WHAT IS
BOTH?
Adult dance classes
Adult dance classes and workshops for professionals, trainees and hobbyists specialising in ballet, contemporary and improvisation. Run by Beatrice Ghezzi and Orley Quick in South and East London. Guest teachers are also invited to offer other styles or approaches. Experience Required.
EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
What do we mean by 'Experience Required'?
We say ‘experience required’ as for us it is impossible to box the broad range of training and approaches of our participants into a one-worded level. Our classes can be quite fast-paced and challenging.
BOTH is for you if one or more of the following applies:
- You have ample experience in ballet and/or contemporary techniques
- You know your body well through other physical practices e.g. other dance styles and yoga*
- You have an excellent attitude to learning when being challenged and can work safely*
*We encourage people to have a try. If we think you are not quite ready for BOTH classes we may direct you to other classes at different levels to build a more concrete base.
NB: we do offer some beginner classes in our weekly teaching elsewhere.
Who comes to BOTH?
Professional dancers, dancers in training, people returning to dance, musicians, actors, academics, students, interior designers, editors, fashion designers, scientists, lawyers, parents, travellers...
All of our participants, from a wide range of backgrounds and ages, share a love of dance, accessing our classes for different reasons.
As long as you know what you want from the classes we should be able to support you. Any uncertainties do ask us!
Hear from some of our students
WHO RUNS BOTH?
B for Beatrice
O for Orley
TH for Thursday*
*Thursday was our launching night
We (Beatrice and Orley) trained at LABAN in the same year and then spent many years teaching alongside each other at Lewisham College (which was previously and historically one of London’s leading institutions for vocational dance training). We found ourselves to share a complementary teaching formula that worked, enabling students to go on to prestigious dance schools, dance employment or to build fabulous life skills through dance. (Our students went on to institutions like Rambert, LCDS, Royal Conservatoire Antwerp, Middlesex University, BIRD, LABAN, London Studio Centre etc).
With our shared teaching ethos and values, we have a deep respect for each other and revel in being students in each other’s classes as well as building on a shared-practice that we enjoy developing and researching. We are extremely passionate about teaching, love the people we meet in our classes and ultimately adore working together. Our complementary and yet different approaches are a fabulous combination for providing rounded training.
BOTH is our teaching initiative that is the result of these years together as fellow students, performers and teachers. BOTH has officially been running since October 2018.
BEATRICE GHEZZI
Beatrice is a London-based Italian teacher and dancer. In 2016 she completed her MA in Contemporary Dance at the LCDS. She has been teaching ballet and contemporary dance classes for the past 8 years in several vocational and community settings. In particular, she has been working for Balle4life® and the Charity Move Into Wellbeing®, teaching adult ballet and contemporary classes at all levels and movement classes for people living with Parkinson’s. Her teaching emphasises coordination, timing, use of space and dynamics. The main aim is fluidity and flavour, with a research and care for movements transitions as opposed to aesthetic forms. Alongside her teaching, Beatrice continues to perform for choreographers in projects and independent work.
*Click here to see Beatrice’s weekly drop-in classes at Ballet4Life (Ballet, Contemporary, Pointe).
ORLEY QUICK
Orley is a London-based dance artist and teacher. She is a key promoter of life-long learning, revelling in teaching those who think it’s too late to start dancing and loves the malleability of contemporary dance as a movement technique and choreographic medium. She has taught dance in a range of vocational and community settings for many years including FE colleges, universities and adult colleges, specialising in contemporary dance, improvisation, choreographic approaches and dance theory. Her teaching style is playful, sensory and energised. Alongside her teaching work, Orley performs and choreographs, with a particular interest in collaboration. Her choreographic work is rooted in social commentary and relationships.
*Click here to see Orley’s adult contemporary dance courses at CITY LIT.