Saturday...you can wait!

I think I will go to pointe class today to see if all my strength training has paid off.

Oh, I forgot, there is a Nutcracker performance today at the school and pointe class is cancelled.  So, I hurried to the gym in time for Pilates.  South Loop location, new gym, teacher with scoliosis like me.  She was hard on me, positioning me into the moves I couldn't do for lack of strength, like oblique curls.  Also, in curls, she adjusted my head and shoulders to be even higher off the floor.  Like me chiropractor said, it's more a problem with my shoulders and really my entire back, as I learned later in ballet class.  But, back to Pilates, since I was next to the mirror, I could really see how my hips were not straight and down as we did leg swings while lying on our backs.  A new exercise that I liked was, lying on our stomachs, place bent arms by chest and lift chest by not hoisting with our arms.  The worst, and best, exercise for me, the teacher told me after class, is the Mermaid, where you sit sideways with knees bent and try to extend the opposite arm over your head, stretching your side.  She told me when she started doing these sideways stretches, she really created more room in her bent spine.  She told another lady, if you can't straighten your arm, you can bend it, as long as you stretch your side.  The teacher came by me and pushed my torso sideways and it really felt good to have this adjustment.  After class we talked some more and set up a free complimentary private session for next week.

Then I got on the train and went dutifully to ballet class and I found out that the regular teacher was in a Nutcracker performance and so we had a sub, a dancer from Deeply Rooted dance company.  She was saying fun things like, when you do your arabesques, hold the position proudly, as if to say to the other dancers, "you can wait."  Ha, ha!  Her emphasis today was on keeping the pelvis still.  Since I was so sore from Pilates (and the teacher said to take it easy since I had not taken Pilates regularly for a while and not to do too much and get a stress injury), and tired of being bent over, I did some of the barre exercises while holding the barre with both arms.  Engaging my arms this way, as we do in my pointe class, I can feel square and really work my legs.

The barre was nice and comfortable, with lots of tendus and rolling through the feet.  I especially liked the pas de cheval combination:  pique pique front, pas de cheval to 5th, two degages; repeat en croix, then do swings en cloche, fondu degage front, to passe, to arabesque.  We did developpes a la seconde with a fouette to attitude balance and fast grand battements. Throughout barre, I watched how the teacher did everything so effortlessly but with control and strength.

In center, we did some more pretty combinations.  We started with tendus croise to tendus seconde to pique sou sou to pirouettes.  We did balances and lots of steps with diagonal movements.  The jumps were also comfortable:  1st, 1st, 2nd, echappe, changements.  We did glissades change, assembles, jetes and later did these with beats.  For the grand allegro, we started with the arabesque pose, chasse pas de bourre, glissade grand jete.  A very traditional, nice class.  I chatted with the teacher and another student I met who regularly travels from Iowa to Chicago on weekends to attend dance classes.  We talked about the necessity of more movement in ballet and, after Pilates class, I could see how this freer type of movement is so much more expressive and healthy.  Maybe this is why there are so many smaller modern dance companies around these days.

I was so tired on the bus back to the pool that I almost fell asleep but then a young couple with a little girl dressed in pink cheered me up.  The girl ran on the bus and said, "I found a seat!"  Her mother said, "Sit down, then."  Soon I arrived to the pool and almost fell asleep again in the steam room.  Then I crawled into the whirlpool, closing my eyes again, and finally, into the water.  I didn't have time to swim as the gym closes early on weekends, but I did do some laps with the kickboard.

Now I'm home, resting and playing with my kitten and feel so refreshed.  I dream of sugarplums, but it's water and diet coke for me.  I bought a yummy banana nut muffin on the way to the gym, but it is waiting for the morning.  I'm really too tired to eat it anyway!

Snow at Midnight

I did not want to wake up as usual but once outside, the crisp air was invigorating.  It is going to snow at midnight but today it was a sunny clear day.  I walked to Pilates class at the gym, feeling unusually strong for the morning.  It must be all the Pilates and yoga and swimming, I thought.  I ran into a runner leaving the gym last night and I asked him how he trains after noticing his Mizuno sports bag.  He told me he competes in triathlons and does a lot of cardio workouts.  I remarked I need more cardio, like the elliptical and treadmills but he said swimming is great cardio, too.

Pilates seemed effortless today, although I still have difficulty with the waistline area and articulating the bones of the lower back; however, I feel the kinks coming out slowly the more I practice Pilates.  We used the magic circle again and at the last part of class did some movements for our pecs -- definitely have to get better arms...then I went swimming and did swan arms in the pool, noticing how my shoulders were too heavy.  I had to walk across the running track at the gym because no one told me they had closed the women's entrance to the pool -- so I was walking around the gym in my Speedo!

I arrived at Joffrey Academy and realized I had forgotten my tights so I went across the street to Macy's and found some pink glittery tights on sale.  They looked a little strange and I think the teacher was trying not to laugh.  It was a challenging class, and afterwards, a dancer's mother said that I shouldn't hoist myself up and that I do this because I lack core strength.  Hmm, I will have to discuss this with my teachers...

So we did plies and port de bras at barre and lots of extensions with huge cambres and huge extensions. We did fondus to second, beats, penches.  This teacher emphasizes arm strength radiating from the back and several movements later in center required this open and flexible back, such as the pas de poisson, where you arch the back while crossing your ankles and jumping up.

I felt stronger at barre but my left leg still is not pulled up enough.  I think I have had the bad habit of leaning into and away from the barre with my arm on the left side, and now I am paying for it with a pinched back and weak hamstrings.  In Pilates last night, I showed the teacher how I could stand on my right foot forever but could not balance very long on the left side without caving in and falling over.

The male dancer who told me to contract my glutes last week was there again.  He is very kind and I enjoy dancing with him.  In center, he stood behind me which made me nervous, but, as a dancer, I need to learn to show myself more.  This leads to better fluidity in dancing, too, because you are forced to dance if you are together with someone who responds to your movements.  My usual awkward movements almost looked better, until we got to a point in center where we were jumping and I did not look very graceful doing beats.  Then, we did a menage of fast pique turns and coupe jetes, and I lost my spot going to the right.

A lot of this awkwardness comes from improper body mechanics.  I noticed as I did pique turns to the right how my left leg kind of lagged behind and was not rotated and how my arms didn't move into the turns.  But, at least now I am noticing these things.  Now, to have the courage to fix them in the face of everyone else and how to live with this scrutiny -- as in an interesting article by the dance critic Alistair Macaulay in the NY Times today, "Some correspondents have argued that the body in balet is "irrelevant."  Sorry, but the opposite is true.  If you want to make your appearance irrelevant to criticism, do not choose ballet as a career.  The body in ballet becomes a subject of the keenest observation and the most intense discussion.  I am severe -- but ballet, as dancers know, is more so." 


Center: Tendus croise front and back, promenade tendus, pirouettes, pas de basque, inside pirouettes.
Pretty Adagio:  developpe croise, cambre back, passe to arabesque, pas de bourre, raise arms to 5th position, extend leg to arabesque, penche; chasse to lunge, grand port de bras, temps leve pirouettes.
Jumps: 4 changements, jete entrelace, assemble, quatre; glissade brises, pas de chat, pas de bourre en tournant, chasse jete.

Thursday...

Done with ballet and yoga.  Tired, but going back to the gym for a swim, where it's nice and warm, away from the city chill...

Yoga class was good but I think I overdid it because I was even stiffer in ballet.  It was a similar class to yesterday, with the same teacher.  We did some adagio combinations at barre, such as chasse forward to fourth, circular port de bras, swing leg to attitude, bring to passe, fouette over to penche...we also did batterie with attitude balances.  We did an interesting battement combination:  battement to passe, tendu down, front and back, grand battements to side.

In center we did tendus en croix with arms, pirouettes to chainnes and inside pique turns.  Adagio was start sou-sou, developpe leg to ecarte, step and developpe ecarte to other direction, fondu grand ronde jambe to arabesque, promenade in attitude, inside attitude turns to releve arabesque.

For jumps we did glissade assembles, sissonnes to chainnes and inside pique turns.  Finally, grand allegro was contretemps chasse pas de bourre glissade grand jete, glissade assemble, pirouettes.

It was nice to see my former yoga teacher this morning, who has become a dancer and recently went to Italy on vacation.  He used to be a gymnast and some of his yoga moves are pretty impossible for me.  He has incredibly strong arms, even though he is tall and reed thin.  I cannot do his malasanas where he is sitting with his legs in front and then pushes off the floor with his arms and somehow swings his legs underneath his body so that he is in cobra position.

Other than that, and a girl who kept doing headstands in class, the triangle poses and body twists felt nice on my back, as did all the straddle stretches.  I told him the joke I heard last night about the girl who tried yoga and found that drinking would make her feel even more relaxed and then perhaps she could bring her leg over her head, ha, ha.

Well, a dreary day, but I did my workout because it all adds up, and a day missed will show up on you later and a day worked will reap its rewards.  Now it's back into the night...

Got to my favorite bookstore cafe to warm up with some coffee and a protein bar and then headed to the gym for Pilates class, deciding to forego swimming on such a cold night.  I am beginning to enjoy Pilates, more than yoga, where before it used to be vice-versa.  I am simply stronger now and enjoy the challenges of Pilates.  We worked with the magic circle in this class, on inner and outer thighs and hip alignment.  I noticed that when I was on my left side how hard it was to keep my hips from moving as I moved my legs up and down and forward and back and then in circles.  We also placed the magic circle between our ankles and squeezed against it to strengthen the thighs.

The hardest exercise for me tonight was the swan, where we picked up our chest while lying on our stomachs.  "Proud chest," the instructor said.  This weather must be making me stiff, but I chisel away every day, knowing that it will all pay off in the end.

Oh, and I asked a friend about pointing the toes and if it hurts the hamstring area and I see now that you must work up to where the pain starts and then back off.  We were talking about a foot device that stretches the foot and I said I felt if the spring was any tighter, my bones would break.  Same with muscles, my friend the dancer helped me see.  All this training is hard work...but I love it!

Wednesday

Class at Lou Conte (they are having a food drive and you get a discounted class if you bring something):
Barre:
-Demi, stretch foot, demi, stretch other foot, grand plie, releve balance, circular port de bras -- all positions.
-Tendus en croix all position with demi plie; press foot through 5th position.
-Tendu fondu front extend to side, demi-plie, tendus 5th; tendu back extend to side, demi-plie, tendus 5th; tendus in 5th en croix, port de bras into barre, cambre down front and back, balance in 5th position.
-5th position, tendu front to 5th, 2 quicker tendus; repeat en croix.
-Same with degages
-Ronde jambes, tendu fondu front back front, ronde james, once around off the floor, fondu battement attitude front, extend, repeat en croix, then fondu tendu front, passe, arabesque; circular port de bras.
-Fondus en croix, developpe ecarte, fouette to attitude, extend penche.
-Frappes front, side, batterie, back, side, batterie.
-Grand battements front, back, side, repeat double-time.
Center:
-Developpe releve efface, chasse pas de bourre en tournant, pique arabesque, fondu, pirouettes en dedans, detourne, chainnes, chasse pas de bourre, pirouettes.
-Adagio:  5th position, beat cou de pied, temps leve back each side, fondu tendu, arms to 5th and cambre forward, then back reverse arms, extend to arabesque, to attitude promenade, fondu efface, pique arabesque, inside turn to arabesque, pas de bourre en tournant, pirouettes.
-Jumps:  glissade alternating, glissade jete temps leve coupe assemble; repeat other side.
-Grand allegro: pique arabesque, pas de bourre en tournant, chasse pas de bourre, glissade grand jete, glissade assemble, contretemps, pique arabesque, tour jete assemble, chainnes, inside pique turn, releve arabesque.

It has occurred to me that, at barre, everything feels strange because we are constantly working turnout.   I mean, we stand in these unnatural open position, like our bodies are pressed against two pieces of glass, as they say about alignment in yoga class.  With that in mind, I tried to think of my body in this two-dimensional existence instead of being three-dimensional and struggling with my muscles.

And, in center, the reason I constantly dump my torso when landing from something is because I'm not using my back, hamstrings and gluteal muscles.  The dancers in class today were all exceptionally talented working dancing girls and watching them has helped me correct myself in center significantly.  I was fortunate to attend this intermediate, but very professional class.

Now to try and get to a free Pilates class at the South Loop gym...

Well, the bus ride did not permit time to get to Roosevelt Road, so I got off at Union Station instead and went upstairs for Amanda's Pilates class.  Turns out she dances with the Seldoms and I'm scheduled for a  free private lesson with her next week.  It must have been fate.

The class was all about keeping the pelvis stable and I talked to Amanda after class about this, since this area is so important to dancers, a la Elvis Presley, lol.  But not for classical ballet, as a Russian teacher once remarked, "Hips never move."  I told her the class was going well for me except for the rolldowns, one vertebrae at a time, where I felt no flexibility in my waist area and it was like a gob of flesh instead of pliable bones.  This was when we did the exercise that required us to swing our legs over our head and touch the floor with our feet, then roll back down to the ground.  The variation was touch the floor, open the legs apart and roll down.

We started the class by lying on our backs and stretching our fingers and toes.  Then we did the arm pushes with Pilates breathing, legs in V position with ab crunches, pulling straight legs back and forth, and rolling like a ball.  There was a variation of this where we touched our forehead to our knees and really compressed our stomach, and then flung our legs and arms out.  The crunch into the ball position was painful; I can elongate but I cannot compress, and compression is necessary to better elongation.

I asked Amanda what exercises I could do to loosen this tight hip joint area and she said to do the clams we did in class, leg circles in the air to work the joint, and lying sideways and swinging the leg touching the floor in front with the toes and then swinging the leg in an arc to touch the floor in back with the heel.

I liked the sideways exercises the best.  Lying with legs stacked parallel, we swung our top leg on either side forward and back while keeping our hips square.  Then we did developpes and reverse developpes, or envelopes. We also moved the top leg forward and then up and down, which is okay for me to do in a  position where my legs are at a 45 degree angle from the torso and not straight with the torso, as this puts too much pressure on the back -- it was an old jazz class exercise and it was always so painful for me that I stopped attending the class, since my back is not strong enough to support the weight of my legs like this.

As for strength, Amanda and I spoke of the buttocks, periformis and hip rotators and I understood that it would not overdevelop the buttocks to make them strong unless my alignment was incorrect.  As long as I kept a neutral spine and avoided working just my outer body, it would actually help me because then I would be working the inner muscles properly.

As it was late, I opted to go home and call it a day, or should I say, night?

Ruby Tuesday

I wanted to stay home and rest and take my medicine but something made me get up and start putting up my hair, get dressed and go to the bus stop to early class with Mike.  The wind was howling through my windows but, once outside, having fortified myself with coffee from my apartment building grocery store, it wasn't that bad of a day.  I drank my coffee on the bus, looking outside the windows at the park and, suprisingly, the next bus on my journey was right there and I arrived with plenty of time to chat with a friend.

Back to the daily business of dancing, as my teacher last night said, when the pointe class girls applauded after the teacher helped one girl achieve a more pointed and arched foot by telling her to bring her heel down.  "Don't applaud for that," she said, "applaud if someone does 8 pirouettes on pointe, 32 fouette turns with 10 pull-ins, and lands in the splits.  Everything else is just the daily work of a dancer."

True.  So at barre today, since I lack the stability to turn out without torquing, I faced quarter to the barre and really examined my legs from the back to make sure they were rotated and straight.  I thought, at least I have achieved the correct alignment and know how it should feel; that is, how can you expect to do a step if it doesn't have any relationship to your body?  Hmmm....so, we did lots of stretches after tendus:  tendu front, ball, foot, ball, foot -- massage the floor with the ball of your foot; then en croix the same.  Tendus side, then en croix, push legs into the floor, yes.  Tendus in 5th, chasse pas de bourre to the other side of the barre.  Ronde jambe to Scott Joplin rag, with arms, chasse forward, fouette, ronde jambe working leg, pas de bourre.

Some of Mike's barre combinations are even pretty.  Oh, yes, first was plies with undulating arms and port de bras in 4th position.  Then we did developpes:  tendu front, drag foot to you, then developpe; fast frappes with beats, and finally, grand battements, with 4 counts before each battement to do fast tendus devant, seconde, and derrierre, which is always a challenge to try and point the toes in the back.

After a short water break, we started center with balance balance, detourne, chasse plie arabesque promenade half turn, fouette attitude, pirouettes en dedans, pirouettes en dehors from 5th, arrive in 4th; ready for other side.  Mike stressed to stretch the torso and arms in balance and to spot the turns.  Actually, everything should be spotted which is a change of direction, I thought.

Then we did some fast turns:  2 piques, one pique lame duck into pick up passes to chainnes and pose arabesque, swing leg to prepare for other side.  Later, after class, I tried these in slow motion, and saw that I couldn't do them well because my alignment was off.  Mike said to do them on a diagonal but everybody was doing them sideways and I followed the crowd.  Important to listen to the teacher, I thought.  Why come to class if you want to do what you want?  Might as well work out in the basement, really.  It's always best to be respectful of the teacher and not just go along with other dancers, even thought they are more experienced than you, because they are human and make mistakes, too!

This will be my homework, I commented to a dancer after class, telling her I could never do fast turns well because I have trouble turning in general.  Better to practice until they are right, I thought.  Then, back to class, we jumped for a while:  temps leve arabesque, which later became cabriole, glissade, 3 brises, glissade grand pas de chat.  Now the company dancers are rehearsing to some pretty Russian choral music...off to the gym...

Drying off from my swim surrounded by the children who take swim class here, so I'm sitting on the floor stretching my legs one more time.  I wanted to go to yoga class but since I am not really completely well, this is enough for one day.  People say how can I do so much, but after reading about a 91-year-old woman who is in fantastic shape because she exercises regularly, I can see that the more you do, the more you can do; however, as an old doctor told me, with prudence and balance...still thinking about ballet class not long ago, as I stood a quarter into the barre, I noticed how I had more thigh power (thigh power!!) if I cross my thighs over more in 5th position and how much straighter my legs looked when I really squeezed them together...hmmm...

Also, after swimming, I thought, if I lift my arms more, my torso gets a better workout...if I think of more to say, I will return to my page again, if not, mañana, camaradas.

Balmy Monday

What a gorgeous day, overcast but so walkable.  I have had this nagging rash so I went to the clinic and now I have a prescription for anti-viral medicine.  I don't care for myself as much as I should because I don't have the patience to wait in doctors' offices but when your health interferes with your day, it's time to fix something.  Everyone needs to step back once in a while to attend to personal matters.

But, I am home in time for my daily workout!  The nurse at the clinic said my blood pressure was perfect, 100/80 and my temperature is 99 degrees.  I do believe it's because I work out every day.  Having some food and coffee now, ballet and the gym later, after I get my medicine.

Class over, watching the teen girls clowning around before pointe class.  In walks teacher, saying, you are supposed to be graceful ballerinas.  I wish someday to take that class but I need more proper alignment.  However, my friend has told me not to write so negatively about myself, so I will say what I did well:

I do have a nice line and my legs are getting in better shape.  I am getting into positions more properly and my arms have better structure.  My torso also looks stronger and I am moving my head.  Okay, so much for saying how sweet and pretty I look, it will make me blush!

At barre, the teacher emphasized the importance of contracting the abs so that the distance between the sternum and pubic bone is square and the ribs push down to meet the hips, which are up and held.  In this frame, the legs and arms are thus free to move.  I hear the teacher saying to the pointe class girls, hold those ribs, shoulders, hips up, go with the music.  In my class, she said you have to know when to push the music and when to let the music push you, for instance, pas de bourre is quick and underneath you to prepare for the big movements to come.

Demi-plie, demi-plie, grand plie, releve, releve, releve, in all positions.  First position, tendu front, plie, side, plie, back, plie, tendu 1st 5th 1st 5th, 5th 4x.  Tendus from 5th with plies, tendu front, fondu soutenu carry to side, side to back, degages in 1st position with arms.  Circular port de bras, step over passe balance.  Frappes single en croix, double en croix, batterie.  Passe tendu, pas de chevals.  Developpe front, carry side, passe, developpe arabesque, fouette to other side, penche.

Center:  Two tendus side, pirouette; repeat opposite side; chasse pas de bourre, pirouettes en dedans, detourne, cambre pas de bourre en tournant.  I have to learn the terminology better -- I try to remember the steps but my descriptions are not quite precise...then we did balance, balance, pique attitude turn balance, pique arabesque step over, cambre pas de bourre.

Jumps:  glissade jete couple ballonne ballonne, chasse pas de bourre glissade assemble...
Chasse pas de bourre glissade pas de chat; repeat opposite sides, chasse forward, pirouettes, finish.   This teacher goes right into the big combinations without warning!

Grand Allegro:  Pique developpe croise, balance, step step grand jete en tournant; repeat.  Now to the gym.  It's raining outside but I want to swim...

So I got to the gym and went to the steam room and then started my swim but the medicine rendered me too drowsy to swim, so I used the kickboard for a few laps and then went to the sauna, where the warmth put me to sleep.  It felt good to just lie there and relax until I heard the announcement that the gym was closing and so I had to leave and walk home in the pouring rain.

Sunday class

The fight with my body and mind resumes...now that winter is approaching, it will be even harder to stay in shape.  I want to eat more to feel warm and all the heavy clothing masks everything so well...15 minutes to class and time to stretch...

Class over -- leaning against wall stretching again, I notice how if I move my torso to the left and lean into my left side, my spine feels straighter.  Same class as Friday, so I knew the steps.  I think I make too much out of class and dwell on the physical side of steps instead of just doing them, like my pointe teacher and others have said.  It's not supposed to be hard.  I should just be a good little student and do what I'm told instead of having these dramas about my aches and pain and then drawing attention to myself, I know.

Downtown is tempting, but I am going to the gym before it closes...swim over now, eating my green salad and watching the Bears on the gym TV.  It was great to hit the water again and then I took a hot shower to warm up again.

Back to class, at barre we did tendus to the side, demi-plies and plies; then tendus front, side, back, inside leg, etc., little pas de chevals the same way, then pas de chevals front front front, back, back, back, with releve passe balances.  We did ronde jambes fondu front, 4 with port de bras, developpe ecarte side, passe, attitude balance.  Then it was fondu devant, pique, pique, balancoire, degages to the side; then same starting dedans.  We did fondu developpe front, ronde jambe to side with double ronde jambes, same to back, attitude balance.  For frappes we did 4 front, 4 side, pas de cheval fondu efface, pas de cheval fondu derrierre croise back, then battus to the side.  We did attitude balancoires, then same with straight legs and for grand battements we did kicks front, side, back, side, swing leg parallel in, out, one last kick.

After a water break, we started center with two tendus front, two back, tendus alternating side, detournes, pique passe to the side, pique soutenu to the other side, pas de bourre en tournant, pirouettes dehor; then balance balance, soutenu, pirouettes dedans.  Next was adagio:  developpe croise front, fondu take leg to side, turn into attitude, extend to arabesque, fifth, fondu efface ronde jambe leg to side, turn, penche, fondu pas de bourre, chasse pirouettes en dehors, pirouettes attitude en dedans, pose.

We proceeded with jumps:  1st, 5th, 1st, 5th, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, two echappes alternating, then echappes battu.  Then we did assemble temps leve both sides, jete side, gargouillade, pas de bourre, temps de cuisse both sides.  Next was ronde jambes en l'air each side, echappe sissonne 4th, assemble both sides, chasse coupe jete en tournant, cabriole, run away.

Finally, grand allegro:  chasse pas de bourre glissade grand jete, contretemps chasse pas de bourre, jete a la seconde, developpe efface, chasse pas de bourre, chasse pas de bourre assemble devant, tendu side pirouette, finish.

Playtime over, back to reality and attending to matters of work, house, etc.  Tomorrow is Monday...