Written by Elliott Coombes \/\/ Graphic by Makayla McDonald<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those who always wanted to dance now have the opportunity, thanks to student-led ballet classes. Sophomore Reed Wilson hosts the classes by taking advantage of room reservations in the Reynolds Center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Friday or Saturday nights, depending on availability, Wilson uses Room C207, or the \u201cmirror room,\u201d for open-door, informal classes for her fellow college students. All students are welcome, and participants don\u2019t need any kind of sign-up sheet to attend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have no idea how many people are gonna be there until it starts,\u201d Wilson said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wilson, who has been leading ballet classes for approximately a year, said some of her friends had expressed interest in it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI started it up last spring, and I was talking with some friends about how they always, as kids, wanted to learn how to do ballet,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018It\u2019s never too late to start.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wilson\u2019s most central advertisement has been word of mouth, spreading from everyone she knows to everyone they know. She structures her class just as a typical ballet class would be. All the lessons are choreographed. She teaches the steps first, then introduces music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe start in the center at first, and I go over some feet and arm positions, and then we go to the bars, so you\u2019re holding on to the wall, and we do some stretches,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cAnd then we do combinations across the floor, and some more combinations across the center, and then we stretch, and then we\u2019re done.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What makes the class atypical is its casual focus. No equipment or experience is needed, and there are no expectations. Everything is aimed at beginners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA lot of times people ask what to wear,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cThe biggest thing I always say is just wear whatever you\u2019re comfortable in. I think that\u2019s representative of what the whole class is: just do what you\u2019re comfortable with. If it\u2019s too hard, then don\u2019t do it. Or if it\u2019s too easy, make it harder.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One attendee, sophomore Baylor Cooper, expressed his first impressions regarding the class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was nervous to go at first, just because it was a bunch of different people that I didn\u2019t really know,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cBut the environment there is just so supportive, and everybody\u2019s just so encouraging, and there\u2019s no need to do well, because nobody\u2019s great at ballet. We\u2019re all just there having fun, and you just slowly become friends with the whole community.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Attendee senior Will Nixon explained how much the class has grown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think the last ballet we had last week, there was close to 80 people there, and it probably started out with 15 or 20,\u201d Nixon said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nixon gave his thoughts on Wilson\u2019s decision to share what she is passionate about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is something she\u2019s been doing since she was really little, and it\u2019s her passion, so I think it\u2019s really cool how she\u2019s sharing that with other people,\u201d Nixon said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wilson\u2019s goal is for people to have fun but also to learn. In addition to teaching the moves, she teaches the technical French terms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople who come to a few classes, they remember those words,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cThings like that, people learn over time the more they come to the class.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Above all, Wilson emphasized the no-pressure atmosphere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat I tell people is, just come for 15 minutes, and if you don\u2019t like it, then don\u2019t stay,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cAnd people always stay. And a lot of times they come back too, because it\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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