Teaching Adults
Our programme of structured learning is suitable for adult dancers across the globe, no matter your age, ability or reason for dancing. We see adults learning our syllabi to re-connect with a childhood hobby, learn a totally new skill, work towards an exam or simply for fun. Dance is a wonderful form of exercise for the mind and body, and a perfect way to connect with your community.
Why follow a syllabus for your adult classes?
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Following a syllabus for adult classes means using a trustworthy, structured training system that ensures appropriate and progressive learning. Save time planning class work and rely on a collection of exercises to use across different weeks, keeping classes varied and inspiring.
What makes our syllabus special?
We have 6 genres of syllabi, all can be undertaken by adult dancers. We have a brilliant Tap syllabus that has 4 Levels designed specifically for adults.
To begin teaching our syllabi to your adult dancers, become a member today!
Our Music
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For Classical Ballet, our music is beautifully composed specifically for the syllabus. It is enjoyed by all ages and supports the development of musicality across the exercises.
For all other genres, music is not set. Select tracks that inspire your adults!
Age-appropriate Movement
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We avoid the use of props or childlike characterisation in our graded syllabi. Instead, we focus on developing technique and place a much larger emphasis on artistry and musicality.
This means every exercise can be enjoyed by any age, leaving participants able to adopt artistic nuances and develop individuality.
Start at Any Level
Teachers can meet their dancers where they are - no need to start at Grade 1.
You can select the level that best suits your dancers' abilities.
Read what our teachers have to say!
Guy Orden
Dance with Guy
Which of our syllabus genres do you follow for adult classes? I use the bbodance Classical Ballet syllabus to help me plan appropriately pitched content for my adult ballet classes. In particular, the syllabus helps to remind me to think about progression and how I can logically scaffold lesson content over time. What do you enjoy about teaching our syllabus to adult dancers? I have had experience teaching and entering adult ballet students for the Grade 2 bbodance Classical Ballet syllabus. Covering the syllabus content from learning and refining it, through to preparing the dancers psychologically for the demands of an exam is a rewarding challenge for adults to set their minds to. From my perspective, seeing adult students rise to this challenge is exciting and motivating for me as a teacher. Although preparing for an exam can sometimes be challenging, I’ve really enjoyed seeing dancers gain confidence and develop their skills as they progress towards exam day. What makes our syllabus appropriate and enjoyable for your adult dancers? Fundamentally the syllabus content is not defined to a certain age group through the use of themes or narratives, so this means it feels appropriate to study with adults. Adults often have busy lives, so having a structured syllabus gives them something tangible to work towards. From my experience this was very motivating for my dancers. Have you entered adults for bbodance exams? If so which genres and Grades? Yes in May 2025 I entered adult dancers for the bbodance Grade 2 Classical Ballet exam. How was your experience of entering adults for an exam? The bbodance team were incredibly responsive and helpful when I had any questions about the logistics or set up of filming the exam myself which was very reassuring. It was rewarding and a good challenge to prepare adults for an exam. Overall, the process made me reflect on my teaching practice in terms of how best to scaffold learning towards the exam settings which was a valuable learning experience for me as a teacher. Any other comments? It feels to me that there’s been a big societal ‘step change’ in how ballet classes for adults are viewed. It’s no longer a niche idea to go to ballet class as an adult which is a fantastic development as it used to feel that this was something only children were allowed to do. As a teacher I get so much pleasure from teaching my adult ballet classes. Teaching people who have a real intrinsic desire to learn and dance is very rewarding and I feel lucky to be able to share in that joy.
Judith Florey-Meah
Which of our syllabus genres do you follow for adult classes? Currently I have been working on Grade 6, but have also briefly looked at Grades 5 and 7. What do you enjoy about teaching our syllabus to adult dancers? The syllabus is structured well, allows for individual creativity, the music is beautiful and the adults feel like they are dancing. What makes our syllabus appropriate and enjoyable for your adult dancers? The structure of the exercises and steps, and vocabulary used. Any other comments? I have really enjoyed teaching what I have so far. The adults have enjoyed the challenge and the different structure of the exercises to that of other associations. The music is beautiful.
Sharman's adult students with their tutors and examiner.
Sharman Robinson
I first became involved with teaching adults as a very young teacher, teaching tap in the 1970s and 80s. Much further down the line, in 2022, I covered maternity leave teaching for ‘Blue Moose’, a community hub based around Yorkshire/ North Lancashire. Coming across an age group of sixty to ninety year olds, I discovered a passion for ballet that knew no end. A chance to take an assessment approved by bbodance came about, and the students were eager to participate. We dug very deep and participated in the Grade One live ballet ‘Performance Award’, as it was then. The students took part and all received good results, as whilst all nervous, the dancers enjoyed their experience immensely. In the years following, due to the dates, Grade Two ballet was taken digitally and most recently the Grade Three ballet ‘Graded Assessment’ has been taken, again with great results. During their journey the dancers have learned and retained so much. We have visited several ballet companies to watch live performances and even had a backstage experience, meeting Tamara Rojo in Manchester. I have found the experience extremely rewarding which proves that the journey is not only for the students but also the teacher. Teaching adults is far reaching and thoroughly enjoyable. bbodance, both the syllabus and the music, is simply the best! This can be summarised by the words of one of the students…. When one of my pupils, aged 90+, visited her physiotherapist and was asked what she had been doing as her ongoing physical issues had much improved, she replied ‘ballet of course, dance should be on prescription!’