ROCKLAND — I think I was maybe 10 when I saw my first ballet performance. I remember sitting there and thinking, why are they all on their tiptoes? Why don’t they just get taller ballerinas?

The term for it is, en pointe, and it is a fundamental part of learning the art of ballet. But, I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, so let’s move on.

New, moved and improved. When the Rockland School of Ballet was told to leave the Lincoln Center, that did not deter school founder and director Emily Ann Jenks. She leased a building at 8 Lindsey Street in downtown Rockland and got right to work. Celebrating a grand opening on Sept. 22, the school, just one block off of Main Street, now provides ongoing and progressive classes in ballet for children and adults in an artistic environment.

Emily Ann Jenks hails from Thomaston. Her husband, Peter, is the rector at the Church of Saint John Baptist, in Thomaston. Emily has been teaching dance (not just ballet) in the Midcoast for 22 years. She offer a variety of classes for all age groups and spends Fridays on North Haven teaching classes at the Waterman Community Center.

Emily is known for having the unique ability to bring joy, grace, poise and discipline to anyone interested in dance, regardless of age, ability or aspiration. I decided to give her a real challenge.

“What if I walked in the door and say I wanted to start taking ballet lessons?" (Those of you who know me, know what I’m challenging here.)

“Bring it on,” she said, without a moment’s hesitation. “You would have a lot of fun and you would do just fine.”

I thought about it, but just that fleeting fantasy of a graceful pirouette. Besides, I just can’t picture me in a tutu. On me it would be more like a four-four.

On Tuesdays, she teaches “Ballet Fit.” It’s mostly adults and is, in her words, “a gentler class.” It involves a lot of stretching. Wednesdays is a full ballet class for adults and teens.

“For the adult it’s quite a workout,” she said. “They sweat, so it’s a lot of cardio.”

Looking over the class schedule I noticed a wide range of age-specific classes. I posed my next question: How young is too young for ballet lessons?

“No age is really too young for lessons,” said Emily. “I do a Mommy and Me class for two and three year-olds. For a two year-old it’s more of a run-around, have fun time than a lesson. With mom, it’s a little more disciplined and a great nurturing and bonding time. Between three and six years-old we do what we call Leap and Learn. Real ballet lessons start between seven and nine years-old when you start developing ligaments and tendons.”

Remember the opening statement I made about being on your tiptoes (en pointe)? Turns out that’s not something you can do at an early age.

“Young feet are mostly cartilage,” said Emily. “For a woman, the bones are not fully formed until around 22 years old. Twelve is the absolute youngest an aspiring ballerina should try to go en pointe and 13 to 14 is better. You can really cause some harm if you start too early.”

Surprising was the calendar event, Birthday Parties.

“I charge a base rate per person," said Emily. "Moms bring everything they need to have a party and we all have a big dance lesson. It doesn’t have to be ballet and you don’t have to be enrolled here for it to happen. Everybody has a lot of fun and a great time.”

Emily was trained as a professional model. Her dance education began at age six in Vienna, Md., and at the McLean School of Ballet in the Washington D.C. area. She’s agile in jazz, modern, ballroom and tap and fills her free time with continuing education and masters' classes.