There were no classes last week because the studio takes a week off from classes to prepare for the new Academic Year (which starts today!). So, I haven't really been ballet-ing last week and have been focusing instead on skating my Bronze Free Skate Test (which I passed, but barely). The new academic year comes with a new start time for the class. Instead of a 7:00pm start, we now start at 7:15pm. Not much of a difference but it allows me a bit more time to get down to Littleton from Longmont in afternoon rush hour traffic. There were a couple of new students this week, an older lady and a younger miss who looked to be in her 20s. The younger of the two mentioned she was new to ballet but when we started at the barre it became clear that she knew more than she was letting on and the older lady was dancing as though she's been doing this her whole life (which she probably has). I'm really sick of being the only "absolutely new to ballet" student in the class. I feel like I'm holding everyone back.
Barrez - My lack of practice during the past week reared its ugly head at the barre this evening. I started off okay but got lost a couple of times and Bobbie gave me a "look."
Centerz - My glissades were meh because my plié wasn't very strong prior to the glissade. Again, I was out of sorts. But, my pirouettes were slightly better. Bobbie told me not to wrap my passé in the pirouette because it could lead to a wrap when I do my jumps in skating and she doesn't want my ballet training to have a negative effect on my skate technique. Very thoughtful of her! So, she's okay with me doing my passé to the side rather than having my foot in front of my knee as I should for proper ballet technique.
Across the Floorz - We did the same combo that we've been working on: waltz-balancé-pas de bourreé-pirouette and, once I got the pas de bourreé sussed out with the correct foot placement, I did okay on this.
So yeah, I'm still the beginneriest beginner in the class even though we have some new students but I'm trying my best to keep up. Since starting ballet I have seen some noticeable changes in my physique! I have not one but TWO abs developing and my pants are fitting a bit looser. Not that I was fat to begin with but I can tell I'm becoming a bit more lean. When I put my free skate dress on for my test this past Friday, I noticed it was slightly loose around the bust. One month of ballet has done more for me physically than two years of skating! Crazy! I have abs now! 😀
Monday, August 19, 2019
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
"We'll make a dancer out of you yet!"
Tonight's lesson went well! As expected, the one lady who joined us last week for a trial and gave up halfway through never came back. I feel bad. What if taking ballet classes was like a bucket list item for her? Then she gets to our class expecting to learn basics and is thrown to the wolves instead. We had another beginner join us this evening and she, like me, is a true beginner. She clearly looked lost at times but she stuck with it and actually tried. I hope she comes back.
Barrez - Much better at the barre tonight! In fact, I'm starting to feel comfortable enough to focus a bit more on Port de Bras and head position. Bobbie come over and corrected my positions a couple of times and I gladly accepted her help! One correction was on my passé. I should really strive to have my toes almost in front of my knee instead of directly to the side of my knee so it should pass up my leg rather than pass along it. Later, when we were stretching with one leg up on the bar, my standing leg was in first position. Bobbie came and fixed that as well so my toes were facing the bar rather than out to the side. She said she was "saving my knees" and I appreciate that!
Centerz - Lots of glissades and pliés. I was much better at pirouettes this evening as well but I'm still struggling getting my feet back into 4th position once I come out of it. My body always wants to treat this like a spin on ice and keeps wanting me to do more than one revolution. At one point she reminded us to remember our arm positions and as she was talking I must have done something pretty because she yelled "YES! Good girl, Mandi! We'll make a dance out of you yet!" I did a thing! :)
Across the Floorz - I was excited about the waltz step combo because I've been watching videos and practicing so I think I got it! I may not make a fool of myself after all! I partnered up with a more experienced dancer so we could go across together and then I could just watch him if I needed to. But I discovered that I didn't need to watch him! Yay! I got the steps! So, it's a waltz step, balancé, pirouette combo and for the first time, I felt like I could really listen to the music and move my arms accordingly with my steps and even make it more musical. I struggled with returning to 4th position coming out of the pirouettes but hey, it happened!
Grand Finalez - She had the class mark some new steps that I think she might incorporate into our next class. I would describe them but again, it was mostly in french. The other students seemed to pick it up quickly and I'm just over on the side hopping around trying to make sense of it all.
Overall, I feel like I'm making progress and I didn't feel as lost tonight as I have in previous classes. I think I might be getting the hang this whole ballet thing!
Barrez - Much better at the barre tonight! In fact, I'm starting to feel comfortable enough to focus a bit more on Port de Bras and head position. Bobbie come over and corrected my positions a couple of times and I gladly accepted her help! One correction was on my passé. I should really strive to have my toes almost in front of my knee instead of directly to the side of my knee so it should pass up my leg rather than pass along it. Later, when we were stretching with one leg up on the bar, my standing leg was in first position. Bobbie came and fixed that as well so my toes were facing the bar rather than out to the side. She said she was "saving my knees" and I appreciate that!
Centerz - Lots of glissades and pliés. I was much better at pirouettes this evening as well but I'm still struggling getting my feet back into 4th position once I come out of it. My body always wants to treat this like a spin on ice and keeps wanting me to do more than one revolution. At one point she reminded us to remember our arm positions and as she was talking I must have done something pretty because she yelled "YES! Good girl, Mandi! We'll make a dance out of you yet!" I did a thing! :)
Across the Floorz - I was excited about the waltz step combo because I've been watching videos and practicing so I think I got it! I may not make a fool of myself after all! I partnered up with a more experienced dancer so we could go across together and then I could just watch him if I needed to. But I discovered that I didn't need to watch him! Yay! I got the steps! So, it's a waltz step, balancé, pirouette combo and for the first time, I felt like I could really listen to the music and move my arms accordingly with my steps and even make it more musical. I struggled with returning to 4th position coming out of the pirouettes but hey, it happened!
Grand Finalez - She had the class mark some new steps that I think she might incorporate into our next class. I would describe them but again, it was mostly in french. The other students seemed to pick it up quickly and I'm just over on the side hopping around trying to make sense of it all.
Overall, I feel like I'm making progress and I didn't feel as lost tonight as I have in previous classes. I think I might be getting the hang this whole ballet thing!
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