VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Adult ballet class is a place for students to move at their own pace
Guadalupe: At the Community Folk Art Center adults are trading in their typical workouts for ballet shoes or just a spot at the barre. Instructor Charles Haislah wants this class to be more than learning the steps.
Haislah: I think fitness, agility, grace, a lot of adults get so many things out of any kind of like fitness class, a decompression at the end of the day.
Guadalupe: From stretching to building core strength, Haislah says ballet can offer a new way for adults to move, especially as Syracuse heads into winter.
Haislah: This will assure you don’t eat it in the snow, you know, because I’m telling you, it has saved my life. When I slip, I could stay on my feet and slide a quarter block and then come to a complete halt. That core strength is something else.
Haislah: As I said, I’m not one of those teachers that are like, okay, follow me and do what I say. I’m literally going to be like, make sure no one’s left behind.
Guadalupe: And that idea is at the center of the class. Students come with different experience levels, from people who danced as children to those trying ballet for the very first time. For Haislah, showing up is already something to celebrate.
Haislah: There’s no competition, so the class has a tendency to level up together. I have everyone from young adults to senior citizens to athletes, to somebody who’s just like, I’m just trying to get off the couch, you know? And I love that because guess what? Congratulations. You made it off the couch. Congratulations. You walked in the door. And welcome.
Guadalupe: Now, whether they show up to stay active, build confidence or try something new, these adults are learning that ballet has absolutely no age limits. Gabriela Guadalupe NCC news.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – At the Community Folk Art Center, adult ballet students show up to spend just an hour of their evening practicing at the barre, stretching, and keep active through dance, but instructor Charles Haislah said the goal is not perfection.
“It’s not a competition,” Haislah said. “Everybody comes with different abilities and different goals in this class.”
For some students, ballet is a return to something they did as children. For others, it is a completely new way to exercise and decompress after their day/
Haislah said students are not coming to the class hoping to become professional dancers. Instead, they can build agility, grace and core strength while also taking time for themselves.
“A lot of adults get so many things out of any kind of fitness class,” Haislah said. “A decompression at the end of the day. Stretching is always good.”
The class is open to a range of experience levels, from people who have never danced before to people searching for nostalgia from their childhood and older adults looking to stay active.
“I have everyone from young adults to senior citizens to athletes to somebody who’s just like, ‘I’m just trying to get off the couch,’” Haislah said. “Congratulations. You made it off the couch. Congratulations. You walked in the door, and welcome.”
During class, Haislah encourages students to work within their own abilities instead of comparing themselves to the person beside them. As students learn the movements together over time, he said the group begins to grow as one.
“With adult classes, there’s no competition,” Haislah said. “The class has a tendency to level up together.”
Haislah, who has performed professionally in Europe and trained in San Francisco, brings those experiences into the studio through stories and detailed instruction. Still, he said ballet is something anyone can begin learning.
“Everybody starts in the same place,” Haislah said. “When it comes to turnout and positions, not everybody’s born that way.”
For students walking in for the first time, Haislah’s message is simple: the class is a space to learn, move and find confidence at their own pace.