Article by:
bbodance
On May 21st 2023, adult dancers from Blue Moose Dance Company took their first Ballet Examination, completing the bbodance Grade 1 Classical Ballet Performance Award. bbodance Registered Teacher Sharman Robinson guided the group through this journey; we spoke to Sharman about the process and her experience teaching the group.
“The journey began in September 2022 when I covered my daughter’s maternity leave for Blue Moose Dance Company, a community hub based in and around rural areas of Preston. I began working with five dancers aged from 50 years to late 80s! The interest in dance came later in life for some. During the classes the dancers became more and more focused; I began to feed the bbodance syllabus into my classes and it soon became obvious the dancers wanted to learn more. The prospect of an exam was on the horizon, so we decided to chase that goal! As part of the examination, we had to create a short dance piece to be performed as a solo by each dancer. We used inspiration from Swan Lake to create the piece and the enjoyment from the dancers was evident.
When the examination date arrived, the dancers entered with slight nerves but came out of the session on a high! This excitement remained for my next classes with them. The experience of teaching and preparing for this assessment has been incredible. Dancing with bbodance is the way for everyone.”
The group of 5 dancers consisted of Jean Ann Naylor, Judith Jones, Dr Fanny Leech, Pamela Warbrick and Ande Fraggle Michael. They were all successful in their exams, passing with Merit and Distinction grades! We asked them to share their thoughts about their examination experience.
“Thank you so much for the experience of being able to dance and take the ballet examination. The experience was truly wonderful. I have been a singer for nearly all my life but, after a foot accident, to get up onto a stage to sing (a stick was not an option) was a nightmare! Even getting on the stage to collect my doctorate was frightening. On Sunday I joyfully performed a solo dance without any worries. How marvellous was that! Thank you again for inspiring us to dance and to take tests to help us to dance even better.”
“Preparing for the Grade 1 Examination in our Adult Ballet Class, after several years of ballet classes for fun, has been a most illuminating experience for me. With Sharman Robinson as our teacher our class became very focused and I have been inducted into the discipline of ballet. It leaves me wanting more......and more.....and more......”
“A workout for the ageing body and memory, plus fun and lovely music for the soul. What a gift from a fantastic teacher. Thank you.”
“My mobility and confidence have improved, with my physiotherapist declaring a miracle had happened!”
Congratulations to Sharman and the adult dancers for their fantastic work and achievements.
The team at bbodance are inspired and delighted to be able to share success stories such as these and encourage adults of any age to continue to participate in dance. The organisation has recently launched a brand new membership offer for adult dancers: the Next Stage Adult Dance Membership. This membership is suitable for all dancers aged 18+, no matter what the next stage of their dance journey is. We hope to encourage adults to continue their dance journey, restart a childhood hobby or try something new and, in turn, learn more about themselves and their capabilities.
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