Absolute Beginner Ballet Series I with Amelia Ehrhardt
This 8-week course is designed for adults with no previous ballet or movement experience who are curious about ballet and want a welcoming, supportive introduction to the form. Series I moves at a slow, accessible pace and prioritizes comfort, clarity, and understanding. Classes are structured to allow ample time for questions, repetition, and explanation, with special attention given to introducing ballet vocabulary—often one of the most intimidating barriers for adult beginners. Dancers will learn not only *how* to move, but also what things are called and why they are done. This series focuses on building confidence, body awareness, and a sense of familiarity within a ballet class setting, creating a strong and encouraging foundation for continued study.
Course Details:
Duration: 8 weeks
Level: Absolute Beginner
No prior dance or movement experience required
Course Content:
Alignment: Learn basic posture and body placement in a clear, accessible way
Stretching & Strengthening: Gently prepare the body for movement while building foundational strength and mobility
Balance: Introduce balance and stability through simple, supported exercises
Full barre: Learn the structure and purpose of barre work at a slow, approachable pace
Across the floor & supporting exercises: Explore movement patterns that build coordination and body awareness
Center work: Introduction to very simple center exercises, with an emphasis on comfort, orientation, and confidence
Basic terminology: Gradually introduce essential ballet vocabulary and class structure to support understanding and ease.
All Series courses will be open for drop-ins during the first half of the course only. Please contact info@thefifthdance.com to commit to the remainder of the Series.
When: Sundays, September 12th - November 8th
Where: Main Studio at 366 Adelaide | Unit 120
Time: 11:00AM - 12:15PM
Full Series: $165+HST
About Amelia
Amelia Ehrhardt is a dancer, astrologer, and multidisciplinary artist in and from Toronto. Their work manifests as solo improvisation, group choreography, drawing, painting, and writing. Amelia's work is often concerned with deep dives into the western concert dance canon. Their work has been supported across Canada and internationally, including OFFTA (Montréal), SEAD (Austria), Mile Zero Dance (Edmonton), and local residencies at Harbourfront Centre and Toronto Dance Theatre. A dancer with two decades of performance experience, Amelia has appeared in works by Susie Burpee, Willi Dorner, Syrus Marcus Ware, Deanna Peters, Julia Sasso, Menaka Thakkar, and Suzy Lake, among others. Amelia was the Curator of Dancemakers Centre for Creation from 2015-2019. They were a 2017 danceWEB recipient and a 2016 Toronto Arts Council Leadership Lab fellow. Amelia holds a Masters in Visual Studies from the University of Toronto where they were an SSHRC recipient. Currently Amelia is preoccupied with teaching ballet and can be found at @weird_ballet / @amelia.np.e