by: Luisa Kay Reyes
Luisa at the Ballet Barre
Ed Note: While not being a reviewer/critic by profession, Ms. Reyes has a love of music, art and dance. Musically, she specializes in opera and is passionate about ballet. She is a trained vocalist and pianist, having studied, among other places, at Oberlin Conservatory. She has a Masters Degree in Library Science and is a licensed attorney. You will see her reviews and other articles in the blog from time to time. Ms. Reyes is currently a Project Manager with Bettina Network, inc.
“When my colleague, knowing my passion for ballet, sent me an e-mail she received announcing the Adult Ballet Classes offered at the Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre School, needless to say I jumped (or did a jete!) at the chance to experience what they offered.
Looking closely at the summer schedule, I noticed that for the most part the Adult Ballet Classes were held Monday through Friday from six o’clock in the evening until seven-thirty in their main studio, which is located right in Cambridge. In fact, the studio is merely a block past the main Harvard University campus. Being preoccupied most of the week with other activities I decided to pull out my black ballet leotard and pink tights on Friday. And walk right on down to the ballet school ( when the temperature was over 90 degrees).
With my hair up in a bun, I walked past the Harvard campus. Past all of the street musicians that line the sidewalks in front of the campus and, yes, I’m ashamed to admit, I walked right past all of the beggars sitting along the way holding up cardboard signs with their various pleas for money written on them with a black marker of some sort. I also walked past a group of old-fashioned Mennonite ladies dressed in their pastel calico dresses with their hair pulled up nice and neat underneath a white cap on their heads. They were joined by some of their men folk who were dressed in long pants and white shirts. It looked as though the Mennonite group was busy setting up an evening evangelism outreach, complete with Gospel Tracts and a choir that was warming up to sing.
When I reached the corner of Bow Street I wasn’t sure whether I should proceed straight ahead, so I stopped and asked a young fellow for directions. He was gracious enough to look it up in Google on his phone, but the map it pulled up confused us both more. I continued walking and encountered the same fellow just a block away, who apologized profusely for not being able to be of more help. I assured him I was directionally challenged and quite used to getting lost and that I was also certain I would eventually find my way. Which when I turned around, I did.
The signs in front of the Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre were rather inconspicuous. What stood out first was actually the sign for the Old Cambridge Baptist Church. The ballet theatre school is housed in the old Church building, although the theatre has no religious affiliation. The Church is a grey stone building, reminiscent of the grey stone Church buildings one sees in the British Isles.
As a transplanted Southerner who is accustomed to running from the air conditioned house to the air conditioned car to the next heavily air conditioned building, what I immediately noticed upon entering the old Church building was that it felt very warm. And when I went to pay my thirteen dollars for the class, the lady at the desk informed me that true to Boston form there was no air conditioning, but the dance studio had lots of fans that would keep us cool. She then directed me to the room where the adult class would be held. It was a spacious room that was once the sanctuary of the Church. All of the people who walked into the room commented on how they loved that particular studio because the room felt so serene. And I have to concur. The feeling was lovely.
I set my dance bag down on what looked to be an old pew bench on the side of the room and began my warm-up stretches along with the six other ballet aficionados who came to class. While the teachers vary depending on which day of the week one takes class, our teacher this Friday was Molly Wheat. Who proceeded to give us the pattern for our plies and commented on how impressed she was with us as we were the “true diehards” of ballet to be taking class in this “101 degree heat!” (It wasn’t actually 101 as far as we know, but it certainly felt like it!) We were accompanied in our dances on a grand piano by a very skilled pianist who adeptly transitioned from folk songs to the Brahms Waltz in A flat Major right on tempo. Once we were in the center, Molly choreographed some lovely Romantic (as in Romantic Era) adagios and waltz routines that really brought out the ultra feminine ballerina in us all. So in spite of dripping with perspiration, we executed pirouettes and pique turns beautifully.
After class was over, we all thanked Molly and the pianist for a very nice class with our ballet curtsies. And rushed either for bottles of water that we brought with us or we ran to the water fountain and drank as much cool water as we possibly could, all the while promising to come back next week. As we exited the building, we encountered an elegant statue of a ballerina in honor of the Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, reminding us just why we all love ballet so much.”
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