It’s All About the Music

I’ve been feeling a little “blah” about ballet recently. It’s the weirdest thing, since it’s my one hobby that I’m super passionate about. Is it boredom? Is it because I am preoccupied with my thesis and graduate school final review (I graduate next Friday, y’all– yay!)? Is it because I’ve not been able to make class every single week, so my body/technique isn’t getting stronger? Maybe it’s because my knees are starting to give me problems. Whatever the reason– I’ve been feeling quite “meh” and not able to get my head into the game.

Today in class we had a different instructor– and he did something interesting. At the beginning of class, we spent 20 minutes doing some stretching and floor barre that felt really nice. What really struck me about it though was the music. For once it wasn’t boring ballet piano music (because my goodness am I tired of THAT!). It was a variety of orchestral, asian-influenced music along with some slower songs that were extremely slow, emotional, but powerful. There was something about it that really gave me that bit of… whatever I needed. Even though we returned to ballet piano music afterward, I still felt more energized than normal.

How about you? Does the music used in class affect you strongly? What is your favorite type of music to hear in ballet class?

Ballet-iversary Again!

This isn’t me, but it might as well be. I do this on a regular basis.

Rats, I missed it again! December 1st was my 7th year Ballet-iversary! Wow, does time ever fly. Now if only *I* could fly… my grand jetés would be a heckuva lot easier.

So Happy Ballet-versary to me! Time to eat lots of cake in celebration! Err… I mean dance. DANCE in celebration.

The Mazurka and Pointe Shoes

>>Very slightly broken in Capezio Glisses I was fitted for in 2008.

In class yesterday, we did a Mazurka. It’s quite possibly one of my favorite ballet movements, now! The music was great too– it was quite easy to imagine myself performing on a giant stage with lights, a peasant costume, and everything! That sort of moment is one I live for in ballet class.

I also may have converted another friend into a ballet buddy. I brought her to the beginning ballet class last night because she was curious and interested. For not having done ballet since she was five, she was pretty good at it. She seemed like she had fun too; that’s always the most important part! I hope she joins me again soon. Ballet is always 2x as fun when you have a buddy that keeps you on your toes (pun intended).

A few posts ago I mentioned that I finally got graduated to pointe, and I’ve officially been able to work it into my ballet schedule twice a week, now! It’s just a short bit at the end of my Tuesday and Friday classes, but it’s very gratifying. For the first time since I was fitted for pointe shoes, I’ve been able to use them enough to know what sort of changes to make to them. I’ve learned that I need to loosen the drawstrings and reposition the elastics to work better on my feet. I’m also currently using gel pouches as my padding, but they may not be the perfect thing for me. I still get a lot of pressure on my big toe, so I might need slightly thicker padding there. I feel like beginning pointe is a long string of trial and error until you find whatever works the best for you.

Down, Set, Jeté!

I’ll just leave this here. Don’t ask why I drew it. It’s more fun to imagine why a Unicorn Ballerina Linebacker cartoon has been brought into existence.

Happy Belated Ballet-iversary!

I totally missed it! Ahh! December 1st of 2011 was my official 6th Ballet-iversary! I can’t believe I’ve been doing it for so long. It’s crazy, right?! I really love thinking back over the past years about all of the experiences I’ve had and all of the awesome people I’ve met– it’s been a wild ride so far!

I should mark the occasion somehow, but I’m not sure how. Anyone out in the blogosphere have any ideas besides making cute little tutu cupcakes or wearing a tiara to class? Hehehe…

Using the Ballet Brain

So today marked my first ballet class in about two months. My lovely instructor, Carla, from Ballet to the People (congrats on winning Dance Blog of the Year, btw!!!) told me she could hardly tell I hadn’t taken class in that long. I guess it’s the old Ballet Brain at work!

I literally just coined this phrase yesterday while in class. I guess it already has a name, and that name is “Muscle Memory” but I think Ballet Brain is more fun. Basically, it’s the brain that takes over and lets you move naturally even if you don’t understand what it is you’re doing.

The prime example was an across the floor we were doing that involved two sautés, and then a…. um… spinny sauté (such a technical term, I know!). We were marking the combination and my normal brain was just like “What the what?!” I could NOT wrap my head around what we were trying to do, and to be frank, I still can’t.

However, once the music queued up and we began, I just… did it. It’s like my normal brain switched off, and my Ballet Brain took over. I now understand the mantra of “STOP THINKING SO MUCH.” Ballet isn’t for thinking– it’s for training, and learning the art and movements, and just letting your body make it happen. Overthinking it tends to just ruin everything I try– I end up going the wrong way, adding an extra step where I shouldn’t, and in general getting lost during combinations where if I just STOPPED THINKING my dancing would improve. I gotta trust in my Ballet Brain. She’s got this!

Parfait

So today I visited another new studio and it was GORGEOUS. It was an old warehouse converted into a living space converted into a studio. It had beautiful wood flooring, floor to ceiling windows with big drifting curtains, and pretty slashes of sunlight filtering in. It had nice, sturdy barres, and floor to ceiling mirrors as well. Just amazing. What I wouldn’t give to live in a space like that– something that allowed me to do my art, my dance, and live all at once. The owner holds performances there as well. There was a baby grand piano in the corner, and real theater lights with gels hung from the open rafters in the ceiling. Like I said, GORGEOUS!

I had not been in ballet for about 10 days, so my legs were complaining a bit when I did class today. It was a simple Beginner level again– I love doing those to really focus on the basics. Besides, the way my instructor does her combinations, it can go from Beginner to more advanced in a heartbeat.

My good news for the day was that while I struggled endlessly with my sissone jumps, I did a combination that I completely rocked. Like, ROCKED. My instructor seemed super excited– and told me I executed it beautifully and perfectly. PERFECT. She used the word PERFECT in description of one of my ballet combinations. Sure it was simple center-work (degagé side with arms allongé, plié, changement x4) but it was tough getting my arms moving fast enough and keeping my jumps light. But apparently, I did it! I even think I did the head movements right as well!

It’s moments like this that make any week way easier.

New Studio!

So on Sunday I was able to make it over to the new studio where my instructor teaches. It seems to be a really neat place. Granted, my ballet classes are actually at a separate annexed campus so I haven’t seen the main studio space yet. This buildng appears to have two studios. The one downstairs doesn’t have any barres, so the ballet class takes place upstairs. The flooring in that studio is GORGEOUS. I find that I like flooring that isn’t as smooth because it gives me a little resistance during barre, and I can feel the floor very distinctly.

Anyway, my instructor was out so we had a sub I’ll call Tattoos. She was perky and fun, and picked some fabulous music to dance to. I personally love dancing to hard rock, alternative, and electronica (like dubstep). Several people have thought I’m crazy, but I can’t wait to perform something to music like that one day and everyone go, “Ah, now I get it.” Nevertheless I enjoyed her class even if she didn’t give much in the way of corrections. She had some cool mini-lectures on classical ballet class etiquette that I did not know before:

+When you are turning to complete the 2nd side of a combination at the barre, you always turn towards the barre, not away.

+You never put your hands on your hips.

+You don’t put your thumb underneath the barre. Apparently, the Cecchetti Method dictates that you only touch your ring finger against it to prevent grasping it too hard. Interesting!

+At the end of class when you curtsy, it needs to be a “formal” knees-together curtsy, not a “cowboy” curtsy that I find I do all the time.

She wasn’t enforcing these sorts of things, obviously– just telling us about them. Fun facts! Being that I’m an adult beginner, I would never have learned these things like someone who took it traditionally when they were younger!

Tweets are Sweet!

Today my ballet instructor tweeted me: “You are one of those dancers who looks JOYFUL when they dance, lovely to watch… some dancers work hard but they show it too much!”

Day = made!

Surprises!

Today my dance instructor told me she had been surprised to discover I hadn’t been dancing my entire life.

…

Best day ever!