Christmas Party!...

It's now one week on from our annual Christmas Party and I think we've all just about recovered!

We want to say a huge THANK YOU to all the lovely Golborne Place clients, teachers and therapists who came along as well as the lovely Everybody Ballet (our wonderful co-hosts!) and their gorgeous clients!

Karis, of Everybody Ballet, made some very tasty cookies, (sprayed gold and silver for the festive glam look!), we had prosecco flowing and some cute goody bags for our very special clients to take home with them.

Our clients came bearing gifts too for Monica, Isabel & Karis...

We hope you make the most of the rest of 2012 and we at Golborne Place & Everybody ballet wish you all the best for 2013!!

Thoroughly Modern Milly loves GP...of course!

I've just been taking a look at a few of our favourite blogs and came across a lovely piece about Golborne Place on Thoroughly Modern Milly.

"Golborne Place is a calming sanctuary away from the hubbub and chatter of the Portobello excitement."

(We couldn't agree more!)

Milly came over to our studio at the end of the summer to receive a massage from therapist Amy Moffat and take a look at our beautiful space. We're thrilled she had a great treatment and loved the space.

"I felt completely relaxed almost immediately when lying down on the massage bed and soon fell into a light doze. Amy released tension in my upper back systematically kneading the knots and balancing the body".

It was pleasure to meet Milly and we hope to see her agin soon!

Thank you!

Milly Kenny-Ryder

In the news...

It's been a busy week of news articles, following on from Isabel's interview in The Dancing Times, Everybody Ballet & Golborne Place seem to be a hot topic. 

First off, in the November issue of Tatler, the lovely Trasierra was on the top list of 'Where to go, to be bang on trend'. It's great to see our first ever Gyrokinesis & Ballet Retreat is making waves!

"Aimed at complete beginners to intermediates, the daily ballet class mixes stretching with not-done-since-a-near-toddler- barrework, while the Gyrokinesis class emphasises fluid core work"

And we couldn't agree more with Tatler's description of Trasierra being 'Simply heart-stopping'.

"Surrounded by olive groves, cork forests and mountains...partly 16th century, with cobbled paths, courtyards, barns and two pools."

Our other pleasant surprise today was opening the Daily Telegraph's Art section to read the renowned journalist, Rupert Christiansen's, review of his first Everybody Ballet Class! After having tried Ballet in the past as part of a keep-fit regime, and eventually giving up, feeling hopeless, he has put his faith in the wonderful Everybody Ballet!

Karis leading the group class at The Royal Opera House

"What has drawn me back is the discovery of Everybody Ballet, run by former Royal Ballet soloist Isabel McMeekan and Karis Scarlette. Isabel and Karis hold weekly classes in Notting Hill and Chiswick, but for incurable romantics such as myself there is a special allure in their Wednesday evening seven-week beginners’ course, which starts on October 31 in the Royal Ballet’s studios at the Royal Opera House. Who knows, you might bump into Alina Cojocaru or Carlos Acosta in the corridor and end up comparing échappés"

Isabel teaching the group class in Chiswick

Of course we know how fantastic the classes are, and what inspiring and welcoming teachers Isabel and Karis have proven to be, but it's always nice to hear it from some else..

"I went to a taster session to sample Isabel’s and Karis’s methods, and found them clear in their instructions, challenging without being intimidating – and absolutely adorable to boot".

For the full article grab a copy of The Telegraph today (Monday 22nd Oct) or look online here...

"Trade in the treadmill for a balletic workout" 

The Dancing Times...

Last week Isabel, of Everybody Ballet, had a lovely interview in The Dancing Times. Talking about how she started her fabulous Ballet classes, which are becoming ever more popular here at Golborne Place, and giving us an insight in to the structure of her classes.

Here are some snippets from the interview...

Isabel teaching the adult beginners group class 

"I started off just teaching friends, one summer,” explains McMeekan. “I retired from The Royal Ballet three years ago. Carlos Acosta let me go and stay in his place in Cuba, so I went there for a holiday, and started teaching two friends of mine who came with me. Everyone was really enthusiastic, it felt great for their bodies. So I set up a class at St Peter’s in Portobello, and it developed from there.” 

On stage with Carlos Acosta in Sleeping Beauty, 2006

Backstage at The Royal Opera House during rehearsals with Tom Whitehead for Agitator

How do her classes work? “The Everybody Ballet method is divided into three parts. We start on the floor, doing specific stretching and strengthening work. It’s a culmination of all the experience I’ve gathered from Pilates, gyrokinesis, ballet, stretching. We target specific muscle groups, to strengthen them.

The Everybody Ballet and Golborne Place first retreat this year at La Trasierra, Spain

“Then we get them onto the barre. It’s a gentle barre: plies, tendus… Last, we come into the centre for ports de bras, tendus, jumping and sometimes turning. They’re just blown away by it. They’re also surprised by how mentally taxing it is. It’s like bridge for the body!

Everybody Ballet students at the barre in La Trasierra

With a young, budding ballerina in the Golborne Place studios

What do McMeekan’s adult beginners get from ballet? “It’s a lifestyle thing,” she says. “There’s a real sense of well-being – it’s starting to know how to look after yourself, physically, mentally, nutritionally. There’s a cultural element, they start going to the theatre a lot more!

To see the full interview, click here

For information on Everybody ballet classes, click here

Tarifa, the coast of light!

Golborne Place is now running in to the Autumn term and everyone is returning from their holidays. We thought we'd share with you a little gem of a place called Tarifa, on the southern most part of Spain, where Moni has just returned from looking particularly relaxed and sun kissed. She's also spent the holiday period catching up with family...

Moni with her nephew, Sergio (so cute!)

Whilst with her sister in Malaga they took yoga class in the area of Estepona. Moni loved the classes and recommends, if you're in that part of the world and in need of a great teacher, to contact Kathrin Sattmann. M: +44 6789 73369 E: sattmannk@hotmail.com

After some family time Moni headed down to the south coast to visit Tarifa, which sits on the Costa de la luz in Cadiz, or the coast of light, named quite obviously for its stunning light.

 Moni describes it as a place where bohemia meets traditional Spanish life. Ideal for surfers, wind surfers, beach bums, yoga enthusiasts and history lovers. Tarifa receives the hot winds from Africa and the cooler winds from the Atlantic as well as being the location where the Med meets the Atlantic, hence the numbers of surfers descending on the town throughout the year.

Looking out to sea from Tarifa sits the north coast of Africa. So close you can almost touch it! Here's a view of the Rif Mountains from Tarifa's coast...

After her beautiful trip, Moni has a few personal recommendations, in case you are tempted by the stunning landscape!

YOGA

Whilst in Tarifa Moni came across the EcoCentre where she discovered the work of Kundalini Yoga and Sat Nam Rasayan Meditation with Inaki, a teacher specialising in yoga for wind and kite surfers as well as for people from all walks of life. Inaki describes the meditation technique as 

"a powerful and sophisticated healing art....It is like opening up to a dimension of sensitivity and inner silence that is who you really are - and always have been - and at the same time a wholly new way of relating....It helps to release tendencies and limitations in body, mind and emotions - the common reasons for sickness."

The Ecocentre also offer many other types of yoga as well as meditation and capoeira classes and runs education projects, a restaurant with organic foods and regular music events, where she came across the talented singer Rocio Madreselva giving a special and intimate performance. 

www.tarifaecocenter.com

And for those who have a particular love of Vinyasa Flow/Ashtanga Yoga Moni also recommends Tarifa Yoga where she took classes with a lovely lady called Silvia.

HISTORY

In Baelo Claudia, just outside Tarifa, lay the most comprehensive remains of a Roman City on the whole of the Iberian Peninsula, no where else can you see such a complete view of a Roman City. For information on opening times and more on the history please see the website 

www.tarifaspain.net/roman-ruins-baelo-claudia-bolonia.html

ACCOMMODATION

If you want to see stay in town definitely check out La Casa Amarilla

In Tarifa's Natural Park you can find Cabanas, wooden holiday chalets in which to enjoy the bohemian side of nature loving Tarifa. 

From the Costa Sur website

Another great place is The Hurricane Hotel which is a little bit out of town but closer to the beach of Valdevaqueros, it's where Moni took her Vinyasa Flow/Ashtanga Yoga classes with Silvia, mentioned above.

 Tarifa is easy to reach by car, just 45 minutes from Gibraltar airport. 

Balanced and energised, Moni is now back teaching Gyrotonic, Gyrokinesis and Teacher Training at Golborne Place. Welcome back!

Timon of Athens with Karis Scarlette

We're very proud at Golborne Place to have Karis Scarlette, of Everybody Ballet, teaching private and duet classes in our Notting Hill studio. Not only because she's a lovely lady who is super talented, but also because she is currently starring in the National Theatre's 'Timon of Athens' production with Simon Beale and Ciaran McMenamin.

Karis leading a workshop at the Galle Children's Festival

After having her blossoming Ballet career cut short at The Royal Ballet due to injury 5 years ago, Karis has gone on to teach students of all ages and abilities with the wonderful Everybody Ballet. In early summer this year, Karis was happily surprised to receive a call from renowned Principal of The Royal ballet, Ed Watson, to ask if she would join Nicholas Hytner's production of Timon for the Ballet sequence. Not only has Karis come back to performing Ballet, but she has also turned her hand to acting, performing as various extras throughout the play. Karis said of her new challenge,

           "It's very similar to staging a ballet obviously, but it's a lot of fun having the opportunity to take on other characters that you wouldn't necessarily find in classical ballet productions. Plus working alongside big names in the business such as Simon Russell Beale and Ciaran McMenamin is really inspiring. The camaraderie has been excellent!!"

Scene from Timon of Athens

We're thrilled Karis has had the opportunity to perform again on the big stage and in her own words "tie up loose ends of my performing career which came to end very abruptly. For me, it's bittersweet closure!!" With fantastic reviews of the play already, it's an absolute must see!

Karis warming up before the opening, already covered in bruises from the fight scene!

Karis has just finished her August run at The National Theatre but will be joining the cast again in October for another run of shows. To buy tickets and get a view in to the making of Timon of Athens, take a look at The National's website:

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/the-making-of-timon-staging-the-play

The National Gallery & The Royal Ballet in unique collaboration

It was such a lovely surprise to turn on the tv on Tuesday night and see The Royal Ballet's Ed Watson working on an incredible collaboration with National Gallery. 

As three of Titian's great masterpieces are shown together for the first time in years, the BBC series 'Imagine' goes behind the scenes in this captivating documentary. Transforming mythological paintings in to contemporary performance and multi-faceted creative experience are a bunch of Britain's greatest living contributors to the Arts. 

Carlos Acosta performing with Shawcross' 'Machina'

Conrad Shawcross creates a dancing robot, Chris Ofili works on stunning sets and paintings, and Mark Wallinger collaborates with The Royal ballet's choreographers, Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon . Others involved include poets Carol Ann Duffy & Simon Armitage.

The Royal Ballet dancers wearing Ofili's costumes

It's a must see for anybody interested in the Arts, a really fascinating programme!

Here's a link to BBC iplayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01l8tgh/imagine..._Summer_2012_Dancing_with_Titian/

Available until 31st July 2012.

La Trasierra, our first ever Ballet & Gyrokinesis Retreat

The Ballerinas have now landed back in London and everyone's already talking about the next retreat! 

We're thrilled that everyone had a great experience on the first ever Golborne Place & Everybody Ballet retreat. From those in the group who have never picked up a pair of ballet pumps in their life, to those who have been taking private and group classes with Isabel's Everybody Ballet for some time, it seems the group enjoyed their experience at La Trasierra...and why wouldn't they?! Take a look at the stunning pics of Charlotte Scott's gorgeous venue in the foot hills of Andalucia!

And a few snaps of the retreat group hard at work...well they worked hard and relaxed hard :)

Gyrokinesis Class led by our very own Monica Zamora

Getting in to the 'arch & curl'

Two of our stunning Ballet ladies at the barre

The essential stretch and warm up series

Isabel, full of energy to lead the Ballet Class!

Beautiful!

More Gyrokinesis with Moni

The lovely Ballet & Gyrokinesis teachers taking a well earned break

Drinks by the pool :)

Due to the happy success of the first ever Ballet & Gyrokinesis Retreat, we're already looking at dates for the next! If we've tempted you with these stunning pictures, please feel free to send your email address to amy@golborneplace.com and we'll keep you up to date on our future retreats.

The first ballet retreat!

Today our lovely ballet teacher, Isabel mcMeekan of Everybody Ballet and our very own Monica Zamora are jetting off to La Trassiera in Spain for our first ever ballet retreat. Exciting news yes, but unfortunately I will be holding the Golborne Place fort in the grey june weather and making sure our leaky roof gets fixed! It's ok, I'll be fine....sob.

La Trassiera is a beautiful hotel ideal for our first ballet retreat, set high in the mountains of Andalucia.

The group of Golborne Place and Everybody ballet clients will be put through their paces with daily Ballet and Gyrokinesis classes, a beautiful exercise that compliments and enhances the Ballet work achieved. Of course it's not all work, that would be no fun! The group will be making the most of the gorgeous grounds, relaxing in the sun (what is that again??) and taking advantage of the great food and vino.

I'll be posting pictures of the retreat once they're back (Isabel has threatened to stay so we'll see if she returns!). No doubt they'll all be sun kissed and glowing, so keep a look out for an update soon!

Gyrotonic demystified!

For those of you who are still none the wiser about the great benefits of Gyrotonic and what the exercise system actually involves, I've decided to borrow some snippets of info from Joanna Hall's Guardian article to explain what i think are the most important aspects of the system. Beatriz Pascual, friend of Golborne Place, shares some interesting insights in to the world of Gyrotonic...

The what
'Gyrotonic is a complete system of exercising: it articulates your joints, improves the flow of energy through the body, stimulates acupuncture points, builds stamina and strength and improves health.'


The how
'Gyrotonic is three-dimensional in its range of movements, and this is unique to this form of exercise. Individuals who are used to working in linear movements are often surprised by how little control they have of their bodies in this way - so you need to be consistent with your sessions to see the benefits. Once a week is good, but twice a week is preferable.'

The why
Gyrotonic improves posture

Sports medics have attributed a more upright and elegant posture to the continuous involvement of the supportive muscles as they are strengthened and stretched.

Gyrotonic is great for our joints

Gyrotonics is beneficial for anyone suffering from joint pain because the unique way of securing the pulleys on the GXS machines allows movement without impact.

Gyrotonic creates better co-ordination

The major muscle groups work together as well as interdependently, which, over time, leads to increased coordination with more efficient muscle recruitment.

Gyrotonic makes you feel great!

Fans attribute increased energy and raised spirits to the circular, spiralling motions and specific individual breathing patterns, which help relax tight muscles and stiff joints.

Gyrotonic gives you full spinal mobility

Gyrotonic movements free the spine to move in all directions, so improving back suppleness.

I hope that answers a few questions about Gyrotonic. It truly is my favourite form of exercise, and I have done everything from football, hockey, swimming, netball, pilates, running and yoga. The combination of feeling more confident in your own skin with the calming of mind and soul is something priceless in any walk of life, not just in sports. If you still need more information why not pop by to chat to one of our teachers or call reception on 020 8969 8907.

Organic Argan Oils

Have you heard about the amazing benefits of Morocco's favourite and organic oil? Produced for centuries and used for cosmetic, medicinal and culinary purposes, their secret is now out! Much of the oil is produced by women's co-operatives, helping women to earn an income and motivate locals to protect and re-plant the argan tree.

Packed with Vitamin E, the powerful anti-oxidant, can be ingested or used on the skin. The oleic acid in argan oil helps control cholesterol levels and the sterols within the oil have been found to have anti-cancer properties.

Excellent for hair care, it repairs damage, eliminates frizz and split ends and improves elasticity. On the skin it absorbs quickly, and it's regenerative properties have been shown to have great effects on wrinkles, acne scars, stretch marks and other troublesome conditions such as psoriasis.

And not forgetting in the kitchen, argan oil's nutty flavours have been used in salads and soups. Shown to be good for cardiovascular conditions, arthritis and digestion this oil know no bounds!

We're very happy to be stocking the House of Argan range of Organic Hair Restorer and Skin Repair Serum at Golborne Place. Pop in to the studio to test out the products and get involved in the positive effects of this natural oil.