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A native of northern Michigan, Sarah Simon Wolff studied classical piano and dance growing up before leaving home at the age of 13 to attend Canada’s National Ballet School. Upon graduating in 2006 she guested with Dutch National Ballet and then joined The National Ballet of Canada’s YOUdance apprentice program, the precursor to dancing as a member of NBOC through 2015....Read more
A native of northern Michigan, Sarah Simon Wolff studied classical piano and dance growing up before leaving home at the age of 13 to attend Canada’s National Ballet School. Upon graduating in 2006 she guested with Dutch National Ballet and then joined The National Ballet of Canada’s YOUdance apprentice program, the precursor to dancing as a member of NBOC through 2015. Proceeding her tenure with NBOC she spent a year based in NYC doing freelance and commercial work, which led to spending a season with BalletMet. Sarah has since pursued a freelance performance career alongside directing the ballet program for Company Dance Traverse under the directorship of Betsy Carr & Sue Buck. She has guested with New York Dance Project, Grand Rapids Ballet, Fenton Ballet Theater and more and has performed lead roles with The National Ballet of Canada, Ballet Minnesota, BalletMet, and New York Dance Project in addition to commercial work in Toronto, MI, & NYC.
Sarah was awarded The Cecchetti Council of America Ballet Award, The NYCDA Ballet Scholarship, NBS’ Peter Dwyer Award of Excellence, and NBOC’s Patrons’ Council Award of Merit. Sarah has had the privilege of training with Patrick Hinson, Deborah Hess, Raymond Smith, Lindsay Fischer, Nancy Bielski, Sorella Englund, Sergui Stephanschi, & Leslie Browne, and has worked with Alexei Ratmanski, Roberto Alonso, Ted Branson, Christopher Wheeldon, Jorma Elo, and Jiri Kylian to name a few. She’s a passionate teacher, mentor and choreographer with original works placing first in YAGP & NYCDA competitions. She’s presently completing a course in Yoga Nidra meditation and integrates mindfulness into her classical ballet coaching. Sarah has recently become a permanent faculty member of New York Dance Project as one of the rehearsal directors and continues to conduct private lessons, teach mindfulness, choreograph, and freelance perform.
Read lessClass Descriptions
This class will be presented in a clear and palatable manner tailored to the dancer who has some prior experience in ballet and a basic understanding of rudimentary ballet vocabulary. This class is also appropriate for the more experienced dancer who wishes to refine their technique at a slower pace. Sarah's classes shine a light on attention to musicality and integrate a holistic enjoyment of movement through classical technique. Her classes are crafted with originality and an attention to mindfulness. She is light hearted and has a sense of humor while championing dancers to apply themselves and indulge in the gratifying rigour of training.
This is a combination recovery class including 30 minutes of restorative exercises to mitigate tightness and calibrate alignment followed by a 45 minute guided meditation. The type of meditation is called Yoga Nidra, which loosely translates to "waking rest" or "conscious sleep" and is practised in savasana on a mat. Yoga Nidra yields a state of deep relaxation through an introspective body scan while holding space for the ever changing experiences in our bodies, minds, and emotions. The science of this practice proves rapid cellular repair, reduced stress and anxiety, improved sleep, increased clarity of mind, and expedient physical recovery. It is a superb modality for dancers, athletes, and performers to recharge and prepare for the physical and mental demands of the industry and artform. One completes the practice feeling rested, recharged, calm, and at ease.