Located on the south end of Mercer Island, Creation Dance Studio offers a range of dance classes for both kids and adults.

This winter, CDS owner Stevie Hagen launched a beginner ballet class for adults with ballet instructor Miriam Landis. Also a Mercer Island resident, Landis has made a career of dancing. As a former professional ballerina for Miami City Ballet, Landis has a passion for what people can achieve through ballet. Landis has been teaching at Pacific Northwest Ballet for over a decade and is the author of multiple fiction novels centered on ballerinas.

The passion for dance between Hagen and Landis was already there, but a space for community members was still needed. They both found that a six-week series of beginning adult ballet classes was a great way to bring friends, fellow moms and new acquaintances together.

“This was really a pilot class because we wanted to get more people in the door,” Landis said. “I mean, I wanted to see more adults outside my home.”

It’s a full class of 15 people of varying ages and backgrounds, all with the same desire to try something new. Each person walks in for different reasons and goals, but soon finds the similarities they share with others in the room. A few have had experience dancing in the past. Many others did not have a clue what a plie or pirouette was when they first walked through the door.

Students can come in thinking they can’t do ballet because they’re not flexible, they’re too old, or they’re nervous to do something that they could be bad at. But they quickly realize that ballet is not always like Swan Lake or The Nutcracker, and individuals can come and have fun with their peers at the studio. Only a couple of weeks into the program, Hagen and Landis are learning that many of the students want to continue dancing.

“Ballet can be really healing for your body, and when it’s taught correctly, it’s very healthy for your body,” Hagen said. While building community and connection, ballet is also good for cognitive and physical health, improving overall brain function.

“Just come and have fun. It’s okay to be bad,” said Macile, one of the students in the program. At 74 years old, Macile has been using this opportunity to practice ballet to also connect with her birth mother. Adopted when she was a child, Macile found out that her birth mother was a ballerina, but didn’t get around to practicing it until now.

“We just believe everybody should have the opportunity to experience the joy of ballet,” Hagen said.

For more information on other adult classes, or interested in another six-week beginner series, email CDS at info@creationdancestudio.com.