Dancing with Heidi

5/5 for Heidi and her ballet classes Whether you've never taken 1 ballet class in your life or you're a professional looking to strengthen your muscles and receive effective critiques, Heidi is the best at teaching. She's great at listening to what you're looking for and what is your end goal from taking her classes. I started learning ballet from her 2018-2019, took a break, and came back to it end of 2021 and have been doing it ever since. For me, my goal is growing as a dancer, so I appreciate that she focuses on foundation and preventing injury. Whenever I'm doing a wrong type of stretch or a wrong way of moving, she immediately corrects it with the intention of longevity of my body. I have scoliosis and her stretches and workouts have helped me learn more about my body pains and how to strengthen them to prevent injury.She offers several classes! Catered to ALL levels. I will list a detailed info about her adult classes since those are the ones I have taken in the past. She offers the following:- Child Ballet: Beginner, Beginner/Int, Int/Advanced [In-Person]- Senior/Older Adults: Beginner Ballet [In-Person and Online via Zoom]- Adult [In-Person and Online via Zoom]: 1) Ballet from the Beginning - She breaks down ballet terminology, articulation of the foot, how to do a proper plie, what muscles to strengthen, and arm positioning. You do not need any experience and this is the best class to take if you are interested in starting ballet! 2) Basic Ballet & Barre - This is catered to beginners, and you are able to take this class after you complete Ballet from the Beginning. She uses ballet terminology during class, so it's highly recommended to take Ballet from the Beginning. 3) Int and Int/Adv - This is catered to intermediate dancers and those who would like to feel challenged with combos and turns. I personally love these classes because I can focus on muscle control while challenging myself with different, longer combos. Her class combos can get fast at times, but you always have the option of doing it in half time/tempo if you have a different goal in mind. 4) Mixed Level - Heidi caters this class to the majority. You have the option of what type of port de bras you'd like to do and whether you want to push yourself to do a double or single frappe/pirouette/fondu. If it's your first class, I highly recommend emailing Heidi before coming to class or talking to her beforehand and letting her know what your goals and the type of feedback you'd like to receive. Heidi has a fun & quirky personality, so she's open to conversations! I let her know right off the bat that I like critiques because I like to fix my mistakes quickly. Being a dancer, I use ballet to strengthen my foundations. So if you see me in class and she's hard on me, it's because I've asked her to be, haha! Overall, although I've moved out of Sacramento, I still continue to take classes with Heidi online. She's been a great instructor these past couple of years. I can't imagine taking ballet from anyone else!

Heidi is an uplifting, attentive, and knowledgeable ballet instructor who creates a supportive and body-neutral culture in every class! No matter your appearance, ability, age, or level of ballet experience, Heidi makes it clear she is happy to have you in class. She gives detailed feedback to everyone throughout class -- even those of us attending via Zoom -- with an emphasis on feedback that will keep you from getting injured. She respects that every body and brain is different and honors our needs to modify some moves or have choreography re-explained. These days she is keeping us healthy by requiring masks in class; she has modified mask requirements over time based on changes in covid rates in the community and the needs of us, her students. Most of all, Dancing with Heidi is fun!

Heidi's classes are wonderful! I love the Wednesday 3pm class! She is the only teacher in the area with an early class time-perfect for parents who need to be home for dinner, get kids to soccer, or anyone that wants to get class done earlier in the day. Heidi does an amazing job of reading the room and teaching to the level of the students in class that day. A perfect balance of feeling successful but also challenged. She provides corrections kindly and keeps students progressing. I began ballet as an adult at 35 and love growing my technique and confidence through Heidi's teaching style and choreography. My daughter is now taking from Ms. Heidi and we love her children's classes as well!