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Lifestyle New Year’s resolutions
NAME Peter Shand AGE 36 PROFESSION Lawyer SKILL Ballet
I eventually took up ballet classes having wished I’d done it years ago. I think everyone’s got a bit of Billy Elliot in them and, for me, watching Black Swan was the catalyst for signing up. I go to both Dance Base (in Grassmarket and Leith) and Dance for All (in Stockbridge) where they offer very accessible beginners’ classes for adults and you can easily graduate to more challenging classes each term. The teachers there are all amazingly well qualified, encouraging and adult-friendly. Ballet ticks a lot of boxes for me. Sitting at a desk for most of the day, it’s improved my core strength, posture and balance. Some of the sessions have been more beneficial (and exhausting) than doing a gym routine – have you actually ever tried doing pirouettes?!
My career as a lawyer is rewarding but pretty intense and mainly office- based. A ballet class doubles as a great therapy and antidote to the working week. It’s like a combination of yoga, stretching, and listening to classical music, with some creative expression thrown in. I know it's quirky, but I think it’s an interesting hobby to have up your sleeve. I have really put my heart into it and am now performing with the Edinburgh Ballet Circle in a performance of Les Sylphides at St Bride’s in Edinburgh in February. So in the space of a year, I’ve gone from pretty much absolute beginner to one of the male lead parts in an amateur dance production!
dancebase.co.uk
NAME Tammy Le Vasan AGE 30 PROFESSION Advertising Account Executive, The Leith Agency SKILL Capoeira
My sister introduced me to Capoeira because I was looking for something new and different to the ballroom and Latin dance background I already had. I went along to one class and found that the combination of live music and engaging movements distracted me from the serious hardcore exercise I was getting. Capoeira is entirely unique: it incorporates music, singing, dance, 40 THE LIST 5 Jan–2 Feb 2012
balance and martial arts in one exciting and beautiful art form. In short, it looks very cool.
The Capoeira community is very welcoming and family-like, I practise it with Grupo Malungos Scotland, three times a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays at Edinburgh’s Nelson House Community Centre, and Fridays at Tollcross Community Centre. It’s become a very important part of my life. I took control of what I wanted to do in my evenings and it’s made me much more organised at getting work done in the office and chores done at home, so I have time to train. The knock-on effect is that I’ve also
become very fit and healthy. Capoeira gives you a wealth of skills including cardio fitness, muscle tone, rhythm, singing, playing instruments and balance. I also really enjoy the fact that it’s not just about the art form, but also about Afro-Brazilian culture – I’ve now experienced Brazilian food and drink, have travelled and performed, am learning Portuguese and different instruments, and have taken part in Samba performances as well – even down to making my own Rio Samba costume! See capoeiraedinburgh.com or glasgowcapoeira.co.uk