Academy of Classical Ballet

No classes will be held during the holiday season from December 21 - January 2
Classes will resume Saturday, January 3

See the December Newsletter for more information

Also note there will be a new Friday morning class and the 11:30am Tuesday/Thursday class has moved to 11:00am

quality ballet training and performance opportunities for dancers
of all ages in the greater Denver area

“You do what? You’re kidding, right?”

That’s the usual reaction I get from friends and co-workers when I tell them I have to go to my ballet rehearsal instead of joining them for a beer. You may not expect a 58 year old guy with a wife, two dogs, and a mortgage to be a ballet dancer, but I am.

Most local ballet studios specialize in teaching kids. Lakewood’s Academy of Classical Ballet - where I take class - has children’s classes of course, but also a full adult program with some odd 50 students. Although small and unassuming, the school’s philosophy is that performance is a valuable part of every dancer’s education, so they mount two full length ballet performances each year, including The Nutcracker and encourage all students to participate. The adults run a full spectrum of ages and come from all walks of life. I take classes with doctors, nurses, electricians, barmaids, social workers, college students, and housewives. I’m a freelance television director/cameraman specializing in outdoor adventure sports, so you can imagine the reaction of my macho colleagues when they hear about my hobby. If only they knew how difficult and challenging ballet really is! Ballet is not for wimps.

I'm in my second incarnation of being a ballet dancer.  As a boy, I always had a secret desire to take ballet, but all the usual fears kept me from actually doing it.  The one time I did express a wish to try it in high school, my dad threw a fit.  In college, I actually went so far as to sign up for a class but freaked out when my roommate saw my schedule. I said it was a mistake and dropped it immediately. The course description, "Women's PE 202", didn't help!  I should point out that dance has since moved into the Department of Theatre and Dance at CU - Boulder, so anyone taking it today wouldn't have that strike against him.

Finally, a couple years after college, I took advantage of an opportunity to start ballet at Boulder’s Community Free School.  I didn't want to get any older without at least trying it.  So, with fear and trepidation, I walked into class, stripped down to tights without anyone laughing, and not only survived, but found I really liked it! I took class for a couple years, but eventually the school went broke, my work demanded too much international travel, yadda, yadda, yadda, and I dropped out of ballet.

That was more than 25 years ago, but I never lost my desire to dance. Finally, in 1998 I realized how much I missed it and decided I had to get back into ballet. After one false start, I found the Academy of Classical Ballet, a school with a serious adult program, including pas de deux classes and even performance opportunities. I take class two to four times a week, depending on my work schedule. Unfortunately, it's a 60 mile round-trip drive to Lakewood, an hour and a half commute as many days a week from Boulder. But, it’s worth it!

The next year I performed for the first time – as a party parent in Nutcracker. Since then, I've been the "Golden Idol" in La Bayadere, had several parts in Coppelia, danced the role of the Pasha in Le Corsaire, and have done Drosselmayer in Nutcracker four times.  In Don Quixote, I was the guy playing senile old Don Q himself. Finally, after eight years of training, I’ve gotten good enough to dance featured pas de deux roles in productions of Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.

Learning to dance is incredibly frustrating at times.  Your body sees nothing natural in the movement and fights the entire procedure until you finally surrender to it.  Once you acknowledge that it’s basically impossible - it becomes possible!  The key is repetition: go to as many classes each week as you can.  Eventually the light bulb turns on and voila! - you're a dancer.

                                  -Scott

Academy of Classical Ballet
303/420-5613