Adult Ballet: Finding the Joy in Movement at Any Age
A studio dedicated exclusively to adult dancers is a rare thing. One focused on bringing classical ballet technique to adults of all ages and genders, from those who have never tried on a ballet shoe to those who have danced for years, is rarer still.
“The joy of dance doesn’t stop when you get older,” asserts Kathy McDonald.
Kathy founded Willow Dance Center in Poughkeepsie, NY in 2004 to address the need for a place for adults to expand their skills in a serious but welcoming environment, with a focus on the joy of movement.
“Most of my friends are also dancers, and years ago we all started to talk about the fact that there are so few classes for adults,” Kathy says. “So it started with a few of us just getting together on Saturday mornings to take class. Then I thought, there must be other adults out there looking for the same thing, so I started to advertise and slowly Willow Dance Center came to life.”
Willow Dance Center may have been an early adopter, but adult students taking part in ballet has been on the rise in recent years. A 2023 article in The New York Times highlighted the art’s “silver swans” and touted ballet as a “great workout for an aging body.” And while the physical benefits of ballet are many, there are mental and social benefits, too.
I returned to ballet practice in 2021 following a fifteen year hiatus, like many who found themselves seeking new ways to build connections and stay active during the uncertainty of the pandemic. Now, I refer to my fellow ballet students as my “ballet family.”
At the time, Willow Dance Center was offering its classes via Zoom due to pandemic restrictions. When I logged on that first night, there were no questions — no ‘why are you here? Or, ‘aren’t you too old for this?’ There was no need for any questions. We were all there for the same reason: we wanted to dance.
“I have a very busy corporate 9–5 job, and ballet serves as a form of meditation and self-care for me,” says my friend Erin Flanagan, who has been taking 4–5 classes a week at Willow Dance Center since 2017. “Taking ballet classes feeds my creative soul. Sometimes, I even visualize myself on stage in a gorgeous costume in a grand opera house, and it brings me immense joy and fulfillment.”
Dance, and ballet in particular, has long been considered something fleeting, something for the young, thin and flexible — and something you outgrew. Dreams of pink tutus and dancing en pointe are meant to be the stuff of childhood, left behind when you reach a certain age. The students at Willow Dance Center disagree.
“Although I may not have the classic flexibility or feet to be a professional dancer, ballet has been a part of my entire life,” Erin says. “Now — as I approach quinquagenarian status — it continues to be a significant part of who I am.”
For Kathy, working with adult students brings a special kind of gratification. “It is so great teaching adults because they are in class because they really want to be there. They work really hard.”
Willow Dance Center offers serious ballet training, combined with an understanding that the students come to class as adults, carrying adult responsibilities. I, for one, know that sometimes my head is elsewhere, worrying about kids or work or errands I have to run, and I miss the combination. When that happens to any one of us, we give ourselves grace. We laugh together about the stresses that are distracting us, and we run the routine again.
There are no glittery pink tutus (although wear one if you please!) and sore knees and aching backs are part of every class. But for the dancers at Willow Dance Center, every class also brings a sense of the joy in repetitions known since childhood, or the thrill of a new step learned.
“Ballet is hard!” is a common refrain of Erin’s, and we agree that’s part of the appeal. There is always something more you can do, another way you can push yourself. Ballet constantly stretches both the mind and the body.
On top of that, Willow Dance Center is committed to providing a positive dance journey for all. “We only ask that you bring a good attitude and a willingness to learn, and that you leave at home any judgment,” Kathy says.
“The community aspect is priceless,” Erin tells me. “I’ve made wonderful, like-minded friends. It’s a supportive and inspiring environment that I deeply cherish.”
Ballet for adults may be trending now, but even if it isn’t, the dancers at Willow Dance Center will still be lining up at the barre.
Drop-in classes for adults 18+ ranging from absolute beginner to intermediate are offered weekly. Visit willowdancecenter.com for the schedule and more information, or contact Kathy McDonald at Willow Dance Center at 845–831–2024 or director@willowdancecenter.com.
Willow Dance Center is located within the historic Cunneen-Hackett Theater at 12 Vassar Street, Poughkeepsie, NY.
Kathy McDonald’s career in dance instruction began over 25 years ago and has included posts at Yorktown Ballet School, Somers Ballet School, and Ballet Arts Studio in Beacon, NY. McDonald began her formal ballet training under Marcia Dale Weary and Karen Bohner at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, where she performed with the company, and has also performed with Virginia Beach Ballet, the Downtown Ballet (NYC), liturgical dance company Avodah, Potpourri Dancers, and Ballet Arts Studio.
