written by  Jim Coleman  on 06.09. at 11:26:56

>  I've seen first timers try to do class in socks or bare feet with predictably bad results.  Socks don't have enough friction, bare feet have too much.

Yes I can imagine that being the case, but just for the first one-hour lesson in order to get a rough feel it should be bearable.

>  Ballet shoes are the only things that give just the right degree of adhesion to the floor.  Some schools have a collection of old shoes you could use, or you might have to just spend the money for new ones.

I've got the number of the instructor so I'll give her a call and ask if she has any spares I could borrow.

>After you've made the decision to enroll and pursue ballet you'll need the traditional male dancer outfit of black tights, dance belt, and a white t-shirt.  Tights not only let you move unencumbered, but let your instructor see what you are doing with your leg muscles, so she can correct your placement.

Yep, I'll be getting all the kit assuming I decide to go ahead with lessons.

>Your messages to the other people who have written to you seem to imply you are not commited to continuing after your first trial class.  I would urge you to make the commitment to do a couple months worth of classes.  Why?  Because you will probably hate your first class.  The teacher will either ignore you entirely or give you a whole bunch of corrections that make you feel like you'll never be able to even stand up again, let alone dance gracefully.  You have to give yourself enough time to understand and start applying those corrections before you will be able to tell whether you have a future in dance.  Good luck!

I do realise it will be very hard and discouraging, but these things won't be what puts me off.  What I'm looking for is a general "feel".  I will know instinctively if ballet lessons are for me - I'll be reaching inside myself to see if "the spark flares", at the teacher for that all important "friendliness, openness, dedication and knowledge" factor, at the other students and at the school itself.  If the vibes are good, I'll be continuing classes no matter how hard they are.  If I believe in something, I'll dedicate myself to it.

This is something I've wanted to do for a very long time, I'm extremely excited about it, and frankly there isn't much that would make me give up on this, and if I did I would be pretty disappointed.  I have no illusions about how hard it will be, but hey, if it were easy there would be no challenge.  Victory is only sweet if the battle is hard.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for their responses and encouragement.  I'll let you know how the first lesson went!  :o)

Many thanks

Jim