Hola everyone! Recently, I went on a trip to Spain and naturally I had to take a ballet class during my visit. At this point, it’s become a tradition, and I love learning from different instructors worldwide and seeing how it’s both similar and different simultaneously. After doing some research, I decided the best location to take a class during my stay would be in Barcelona and I found a great option at Estudio Lorna Gil.
Her studio was located fairly close to my hotel and they also focused specifically on ballet classes for adults. I loved how it also had Pilates classes and was catered towards adults, as most studios I’ve been to have been geared towards children and then add in an adult ballet class or they have classes for pre-professional and professional students only, so it was refreshing to see an adult ballet school.
She also offers many classes in different levels from beginner to advanced, even going on pointe, and has classes throughout the week. As some classes I found in Spain only ran once or twice a week, which is harder to predict when you’re trying to balance traveling to see monuments, palaces, and museums during your stay. In order to sign up for the class, you do need to pre-register online, which was fairly simple and if you’re like me and only dropping in once while you visit, they have a trial drop in class that you can sign up for and pay online through PayPal.
After registering, Lorna Gil then emailed me for information regarding which class I would like to take, my level of experience in dance, and options I had if I wanted to continue taking classes. After mentioning my experience, she was excited and I couldn’t wait to try out the class! Finding my way there was easy on Google Maps and I arrived about 15 minutes early, so that I could have time to change. Luckily, they had a change room downstairs and a bathroom near the studio entrance with the Pilates studio in between the ballet studio. There were cubbies for belongings and an area to change or stretch, which was convenient. Once the class was ready a bell rang and I was able to head to class.
The class I took was intermediate/advanced but it leaned a bit more towards intermediate that day, as she explained that it was quieter due to the festival they had in Barcelona that day for Saint Jordi. It’s a huge festival that’s mainly in Placa de Catalunya and at Casa Battlo (which they decorate with roses). I ended up booking Casa Battlo for earlier that day without knowing ahead of time and it was super crowded!
It was beautiful, as there were roses on the ground and also book stands in the streets, as it was also national book day. To celebrate, the guy usually gives the girl a rose in exchange for a book I was told. One of the customer service representatives at a nearby store explained that the roses represent the blood of the dragon that was slain for the honour of the princess, which is why the flowers are red, and the books were incorporated as it happens to be on the same day. Fortunately, we walked in to a Guess store that was handing out free roses to customer, which was a nice touch.
During my travels I realized they have quite a few holidays in Spain! Comparatively, in Canada, while they do have holidays most people aren’t able to have the day off to celebrate, so they’re a bit more laidback. Whereas in Europe, they tend to go all out and the streets are packed!
Now back to the ballet class! We started off with the barre and then moved on to some stretching exercises. This was the interesting part as she was observing me during the barre unbeknownst to me and gave me specialized stretches that I could practice there and at home to help improve my Demi-pointe and lengthen the back of my calves and thighs. As she noticed I had some tension in the back of my legs that was restricting my plies, compared to the front of my thighs and hips, which she said were quite flexible and relaxed.
She showed me exercises with these spiky balls that I could roll out on and sit on the top of to relieve tension. She also took the time to show me her methodology in teaching and the importance of not forcing turn out, which is commonly found in traditional methods. I appreciate how much time she spent with me, as I love learning more about improving my own dancing as well as for teaching others.
Side note: for the barre, since most students take the class regularly throughout the year, there wasn’t much explanation for the exercises. However, the instructor did stand in front so I could follow along when we went to the other side, which was very helpful.
Once we moved to the center, there was a port de bras, allegro, piques, lame ducks, and pirouettes. I liked how the port de bras involved some artistry rather than focusing on steps, as this is sometimes missing in open classes. The class in total was for one and a half hours, which gave me a good amount of time to sample the class. The class was run in Spanish, however, the instructor does speak English fluently, which helped a lot. I also find dance to be a universal language of movement, where once you know the basics, it’s easy to pick up.
Overall, I really enjoyed taking this class and I hope you get a chance to try it out if you’re in Barcelona! I hope you enjoyed this review and until next time-Adios!
Here is the link to the website: balletypilatesterapeutico.com
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