If you are an adult (16-18+) who enjoys staying fit through ballet classes, here are some places to try out (based in the Lower Mainland):
- Ballet Fit – Ballet-inspired fitness, cheapest is around $10/class if you join a full session or $13 drop-in. (I haven’t actually taken any classes at Ballet Fit yet.)
- Locations: Coal Harbour, Douglas Park, Kitsilano, Roundhouse, Scotia Dance Centre, Yaletown
- Barre Fitness – Ballet-inspired fitness in Yaletown or North Vancouver. $20 drop-in or $150/month for 3 consecutive months for unlimited classes. Newcomers can try unlimited classes for 2 weeks for $40. (I haven’t actually taken any classes at Barre Fitness yet.)
- Community Centres – Recreational ballet (2 levels: beginner and intermediate). Cheap drop-in fees; cheaper if you sign up for full session (around 8-10 classes). Fewer students.
- Kitsilano – smaller studio, somewhat more expensive
- Mt Pleasant – new studio, most affordable
- Goh Ballet – Recreational (2 levels: beginner 1 and beginner 2) to professional ballet. $18 drop-in or $180 for 10 classes + 1 free class (expires after 2 months).
- Harbour Dance Centre – Recreational to professional ballet. $20 drop-in for non-members and $18 for members ($30 annual fee) for 1.5hr classes. Newcomers can try 3x 1.5hr classes for $40. (I stopped going to HDC in 2007 because I felt it was too expensive and too crowded.)
- The Scotiabank Dance Centre – Recreational (beginner and intermediate-advanced) to professional ballet. More expensive but there’s more room in the studios. I take Linda’s Ballet classes (Tuesdays – $20 drop-in or $15/class for 10x 1.5hr classes. Saturdays – $25 drop-in or $20/class for 10x 2hr classes. Flexipass: $200 for 40x 30 min. for Tues/Sat classes).
- Other locations:
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Just in case I move to England this autumn, does anyone have any recommendations on where to take recreational ballet classes in London?
The Lady and the Rose 
One day I’ll hopa flight up there and we can do I ballet studio a day! (Or if you’re sick of BC weather, you’re always welcome at the beach!)
I’ve taken a ballet barre/”bar method” classes before. It doesn’t really feel a thing like ballet. Balletbeautiful.com is a better workout and offers online streaming for workouts that are quite dance-inspired. (Hell, it keeps my ass where it should be!)
If you do come, we should definitely try out a ballet class together! I tried one BB video on YouTube. It was intense! I’m tempted to try out the online streaming package but am afraid I’ll be so busy that I’ll forget about it. :S
you don’t have to do that $34/mo package. You can just buy a couple for $7-10.
Vis-a-vis classes, I’m assuming that you’re intermediate.
Oh, you mean I can buy the videos from iTunes? That would be cheaper. I’m between beginner and intermediate. I struggle with memory. 😦
Yeah, you can buy both the “Classic 60” workout and the “Blast Series” (and a few others) off of iTunes or you can just buy the DVDs off of her site or Amazon.
Then there are also the ‘streaming’ videos. They are available for streaming from the website, so you just log in and play ’em. All your stuff is stored there. I have 7 videos like that. If you want I’ll give you my login and you can check it out for yourself.
Thank you for the tips! For the ‘streaming’ videos, do I have to pay for those or do I simply need to create an account?
Create an account but, yes, pay you must. Each video is between $7 and $10….then again, I haven’t checked in awhile.