Like the full moon, vanished...I just came back from the 24-hour gym where I had a good solitary swim and then a nice whirlpool bath, which felt really great since I had been moving things in my storage space all day and was pretty sore. More tomorrow, unfortunately, but then I get to go to the ballet afterward!
You can imagine how I felt in ballet class tonight, my favorite teacher, too, and I was so stiff, except my arms felt really strong from all the lifting I had done for 2 hours in the afternoon. There was a beautiful young dancer in the class who moved so elegantly. It is always a treat when I see a really good dancer in class because it inspires me to become better. Actually, I didn't do so badly and in some ways it was the best class ever...
The teacher said that we will all get a moment when we will feel like ourselves and project ourselves no matter where we are...that we will feel as comfortable in a strange place as in our favorite familiar studio. I agree and have heard it said that you must be your own dancer. Since I go to so many different studios, it is easier for me to detach myself like this and there have been moments when I felt like I was the one in charge. It is definitely a worthwhile feeling. Also he said to experiment with our steps, how do you feel when you turn, what does it take to make it happen. Look at it in different ways. This is so much more meaningful than just doing the prescribed movement, I thought. Also he said that he sees us using our arms to try to get around but it's all in the middle, in the waistline, in the stomach or core than makes you turn. You must feel your opposite side and head moving you.
I feel that since taking this teacher's class my turns have definitely gotten more reliable and they would be perfect if I could get my warped left side to be more solid and strong. Stretching hard after class I could almost feel the kinks leaving my back and this feeling was even more pronounced in the whirlpool at the gym, where the water pushed me so hard that it was almost painful in some spots where my nerves had been trapped by my misaligned sacroiliac. To get the muscles around this painful area is my quest, and all of these images this teacher gives us in class definitely take the pain away; however, this is not the gym and I still have to work on my presentation so that the people who watched the class would feel entertained by me, not alarmed at my efforts.
Our teacher was practicing a jump routine he was to do in a performance and I noticed the articulation of his feet and good bouncy jumps. It was so entertaining that even though I was stretching, I could not look away. This is what dancing should look like, I thought. Also, the beautiful dancer in the class presented herself this way, in that she did the combinations but had a smile on her face, not a frown! Even though this class has always been a challenge for me at times, I continue to go because anything I can learn from this excellent teacher will make me happy. In a way, dancing is my happiness. I have really grown to love it in a way I never expected, to the point that whatever else happens in my life doesn't matter as much as having a bad class. Shades of Black Swan!
Well, I certainly don't want dancing to become this obsessive thing and it was a beautiful moonlit warm February night, so there are definitely other things in life but sometimes I feel people are so lonely and that is why they go to the gym or to dance class, to feel better. Still, it is my goal to look better, even though I will never look like a real dancer because I started too late to acquire the correct technique which develops your body. It is just that I feel that sometimes I don't reach inside myself as much as I could because I feel inadequate and this is a terrible feeling, but it is something a lot of people feel and so they give up and don't try or don't care...
The teacher corrected me quite a bit, too, which is always good...don't make your ankles soft, point your toes, pelvis straight, straight knees; in other words, like my pointe teacher would say, stand up straight, young lady. Be a proud, beautiful dancer, yes!
All the movements at barre are to prepare you for dancing in center...experiment with your balance, let go of the bar, feel how it feels to stand on one leg -- your weight has to shift on the leg...
Center:
1. Tendu front, back, glissade, glissade, tendu front, back, side, pas de bourre. Pique arabesqud, fondu, promenade to corner, developpe croise front, grand ronde jambe to arabesque, arms high ffth.
2. Jumps echappe pirouette, step cambre pas de bourre en tournant, inside turn, detourne, chainnes, pique pirouette dehors.
3. Glissade assemble, sissonne, sissonne, glissade jete coupe assemble, quatres.
4. Echappe land on one leg, assemble, emboites, chainnes, pirouette pique dehors.
5. Jump seconde, beats, chasse pas de bourre grand jete, grand jete, coupe, pique turn dehors.
Now to get some sleep and move more excess baggage tomorrow. Simplicity, simplicity...it will take as long as it will take (heard on late night Craig Ferguson Show)...
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