous. 
Yeah, so that that's a lot of 

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fun and I'm really happy to see 
if more people come next time. 

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And yeah, So what about you, 
sweetheart? 

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Well, we have finished the last 
time we were recording for the 

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end of season 2. 
I think I was finishing the 

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second round of Alice's 
Adventures with Royal Ballet. 

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So that was a great success. 
Lots of teaching during the 

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summer. 
Alan and I managed to squeeze in

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a little holiday, which was 
wonderful and much needed. 

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And now we're back. 
I'm teaching the ballet 

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technical at the Opera House 
this weekend coming. 

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And then we have, we still have 
four other workshops on the 

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cards which will be announced, 
you know, closer to their, to 

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their dates. 
I saw you post that you're doing

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La Filmagadde. 
That's right. 

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So that will be our next 
repertoire offering, which is in

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October. 
So that's exciting. 

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Very exciting, very exciting. 
And it's also in line with the 

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programming at the Opera House, 
so you can also get the 

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opportunity to participate in 
the class with me and the 

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dancers Studio London, but also 
the the Royal Ballet performing 

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LAFY. 
So it's great. 

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So you can also go and watch and
recognize the, the, the 

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repertoire that you would have 
done in class. 

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So it's great. 
And also unexpectedly, I have 

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two job offers, which we can, we
can talk more about closer to 

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their dates, but I'll be back on
stage with two different 

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productions with two different 
companies, which came fantastic 

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out of the blue. 
So and very welcome and very 

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exciting. 
So watch this space, yes? 

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I will just drop in a little 
story here about La Fumea Garde.

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So when I was Aja so a junior 
associate of the War Ballet 

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school, before I went to White 
Lodge, I performed the chicken 

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dance from La Fumea Garde at a 
fashion show at London Zoo in 

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front of Princess Anne. 
I mean, that is all kind of 

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camp. 
I love it. 

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And I remember she came to meet 
us afterwards and we had been 

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given a present to give to her. 
What would it mean? 

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You know how it is like the 
organisers give you something 

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like please give this to her. 
And I was the one holding this, 

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you know, little, I don't know, 
paperchase bag. 

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And and she said, oh, what is it
like a present say, oh, but what

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is it? 
Fuck knows, bitch. 

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I don't know. 
Literally I just remember being 

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this little kid being like, I 
have no idea what to do at 

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present. 
It would have just been handed 

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to you, wouldn't it to? 
Handed by the powers that be to 

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like, give this to the member of
royalty that's coming. 

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And then I get 20 questions 
asking what's inside the bag. 

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Just open it and I'm back on 
stage in 5 minutes. 

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For the second showing, open the
bag I've. 

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Got to get this chicken costume 
back on all right, love. 

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Well, I have myself a lovely gin
and tonic. 

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I feel like it's going to be the
season of gin and tonics. 

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It absolutely is. 
I'm back on the G and TS myself 

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and it really is a new discovery
because I was always a vodka 

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girl, as you well know, on tour.
I was as. 

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Well, and I just think, you 
know, I just enjoy the medicinal

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taste of of a GNT. 
It does feel like a grown up. 

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It feels like a classy, classic 
grown up drink. 

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It is because I always watch 
those like, I don't know, with 

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Ali Whitbeal or The Good Wife or
whatever it is, You see these 

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people with the ice cube with 
their whiskey or whatever it is,

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and I always want to be that 
person. 

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Yeah, but I hate the taste. 
I can't. 

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We sat there with the peanut 
colada. 

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But I feel like a gin and tonic 
is the closest I can get to 

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that. 
Yeah, I think, I feel, I think 

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that's why I enjoy it too. 
It feels the same way. 

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But don't get me wrong, you and 
I love Cosmopolitan for obvious 

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reasons. 
At the Soho Hotel. 

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Don't be giving away all of our 
secrets. 

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But yes, they make a fantastic 
cosmopolitan. 

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But yeah, there's something 
about a gin and tonic that is 

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just feels quite classic, classy
and for the older ballerina. 

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Well, cheers, love, cheers. 
Cheers. 

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Sweetie. 
Before we delve into our subject

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today, yes, I wanted to quickly 
discuss something that was in 

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the news during the summer. 
I want to say it was August 

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regarding the Royal Ballet 
School no longer having kids 

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like at the boarding school part
of in years 7 and 8 so ages 11 

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to 13 ish which was announced 
and thoughts. 

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Right. 
Well, when I first read that 

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there would be these changes, my
immediate response, and I'm just

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going to be completely honest. 
I'm speaking on behalf of 

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myself. 
This is entirely my own opinion.

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I I felt disappointed because my
immediate mindset was why change

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something so dramatically that 
has delivered exceptional dances

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over the last, what, 70 years if
it. 

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Ain't broke, why fix it? 
Exactly, It was a little bit 

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shocking to to see such a 
change, but then I started to 

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think about it and. 
And I can only assume that with 

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the way we deal with the 
complexities of safeguarding and

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this is also in direct response 
to some of the the notes that 

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were part of this. 
Press release or Yeah. 

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Yeah, press release. 
You know that students at that 

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age, you know, leaving home and,
and being, you know, in full 

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time tuition, vocational 
training 11 to 13 is highly 

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there was an insinuation that it
can be highly stressful and 

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difficult to navigate. 
So I and I do understand that 

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the way we have to be 
responsible for students has 

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shifted from when we were in 
training. 

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We've discussed this many times 
through previous seasons 

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episodes. 
So there's a huge pressure on 

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the faculty of these junior 
ballet schools that are taking 

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care of these of these students 
of this age group. 

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So I understand the pressures, 
but part of me is still 

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wondering if it's the right 
decision. 

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I mean, I'm torn. 
Yes, Sam. 

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Also, there's a part of me 
because of course there'll be 

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financial implications if you're
basically saying we're going to 

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lose 2 years of a five year 
program if you're lucky to get 

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through the full. 
Basically, JA's continues. 

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You know what I mean? 
Those those hubs continue. 

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Well, exactly. 
And so then my mind shifted to, 

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if you're not isolated, to 
having students directly at the 

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Lower Royal Ballet schools. 
So, you know, 11 to 13 year 

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olds, you can access the entire 
country by offering associate 

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classes. 
So there definitely appears to 

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me to be a business model behind
the reasoning. 

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Oh. 
I didn't think about it like 

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that. 
OK. 

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A lucrative business model. 
I would say there has to be more

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reason behind it than just 
safeguarding. 

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I mean like this might be quite 
virtual conversation. 

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My issue was that they're in a 
financial place to OK, our kids 

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are not going to be borders. 
We're going to have these local 

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hubs. 
Yeah, like we do Birmingham, Jas

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London, Jas, Manchester, 
whatever it is, they're going to

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keep these local hubs going so 
we can teach Year 7 and 8 

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locally and then they come to 
White Lodge. 

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Then they enter this. 
Exactly. 

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Yeah, My issue was that because 
they're they are funded by the 

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government, they can do that. 
Your other schools, your 

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Elmhursts, your arts 
educationals, your Sylvia 

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Youngs, well, they're, they 
can't afford to do that. 

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They, they, you pay to go to 
those schools. 

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Whether you get a grant from 
somewhere that pays your fees, 

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it is fees based. 
They don't have these local 

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hubs. 
So do they end up looking like 

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the bad guys because they still 
are forcing their kids to come 

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to year 7 and 8 at a boarding 
school? 

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Whereas the Royal, this is not a
bitch about the Royal because 

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it's just a discussion, but it's
just they are in a position 

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where they can sit on their high
horse and say your kids can stay

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at home because we have 
government funding. 

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They don't need to come to 
boarding school. 

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But all the other professional 
vocational schools, because 

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there are more than just the 
Royal, cannot do that 

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financially. 
They have to have these kids 

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there because there's a great 
expense of being able to teach a

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kid in Bradford. 
You know, having a kid in 

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Bradford, one in Newcastle, one 
in Sandhurst, one in Essex, one 

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in Bournemouth, all in the same 
year group, that's an impossible

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feat if you don't have 
government funding in a local 

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hub. 
So my only worry was that the 

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other educational establishments
end up looking like the bad guy 

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because they still are forcing 
the kids to go to boarding 

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school. 
That was my worry. 

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So in theory, they're losing 2 
years worth of school fees, 

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right? 
Which which which is why it led 

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me to believe that these 
programs, these associate 

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programs must be generating 
money across the country because

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they have to make up these 
school fees. 

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And my understanding, I mean, 
and of course we could be 

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talking completely nonsense. 
We're not. 

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We're not. 
We're not. 

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No, no, we're discussing 
something that we've seen in 

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the. 
News we're intrigued and we 

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yeah, we're we're trying to 
understand the reasoning but. 

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And what we've been told as 
members of the public. 

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Exactly, exactly. 
And I would think that you have 

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a restricted amount of students 
that you can you can take in per

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year for the school. 
Now if you eliminate those first

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two years for whatever reasons, 
safeguarding or or not as the 

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focus, if you expand throughout 
the rest of the country, you can

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have much larger groups at that 
year group level, which for me 

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would then generate more income 
than having those high school 

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fees, but having a small amount 
of intake. 

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Does that make sense? 
Yes, yes, yeah. 

228
00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:37,240
Because obviously the dormitory 
for the the year sevens fits 15 

229
00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:38,040
people. 
Right. 

230
00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:41,040
That is the year group it it can
only be 15. 

231
00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:43,240
Right. 
So you can have that amount 

232
00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:50,520
paying school fees, yeah, or you
can have 200 plus paying less, 

233
00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,200
of course, because they're not 
boarding and they're not having 

234
00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:57,160
full time training. 
But if you multiply the amount 

235
00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:01,200
of the expansion of the amount 
of students, you can almost 

236
00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:06,160
generate the same or if not 
more, get Carol Vorderman. 

237
00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:09,960
To. 
Discuss these figures. 

238
00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:15,000
It's just because obviously, you
know, the Royal Ballot School 

239
00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,560
says what they need to tell the 
press and the majority of people

240
00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:20,960
who are listening to what the 
Royal Ballot School are saying 

241
00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,200
are prospective young dancers 
wanting to go. 

242
00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:28,280
We're speaking about it as, you 
know, 2EX professional dancers 

243
00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,720
or two teachers and you know, we
think about it in a very 

244
00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:32,960
different way. 
My theft. 

245
00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:37,000
One of my thoughts was also all 
the teachers that work at that 

246
00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:41,000
school. 
Suddenly they now have two year 

247
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:42,960
groups that they don't have to 
teach anymore. 

248
00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:44,520
Are they getting their wages 
cut? 

249
00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:49,520
Gosh, I don't know my hope. 
Is all the academic teachers now

250
00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:52,760
don't have year 7 and 8? 
Yes. 

251
00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:55,160
So are they now working less 
hours? 

252
00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:59,360
Well, you can only reabsorb so 
much, can't you, from the loss 

253
00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:02,560
of work. 
So my hope that at least the 

254
00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:07,480
teaching faculty, the classical 
ballet or the dance faculty, I 

255
00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:13,360
hope will be kind of re, there's
a re blend into the structure so

256
00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:17,160
that they don't lose part of 
this salary. 

257
00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:18,800
I'm just worried about all of 
these. 

258
00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:21,640
People like yeah, yeah. 
Losing money because, you know, 

259
00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:23,360
they're all free. 
Well, not freelance. 

260
00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:24,720
They have a job there. 
But you know what I mean. 

261
00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:26,440
They're they're all teachers. 
Are they? 

262
00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:28,440
Yeah. 
It's it. 

263
00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,960
There was a lot of questions 
that came up in my mind as 

264
00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:33,760
someone who is a teacher who 
goes to different schools and 

265
00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:35,280
stuff that suddenly came up in 
my head like. 

266
00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:37,920
Yes. 
What about this, this, this and 

267
00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:40,800
this and this made me want to 
sit down with the people and ask

268
00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,000
these questions because those 
are the questions that I was 

269
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,000
interested in. 
As you know, because I'm not a 

270
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,240
parent, that side of it doesn't 
interest me at all. 

271
00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:49,600
It's the other side of it that 
interest me. 

272
00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:53,680
Yeah, it's very interesting. 
And because it is a big dramatic

273
00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:58,080
shift and I think, you know, 
it's normal to have a reaction 

274
00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,440
of to be a little bit defensive 
of trying to protect something 

275
00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:02,800
that's been of. 
Course. 

276
00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:05,840
So important to classical 
ballet, you know, for for the 

277
00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:09,400
last 70 years. 
So it is an enormous shift. 

278
00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:12,720
But, you know, I also trust that
the people that have made these 

279
00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:14,120
decisions. 
Of course. 

280
00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,360
You know, know what know what 
they're doing. 

281
00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:21,440
But and and we will understand 
more as more information is 

282
00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:23,400
released. 
I mean, it does open a lot of 

283
00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,760
questions in my head regarding 
these local hubs and the 

284
00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:29,480
different training facilities 
they'll have around the country.

285
00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:33,880
Because for example, for me, I 
was a London Junior Associate, 

286
00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:38,920
so London was my closest world 
ballet school hub, but that's an

287
00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:41,600
hour away from me, from my 
parents house. 

288
00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:46,720
So would I be having to go to my
local school and then travel an 

289
00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:48,880
hour up to London every day for 
my ballet class? 

290
00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,360
Like I'm not sure how it's going
to work because obviously they 

291
00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:54,840
can't have hubs in every single 
town in the whole of the UK. 

292
00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:58,360
So yeah, it's a lot of 
questions, a lot of questions. 

293
00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:01,720
Do they have their academics at 
these local hubs as well? 

294
00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,760
But still, my parents live in 
well lived in Sandhurst. 

295
00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,839
So that means I would have had 
to drive, drive to school for an

296
00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:11,560
hour every single day. 
Well, then I prefer to be at a 

297
00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:14,800
boarding school because it's, 
yeah, because they can't have 

298
00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:17,200
that many local schools. 
Like if there's one in 

299
00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:19,280
Manchester, one in Birmingham, 
all of this kind of stuff, like 

300
00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,000
you were probably at least an 
hour away from your local hub. 

301
00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:25,119
Lots and lots and lots of 
questions. 

302
00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:28,840
And obviously we all know more 
as more as releasing to the 

303
00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:31,120
press. 
It's just, it's very interesting

304
00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:35,520
and like you just said, we all 
it, it's a change, it's new. 

305
00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:39,960
We all have a million questions.
So yeah, I am excited to learn 

306
00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:43,120
more and hear more as they 
release more details. 

307
00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,760
And also also just before we 
move on, I, I also had a moment,

308
00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:53,160
you know, because we do have 
mutual friends with children and

309
00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:57,760
of that age group that would, 
would potentially go into the 

310
00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,560
year, the first two years of 
White Lodge. 

311
00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:04,600
And I think if you've had this 
dream of, you know, being a 

312
00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:08,480
first and second year, 3rd, 4th,
5th year white, that dream has 

313
00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:12,400
now been snatched away from you.
And I did kind of feel a little 

314
00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:17,480
bit sad for those kids that are 
kind of almost at the entry 

315
00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,880
point age. 
And now that opportunity has 

316
00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:24,880
been taken away. 
I completely agree, but I think,

317
00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,640
you know, gratefully, kids adapt
pretty quickly and, and if there

318
00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,520
are other programs and the 
associates and whatnot, then 

319
00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:33,000
they'll have other 
opportunities. 

320
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:34,880
But that did cross my. 
That was one of the first things

321
00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:40,840
I did think no, but yeah, 
changes, changes are coming. 

322
00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:44,040
Whilst we're discussing this, 
actually I have to mention the 

323
00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:48,960
Times article that the title was
The Royal Ballet School chief 

324
00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:52,200
says plus size dances are the 
future. 

325
00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,320
And it was, I think it was Daily
Mail, it was the Times. 

326
00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:57,960
But the Daily Mail then shares 
it and is on Instagram. 

327
00:18:57,960 --> 00:18:59,600
It's all social media all over 
the place. 

328
00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,880
And I found this headline was 
crazy because it's not what he 

329
00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:07,760
was saying at all. 
He was not saying plus sized 

330
00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:10,480
dancers are the future. 
Everybody in ballet companies 

331
00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:13,600
are going to be plus size. 
And obviously it was one of 

332
00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:15,760
these headlines to try and grab 
the attention. 

333
00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:21,080
But the majority of people, 
sorry, read a headline and then 

334
00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:24,720
run with it and then start 
social media saying yeah, there 

335
00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,200
needs to be more plus sized 
people in ballet world and all 

336
00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:29,880
this kind of stuff. 
Even the Royal Ballet School 

337
00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:34,000
boss says that it should be. 
That's not what the article was 

338
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,400
about at all. 
The article was about getting 

339
00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:42,480
away from ultra thin dancers and
talking about being athletes and

340
00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:47,920
being muscular and trying to get
away from this stick thin 

341
00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:52,840
ascetic and talking about being 
an athlete, being a sportsman, 

342
00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:56,680
not plus size people. 
Yeah. 

343
00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,280
And it was just something that 
really struck me because, you 

344
00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,080
know, there were suddenly loads 
of people talking about there's 

345
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:08,040
a need for big ballerinas and 
that's not what he was talking 

346
00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:10,440
about at all. 
And like social media, does 

347
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:15,920
social media around with it and.
It's very layered, isn't it? 

348
00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,040
It's very layered. 
And I think, yeah, they 

349
00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:22,000
absolutely did sensationalize 
the the headline, of course, 

350
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:27,360
because a sensible conversation 
is not interesting to the 

351
00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:29,440
general public, is it? 
You're not going to pick up a 

352
00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:34,960
newspaper to read a very 
logical, sensible exploration of

353
00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:37,320
something to do with the arts, 
You know? 

354
00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:42,680
So it did grab our attention 
around the world, the dance 

355
00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:45,320
world particularly. 
Lots of intrigue. 

356
00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:50,520
But you're right in that there 
has to be an exploration in 

357
00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:56,480
shape and fitness and 
athleticism. 

358
00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:02,280
Because there is no, I'm sorry, 
it drives me insane because 

359
00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:07,960
there is no one saying there 
needs to be plus sized triple 

360
00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:11,480
jump people in the Olympics. 
There needs to be plus size 

361
00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,080
marathon runners. 
There needs to be plus size 100 

362
00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:16,400
meter runners, plus size 
hurdlers. 

363
00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:17,960
No, because you can't do the 
job. 

364
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,560
Yes. 
Because if you actually did the 

365
00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:25,520
fitness and the rehearsals and 
the exercise needed to be able 

366
00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:30,800
to do the 100 meters at the same
speed as Sally Gunnell, you 

367
00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:34,800
would not be a bigger person 
because you would be in shape, 

368
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:38,560
because you'd be doing exercise.
And that is what the Internet 

369
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:43,320
has ran with, this idea that we 
need bigger people in ballet and

370
00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,040
no, we need to steer away from 
anorexia. 

371
00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:51,720
That's what the conversation is 
about, not about bringing in 

372
00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:54,360
being inclusive to bigger 
people. 

373
00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:57,160
That's not what that's the wrong
conversation. 

374
00:21:57,160 --> 00:21:58,840
Yes. 
And I think there needs to be 

375
00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:04,480
clarity on those simultaneous, 
multiple conversations because 

376
00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:08,320
we can talk about inclusivity 
within the dance world. 

377
00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:12,920
And thankfully, there are more 
and more options that are being 

378
00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:16,720
offered for dancers to explore 
Classical ballet, contemporary 

379
00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:21,480
jazz, tap, no matter you know 
what shape or size a. 100%. 

380
00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:27,120
But, you know, we, we're still 
having to fight to be seen as 

381
00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:33,320
athletes in the dance world. 
And like you say, you know, if 

382
00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,560
you're preparing for the, you 
know, the Olympic Games, 

383
00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:38,880
nobody's saying, you know, 
campaigning to have plus sized, 

384
00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:44,160
you know, sprinters or whatever 
the, the, the genre. 

385
00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:49,360
It's an easy, it's an easy grab 
to say, you know, ballet should 

386
00:22:49,360 --> 00:22:53,120
be in particular all inclusive, 
but it's just such a redundant 

387
00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:55,320
conversation. 
Exactly. 

388
00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:59,840
It's a redundant conversation 
because yeah, I, I can talk 

389
00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:01,240
about this for hours and we're 
not going to. 

390
00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:05,280
But it was just that headline 
that I saw over the summer was 

391
00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:08,320
just. 
And it sparks up so much 

392
00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:12,880
conversation and so much hate 
and so much yeah, which is just 

393
00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:16,000
ridiculous. 
And I think, you know, if you're

394
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:18,920
not, I imagine if you're not 
part of the dance world or you 

395
00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:22,480
have very little to no knowledge
of the dance world, particularly

396
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,400
with classical ballet, because 
that's the reference that was 

397
00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,600
being discussed. 
I think if you read that 

398
00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:32,720
headline, you would absolutely 
think, yeah, why can't ballet be

399
00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:34,720
for everybody? 
Because you're not understanding

400
00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:39,760
the nuances and, and the, the 
complexities of the training and

401
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:43,280
that professional career, you 
know, we can give many, many 

402
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,640
reasons why it wouldn't work for
a plus size dancer. 

403
00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,880
To be a professional ballerina 
in a big ballet company. 

404
00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:51,640
To do ballet for fun and for 
fitness. 

405
00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,280
Is different absolutely at a 
professional level and to give 

406
00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:59,240
one example who's going to OK, 
if you have a plus size dancer, 

407
00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:04,320
you're going to need a plus size
partner to work with a plus 

408
00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:07,880
sized dancer, you know so and I 
think as a male dancer, my first

409
00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:11,360
reaction was well, fair enough, 
let's have this conversation and

410
00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:14,000
start employing, you know, plus 
sized dancers. 

411
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,360
But you know, we have to. 
Let's do a sit lift. 

412
00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:19,680
Let's do a precise SO. 
Which is why for me it's just a 

413
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:22,760
redundant conversation and and 
not the intended conversation. 

414
00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:27,080
But yes, sensationalism at its 
best and and it's just such a 

415
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,760
time wasting conversation. 
Let's have a discussion about 

416
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,800
eating disorders, or let's have 
a discussion about compression 

417
00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,080
within a ballet company and 
access to. 

418
00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:41,320
Because that's what the guy, the
guy, that's what the the head of

419
00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:44,400
the Royal Ballet School was 
trying to start a discussion 

420
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:49,040
about. 
And because of the the headline 

421
00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:53,080
and the, like you said, 
sensationalism, it gets drawn to

422
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,320
another conversation, another 
subject. 

423
00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:59,400
But he is an intelligent person 
having trying to start a 

424
00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,640
conversation about saying your 
kids are safe here. 

425
00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:07,880
The eating disorders and the 
anorexia and all of this kind of

426
00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:12,200
stuff that has been a massive 
problem at ballet schools around

427
00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:16,480
the world for the past 50 years.
Who knows how long is something 

428
00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:20,200
we are aware of and something 
that we are actively doing 

429
00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,360
something about. 
That's what he was saying, but 

430
00:25:23,360 --> 00:25:27,400
straight away journalism does 
what journalism loves to do and 

431
00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,160
goes yay obese people can come 
to the ballet school now. 

432
00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,680
That's not what the conversation
was about anyway. 

433
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:38,480
That was a random side note I 
felt had to be discussed because

434
00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:40,480
it's been in the press a lot. 
Exactly. 

435
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:46,600
Warranted. 
So today we are diving deeper 

436
00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:49,880
into the world of teaching and 
teachers. 

437
00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:52,520
Oh God, she's going to take us 
on the trauma train again. 

438
00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:59,480
Here we go, bottle up. 
No, but there are some things 

439
00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:03,240
that I did want to talk about. 
We've we've spoken about class 

440
00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:07,160
and taking class and teaching 
before, but it's a subject that 

441
00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:11,360
I feel like can be discussed in 
deeper in depth. 

442
00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:18,320
So let's start with open class. 
I have been lucky enough to be 

443
00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:23,240
free the past couple of weeks 
and I have taken some open 

444
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:27,360
classes and then taught some 
open classes and I have done 

445
00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:30,480
that over my entire career. 
But I took an open class 

446
00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:35,480
recently and I was kind of 
shocked by the experience by 

447
00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:36,920
something that happened in the 
class. 

448
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:44,240
OK, more info. 
Okay so I go into the class at 

449
00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:49,960
an establishment that is only 
there for open class. 

450
00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:53,840
So I'm not joining a company 
class or I'm not joining an 

451
00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:58,360
education. 
This establishment is only open 

452
00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:03,560
class and I walk in and 
obviously there's some people 

453
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,520
that I can. 
You can just tell by the energy 

454
00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:06,920
in the room. 
There's some people who are 

455
00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:08,640
there for the first time. 
There's some people who are 

456
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:10,920
there every day. 
There's some people who are 

457
00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:12,960
there maybe twice a week. 
You can just tell by the energy 

458
00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:15,720
of the room and how they talk to
each other and how they talk to 

459
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:16,960
the teacher and all that kind of
stuff. 

460
00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:19,320
I had never taken this teacher's
class before. 

461
00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,360
Yes and no expectations. 
Yeah, no, no expectations. 

462
00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:25,520
And I don't feel the need to 
walk in and say hi. 

463
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:27,520
I find my place at the bar and 
that's it. 

464
00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:30,600
That's all I need to do. 
If there's someone I recognize, 

465
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:33,160
maybe I wave across the room, 
but I'm not here for a chin wag.

466
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,040
We can do that afterwards. 
So it gets to the time to start 

467
00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:38,680
the class. 
Like I noticed the clock, like, 

468
00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:42,400
OK, so it's now just push my 
stuff to the side, get ready. 

469
00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:44,480
Like, cool. 
No one's talking. 

470
00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:46,760
No one's, no one's searching an 
exercise. 

471
00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:48,520
It's like, this is a bit 
strange. 

472
00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:52,600
Like, OK, now it's one minute 
past the time that we're 

473
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:54,880
supposed to start. 
Music starts. 

474
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,920
The music just starts. 
I was like, what are we doing? 

475
00:28:00,120 --> 00:28:04,080
And everybody starts doing this 
warm up facing the bar. 

476
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:08,120
It's like, OK, like I've been in
company classes before where the

477
00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:11,800
teacher goes and your own plies 
go completely fine. 

478
00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:15,040
In a company class situation, 
completely fine. 

479
00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:18,200
Yeah, maybe even in an open 
class, if you say and guys just 

480
00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:21,080
do your own plies or do your own
port of bra, completely fine. 

481
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:23,400
But nothing was said. 
There was no welcome. 

482
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,480
There was no, there was no 
nothing. 

483
00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:29,320
Pianist randomly starts playing 
and I notice everybody facing 

484
00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:31,720
the bar. 
OK, So I'm like, OK, well, I'm 

485
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:37,000
just going to face the bar then,
but I'm facing the bar so I'm 

486
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:40,320
looking at the wall. 
I can't see anybody so I can't 

487
00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,880
copy, you know what I mean? 
So I'm like, well, I'm not going

488
00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,800
to spend this whole warm up with
my head turned around trying to 

489
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:48,120
find someone. 
I'm just going to do what I feel

490
00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:50,400
like I need before I plie. 
So I do this. 

491
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:54,400
I do, you know, you push over 
Demi point, you're tondu flex, 

492
00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:57,280
whatever. 
It is a normal amount of time 

493
00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:00,880
for a face in the bar exercise 
port a bra, port a bra, maybe a 

494
00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:05,760
rising first call. 
The music keeps going and I look

495
00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:07,880
around me, everyone starts doing
the plies. 

496
00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:12,240
So then I'm like, OK, so I also 
have to make up my own plie 

497
00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:16,160
exercise. 
So I do plies, do the whole 

498
00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,240
thing. 
Then I hear over the across the 

499
00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,160
room a correction on the 
exercise. 

500
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:25,840
No, we do a port, a bra back and
forth or whatever it was. 

501
00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:28,880
It's like how, how on earth are 
we supposed to know what the X 

502
00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:31,680
what we were supposed to do? 
And forth, turn around, second 

503
00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:33,120
sign, I'm guessing. 
OK, cool. 

504
00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:36,000
We're also still doing this and 
then finish. 

505
00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,560
Then the teacher then goes cool 
so tondos we then go and then it

506
00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:46,600
starts becoming a normal class. 
And I thought this was firstly 

507
00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:51,520
very weird but also incredibly 
rude and unprofessional. 

508
00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,800
Sorry I think it's incredibly 
rude and unprofessional. 

509
00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:59,720
I've paid money to be here and 
the 1st 10 minutes of this hour 

510
00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:03,000
and a half, what is it, 90 
minutes, a 90 minute class? 

511
00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:07,840
The 1st 10 minutes I've 
choreographed and I've made-up 

512
00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:10,760
my own exercise and I've paid to
be here. 

513
00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:13,680
What on earth is going on? 
Whether you have made-up an 

514
00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:17,480
exercise that this is my warm up
and this is what we do in my 

515
00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,840
class and this is my plies, but 
we don't know this. 

516
00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:24,560
This is an open class. 
You can do that if you're a 

517
00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:28,400
director of a company and you 
teach class every Monday and 

518
00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:31,520
Wednesday and you walk in the 
room, oh, Damien's teaching this

519
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,200
week and Damien goes, hi guys, 
morning. 

520
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:37,320
We're doing my warm up or we're 
doing my pliers. 

521
00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:39,080
Fine. 
We all know that we are all 

522
00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:41,880
members of this company. 
And also you have even said 

523
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,920
hello and said we are doing my 
pliers. 

524
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:49,160
Firstly, this is an open class 
situation. 

525
00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:53,120
You don't know, as a teacher who
is here and prime example, I'm 

526
00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:57,200
somebody who hasn't taken an 
open class in years and I've 

527
00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:01,200
never taken your open class and 
I'm paying exactly the same as 

528
00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:03,560
everybody else here. 
So why am I? 

529
00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:05,560
You know what I mean? 
I thought this, I think this was

530
00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:10,160
absolutely ridiculous to me and 
unprofessional and I was 

531
00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,560
shocked. 
Yeah, I agree with you in in 

532
00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:16,760
everything you've just 
expressed. 

533
00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:19,640
I was nodding all the way 
through with and actually 

534
00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:23,120
getting quite worked up because 
you know, whether you're a 

535
00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:26,720
teacher or not, I think as we 
are both teachers, we, we have a

536
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:31,000
clearer understanding of, of the
structure of giving a class. 

537
00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:34,560
But that is also common sense. 
If you're working in an 

538
00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:41,600
establishment that focuses on 
the drop in class market, you 

539
00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:45,440
are going to have a different 
audience every class. 

540
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:51,120
Yes, you may have regulars, but 
you have to assume as you would 

541
00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:54,520
with the performance, that this 
is the first time that 

542
00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:58,240
participants have seen these 
exercises. 

543
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:02,680
Therefore, you should at least 
at the very least say hi to 

544
00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:05,800
everyone who's new here. 
We usually do a regular warm up.

545
00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:08,240
I'll just go through it really 
really quickly, but please 

546
00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:11,720
follow on if if if this is new 
for you of the class. 

547
00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:14,520
Don't get me wrong, I don't 
agree with that set up because 

548
00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:17,680
it's not ideal, but it's the 
least you could do. 

549
00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:21,520
The least that teacher could. 
Have done and also start by 

550
00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:24,720
saying hi welcome. 
It goes directly into Pleiades. 

551
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:28,760
Yeah, yeah, all of that. 
And also, I think I mean what it

552
00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:34,720
immediately tells me is that 
that particular teacher is not 

553
00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:41,920
engaged in that class. 
They're relying on habit and not

554
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:47,240
reinforcing positive, a positive
teaching experience because 

555
00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:51,440
actually that particular teacher
hasn't taught anything in that 

556
00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:55,520
particular class. 
So I would have already wanted 

557
00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:57,320
to have walked out by that 
point. 

558
00:32:57,360 --> 00:33:01,800
But you've paid, you've paid and
you've also programmed your day 

559
00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:03,840
based on that class. 
So you've all, you know, you've 

560
00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:06,080
not just ran, you know, just 
randomly walked in off the 

561
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:09,320
street. 
You've arrived, you've made a 

562
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:15,160
conscious decision to arrive, be
prepared, pay, warm up, be 

563
00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:18,200
present. 
So you've invested so much even 

564
00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:20,400
before the class. 
So then for that to happen, I 

565
00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:23,200
would have been very angered. 
I was furious by. 

566
00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:26,600
That and and would have hoped. 
For some redemption within the 

567
00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:30,080
following exercises, it just 
felt. 

568
00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:33,960
Very to say old fashioned is 
wrong because I have never 

569
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:37,440
experienced that. 
Even with horrible old fashioned

570
00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:39,160
teachers, I've never experienced
that. 

571
00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:42,200
But it just felt very much like 
you've come here. 

572
00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:46,840
I'm an inconvenience to you 
because I don't come every day. 

573
00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:50,920
You should know my exercise. 
Like who on earth do you think 

574
00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:52,920
you are? 
I've come to do. 

575
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,360
Your class. 
I'm paying you to teach me. 

576
00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:02,320
I'm paying you for the whole 
idea and concept behind what 

577
00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:07,160
that person did with the class 
was out of this world to me. 

578
00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:10,280
I did not understand what was 
going on. 

579
00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:14,800
Do you think perhaps? 
That it's a bit I'm too good for

580
00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:16,239
this. 
Sorry to interrupt. 

581
00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:18,800
Oh really? 
It just, it just felt a little 

582
00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:22,159
bit like I'm too good for this. 
Gosh, then why be a teacher? 

583
00:34:22,159 --> 00:34:24,639
I mean, if you're too good for 
this then. 

584
00:34:24,639 --> 00:34:27,080
Bugger off, there's many people 
who would like to teach this 

585
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:30,639
class and would do it better it 
sounds like. 

586
00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:34,679
Without any back story than 
other other than what you're 

587
00:34:34,679 --> 00:34:40,080
sharing now, it sounds like this
person and correct me if I I 

588
00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:43,400
mean you, you might not even 
know either because you've only 

589
00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:46,600
been that one time. 
But if the teacher has been left

590
00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:49,719
to his or her own devices and 
living in this microclimate of 

591
00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:53,040
delivering this particular class
that they just they don't ever 

592
00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:56,040
evolve as a teacher. 
Does that make sense? 

593
00:34:56,120 --> 00:35:00,600
It does make sense, but. 
Knowing this establishment, 

594
00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:07,520
yeah, you get through your door 
a plethora of graduated, not 

595
00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:11,280
graduated professional, prima 
ballerina, whatever people 

596
00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:17,040
coming to your class. 
So as a teacher myself, I would 

597
00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:20,160
be inspired every single day. 
Yeah, to do my job. 

598
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:22,560
Absolutely. 
It's not like this person is 

599
00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:27,320
stuck in the middle of nowhere 
teaching people who don't don't 

600
00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,880
want to be there and don't have 
an oust and talent OR whatever 

601
00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:33,440
it is like this person is in a 
phenomenal job. 

602
00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:35,560
Actually. 
Yeah, I was being too far too. 

603
00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:38,360
Generous with I was trying to be
devil's advocate actually and 

604
00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:43,160
just trying try and understand 
why a person in that position 

605
00:35:43,240 --> 00:35:45,960
and would be so terrible at 
doing the one thing they're 

606
00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,560
there to do. 
It was a shock that. 

607
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:52,800
Someone started their class like
that because as we all know, and

608
00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:55,760
this has nothing to do with the 
dance world, it's to do with 

609
00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:58,040
life. 
First impressions matter. 

610
00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:00,080
Oh absolutely. 
And that teacher's first 

611
00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:02,960
impression was, well, I'm not 
coming back to this class ever 

612
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:07,080
again, even though I ended up 
having quite a good class. 

613
00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:10,640
But that's because in my 
mindset, I had already gone 

614
00:36:10,720 --> 00:36:12,600
well, I'm not using this teacher
again. 

615
00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:15,040
Let's get out of this class what
I can. 

616
00:36:15,160 --> 00:36:18,200
I ended up, you know, I'm not 
wasting my money. 

617
00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:21,120
I'm still going to work hard. 
I'm going to do my tondos. 

618
00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:24,040
I'm going to do whatever I had 
made the decision in my head 

619
00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:25,680
that well, this is not worth my 
money. 

620
00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:28,600
I'm not going back here again. 
Goodness, Well, and. 

621
00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:30,200
So tell me about the rest of the
class. 

622
00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:31,760
How did the rest of the class 
pan out? 

623
00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:33,440
I mean the rest of the class 
was. 

624
00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:36,160
Completely fine. 
The bar was fine. 

625
00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:39,520
What do you mean by fine? 
It was. 

626
00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:40,600
It was good. 
It was. 

627
00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:42,000
It was. 
Complete. 

628
00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:44,880
It was a fine class, nothing to 
write home about. 

629
00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:51,800
It was fine. 
However we got to the adage in 

630
00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:57,200
the centre and people who are 
non dancers who have never done 

631
00:36:57,200 --> 00:36:59,080
a dance class before that might 
be listening to this. 

632
00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:02,720
Just skip forward on Spotify 
maybe a minute because you maybe

633
00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:06,600
not understand this, but when 
you demonstrate, when I 

634
00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:10,640
demonstrate and what I feel that
most people do when they 

635
00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:17,360
demonstrate, they either kind of
sing the steps or count the 

636
00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:21,120
steps in time to the music so 
that the dancers not just know 

637
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:24,320
that it's a developer to the 
front, but they know it's a 

638
00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:31,800
develop and extend Devon. 
Now we go through the so you 

639
00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:36,400
know the the feeling, the 
timing, the musicality of what 

640
00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:39,200
we're about to do. 
This teacher went so we're going

641
00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:42,400
to develop into the front. 
And then there's a passe. 

642
00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:44,640
There's a promenade. 
You arrive in Ashley Quasi. 

643
00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:48,040
You play, you're part of Beret. 
Then you do a tomboy on the left

644
00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:50,560
foot and you develop into the 
2nd and you chasse through and 

645
00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:53,160
you go play a relevant and you 
down and then you do a pure 

646
00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:57,160
front 4th arms go up to the 
fifth, you land in the 4th and 

647
00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:02,720
then you repeat on the left. 
So to me that firstly is 

648
00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:09,560
guesswork, but by the way it was
spoken, it felt kind of not 

649
00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:13,720
polynesy, but like a little bit 
paste and develop your passe, 

650
00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:18,000
your promenade around and a plie
part of beret re la Fey and a 

651
00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:22,640
chasse and 4th and a pirouette. 
It felt kind of paced adage like

652
00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:25,200
a let's get going. 
That's what we were told. 

653
00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:31,200
Oh, and there was one part they 
went promenade around changes 

654
00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:35,880
you releva, you plie, you part 
of beret and then you chasse 

655
00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:39,280
para whatever it was. 
So I then assumed, obviously, by

656
00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:42,600
the way it was spoken about that
that promenade round and the arm

657
00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:46,280
coming up was then slow because 
you took more time on it. 

658
00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:56,240
Music starts and it's dev le pay
to the front and extend and and 

659
00:38:56,240 --> 00:38:58,400
you'd literally got dev pay to 
the front promenade round. 

660
00:38:58,640 --> 00:39:01,880
How am I supposed to know that 
that promenade, that devil pay 

661
00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:05,520
takes 8 counts unless you tell 
me it takes 8 counts? 

662
00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:10,520
Or if you Can't Sing and you 
can't count, which is completely

663
00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:13,200
fine, we're all different, then 
let's mark it together with the 

664
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:14,920
music. 
But this teacher then got 

665
00:39:14,920 --> 00:39:18,880
frustrated that none of us knew 
the musicality of the exercise. 

666
00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:22,800
And again, I'm like, sorry to 
say, the customer is always 

667
00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:26,680
white. 
But if everybody in the room 

668
00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:30,720
doesn't understand, then maybe 
we're not the problem and also 

669
00:39:30,720 --> 00:39:32,960
nobody is. 
Benefiting from that whole 

670
00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:36,120
experience, the pianist hasn't 
really got well unless they've 

671
00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:37,240
been working together for years.
And. 

672
00:39:37,240 --> 00:39:40,400
But Even so, it's unfair. 
Help the pianist help the. 

673
00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:43,880
Pianist and also. 
You're in an environment where 

674
00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:47,320
you're teaching. 
You're not setting a company 

675
00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:50,040
class. 
And even if in a company 

676
00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:55,840
environment, I can almost 
understand if they're used to 

677
00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:59,200
working with a particular 
teacher kind of what pacing 

678
00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:02,440
you're going to get, I wouldn't 
respond to that very well 

679
00:40:02,440 --> 00:40:04,640
because I like more. 
More information is always 

680
00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:08,240
better for me to maximize what 
you're going to get out of the 

681
00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:11,880
exercise. 
But in a teaching scenario, you 

682
00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:16,600
should not only be offering 
counts or some musicality, but 

683
00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:19,360
what about dynamic? 
What about a porn MOT? 

684
00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:22,800
What about where's you know 
you're in a class to be taught? 

685
00:40:23,240 --> 00:40:26,200
You're not there to just pick up
exercises really super quickly 

686
00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:28,320
just to get through the 
vocabulary because you have a 

687
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:30,960
performance like it's a 
different experience. 

688
00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:33,640
So I'm with you every step of 
the way. 

689
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:35,480
This teacher either 
complimented. 

690
00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:39,840
Me on my dynamics and said that 
I hardly see anyone dancing in 

691
00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:42,920
my classes with enough dynamics 
anymore, right. 

692
00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:46,480
And I literally, I took it as a 
compliment and obviously didn't 

693
00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:47,720
say anything. 
I shut up. 

694
00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:50,520
Yeah, but I was also thinking I 
was like, well, if you actually 

695
00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:53,880
demonstrated your exercise with 
some dynamics and maybe people 

696
00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:56,600
would give you the dynamics that
you wanted because people aren't

697
00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:58,400
understanding what you're 
wanting out of them. 

698
00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:00,760
Gosh, if you're just going two 
families to the front, two 

699
00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:02,880
families to the side, two 
families to the back, what are 

700
00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:06,840
we doing? 
Are we doing or are we going 

701
00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:09,920
frappe, frappe. 
OK, both are correct, but what 

702
00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:12,240
do you want? 
Yeah, Yeah, there's. 

703
00:41:12,240 --> 00:41:14,560
No leading. 
You have to lead. 

704
00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:18,080
It's an important job. 
When you're leading a class, 

705
00:41:18,080 --> 00:41:21,720
you're leading people with 
different personalities. 

706
00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:24,960
They receive things differently.
Some people like a verbal cue, 

707
00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:28,440
some people like a musical. 
Cute. 

708
00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:31,240
You've got to consider all of 
those different things if you're

709
00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:34,200
going to be a great teacher or 
even a decent teacher. 

710
00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:37,240
So well, I'm sorry you had that 
experience. 

711
00:41:37,240 --> 00:41:39,880
I'm not surprised you'll you'll 
not return. 

712
00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:41,760
You know, there's many things 
that I don't. 

713
00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:44,600
Want to say shock? 
It sounds so dramatic, but like 

714
00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:49,360
as a dancer, I feel like we all 
have this commonality together. 

715
00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:52,000
Like we all know what it's like 
to be out of a job. 

716
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:54,160
We all know how you know, that 
kind of thing. 

717
00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:57,960
So someone to waste my time and 
my money, I felt really pissed 

718
00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:02,960
off about because you also know,
Mr. Teacher or Missus Teacher, 

719
00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:06,200
what this is like. 
And now you've wasted me. 

720
00:42:06,240 --> 00:42:09,840
You've wasted my time. 
You've wasted my money that is 

721
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:12,960
dear to me because theatre 
doesn't pay. 

722
00:42:14,960 --> 00:42:20,600
Different conversation Episode 
17 season 6 That is unfortunate.

723
00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:24,200
Though and very disappointing 
and I and I think sadly, there 

724
00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:28,040
are many, many teachers out 
there that really do not have 

725
00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:32,680
the skill set to be giving great
classes. 

726
00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:35,480
But again, that's all. 
That's another episode, no 

727
00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:40,240
doubt. 
So let's delve into some 

728
00:42:40,240 --> 00:42:42,640
different styles and types of 
teaching. 

729
00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:48,400
So I wanted to talk about the 
difference and this is whether 

730
00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:52,040
you are tap, jazz, ballet, 
contemporary, whatever style of 

731
00:42:52,040 --> 00:42:58,080
dance teacher, the differences 
between being a permanent 

732
00:42:58,080 --> 00:43:02,400
teacher at a school and Because 
we've just discussed open 

733
00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:08,960
classes and what we expect and 
what it's like being a guest 

734
00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:12,800
teacher as a jazz, ballet, 
whatever it is. 

735
00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:19,520
Because it's very different. 
And the more I teach, obviously 

736
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:22,840
we never stop learning. 
And this is also advice for 

737
00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:25,200
myself. 
I'm putting it out into the 

738
00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:27,760
world and speaking things so I 
listen myself. 

739
00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:32,640
They are very different and I 
think we need to be aware of 

740
00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:35,520
being a guest teacher and being 
a permanent teacher are very 

741
00:43:35,520 --> 00:43:40,920
different jobs, 100%. 
I mean, I love being a guest 

742
00:43:40,920 --> 00:43:44,880
teacher because you don't have 
to get involved in the politics,

743
00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:47,600
let's say, of that institution. 
I love that. 

744
00:43:47,880 --> 00:43:52,560
I love the freedom, but what 
that does mean is that you're 

745
00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:56,680
potentially seeing these dancers
for the first time or they're 

746
00:43:56,680 --> 00:44:01,120
unfamiliar, so you're having to 
work out as the class 

747
00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:04,680
progresses, you know, the 
personalities of these dancers. 

748
00:44:04,720 --> 00:44:07,480
How are they receptive to to 
what you're offering? 

749
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:10,200
Some may be more shy than 
others. 

750
00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:13,280
There are many, many elements 
and complexity, the standard, 

751
00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:14,800
the level. 
You know, so there are 

752
00:44:14,800 --> 00:44:17,320
definitely pros. 
And cons to each style of, of 

753
00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:21,040
teaching, you know, versus, you 
know, a more permanent role 

754
00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:23,800
where you know the people, you 
know the bodies that you're 

755
00:44:23,800 --> 00:44:27,880
working with. 
But then you have to keep up the

756
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:33,640
momentum because familiarity can
also lead to laziness. 

757
00:44:33,640 --> 00:44:38,720
And you have to understand the 
relationship is different 

758
00:44:38,720 --> 00:44:42,000
between a student and a 
permanent teacher versus a 

759
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:46,360
student and a guest teacher. 
And you have to be able to 

760
00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:50,200
switch again. 
For those listeners who have 

761
00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:55,120
enjoyed our previous episodes, 
you would have heard me talk 

762
00:44:55,280 --> 00:45:00,080
maybe briefly, but you know, at 
my time as a makeup artist and 

763
00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:04,760
working with different people 
and having to style step between

764
00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:07,760
each person to get the best out 
of that person. 

765
00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:11,280
And you have to be the same way 
when you're teaching different 

766
00:45:11,280 --> 00:45:14,760
people, different students. 
You have to be able to adapt in 

767
00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:17,680
real time. 
You have to be able to work out 

768
00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:21,440
dancer to dancer, what makes 
that person tick. 

769
00:45:21,440 --> 00:45:26,040
So you can then reconfigure not 
your entire teaching style, but 

770
00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:28,840
certainly different ways to 
approach that person to get the 

771
00:45:28,840 --> 00:45:32,120
best out of that person whilst 
maintaining a relationship with 

772
00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:35,840
your pianist, whilst keeping 
your eye on the clock, whilst 

773
00:45:35,840 --> 00:45:38,680
keeping the structure of the 
class flowing, keeping everybody

774
00:45:38,680 --> 00:45:42,320
warm, keeping the pace and, and,
and ticking off those goals that

775
00:45:42,320 --> 00:45:45,000
you've set for that class. 
So I think there's also that 

776
00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:47,880
side. 
Of it of for me as a guest 

777
00:45:47,880 --> 00:45:52,520
teacher, sometimes two things 
one side of being a guest 

778
00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:56,000
teacher, I can come in and I'm 
the exciting different one, yes.

779
00:45:56,080 --> 00:46:01,720
So in some some sense of the 
word, my job is easier than your

780
00:46:01,720 --> 00:46:04,880
regular teacher because I get to
be the exciting different 

781
00:46:04,880 --> 00:46:08,080
person. 
I get to come in and give you 

782
00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:11,240
some new steps, a new life. 
And I'm a different energy to 

783
00:46:11,240 --> 00:46:12,960
what you usually have every 
other day. 

784
00:46:13,280 --> 00:46:15,720
There's that excitement about 
it, which is, which is 

785
00:46:15,720 --> 00:46:19,120
different. 
However, it's also quite 

786
00:46:19,240 --> 00:46:21,960
complicated. 
You know, going off what you 

787
00:46:21,960 --> 00:46:24,920
just said as well, I don't know 
the personalities, I don't know 

788
00:46:24,920 --> 00:46:28,680
the energy, I don't know the 
standard of the people. 

789
00:46:28,680 --> 00:46:32,520
Yes, and this is many places 
I've taught, whether in England 

790
00:46:32,520 --> 00:46:35,520
or in Denmark. 
You know, all I have to go off 

791
00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:39,520
is what you have said to me as 
the leader of the school. 

792
00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:44,840
If you have told me that you are
teaching the the classical line 

793
00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:48,240
today or you are teaching the 
musical theatre line today, they

794
00:46:48,240 --> 00:46:51,040
are not as strong as ballet, but
they are really strong at this 

795
00:46:51,040 --> 00:46:53,320
or they are very strong 
technically. 

796
00:46:53,320 --> 00:46:58,000
Whatever it is, all I have to go
on is what you say and if you 

797
00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:01,400
were trying to upsell your 
school, it doesn't really help 

798
00:47:01,400 --> 00:47:03,320
me. 
Because then if you tell me that

799
00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:05,800
they're all really strong and I 
walk into the studio and they 

800
00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:10,920
are not, all my preparation that
I did before I came to this room

801
00:47:11,040 --> 00:47:14,920
is down the drain. 
Because these 11 year olds, 12 

802
00:47:14,920 --> 00:47:18,240
year olds, 14 year olds, 16 year
olds, whatever it is, when you 

803
00:47:18,240 --> 00:47:23,480
tell me they are strong, I base 
it on what I have learned from 

804
00:47:23,480 --> 00:47:27,200
my experience of teaching a 16 
year old, 14 year old, whatever 

805
00:47:27,200 --> 00:47:30,880
it is, is strong for that age 
bracket and that technique that 

806
00:47:30,880 --> 00:47:34,320
we are doing. 
There's no benefit in a school 

807
00:47:34,320 --> 00:47:38,080
upselling themselves to a guest 
teacher because it actually 

808
00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:40,800
wastes my time. 
Yeah, so that's one thing. 

809
00:47:40,800 --> 00:47:43,960
As a guest teacher, I also then 
will come into the room. 

810
00:47:43,960 --> 00:47:48,000
And if that happens, I can be in
this situation being like, my 

811
00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:52,040
God, these kids who are, I don't
know, 16 should really be able 

812
00:47:52,040 --> 00:47:56,160
to all do a double pirouette in 
a jazz class or whatever it is. 

813
00:47:56,560 --> 00:48:01,320
Now, on the other side of it, as
a permanent teacher, if you have

814
00:48:01,320 --> 00:48:04,080
these 16 year olds and none of 
them are being able to do a 

815
00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:09,000
double pirouette in a jazz 
class, it's your job to sort it 

816
00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:11,280
out. 
And that was something that hit 

817
00:48:11,280 --> 00:48:14,440
home with me when I was a 
permanent teacher somewhere 

818
00:48:14,440 --> 00:48:17,880
else, say, why can none of these
kids do a double pirouette? 

819
00:48:17,960 --> 00:48:19,720
Well, Paul, you're the dance 
teacher, so do it. 

820
00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:23,040
It doesn't matter where they've 
come from before this. 

821
00:48:23,760 --> 00:48:27,200
It doesn't matter about their 
pre training or whatever it is. 

822
00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:30,720
They are in this establishment 
right now at this age. 

823
00:48:30,960 --> 00:48:35,400
If in your mind, if they should 
be able to do this step by this 

824
00:48:35,760 --> 00:48:40,320
point, you are the one to do it.
And that was something that I, I

825
00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:43,640
know it sounds, it sounds quite 
stupid maybe, but like it's 

826
00:48:43,640 --> 00:48:48,600
something that I was like, oh, 
Oh, yeah, I'm, I, it's my job to

827
00:48:48,600 --> 00:48:52,200
do this because yes, fine, they 
have other classes and all this 

828
00:48:52,200 --> 00:48:54,400
kind of stuff. 
But now I'm not a guest teacher.

829
00:48:54,880 --> 00:48:58,000
Now I'm a permanent teacher. 
If, if I want them to be able to

830
00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:02,000
do this and then it's my job to 
do it, if that makes sense. 

831
00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:06,000
There's no one else to blame. 
That's the difference. 

832
00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:10,280
You are responsible. 
For the outcome of the skill set

833
00:49:10,280 --> 00:49:12,600
of these dancers as a permanent 
teacher. 

834
00:49:13,320 --> 00:49:15,600
And that is a huge 
responsibility. 

835
00:49:15,840 --> 00:49:20,520
And like you say, it's in some 
ways far easier to step in for a

836
00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:25,160
2 hour master class and be all 
bells and whistles and be the 

837
00:49:25,160 --> 00:49:27,160
new energy bouncing around the 
room. 

838
00:49:27,160 --> 00:49:28,800
Now we're doing fun 
choreography. 

839
00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:32,680
From insert musical here. 
Yeah, yeah, and everyone. 

840
00:49:32,680 --> 00:49:34,760
Says thank you so much. 
What a joy to have you. 

841
00:49:34,760 --> 00:49:37,920
And then you leave and that's 
the end of that story. 

842
00:49:37,920 --> 00:49:40,960
And then Damien comes in. 
The next Wednesday, every single

843
00:49:40,960 --> 00:49:45,400
Wednesday is like right parallel
step, single step, single step, 

844
00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:49,400
balance, balance down. 
Boring but needed technical 

845
00:49:49,400 --> 00:49:51,320
exercise. 
You are not as exciting. 

846
00:49:51,440 --> 00:49:52,920
Yeah, and you have to win them 
over. 

847
00:49:52,920 --> 00:49:56,400
In a different way and keep the 
energy and the momentum moving. 

848
00:49:56,400 --> 00:50:00,880
So very, very different styles 
and you'll also receive very 

849
00:50:00,880 --> 00:50:03,320
different reactions. 
I think it's it's really 

850
00:50:03,320 --> 00:50:07,080
interesting, the life of a 
teacher, a good teacher, a 

851
00:50:07,080 --> 00:50:12,880
responsible, informed, generous 
teacher, someone who gives a 

852
00:50:12,880 --> 00:50:15,160
warm up exercise. 
Somebody who sets the. 

853
00:50:17,800 --> 00:50:19,320
Somebody. 
Who greets you as? 

854
00:50:19,320 --> 00:50:23,600
You walk into the room would be 
a great indication of gosh, I'm 

855
00:50:23,640 --> 00:50:26,320
yeah, baffling. 
I literally I start. 

856
00:50:26,320 --> 00:50:29,680
Every single when I teach a 
ballet class, if I'm teaching, I

857
00:50:29,680 --> 00:50:33,240
used to teach at a place called 
as as a school called steps. 

858
00:50:33,640 --> 00:50:36,400
And occasionally there was 
guests in this in the class. 

859
00:50:36,400 --> 00:50:40,440
Otherwise it was my students 
there if there was guests And 

860
00:50:40,440 --> 00:50:44,920
when I teach an open class at 
Copenhagen, I will say in 

861
00:50:44,920 --> 00:50:50,360
Danish, Hi, my name is Paul. 
I teach in English, I speak 

862
00:50:50,360 --> 00:50:53,800
fluent Danish, You can ask me 
anything in Danish you want, 

863
00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:56,320
I'll be able to answer you. 
But I teach the class in 

864
00:50:56,320 --> 00:50:58,160
English. 
But feel free to speak your own 

865
00:50:58,160 --> 00:51:00,680
language better. 
Let's start. 

866
00:51:01,040 --> 00:51:05,200
A small introduction just brings
the room together. 

867
00:51:06,360 --> 00:51:08,120
I found it. 
Yeah. 

868
00:51:08,320 --> 00:51:11,840
I don't want to go back to that 
open class, but it's important 

869
00:51:11,840 --> 00:51:15,840
to start the class. 
You can't just, like, just start

870
00:51:15,840 --> 00:51:17,120
it. 
Even if you are going to set the

871
00:51:17,120 --> 00:51:20,800
exercise, I wouldn't also 
recommend facing the barn, just 

872
00:51:20,920 --> 00:51:24,440
your first thing to the people 
in the room being torn de front,

873
00:51:24,720 --> 00:51:27,400
say good morning, say hello, say
something. 

874
00:51:27,400 --> 00:51:28,800
Yeah. 
I mean, I couldn't agree. 

875
00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:31,360
More I mean from from my 
workshop. 

876
00:51:31,360 --> 00:51:34,000
Well, it doesn't matter wherever
I teach, but for my own 

877
00:51:34,000 --> 00:51:40,040
workshops and classes, I know 
that the 95% of the dancers in 

878
00:51:40,040 --> 00:51:43,720
that room, I'm very lucky. 
I have very loyal returning 

879
00:51:43,800 --> 00:51:47,960
dances. 
So I know, I know that when I 

880
00:51:47,960 --> 00:51:51,320
say welcome, here's what we're 
doing today, that they've heard 

881
00:51:51,320 --> 00:51:54,040
it all before. 
However, I will always have one 

882
00:51:54,040 --> 00:51:56,520
or two or three or four or five,
doesn't matter how many new 

883
00:51:56,520 --> 00:51:59,080
people. 
So I always say, hi, this is who

884
00:51:59,080 --> 00:52:01,640
I am. 
If this is your first time, 

885
00:52:01,640 --> 00:52:03,360
we're so thrilled to have you 
here. 

886
00:52:03,600 --> 00:52:06,280
This is a little bit about me. 
This is a little bit about what 

887
00:52:06,280 --> 00:52:10,680
to expect because everybody 
likes to be reassured about what

888
00:52:10,880 --> 00:52:13,880
will unfold because being in a 
studio and not knowing, 

889
00:52:14,080 --> 00:52:18,000
particularly if you're learning 
something new, which is usually 

890
00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:21,320
the case, yes, you can feel a 
little bit intimidated and 

891
00:52:21,320 --> 00:52:23,440
unsure. 
So you have to set the tone 

892
00:52:23,440 --> 00:52:24,920
immediately. 
So I couldn't agree with you 

893
00:52:24,920 --> 00:52:27,760
more. 
I want the name and the personal

894
00:52:27,760 --> 00:52:29,320
telephone number of this person 
that you're. 

895
00:52:31,720 --> 00:52:36,960
And I shall deal with it. 
I was very happy. 

896
00:52:36,960 --> 00:52:38,080
There's a new. 
Studio. 

897
00:52:38,080 --> 00:52:41,200
They've just, funny enough, 
they've just closed for a refurb

898
00:52:41,200 --> 00:52:43,160
and they're opening up again, 
but there's a new studio in 

899
00:52:43,160 --> 00:52:46,200
Copenhagen that was doing an 
open class and they asked me to 

900
00:52:46,200 --> 00:52:50,200
teach open class over the summer
and I loved it. 

901
00:52:50,200 --> 00:52:55,400
I haven't taught proper open 
class for a while, ballet class,

902
00:52:55,800 --> 00:53:00,400
and it was so fantastic and I 
forgot how much I loved and feel

903
00:53:00,400 --> 00:53:05,360
inspired by looking at these 
different dancers. 

904
00:53:05,360 --> 00:53:10,720
Do my steps like setting, you 
know, your normal waltzie, Padre

905
00:53:10,720 --> 00:53:12,920
beret, pirouet, exercise from 
the corner. 

906
00:53:13,400 --> 00:53:17,280
And it's open class. 
So there are people doing ballet

907
00:53:17,280 --> 00:53:19,280
for fun. 
There are people doing ballet 

908
00:53:19,280 --> 00:53:21,520
who are contemporary dancers. 
There are people doing ballet 

909
00:53:21,520 --> 00:53:25,280
who are professional ballet 
dancers in ballet companies. 

910
00:53:25,280 --> 00:53:27,000
There are people doing ballet 
who used to be ballet. 

911
00:53:27,200 --> 00:53:29,920
You know, there's a whole 
plethora of people who were in 

912
00:53:29,920 --> 00:53:35,400
that class, and I get so 
inspired by seeing someone do my

913
00:53:35,400 --> 00:53:40,240
exercise in a way that I would 
never think about doing my 

914
00:53:40,240 --> 00:53:42,040
exercise. 
And that doesn't mean it's 

915
00:53:42,040 --> 00:53:44,760
wrong. 
It's just seeing how someone 

916
00:53:44,760 --> 00:53:48,520
interprets my steps. 
Loved teaching open, open class 

917
00:53:48,520 --> 00:53:49,680
again. 
It was so fantastic. 

918
00:53:50,200 --> 00:53:54,720
And I just love being able to 
give those corrections to the 

919
00:53:54,720 --> 00:53:57,680
room without stopping the 
energy. 

920
00:53:57,680 --> 00:54:01,280
So I like to give a correction, 
yeah, just out loud while the 

921
00:54:01,280 --> 00:54:04,600
music is going and you can 
listen to it or you can ignore 

922
00:54:04,600 --> 00:54:06,640
it. 
Like, because for me, I like, 

923
00:54:06,760 --> 00:54:08,720
that's what I like in a, in an 
open class. 

924
00:54:08,720 --> 00:54:11,920
When I go to an open class, 
sometimes I want to be left 

925
00:54:11,920 --> 00:54:14,000
alone. 
Sometimes I want to hear 

926
00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:16,720
corrections like it's, it's 
different everyday. 

927
00:54:16,720 --> 00:54:20,080
So I like to be able to give 
corrections to the room and you 

928
00:54:20,080 --> 00:54:23,360
can ignore me or you cannot. 
It was just, it was, I really 

929
00:54:23,360 --> 00:54:26,080
enjoyed it. 
So I look forward to this studio

930
00:54:26,080 --> 00:54:29,000
opening up again after their 
refurb, which they do I think on

931
00:54:29,120 --> 00:54:31,000
October the 1st. 
Wonderful. 

932
00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:35,080
Not too far away. 
Either so exciting, I think you 

933
00:54:35,080 --> 00:54:38,240
know and I think, what does she 
think? 

934
00:54:38,880 --> 00:54:42,480
What am I thinking? 
I think just to end this point 

935
00:54:42,480 --> 00:54:46,480
on, you know, the different 
styles of teaching versus which 

936
00:54:46,480 --> 00:54:48,400
scenario you may find yourself 
in. 

937
00:54:48,400 --> 00:54:52,920
I think regardless, I can't 
remember what I was going to say

938
00:54:54,440 --> 00:55:00,320
regardless, point your feet. 
Well, thank you for listening to

939
00:55:00,320 --> 00:55:02,400
another. 
Episode of drinks at the bar we 

940
00:55:02,400 --> 00:55:05,400
could talk about teaching for 
absolute ages and especially I 

941
00:55:05,400 --> 00:55:07,920
could give you some lovely 
exercises from the corner. 

942
00:55:08,240 --> 00:55:11,320
Just please make sure they 
always have a nice balancing and

943
00:55:11,640 --> 00:55:14,080
I love a balancer. 
I love a waltz and a Ron 

944
00:55:14,080 --> 00:55:16,280
Versailles if you've. 
Heard last week's episode? 

945
00:55:18,680 --> 00:55:23,280
Just a walks forward and back 
and around the corner a chassis 

946
00:55:23,280 --> 00:55:26,560
end of 4th and a turn turn, turn
splits, flick, Flack splits, 

947
00:55:26,560 --> 00:55:30,880
flick. 
No flick flax. 

948
00:55:31,240 --> 00:55:34,280
Lose the flick Flack. 
Denise. 

949
00:55:34,280 --> 00:55:36,800
It's been a pleasure, another 
pleasure. 

950
00:55:37,440 --> 00:55:41,400
Thank you for coming back for 
Episode 2 of Season 3. 

951
00:55:41,400 --> 00:55:45,040
We're just as excited as you are
and we're thrilled to be 

952
00:55:45,040 --> 00:55:49,600
unravelling Season 3 as the 
weeks progress, so stick with 

953
00:55:49,600 --> 00:55:51,720
us. 
There'll be plenty more to hear 

954
00:55:51,840 --> 00:55:55,720
from Denise and Pops, and until 
then, lots of love and we'll be 

955
00:55:55,720 --> 00:55:58,200
back soon. 
Love you lots, Denise. 

956
00:55:58,240 --> 00:56:00,560
Thank you so much and I'll speak
to you again very soon. 

957
00:56:00,560 --> 00:56:02,200
Bye, darling. 
Bye everybody. 

958
00:56:02,520 --> 00:56:03,360
Bye. 
Thank you. 

959
00:56:03,760 --> 00:56:03,840
Bye.