Her Campus Leeds talks to Ellie Chambers, President of the Ballet Society!
So, tell us a bit about yourself!
My name’s Ellie, I’m from a little village near Colchester in Essex. I study History here at Leeds, and as well as ballet, I play drums and practice meditation.
How did you first get involved in ballet?
I started ballet when I was 3 at the local dance school, and, along with tap, modern and jazz, I continued dancing until I was 14. I was so excited when I started university last year and saw that I could take up ballet again!
What is your favourite thing about ballet?
Ballet is like a natural high for me! As well as the physical challenge of technique classes and the fitness side of it, I love how beautiful and graceful it looks.
What’s a typical week like for you?
In a typical week I do two or three ballet classes, including a pointe class (where you stand on your toes!), and I try to go to the gym a couple of times as well. I don’t have a huge amount of contact hours for history, but I often find myself sat in the library reading! I have a History internship this year, and along with the role of Ballet President this fills up the rest of my time. I somehow always manage to squeeze in a couple of nights out though…
Is there anything exciting planned for the society that we should know about?
Our first ballet social is coming up next week and we’re heading down to Fruity, which is set to be a really fun night! We’ll also be heading to a Northern Ballet Performance this Christmas to see The Nutcracker. We also have our first Give it a Go session on 16th October in Room 2 of the Union, which is going to be fantastic. We’re hoping to change the way people view ballet by making this a fun event accessible for anyone, from people with no dancing experience to advanced dancers!
How can people get involved?
The Ballet Society is a large society, and one of the only to boast free membership. We’re very inclusive and we open our socials to all members, whether they’re currently in ballet classes or not. This year we also have our highest number of male members yet, so there’s no excuse for male members not to get involved!