My enduring memory of my week with Franziska at the Berlin Ballet Retreat 2023 will be witnessing the creative process and the attention to detail that is required when pulling together an ensemble piece in a repertoire. Alignment, direction, placement, timing, and spatial awareness – all critical to the success of a performance.
Katja Kallio
I have been following Franziska on Instagram for years, and when I heard she had organised a Ballet retreat in Berlin some years ago (pre-covid time) I was so envious! Since then it has been one of my biggest dreams, and this summer it became reality.
My expectations were high, and the retreat and Franziska fulfilled and surpassed them by X 1000. Franziska is a hugely insightful and soulful teacher, who sees every student and understands their individual gifts and weaknesses. Her teachings run through your body to your heart and soul and back to the body again, and the body does not forget :) As I will never forget my experience of Berlin Ballet Retreat and its beautiful community.
Gina Bocek
The Berlin Ballet Retreat 2023 went way beyond my expectations. Each day was perfectly planned out at a pace we could all manage, building us up to the delivery of our final performance of the beautiful choreography on the last day.
Across the 5 days, it felt as though we had become suspended from the reality of our “normal”, everyday lives (a real retreat experience!). It was so uplifting to work alongside a teacher and an amazing group of dancers who were all united in a beautiful, collective focus, all incredibly passionate about this demanding art form.
Overall, it was just a wonderful, joyful experience and I look forward to the next one.
Anne-Katrin Rauschenbach
I started ballet training as an adult with the help of Franziska's DVDs and videos and now I took part "live" at the Berlin Ballet Retreat for the first time.
Franziska created a preparation video in advance and was available for questions by email. There was an opportunity for the participants to get to know each other online before the retreat.
The retreat itself took place in a spacious ballet studio and was very well thought out and structured in terms of content. In addition to rehearsing the piece, there were daily barre and pointe classes, center work and additional Pilates units.
Franziska responded very well to the different ballet skills of the participants and answered questions in a comprehensible manner. Videos were recorded, with which it was very possible to reconstruct certain sequences in detail in the evening.
A special highlight was the final video of the learned piece. Franziska put a lot of heart and soul into the retreat and had also thought about highlights for the participants for individual evenings.
For me, the retreat was a unique experience in a great group of ballet-loving women. I would love to be there again next year and will also be attending Holistic Ballet's online classes until then.
Naomi Rasmussen
It was a true joy to participate in the 2023 Berlin Ballet retreat.
I had found Franziska's in-person classes shortly before the first retreat in 2019 and knew that I wanted to attend in future as soon as I heard all of the wonderful stories from those who had been, who had returned visibly inspired and with only greater passion for this beautiful art form.
I was looking forward to the uplifting repertoire set to Mozart's lively score, as previewed in the pre-study video, to the collective feeling of working towards a common goal that is central to corps de ballet work, and to meeting international members of the Holistic Ballet community, all of this in the creative and buzzing atmosphere of Berlin.
The five days seemed to exist independently of time as we immersed ourselves in ballet technique, artistry, pilates, and spending time with one another, a rare opportunity to completely dissociate from the pressures and commitments of everyday life and to focus entirely on the present moment, working to hold that arabesque balance, extend that ports de bras, engage the piriformis in turnout, fly in a temps levé, and hear something of lives behind leotards.
Thank you to everyone, for your motivating dedication and generosity of spirit, and especially to you Franziska, for your uniting of those in whose hearts ballet holds a special place, for your thoughtful organisation and ever-enriching teaching.
*image: "When you're in denial that it's over... an impromptu photoshoot in central Berlin with a dear ballet friend "
Julia
I came into the retreat excited but also a little nervous -- first intensive, first time doing that much ballet in a day, let alone five days in a row! But from the get-go everything about it was so thoughtful in terms of making it accessible to people with different levels of ability, so I could relax and enjoy the hard work on its own terms.
I loved getting to know the people I didn't already know, and to spend more time with the ones I did, it felt like an especially joyful class trip.
I also thought it was especially wonderful to do a piece for the corps, it gave me a real sense of being part of a team. Probably my favourite thing about doing ballet as an adult is that everyone is there for the love of it, and that really came through in the whole experience. Getting to spend time in one of my all-time favourite cities was just an added bonus!
Read Michelle Gladwin's beautiful 'love letter' about the Holistic Ballet Berlin Retreat HERE>
I hope you find these testimonials inspiring and you are tempted to join one of the Holistic Ballet Workshops in the future.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.