Marblehead School of Ballet Goes Back-to-Basics

Start fall on the road to fitness and good health in the Marblehead School of Ballet's (MSB)special Fundamentals of Ballet and Pilates workshop series. The workshops, open to teenagers and adults, will be presented in September at the studio, located at 115 Pleasant Street in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Instructor Jimmy Raye, a dancer trained in classical ballet and Pilates, kicks off the series with the Pilates workshop on September 17 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pilates strengthens, stretches and emphasizes body alignment to promote healthy posture. Raye studied Pilates with master teacher Romana Kryzanowska, the inheritor of Joseph Pilate’s studio, and he became one of the first teachers to bring Pilates from New York City to the North Shore.

The session will cover this exercise's movement and technique. What can participants expect to learn? "This class provides knowledge of one's self, and the way you move through life," said Raye.

People, who never had a ballet class, have not danced in a long time, or just want to review the basics, are invited to sign up for the new Introduction to Ballet workshop taking place on September 24 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Paula K. Shiff, Director of the MSB and recipient of Salem State University's 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts, will lead the Ballet workshop.

"The Ballet and Pilates classes teach students the mechanics to achieve better health and fitness daily. Students in the ballet class learn correct body alignment, the appropriate exercises to do, and ballet vocabulary," said Shiff, who trained at the Boston Ballet, continued her studies at the American Ballet Theatre and the Martha Graham Studio and performed with the Boston Ballet

The tuition for the workshops is Pilates, $20, and Ballet, $25. Pre-registration is required. To register for the Fundamentals Workshops, call 781-631-6262, or send an e-mail to msb@havetodance.com.