Wednesday at ballet school

After I downsized my storage space, I was so tired that I took a nap with my puppy.  When I woke up, my feet were again leading me out the door to ballet class.  Some people will find it hard to understand why I have this obsession, but after watching a PBS special about music featuring Carole King where she said that since she was a little girl, she just wanted to be around music, it is the same with me and dancing.  I will always want to dance, even though I am not a little girl who is attending her first ballet class.

But this is the way I feel every time I go to class, which is why it irritates me when these teen girls go to class and carry on while I am "trying to stand up straight." The teacher said I looked so twisted in class,  but she did give me credit for trying.  I chatted with her after class and commented that I do not use my feet well and engaging the feet exercises your entire leg in a better way, and she said, "You sure don't.  You have such pretty feet." Like she said to a young girl in class, you have some major work to do on your body.  I can see..

I don't know if it was the pain of hauling truckloads of stuff in the storage building or because perhaps all the gym work is making me work contrary to the principles of ballet.  Ballet is a strict discipline that trains the muscles a certain way, and I remember the days when this is all I did for exercise, just go to ballet class once, twice, even three times a day.  Being in class was when I felt truly alive.

Now that I am older, my vanity still has not changed, which is why I work out, but also because it invigorates me.  Going to the supermarket today, I chose to buy a mango, bananas, strawberries, Greek yogurt, and some protein bars and avoided the cakes, pizza, and all the items that "normal" people want to eat. Subconsciously I must have thought of maintaining my body and finding the foods that would feed my muscles and joints.

But today, since it was a cold day, I stayed home, which I am doing a lot because of puppy, but I feel again like I did in the simple days when I would be home, go to ballet, and then go home again. There is an inner peace from this type of discipline and working on training my body for dance. I love it!

Class:
Barre:
1. Stretches before plies: stand back to barre, stretch away from the barre, arching back, then bend down with flat back, scoop up.
2. Facing barre, push away from barre into squat, rise up to demi-toe, push into barre.
3. Second position, port de bras sideways, then bend one knee and crouch all the way down, shifting side to side.
4. Plies with arms, stretch parallel foward and back.
5. Tendus front, back, side, side, balance in sou sou.
6. Degages front with plies, back with plies, side...only move the legs, nothing else...
7. Ronde jambes slow, 3x fast, developpe front, passe, back, penche, balance in attitude, extend to arabesque.
8. Frappes doubles point tendu, ronde jambes side.
9. Fondu with developpes, hold in seconde.
10. Grand battements: passe, fondu battement, straight battement, developpe battement.
Center:
1. Tendus to side, passe, pirouettes.
2. Passe hold, pirouettes.
3. Passe croise, pirouettes en dedans.
4. Changements, sissonne, temps de cuisse, assembles with quatre beats.
5. Faille, assemble, coupe sissonne developpe, assemble.
Lots of jumps in this intermediate class!