Joffrey Ballet Class (Free This Friday!)

School has started back up for the semester, but that doesn't mean that I am not going to keep this up.
This Monday I went to a Keep Fit Ballet class at the Joffrey Ballet here in Chicago. They offer adult ballet classes for anyone who wants to drop in and they have a variety of different levels. The Keep Fit class is extremely effective at making me sore. No word on whether it is effective at getting someone in great shape because I have never taken it regularly. But, that said, the level of soreness indicates that I worked some muscles.

Now, in the effort of full disclosure, the classes normally do cost money. But, this Friday, January 27th they are offering free classes! That is why I am posting about it even though I paid for the class on Monday (well not really but that’s because I had a gift certificate). The normal cost is $15 for adults, $12 for students and $10 for professionals.

So, free class on Friday!!!
I will of course be going to one of the free classes.

Observations about Keep Fit Ballet:

- Leotards are not flattering
To be fair, they make clothes look great. When I wear a leotard under my clothes on the way to class, I feel pretty rockin’. They are like full body shape-wear. Spanx ain’t got nothing on a leotard. I also wear full body tights. I recommend them soooo much for anyone who is not a professional ballerina with a professional dancer’s body. They prevent the horrible tights-muffin-top-thing and make everything look smoother.
All that said, leotards are meant to be clothes, not full coverage undergarments and leotards just on their own, man oh man. Not my favorite look. It is almost enough to deter me from going to class altogether- which is counter intuitive. The only way I will look good in my leotard is if I work out, so not going to class isn’t going to help anything. To make the leotard situation even more noticeable, ballet studios are covered in mirrors. There is no escaping them. Other people in the class wear additional clothing like capri pants or tank tops and I might explore that idea.

- Pointing your toe = Workout?
The majority of Keep Fit Ballet is a variety of toe pointing exercises. I don’t speak French, so I will not be writing any of the special terms down, but mostly they are all toe pointing: toe pointing to the front, to the back, to the side, a little off the ground, bouncing off the ground, circling pointed toe on the floor. Lots of toe pointing.
After the toe pointing, then there is some kicking. Then a little jumping. Nothing is very hard to do; however, at the end of the class I feel it!
I have tried artistically pointing my toe in my apartment and it does not have the same effect. Somehow, toe pointing in the ballet studio is a workout. Go figure.

- The studio has the most amazing view.
Seriously, there are giant picture windows that look out over State Street. Gorgeous. If you ever wanted to feel like a professional ballerina but say, you didn’t start when you were 4 and you aren’t Russian, I think this is the best you can get.

Additional benefit, people think you are really cool when you say you are going to a ballet class at the Joffrey. I had people ask me: “Oh wow, are you, like, a ballerina?” Hahaha… no. But, people seem to impart all sorts of specialness to a ballet class that just doesn’t exist when you tell someone that you are going to a Pilates class.

I’ll write about the free class once I go, but again, I wanted to let people know about the Free Classes this Friday!
Check out the link a class schedule and more information about the free classes.

http://www.joffrey.org/academy/programs/adult