44 THE QUEENS COURIER • DANCE • SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com dance Twinkle Toes BY TRESA ERICKSON You’ve enjoyed watching ballet since you were a kid, but you never had the opportunity to try the dance form until now. You’re a lot older, of course, so learning ballet in the hopes of joining the professional ranks someday is out. You’re taking up ballet simply because you like it and want to know more about it. Ballet can be rigorous and requires extensive fl exibility, which may explain why many professional ballet dancers retire in their 40s. They can no longer perform as they once did and choose to leave the profession. In spite of their retirement, many dancers continue to practice ballet because of the health benefi ts it provides. Ballet strengthens and tones muscles and builds endurance. It also improves coordination, enhances posture and develops poise. Anyone who can stand the exertion involved can take up ballet at almost any age and benefi t from it. If you are interested in learning the dance form, you should enroll in a class, preferably for adults. You will feel less self-conscious in an adult class and learn more. You should check with the school for a specifi c list of equipment you will need for the class. In most cases, men will need a T-shirt or leotard, a dance belt, tights and ballet shoes, while women will need a leotard, tights and ballet shoes. T-shirts and tights are typical. However, you may want to wear a unitard or a T-shirt, tights and bicycle shorts if the school allows them. The color and type of apparel worn is often a matter of personal preference. Black tights are common. However, the school or instructor may have their own requirements regarding color. Many dancers prefer lycra tights over all-nylon tights because they fi t better and leather ballet shoes over canvas shoes because they stretch. Most ballet shoes come with elastic bands, the ends of which you can sew on top of the shoes just below the anklebones to ensure the shoes stay on. Ballet is not easy to master. Don’t arrive at the class on the fi rst day, expecting to emerge from it a pro. It takes time to learn the combination of steps required and get your body accustomed to performing those steps and linking them together upon command. Give yourself some leeway and don’t worry if you don’t get something the fi rst time and have to stand aside and watch others perform the steps. No matter what your age, you can learn ballet and benefi t from it. Go ahead and enroll in a class. As you become more adept at ballet and your skills improve, you may want to enroll in a few more classes. This will accelerate the learning process and keep you in shape. Long Island City Academy of Music (LICAM), recipient of the Best of the Boro Award, has developed into one of the top Music schools in NYC. LICAM offers instrumental—piano, violin, drums, woodwinds, harp, and many more--and vocal instruction in many genres at affordable rates and at convenient hours, so students can commit to regular lessons and achieve their dreams. Our faculty of 25 instructors are award-winning professional performers with degrees from major conservatories such a Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music, who are specifi cally chosen for their experience in teaching as well as being role models for the children and adults they are instructing. We run children’s group programs like Dalcroze Eurythmics and Music Together, an R&B choir, a Broadway singing and acting class, and a Youth Choir that performs annual operas and has been invited to sing alongside professional singers from the Metropolitan Opera in productions of “Tosca” and “Werther” at Lincoln Center. This coming year our Broadway class will present a fully staged production of Sondheim’s “Into The Woods” under the musical direction of the New York Philharmonic›s James Bassi. We have outreach programs at several Queens public schools, where we offer group instrumental and vocal classes at affordable prices and we are dedicated to creating meaningful performance opportunities for all of our students. Come explore the opportunities we offer to develop new, exciting skills that will enhance your life. Our goals are large, but then so too are the results we see in our students. www.licmusicacedemy.com • 917-548-3590 of the THE QUEENS QueensCourier.com LEARN FROM THE BEST MUSICIANS IN NEW YORK
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