Sonia Tycko is a member of Susie Crow’s intermediate ballet class in Oxford.  Huge thanks to her for providing this useful user’s starter guide to some of the vast amount of ballet training material online, as dancers seek for ways to keep their practice going at home… please do feel free to add your thoughts and comments below this post, and share other resources you may have found.  Sonia writes:

Although we cannot take class together in our studio for the time being, we can safely maintain and even build elements of our dance practices at home with online classes. In this post, I’ll point out a few resources that I’ve collected this week. Full-length online dance class offerings might be divided into two categories: live and pre-recorded.

LIVE

Live videos form a community of dancers, which motivates you to not only start but also complete a dance class in your kitchen. On YouTube or Instagram Live, you can see how many other dancers are watching the live videos along with you. Your fellow dancers’ written comments and “likes” throughout the session will give you some sense of their energy and engagement. It’s great that these videos start at a specific time because that can add structure to the day. The teachers are recording their videos in their own homes, and will only set material that you can fit into a small space. On the downside, live videos can have technical issues with sound and lighting, and of course they might not suit your schedule.

To locate a class, one starting point is Dancing Alone Together, which compiles a list of many styles of live-streamed dance classes, organized as a calendar: https://www.dancingalonetogether.org

Another approach is to seek out classes from a specific studio or teacher. I’ve been taking live barre in my kitchen with my lovely teacher in Philadelphia, Amy Novinski. Amy is a full-time ballet teacher, working with students at all levels in the Vaganova style. Her classes are currently available on Instagram only. To use Instagram’s live functions, you need to have the app on your phone, not on a computer browser. Once you have the app, you can find Amy’s classes @amynovinski and @balletx.official. On the former channel, the classes are $5–8, paid by Venmo, and on the latter, they are free (but rest assured that BalletX is paying the teachers). Some of these live classes remain available for up to 24 hours after they are first recorded.

PRE-RECORDED

Pre-recorded videos are often technically superior and more convenient. But these videos have less of a sense of community. It’s more tempting to quit when your mind wanders or you start to flag.

You can currently get a free 2-week trial subscription to Dancio, http://www.dancio.com. Dancio invites master teachers to record a class in a beautiful studio. I don’t think these classes were designed to be completed in a small kitchen, but they might be worth trying for the barre, at least.

For a popular, free option, try Kathryn Morgan‘s YouTube videos. These include barres, center, and conditioning classes; more specific teaching tips; and chatty videos about her career and advice for aspiring young dancers. The sound quality and music are not the best, but the instruction is clear and safe for amateurs. Scroll down to see the class videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ7v_GfFQaVoaPak9_SwR5A

Finally, dancers might also seek out yoga and pilates videos. One well established source is Yoga with Adriene, which I recommend for stretching and relaxation. I am also planning to try videos from Teagan, a dancer/yogi whose classes I took in Philadelphia. Her classes are flow yoga meant to get your heart rate up and build strength; they work well for dancers’ conditioning workouts.

There are many other options online at the moment, and I’m excited to see what Susie herself is developing; find her on Instagram at @susiecrowbiss. I look forward to hearing your recommendations!

Sonia Tycko

23rd March 2020