Ballet Check-In by Tuli Bera

Oftentimes when we think of a ballet class – we accept that we will be expected to go through the standard/traditional ballet barre, center, and across-the-floor combinations. This class encourages a pause for inquiry and conversation to check in with what we are doing and why we are doing it. While this class will incorporate ballet vocabulary the progression and approach of the class will be non-traditional. We will focus on and explore the following fundamental aspects that encompass ballet and how they all relate to one another through ballet vocabulary:

Alignment/Placement
Weight Shift
Balance
Ground-to-Air Transitions
Dynamic Range of Motion
Dynamic Range of Speed

Tuli Bera (she/they) is a Bengali-American movement artist. They draw from various styles of dance: Indian folk and classical forms, Classical and Contemporary Ballet, Modern and Contemporary dance forms (Horton, Graham, Umufundalai), Aerial Dance, and Improvisation. Bera has collaborated and performed with various companies and individual artists, including Ashwaty Chennat, Ayako Kato, Aerial Dance Chicago, Chris Knowlton, Cristal Sabbagh’s Freedom-From-Freedom-To, Darling Squire, Erin Killmuray, Helen Lee, Ishti Collective, Laksha Dantran, Mandala Arts, and Scott Rubin. Bera is also an independent dance-maker. Their work, “Bangali Meye” has seen many iterations that have been supported by and co-produced through Links Hall’s Co-Mission Residency, Pivot Arts Festival, Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s LookOut Series, APIDA Arts Festival at the MCA Chicago, and “Summit: Through Her Rise” teaching and performance symposium at the University of Michigan. Beyond performance, they teach Ballet and Aerial Dance. To learn more about Tuli you can visit their website: www.tuli.space

Photo by Alvin Cobb, Jr.

Make a date to dance every Friday this fall from 10:30 AM to 12 PM!

From February 14 through and including March 21, 2025 new instructors every week, drawn from Chicago’s wealth of dance talent, visiting artists, and exceptional students lead this sampler series of a kaleidoscope of techniques, styles and approaches.

All classes take place in the Dance Center theater and movers at all levels are welcome.

Come dance with us!