About
Not your teacher. Just three barres down.
The person behind Adult Ballet Journal, and why this whole thing exists.
KM
I’m Kei-chan. I didn’t grow up in a ballet school — I came to it as an adult, the way a lot of you probably did: a little embarrassed to be starting so “late,” not sure which class to walk into, definitely not sure I’d stick with it.
I stuck with it. Over the years I worked all the way through the Vaganova syllabus — Grade 1 through Grade 8 — not as a professional track, but because I wanted to actually understand the “why” behind what my body was doing at the barre.
Here’s the important part: this blog is not that syllabus, and I’m not teaching it to you. I use it the way you’d use a well-worn reference book — something I go back to when I want to attempt a combination properly instead of guessing. Every post on this site is written from the seat of a student, not the front of a classroom.
The mission
“Ballet is for whoever shows up to class — not just whoever showed up at age five.”
Adult Ballet Journal exists to make that true in practice — a bilingual (EN/JP) home for adults studying ballet recreationally or seriously, wherever they are on that road. Right now, growth and community come before monetization. If this blog and the companion YouTube channel help even a handful of you walk into your next class a little less afraid, that’s the whole goal.
The road so far
A very unglamorous timeline
CHAPTER ONE
First adult beginner class
Wrong shoes, wrong leotard, right decision. I couldn’t tell my tendu from my dégagé and it didn’t matter.
CHAPTER TWO
Vaganova Grade 1 – Grade 4
Years of barre work, alongside a full-time life that had nothing to do with dance.
CHAPTER THREE
Vaganova Grade 5 – Grade 8
Pointe, petit allegro, and finally understanding what turnout actually is.
2026
Adult Ballet Journal + YouTube launch
Turning eight grades of notes into something a fellow adult beginner might actually use.
What this blog stands for
Three things I won't compromise on
01
No shame about the starting line
Whatever age you started, whatever level you’re at — you belong in class.
02
Technique claims backed by real training
Grounded in the Vaganova syllabus, never made up for a headline.
03
Bilingual by design, not an afterthought
Built for readers moving between Japanese and English ballet communities.