What is class?

Henry: Hi. Let’s start at the beginning. I am Henry St Clair – First Artist with The Royal Ballet – along with my partner and fellow dancer, Olivia Cowley; we want to give you a snapshot of our lives here at Covent Garden.

Olivia: So first things first – Class! As dancers we are often asked, what is Class? What is the importance of a daily class? The easy answer is – the first bit of dancing we do each day…. 6 days a week, and for some, 52 weeks a year!

Henry: Basically, the daily class serves as a conditioning session for our bodies and a practise session for our technique. But, actually, this hour and a quarter a day is far more important than that. It is a chance to, not only move our bodies and work out the inevitable aches and pains from the show the night before but also to gauge the mood and emotion of the company as a whole. We work incredibly hard and in close proximity with our fellow dancers and one of the most important things is to see these people every day and socially interact.

Olivia: The importance of actually dancing every morning also varies from dancer to dancer and can be different for men and women. For example, a man who has done a hard show the previous night and doesn’t have much hard physical work for a few days may prefer a run and a session on the weights bench. Us girls are generally more involved in the “white acts” of classical ballets and as such need to place more emphasis on doing class every day purely to improve technique and keep up the incredible levels of stamina we so desperately need.

Henry: I hope this helps to answer any questions people may have about the physical and psychological importance of that all important daily class. If you don’t already – maybe you should consider doing your own Class each day – it certainly frees up the mind and body.

Olivia: and think of all that team building that could go on as people up and down the country do bit of limbering by their desks each day.