Offer our Presence

When I was studying under Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, he devoted time to teaching us how to walk and breathe. And to borrow words from another great teacher of mine, Anna Halprin: when your body language changes, your life changes.

    This is the philosophy that we carry into our courses. Whether you are a classically trained ballerina, a theatre actor, a parent of a student, or anyone with creative impulses, we invite you to take part in our dance and movement offerings. Our aim is not to drill you into becoming a professional dancer. Rather, we hope to guide you in cultivating organic and harmonious ways of expression, whether that is on the ballet stage or in your own pursuits of choice. Beginners of any age are more than welcome. After all, no matter one’s amount of training and experience, one cannot create art without perpetually beginning, and especially in a time like this, we all stand as newcomers to an unprecedented moment. We invite you to join us on the joyous brink. 

    With this in mind, we are overjoyed to watch artists of all ages and experience levels participating in our online classes. If you visit our website, you will notice that our schedule has been updated to include various timezones. Students are joining us from far beyond the Bay Area, and while we continue to hold generous space for our grief and uncertainty, we also hold gratitude that these circumstances have enabled us to expand our community and connect with creative learners around the world. This is a time for beginning.  

     We are thrilled, too, to welcome new courses into our studio. As previously announced, our new instructor Margo Pellmar is teaching Creative Outlets for Children, combining yoga and various forms of artistic expression to provide students with an inspiring and calming experience. In addition, Kirsten Livingston will be teaching two new children’s classes: Pre-Ballet (2-6 y.o.) and Beginning Ballet (6-12 y.o.). Due to the level of kinetic interaction in our courses, Cecile Roques and I are regrettably unable to offer online versions of our courses. However, we encourage our young students to study under Margo and Kirsten and to continue learning with the HaoExpression community. Margo and Kirsten offer the first class FREE. Scheduling details can be found on our website (under Home → Schedule).

     In our adult classes, our instructors are constantly seeking ways to safely adapt our programs to students’ homes while ensuring that dancers continue to make progress. Most Ballet classes now include exercises that train muscle memory for good jump and turn technique without ever lifting off the floor: we are preparing dancers for the day they return to the studio so that they can pick up right where they left off. Because of the extra content, many of our instructors have been teaching overtime without raising their course fees. As in our last newsletter, we appeal to you for assistance in supporting our dedicated staff by continuing to enroll in their classes. Be sure to sign up at least three hours in advance of your session so that your teacher knows whether there is sufficient enrollment for class to proceed.

    If you have concerns about taking remote classes, be assured that we are all still adapting to this new environment and that we will learn to navigate it together. Again, at this time, we are all beginners. Thankfully, Zoom is a highly intuitive platform, with account creation and installation taking under five minutes. Step-by-step instructions for joining online classes are on our website (under Home → Schedule).  If you would like technical assistance, e-mail me and I would be glad to set a time to meet virtually with you. We would also like to allay any security concerns by assuring you that we carefully screen every person who enters the class. However, we understand that the digital realm can be daunting. If you have decided not to join us for the time being, we hope that you will find other ways to stay in touch with us and with your other communities, and we cannot wait to see you when the studio reopens.

     We leave you with a piece of beautiful news. A generous heart at HaoExpression, Mary Massee, has purchased 20 class tickets for dance mates who have been financially impacted by the lockdown. If you are in hardship and would like to apply for these Suspended Class Tickets, scroll toward the bottom of our Schedule page. Thank you, Mary, for reminding us why we dance, especially in times like these. We dance for support, connection, community. We dance to remind each other that we are here together. 

    We hope all of you are staying safe and healthy, and we look forward to dancing through this new beginning side by side.


“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.” --Thich Nhat Hanh


Sincerely,
Hao Bach-Thai Lueckhoff, Owner/Director
Written by Muse Lee, Communications Director




Virtual Classes
During our Shelter In Place we offer remote interactive classes on Zoom. Our instructors observe students' execution and give feedback just as they would in the studio. Due to the interactive nature of the class we only accept students with video turned on. 
Preregistration required prior to joining the classes. Please sign at least 3 hours in advance; class may be canceled if we don't have the minimum required.
Join URL: https://zoom.us/j/780700423​. Meeting ID: 780 700 423​. 
Please join at least 15 minutes early to set up. 


CHILDREN 

​TUESDAY  
4-4:45 PM - Creative Outlets, 2-6 y.o. - Margo Pellmar
THURSDAY  
4-5 PM - Creative Outlets, 7-12 y.o. - Margo Pellmar
5-6 PM - Beginning Ballet, 7-12 y.o. - Kirsten Livingston
FRIDAY 
10-10:45 AM - Pre-Ballet, 2-6 y.o. - Kirsten Livingston


ADULTS  
 
​​MONDAY 
10 AM - Beginning Ballet Barre -  Kirsten Livingston  
6:30 PM - Ballet Center Barre - Ommi Pipit-Suksun​
8 PM - Pointe - Ommi Pipit-Suksun​
​
​TUESDAY 
12 PM - Intermediate Ballet Barre - Rudy Candia  
6:30 PM - Beg/Int Ballet Barre - Rodolphe Cassand
8:15 PM - Stretch & Strengthening -  Kirsten Livingston  

WEDNESDAY 
10 AM - Beginning Ballet Barre - Kirsten Livingston   
5 PM - Absolute Beginning Ballet Barre - Hao Lueckhoff
6:30 PM - Intermediate Ballet Barre - Rudy Candia   
8 PM - Pilates - Ommi Pipit-Suksun​

THURSDAY 
10 AM - Beg/Int Ballet Barre - Mikhael Plain
6:30 PM - Beginning Ballet Barre - Kirsten Livingston  
7:45 PM - Stretch & Strengthening - Kirsten Livingston  

FRIDAY 
12 PM - Intermediate Ballet Barre - Rudy Candia   
6:30 PM - Beg/Int Ballet Barre - Rodolphe Cassand
8 PM - Pilates - Ommi Pipit-Suksun​

SATURDAY 
9:30 AM - Beg/Int Ballet Barre - Dawn Sue
11:30 AM - Intermediate Ballet Barre - Rudy Candia   
2 PM - Pointe - Kirsten Livingston  

SUNDAY 
10 AM - Beg/Int Ballet Barre - Rodolphe Cassand
11:15 AM - Pilates - Ommi Pipit-Suksun​ 
5 PM - Intermediate Ballet Barre - ​Rudy Candia  

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