Find your perfect ballet class

Are you familiar and comfortable with the five basic arm and leg positions in ballet? 

a) No, I’m not familiar with them 

b) I’m familiar with some/ I only know leg positions 

c) I know them all 

d) I know them all and can demonstrate them comfortably 

Do you have an understanding of what ballet posture is?  

a) No, I’m unfamiliar with ballet posture 

b) Yes, I’m familiar with, and can demonstrate ballet posture  

c) Yes, and I am working towards maintaining it throughout the class 

d) Yes, and I can maintain it easily throughout the class 

How confident are you with your balance? 

a) I am new to ballet and not sure yet how I will manage balance in the exercises. 

b) I need the barre for most exercises. It is difficult to be on demi pointe whilst turning out my legs. 

c) I am working on my balance and can usually maintain balance well in class 

d) I can do the centre practice without losing balance. I can balance quite comfortably in retiré and arabesque, including on relevé for at least a short time. I am comfortable with a promenade

Can you do a pirouette? 

a) I can’t do a pirouette yet but would love to  

b) I can sometimes do a single pirouette 

c) I can go comfortably from preparation to retire and I am working on consistency with single turns 

d) I am comfortable with single turns and would like to work towards double pirouette, and pirouettes en dedans or in attitude 

Which of these jumps are you familiar with? 

a) I am not confident demonstrating any specific ballet jumps 

b) I can do jumps in first/second/fifth positions, but I’m not sure what to call them 

c) I can do sauté jumps, changements, échappés 

d) I can do the above, as well as glissades, assembles, and grand jetés 

How familiar and comfortable are you with the standard barre exercises? 

a) I am not yet familiar with specific barre exercises and would need clear explanation and demonstrations 

b) I am familiar with some of the names and can do some of the exercises 

c) I can do a simple sequence for each exercise 

d) I am very confident with each of these and can perform a sequence consisting of a few different types of exercises 

During the barre or centre practice, are you able to mark the exercise sequence on the left and in reverse?  

a) I am not yet familiar with specific barre or centre practice and would need clear explanation and demonstrations 

b) I need the teacher to explain each side/direction, but can sometimes mark through independently  

c) I am getting there, but need detailed explanations for longer sequences 

d) I can easily reverse side/direction given some time to mark in my head 

What describes your experience with ballet best? 

a) I’m trying ballet for the first time 

b) I have a little experience with ballet (less than twenty classes) 

c) I have danced ballet as a child/teenager, but not for many years OR I have done ballet for a little over a year 

d) I have been doing ballet regularly for the last few years 

Results 

All A: We suggest Introduction to Ballet 

Mostly A and some B: If you want to push yourself, we suggest Beginners Ballet, but if you’d prefer to build your confidence first, you’d be very welcome in Introduction to Ballet. 

Mixture of B and C: If you want to push yourself, we suggest Improver, but if you’d prefer to build your confidence first, you’d be very welcome in Beginners Ballet. 

Mostly C: We suggest Improver. Find out more and to book a class head to our Improver Ballet webpage.

Mixture of C and D: If you want to push yourself, we suggest Intermediate, but if you’d prefer to build your confidence first, you’d be very welcome in Improvers. 

Mostly D: We suggest Intermediate. Find out more and to book a class head to our Intermediate Ballet webpage.