JOIN OUR FLOCK!
“It’s Never Too Late” to join our over 50’s Senior Swans® dance classes. Ballet for adults is a growing worldwide trend. Many of Dance For Life Academy’s Senior Swans® are in their 50s,60s and 70s and there is usually an octogenarian or two at the barre!
BECOME A SENIOR SWANS LICENSEE:
Click here for details of training workshops and syllabus
Senior Swans® classes are relaxed, but focused. Numerous studies show that dance, including ballet, is good for the brain. That it provides an excellent antidote to age-related cognitive decline, not to mention the enhanced sense of wellness derived from improved mobility, balance, poise and socialization.
Kathleen Curwen-Walker introduced Senior Swans® Ballet classes to her studio Dance For Life Academy in 2016, with the one class blossoming rapidly to 10 per week! Participants comprise both total beginners and those returning to dance they perhaps once enjoyed in their youth. Some of the Senior Swans® have even gone through ballet exams, with good results. There are plenty of opportunities provided to perform to an audience if desired!
Senior Swans® Ballet follows the structure of a traditional Ballet class. The main adaptation is that there are no jumps (or very modified ones) to protect the joints. Neither do we offer pointe work….but who wants to go through that pain in our senior years anyway! Those are the only things that are out of bounds. Classes incorporate stretching & creative movement as well as formal ballet training to produce a holistic experience that invigorates, calms, challenges and satisfies. And then there’s always the lure of the local café to socialize at afterwards!
Senior Swans® Ballet: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Friday. Go to the timetable for options and to register your trial class.
Not only does DFLA offer Ballet for Seniors, the popularity of our senior’s classes now extends to include Theatre Jazz, Conditioning, Lyrical (a more free flowing modern style of neo classical dance) and Repertoire (learning dances for our showcases).
SWANS BALLET:
- Tuesdays 1.15pm
- Wednesdays 10.30am
- Thursdays 12pm
- Fridays 12pm
SWANS JAZZ :
- Tuesdays 12.15pm
SWANS GENTLE CONDITIONING :
- Fridays 11am
To Book your CLASSES , go to Register for Classes in your account here: https://app.gostudiopro.com/online/aaab
- Register for Classes
- Select the current adult season
- Scroll down to the class/es you want and click
- Click SUBMIT at the bottom & FINISH REGISTRATION at the top to pay.
If you need assistance to book, please email us at bookings@nzballet.co.nz
After your trial, we pro-rate Term fees until the end of the current term. Casual rates are also available.
STUDIO: 36 Galway St. Free parking.
ATTIRE: Any comfy dancewear, plus ballet flats (once you decide to enrol, socks are fine for your trial class) available at The Dancers Wardrobe.
Please let me know what you’d like to do…we look forward to getting you started with the “Senior Swans®️”!
Senior Swans® classes are now proud to be accredited by these notable organisations:
TEACHER TRAINING & SENIOR SWANS LICENCES
I envision a program which will empower other teachers to take the success of Senior Swans and replicate this in their local communities, making ballet for seniors more accessible to mature aged students across New Zealand, opening new business opportunities for dance studios and boost sustainability of jobs for teachers of dance.
Are you interested in teaching ballet to seniors? Or perhaps you already are teaching seniors and would like to expand your knowledge?
You don’t need to be affiliated with any particular dance training organisation to take part in the Senior Swans®️ Teacher Training Workshops and become a Senior Swans Licensee. You do need to be a teacher of ballet.
In my training workshops, I will share knowledge gleaned at my studio over the past 7 years of teaching ballet specifically to seniors to provide this boost and foster greater access to ballet for New Zealand’s over 50’s community. This one day workshop, scheduled in a city centre near you (and also available online), will provide you with the following outcomes:
- Gain a thorough understanding of the unique physical, mental and emotional challenges faced by dancers over-50 learning ballet.
- Learn to effectively sequence, modify and language classes for seniors.
- Understand how to craft a ballet class that delivers “real ballet” in a safe, honest and inspiring manner.
- Identify opportunities for setting up and marketing your classes for seniors.
- Confidently learn how to prepare lessons to teach 3 levels of classes from complete beginner to returning dancer.
For those interested in opening classes under the Senior Swans brand of classes , which includes receiving monthly lesson plans and video ideas for Swans classes, there will be an option to register as a Senior Swans Licensed studio after the workshop. Please head to seniorswans.com for more information, or email me at info@seniorswans.com
If you would like to teach Senior Swans and learn from our 7 years of experience with these classes, please contact me today:
Kathleen Curwen-Walker, Licentiate Cecchetti Ballet
Artistic Director, NZ Ballet Ltd
Visit our Instagram pages: Dance for Life Academy, Senior Swans
+61483355222