I was accepted to dance with the Arizona ballet and the London ballet - well over twenty years ago. I'm not in any kind of shape - my knees are stiff and I'm at least twenty pounds over weight with little to no exercise. I wanted desperately to get back into ballet, so I purchased the GroupOn that allowed unlimited classes for one month. Lisa (I'm not certain of her name, she is also in the Group On video on their website) in 'beginning ballet for adults' had me in TEARS my first class, which I practically RAN out of.
She very obviously does not care about form and is well on her way to hurting someone. Pushing groups of women that have little to no experience and without teaching proper form is not the way to encourage true ballet. Regardless of my own body's abilities, I know what the dance looks like when done properly - and no one in that class was doing it well enough for the level they were dancing at (safely). A "beginner" class that allows you to wear socks has no business doing the moves she expects - especially when she doesn't correct anyone's form! Ballet has form to PREVENT injury! Ballet takes time to BUILD muscle!
For people that want to dance improperly and chance a serious injury - this may be the place to go. Otherwise, get a proper instructor.
After twenty years off shoe my body is not in any shape to do what she expected of me (and others). I was in tears when I left - and I had so been looking forward to this class! I would say stay away from Lisa. Her reactions during class seemed passive aggressive, commenting on my turn out as excellent but then refusing to listen when my comments about difficulty went unheeded. There were no modified moves - I was forced to stand alone and do modifications as I saw fit. As an insurance underwriter I can only recommend they stock up on Professional Liability- they are really setting themselves up for a lawsuit, regardless of the waiver of liability you must sign prior to class.
On the other hand, Peter (part owner) was amazing - he is very kind and spends lots of time explaining to me that I had nothing to fear and that the beginner class would be fine for me - and then obviously feeling bad about my humiliation. If I had started with a different instructor I'm quite sure that my entire experience would be different - I loved the studio and environment and other women, but I am far too humiliated to return and attend any other class!!