I'm injured..and have been for quite awhile. Truthfully I've been injured since late June when I pulled my hamstring yet again..however, it is only since I've been going to a physio weekly and been restricted by my physio to just one class/week and no stretching allowed that the injury bit has sunk it.
I tore my hamstring in late June-to me it was not a huge deal-I'd pulled it before a year ago and before that as well..so I figured a few days and all would be well...only it wasn't a few days or a few weeks...the stiffness varied day to day and the hamstring wouldn't heal. It flared up even more during the ballet intensive and I was advised to seek out a physio. Being stubborn me though, I figured I would manage on my own. After all, I'd had a hamstring pulled before. It only seemed to get worse though, more stiff, sitting for long periods of time became unbearable and sometimes I would be hobbling. During this time, I had been joyfully enjoying a couple more private lessons with Andrea, and managed to fit in some weekly ballet classes including an Intermediate one-an excellent challenge. I was also pushing myself in ballet more to repeat the same exercise again and again. Despite the hamstring issue, I was feeling great, in that I was feeling the difference in my technique, feeling more on centre...and then, I had a 2 hr semi-private with Andrea following the normal 1.5 hr Sunday morning ballet. My hamstring had been feeling particularly irksome of late and that day as well..and I was not able to relax it despite stretching so much..after the semi-private, it was feeling nasty and I began getting stabbing pains and a burning sensation running along the leg..
Being alarmed at this new development I emailed Andrea who again suggested that I see a physio-and suggested a physio in Bondi that I gathered she'd been to herself. I booked an appointment for the Thursday and in the meantime, was advised by Andrea not to stretch.
When Thursday finally arrived I was very relieved as my hamstring had outdone itself and every step I took was painful and I was walking gingerly everywhere I went.
My physio is a lovely person and just returned to taking ballet as well..after doing a history and me talking about what had been going on and such..she had me do some exercises, did a few manual manipulations herself and then told me her diagnosis..
1) Yes there was a hamstring issue BUT that was not the main issue; she said that I only had a small hamstring tear, but that it became chronic since I kept stretching it..
2) The main issue (to my surprise) is my left (medically the right) hip.The diagnosis is "reduced external rotation of the right hip, tight glutes, abductors and of the anterior hip muscle"..quite a mouthful..and while I was surprised that it wasn't relaly the hamstring causing so much grief..the more I thought about it, the more it made sense given so many of my symptoms..both since I pulled the hamstring and even from years ago..
Danni ( my physio) said that she thinks I was always just tighter on my right hip than my left but that the hamstring tear made me hip tighten even more reflexively as a way of protecting it from further injury..however, in the process, it got so tight that I squeezed on a main nerve that runs from the glutes down the leg (hence the burning sensations I got-only I misinterpreted that as being my hamstring)..Also when I stand head-on..she saw that my hips were not square..the good, flexible one was turning inwards in response to the major stiffness of the bad one..
After I got over this amazement, I got some manual theray to temporarily relieve some of the stiffness..the physio kept saying how tight it was..esp for a dancer and how different from my good hip..I admit, I am a baby and the manual therapy was very painful..I had to be reminded to breathe and relax..not easy to do when it feels as though your whole hip is being moulded into doughy something!
I was booked in for the next week, given 2 stretches to do at home, and was told I was allowed just 1 ballet on the sunday..no privates, or other ballet session at all..no stretches, no jumps in ballet over 45 degrees and to stop if I had any pain..
Saturday, 26 November 2011
Monday, 10 October 2011
"Intense" really is the most appropriate word to describe a day of ballet :) (1)
Well it happened! After much waiting and impatience on my part, the much-anticipated ballet intensive arrived! I was beyond excited for it. At work the day before while listening to a mixture of ballet music, I kept breaking out in grins and would have to try and calm down and focus on work. It was very difficult though-my mind kept wandering away from my work and imagining the sorts of things I would be learning. To make things more agonising I then was too excited to sleep! Eventually I dozed off, only to awaken early to do some barre work and stretch a bit.
The intensive was to start at 10 at The McDonald College in North Strathfield. I caught the train from Artarmon at 8:45am to give myself ample time to arrive and warm up, stretch and well..to soak up the atmosphere :) When I arrived, I met up with a few people from my Sunday morning class and we found the studio to warm up and stretch a bit. The first thing that surprised me was the number of people that showed up. There were about 8 people in the majority of the day's classes with the exception of the warm-down class at the day's end. I expected there to be a lot more; however, this being the first year an intensive of it's kind was offered, I'd heard rumours that there had been some "organisational/logistical errors" made. Mind you, this didn't bother me because it meant lots of room at the barre and also a lot more individualised attention.
The intensive was split into 2 streams. Absolute beginner/beginner & elementary/intermediate. I chose the elementary/intermediate stream as I am at an elementary level. Initially I was very nervous about the intermediate aspect but was reassured by my ballet teacher (who was one of the 3 teachers at the intensive) that I could handle it. Anyway, the first ballet class began at 10 and finished at 12. It consisted of lots of barre work followed by some centre work. Most of the barre work went well..even if it was quite fast. Also, I was still thinking of what had taken place at my private lesson just a few days prior and so was being very mindful of how my feet were positioned, my centre and trying to incorporate as much of my newfound knowledge into my work as possible. There were a fair few things done at the barre which I wasn't used to doing-I managed however my left hamstring, which I pulled back in June and is still being irksome, was bothering me a good deal and at one point, when doing a forward bend on rise, shook so much that I fell off my centre. Drat that hamstring!
Barre lasted over an hour and then we did some centre work- a couple of adages and a tendu. Again, a few new steps (or rather, ways of executing those steps) and a faster pace proved a bit of a challenge which I relished as all the new steps are new things to work towards in my next private lesson :)
After ballet, there was a scheduled pointe class for some..and a pirouette class for others. I was very tempted to skive off the pointe class for the pirouettes when I saw people heading to the other studio as I love pirouettes..but I really wanted to partake in a pointe class again and break in my new shoes.
The pointe class was a mixture of "interesting", "not too bad" and "okay" feelings. First thing is that while I have done pointe before, it was a very small amount and for a short-time, not to mention, several years ago! Aside from the pointe I did then, all I've done point-wise in recent years (i.e. the last 2-3) is pointe work for the barre based on DVD's I borrowed from the library. Useful yes, but of course, not the same as having a qualified teacher watching you execute steps and ensuring that the proper technique is used and such. Anyway, according to the timetable, the pointe class was at the absolute beginner/beginner level which sounded perfect for someone with my limited pointe experience. I asked around and the consensus was that the pointe class generally took place at the barre with a small amount of centre (aka just right)..the dancers I spoke with about it, had a similar pointe background as I did so I felt reassured.
First thing I noticed upon stepping into the pointe class, was that it had 2 girls from my previous ballet class..the 2 girls that had obviously been dancing since they were 5 and who had obviously done a good amount of pointe work before..this did not exactly help lessen the nerves. The class began at the barre with rises in first, second and fifth then moved to releves, echappes and poses-very similar to what I'd done before both in a class as well as from the DVD's. I felt fine about the exercises but admit that I was a tad disappointed that I didn't receive more feedback on how I was doing. A few general comments were made, but were said to the 7 backs at the barre-no names mentioned or anything so I never knew if what I was doing was correct technically-I listened to the comments and tried to see if they applied to me, but I found it difficult when I didn't know if even the basics were being executed properly. Nevertheless I enjoyed the barre work and breaking in my shoes which were surprisingly comfortable..
After some time at the barre, we moved into centre and this is where things suddenly took a leap ability-wise. At first we just did simple sautes in first second and fifth and some echappes but then the jumps got very quick. The exercises themselves I could have done easily in my slippers but it's a whole different thing to doing something on pointe..and especially when you no longer have the reassuring presence of the barre. Had the pace been more relaxed I could have taken my time-that was not the case though..we were going so quickly that I felt rushed to keep up but could feel that my technique was sloppy..it didn't help that I was already nervous about doing so much quick pointe work away from the barre. When the next exercise was demonstrated with pirouettes and pose turns, I knew I couldn't continue. While I love pirouettes I was not about to attempt them on pointe out of the blue. The class was already too fast-paced and advanced for someone with my limited pointe experience..and I knew that attempting those quick turns and pirouettes would be buying myself a one-way ticket to a sprained ankle or worse. A couple of the other people with limited pointe work (I'm sure they still had more than I did) told me to just "try it" but that would have been really dumb on my part..there's a time to throw caution to the winds and there's another time to follow common sense...so I moved to the side of the room and watched the last 20 min of the class and trying not to feel or show how annoyed I felt. On the one hand, I got what I wanted..in that I got to break in my shoes a bit and get back into pointe work. On the other hand, the timetable clearly said "absolute beginner/beginner" pointe and there were 3 girls in that pointe class that were clearly above that level..and I felt that the class ended up being tailored to them not only technically, but also in pace.- no "absolute beginner" on pointe would be expected to just perform a pirouette out of the blue or whip out pose turns..hello ankle injuries..I coudl tell I wasn't the only person uncomfortable..one girl kept saying how scared she was feeling about tyring the pirouettes and she looked it too..it made me nervous just watching! Anyway, after a few minutes on the floor, I was joined by others struggling with the class until the lone girl left was one who had danced for years and years and done lots of pointe before. At least it was only 45 minutes though and I got at least 20min of pointe work in..I left the studio feeling dispirited though, while still annoyed and sought the teacher out. I told him of my background and asked what I could work on. He started telling me a few things to work on (many of which I would have found very useful to have known while still at the barre (which didn't exactly help with the annoyance I was feeling) and then proceeded to tell me that I should come to his Thursday night class at a studio in St. Leonard's..he said it was elem/int but that they did some beginner pointe work at the end that would be more suited to my level..
After this, it was 1pm and we had about an hour's lunch break. I found though (must have been from adrenaline?) that I wasn't hungry..just incredibly thirsty..and so I just walked to the shops with a girl from the classes- we talked about the intensive and I asked her about the Thursday night class at St.Leonard's (something I am considering)..she got some lunch and I nibbled on a mandarin and then we returned to the studios for the afternoon session :)
The intensive was to start at 10 at The McDonald College in North Strathfield. I caught the train from Artarmon at 8:45am to give myself ample time to arrive and warm up, stretch and well..to soak up the atmosphere :) When I arrived, I met up with a few people from my Sunday morning class and we found the studio to warm up and stretch a bit. The first thing that surprised me was the number of people that showed up. There were about 8 people in the majority of the day's classes with the exception of the warm-down class at the day's end. I expected there to be a lot more; however, this being the first year an intensive of it's kind was offered, I'd heard rumours that there had been some "organisational/logistical errors" made. Mind you, this didn't bother me because it meant lots of room at the barre and also a lot more individualised attention.
The intensive was split into 2 streams. Absolute beginner/beginner & elementary/intermediate. I chose the elementary/intermediate stream as I am at an elementary level. Initially I was very nervous about the intermediate aspect but was reassured by my ballet teacher (who was one of the 3 teachers at the intensive) that I could handle it. Anyway, the first ballet class began at 10 and finished at 12. It consisted of lots of barre work followed by some centre work. Most of the barre work went well..even if it was quite fast. Also, I was still thinking of what had taken place at my private lesson just a few days prior and so was being very mindful of how my feet were positioned, my centre and trying to incorporate as much of my newfound knowledge into my work as possible. There were a fair few things done at the barre which I wasn't used to doing-I managed however my left hamstring, which I pulled back in June and is still being irksome, was bothering me a good deal and at one point, when doing a forward bend on rise, shook so much that I fell off my centre. Drat that hamstring!
Barre lasted over an hour and then we did some centre work- a couple of adages and a tendu. Again, a few new steps (or rather, ways of executing those steps) and a faster pace proved a bit of a challenge which I relished as all the new steps are new things to work towards in my next private lesson :)
After ballet, there was a scheduled pointe class for some..and a pirouette class for others. I was very tempted to skive off the pointe class for the pirouettes when I saw people heading to the other studio as I love pirouettes..but I really wanted to partake in a pointe class again and break in my new shoes.
The pointe class was a mixture of "interesting", "not too bad" and "okay" feelings. First thing is that while I have done pointe before, it was a very small amount and for a short-time, not to mention, several years ago! Aside from the pointe I did then, all I've done point-wise in recent years (i.e. the last 2-3) is pointe work for the barre based on DVD's I borrowed from the library. Useful yes, but of course, not the same as having a qualified teacher watching you execute steps and ensuring that the proper technique is used and such. Anyway, according to the timetable, the pointe class was at the absolute beginner/beginner level which sounded perfect for someone with my limited pointe experience. I asked around and the consensus was that the pointe class generally took place at the barre with a small amount of centre (aka just right)..the dancers I spoke with about it, had a similar pointe background as I did so I felt reassured.
First thing I noticed upon stepping into the pointe class, was that it had 2 girls from my previous ballet class..the 2 girls that had obviously been dancing since they were 5 and who had obviously done a good amount of pointe work before..this did not exactly help lessen the nerves. The class began at the barre with rises in first, second and fifth then moved to releves, echappes and poses-very similar to what I'd done before both in a class as well as from the DVD's. I felt fine about the exercises but admit that I was a tad disappointed that I didn't receive more feedback on how I was doing. A few general comments were made, but were said to the 7 backs at the barre-no names mentioned or anything so I never knew if what I was doing was correct technically-I listened to the comments and tried to see if they applied to me, but I found it difficult when I didn't know if even the basics were being executed properly. Nevertheless I enjoyed the barre work and breaking in my shoes which were surprisingly comfortable..
After some time at the barre, we moved into centre and this is where things suddenly took a leap ability-wise. At first we just did simple sautes in first second and fifth and some echappes but then the jumps got very quick. The exercises themselves I could have done easily in my slippers but it's a whole different thing to doing something on pointe..and especially when you no longer have the reassuring presence of the barre. Had the pace been more relaxed I could have taken my time-that was not the case though..we were going so quickly that I felt rushed to keep up but could feel that my technique was sloppy..it didn't help that I was already nervous about doing so much quick pointe work away from the barre. When the next exercise was demonstrated with pirouettes and pose turns, I knew I couldn't continue. While I love pirouettes I was not about to attempt them on pointe out of the blue. The class was already too fast-paced and advanced for someone with my limited pointe experience..and I knew that attempting those quick turns and pirouettes would be buying myself a one-way ticket to a sprained ankle or worse. A couple of the other people with limited pointe work (I'm sure they still had more than I did) told me to just "try it" but that would have been really dumb on my part..there's a time to throw caution to the winds and there's another time to follow common sense...so I moved to the side of the room and watched the last 20 min of the class and trying not to feel or show how annoyed I felt. On the one hand, I got what I wanted..in that I got to break in my shoes a bit and get back into pointe work. On the other hand, the timetable clearly said "absolute beginner/beginner" pointe and there were 3 girls in that pointe class that were clearly above that level..and I felt that the class ended up being tailored to them not only technically, but also in pace.- no "absolute beginner" on pointe would be expected to just perform a pirouette out of the blue or whip out pose turns..hello ankle injuries..I coudl tell I wasn't the only person uncomfortable..one girl kept saying how scared she was feeling about tyring the pirouettes and she looked it too..it made me nervous just watching! Anyway, after a few minutes on the floor, I was joined by others struggling with the class until the lone girl left was one who had danced for years and years and done lots of pointe before. At least it was only 45 minutes though and I got at least 20min of pointe work in..I left the studio feeling dispirited though, while still annoyed and sought the teacher out. I told him of my background and asked what I could work on. He started telling me a few things to work on (many of which I would have found very useful to have known while still at the barre (which didn't exactly help with the annoyance I was feeling) and then proceeded to tell me that I should come to his Thursday night class at a studio in St. Leonard's..he said it was elem/int but that they did some beginner pointe work at the end that would be more suited to my level..
After this, it was 1pm and we had about an hour's lunch break. I found though (must have been from adrenaline?) that I wasn't hungry..just incredibly thirsty..and so I just walked to the shops with a girl from the classes- we talked about the intensive and I asked her about the Thursday night class at St.Leonard's (something I am considering)..she got some lunch and I nibbled on a mandarin and then we returned to the studios for the afternoon session :)
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Helllooo private lesson :)
After much anticipation and excitement, I had my first private lesson (well..my first private in several years) last Saturday :) While the weather was less than stellar, the studio in Surry Hills was a decent size, and even though there was no barre (they owners are apparently looking to install one) much was learned in the hour lesson.
The lesson began with a warm up of some plies and tendus using a wall/window ledge as a faux-barre. Then my handy dandy list of things I wanted to work on was examined. One thing I've been working at in the last couple of months is my centre as it was brought to my attention that my back is straight to the point that I have a tendency to tilt back-this of course throws off my centre which affects..well..everything..pirouettes, maintaining good turnout etc. So my focus is on bringing my ribcage in and tilting forward slightly (without hunching/curving my back). Related to this is where the weight of the body is centred. I am used to thinking broadly as in "weight on the ball of the feet"; however, now it's more specific-i.e. the very centre of the foot (above the 2nd toe). So with all of this in mind, Andrea had me do rises in parallel and then in first and having me find my centre and once finding it-seeing how long I could maintain it. Afterwards, I then worked on finding it whilst rising just on my left leg and then my right. At first I kept losing my centre, but gradually it became a bit easier to stay centred. At one point I found my centre perfectly..it was this amazing feeling of being right in the middle of the middle..the strange thing was when this happened..I was sure that Andrea had placed a finger on my left shoulder to steady me ( I swear I could feel it) and then she spoke-from my right side..strange phenomenon, but a lesson too..maybe that's the key to maintaining your centre-imagining that there is someone lightly keeping you steady..:)
After this we worked on body positions and angles-I have a tendency to facing too far left or too far right in centre. Again, it's all about angles and for me, it's just a matter of a few degrees..even so, a few degrees can and does make a big difference. So I worked on doing tendus starting facing croise devant and then changing to efface devant moving only a few degrees. While doing this, head positions were worked on, as well as port de bras..I know the majority but there is always always room for improvement-for instance, I know now that I should elongate my port de bras even more..at one point when Andrea was making changes to my port de bras and head positions there was this glorious moment when I was in a perfect ecarte position..I was so shocked looking into the mirror that it was me..Andrea was delighted and kept saying "look how beautiful that is" and saying how I had lovely long arms..I kept giving her the credit though-after all she was the one who adjusted my head elongated my arms even more..ever time I said "well you did it" ( because she did) she said "well it was your head and arms"..it was so amazing though :) As a suggestion, Andrea said I should practice in a mirror at home (yes bathroom mirror! haha) and look at photos of ballerinas in that pose and try to imitate what they are doing..Thinking back, I wish I'd brought my camera to that lesson-I would have loved to have a photo of that perfect ecarte..ah well..i'll bring one to my next lesson-plus it's a great incentive to keep working on it..if I can do it a few times in a private..then the potential must be there :)
The last part of the lesson we worked on left-side pirouettes..I love pirouettes..from 4th position, en dehore, en dedans etc but my left side always feels awkward to me..I can always turn a single on both right and left and do doubles on my right side (on good days) but I want the doubles to happen on both sides and for them to constant..rather than depending on the day. Of course much of this depends on centre and since that is something that I've been playing around with lately that is why my doubles on my right are not always a guarantee. Anyway I figured breaking down the 4 things that are very important to a pirouette (spotting, plie, releve and arms) and perfecting them will enable me in my quest to do doubles every time..so we worked on my right and then left sides..so much of ballet is the little details...so again and again I did pirouettes focusing on the 4 key elements..and also my centre as my tendency to lean back a bit throws off my doubles as well..this repetitive work was excellent and amazingly I turned a perfect double ON MY LEFT SIDE! Yes that is right..I was perfectly centred (and could I ever feel it!) and honestly felt like I was high, high above the ground on a pedstal..it was so exciting and enthralling..and brilliant..and to have that happen on my left side (I think the last time I did a solid double on my left side was eons ago and definitely not anything like what I did in this case)..Andrea was delighted and described it as "sailing"..and it's true..it did feel like sailing..the memory alone makes me break out smiling..it was just this lovely tingly, flying feeling..:)
Sadly, after this wonderful experience the clock showed that our hour had passed :(..I really couldn't have asked for a better lesson..the amount of feedback I received was excellent and all the information and such taken from it was incredibly..well worth every cent..
I was so thrilled and high on happiness that I ended up skipping the bus and walking from Surry Hills to Wynyard in the rain whilst running through every last speck of detail from the lesson in my head and then when on the train home, jotting it down in my notebook to add to my Word file :)
I eagerly await my next lesson :):)
The lesson began with a warm up of some plies and tendus using a wall/window ledge as a faux-barre. Then my handy dandy list of things I wanted to work on was examined. One thing I've been working at in the last couple of months is my centre as it was brought to my attention that my back is straight to the point that I have a tendency to tilt back-this of course throws off my centre which affects..well..everything..pirouettes, maintaining good turnout etc. So my focus is on bringing my ribcage in and tilting forward slightly (without hunching/curving my back). Related to this is where the weight of the body is centred. I am used to thinking broadly as in "weight on the ball of the feet"; however, now it's more specific-i.e. the very centre of the foot (above the 2nd toe). So with all of this in mind, Andrea had me do rises in parallel and then in first and having me find my centre and once finding it-seeing how long I could maintain it. Afterwards, I then worked on finding it whilst rising just on my left leg and then my right. At first I kept losing my centre, but gradually it became a bit easier to stay centred. At one point I found my centre perfectly..it was this amazing feeling of being right in the middle of the middle..the strange thing was when this happened..I was sure that Andrea had placed a finger on my left shoulder to steady me ( I swear I could feel it) and then she spoke-from my right side..strange phenomenon, but a lesson too..maybe that's the key to maintaining your centre-imagining that there is someone lightly keeping you steady..:)
After this we worked on body positions and angles-I have a tendency to facing too far left or too far right in centre. Again, it's all about angles and for me, it's just a matter of a few degrees..even so, a few degrees can and does make a big difference. So I worked on doing tendus starting facing croise devant and then changing to efface devant moving only a few degrees. While doing this, head positions were worked on, as well as port de bras..I know the majority but there is always always room for improvement-for instance, I know now that I should elongate my port de bras even more..at one point when Andrea was making changes to my port de bras and head positions there was this glorious moment when I was in a perfect ecarte position..I was so shocked looking into the mirror that it was me..Andrea was delighted and kept saying "look how beautiful that is" and saying how I had lovely long arms..I kept giving her the credit though-after all she was the one who adjusted my head elongated my arms even more..ever time I said "well you did it" ( because she did) she said "well it was your head and arms"..it was so amazing though :) As a suggestion, Andrea said I should practice in a mirror at home (yes bathroom mirror! haha) and look at photos of ballerinas in that pose and try to imitate what they are doing..Thinking back, I wish I'd brought my camera to that lesson-I would have loved to have a photo of that perfect ecarte..ah well..i'll bring one to my next lesson-plus it's a great incentive to keep working on it..if I can do it a few times in a private..then the potential must be there :)
The last part of the lesson we worked on left-side pirouettes..I love pirouettes..from 4th position, en dehore, en dedans etc but my left side always feels awkward to me..I can always turn a single on both right and left and do doubles on my right side (on good days) but I want the doubles to happen on both sides and for them to constant..rather than depending on the day. Of course much of this depends on centre and since that is something that I've been playing around with lately that is why my doubles on my right are not always a guarantee. Anyway I figured breaking down the 4 things that are very important to a pirouette (spotting, plie, releve and arms) and perfecting them will enable me in my quest to do doubles every time..so we worked on my right and then left sides..so much of ballet is the little details...so again and again I did pirouettes focusing on the 4 key elements..and also my centre as my tendency to lean back a bit throws off my doubles as well..this repetitive work was excellent and amazingly I turned a perfect double ON MY LEFT SIDE! Yes that is right..I was perfectly centred (and could I ever feel it!) and honestly felt like I was high, high above the ground on a pedstal..it was so exciting and enthralling..and brilliant..and to have that happen on my left side (I think the last time I did a solid double on my left side was eons ago and definitely not anything like what I did in this case)..Andrea was delighted and described it as "sailing"..and it's true..it did feel like sailing..the memory alone makes me break out smiling..it was just this lovely tingly, flying feeling..:)
Sadly, after this wonderful experience the clock showed that our hour had passed :(..I really couldn't have asked for a better lesson..the amount of feedback I received was excellent and all the information and such taken from it was incredibly..well worth every cent..
I was so thrilled and high on happiness that I ended up skipping the bus and walking from Surry Hills to Wynyard in the rain whilst running through every last speck of detail from the lesson in my head and then when on the train home, jotting it down in my notebook to add to my Word file :)
I eagerly await my next lesson :):)
Monday, 26 September 2011
The allure of classical music...
One thing I really took from all my years of piano was an appreciation for music-more specifically, classical piano music. While I love singing along to Katy Perry like the next person, I do enjoy lying in bed, sitting on the train or working at my desk and listening to some good old classical music. Of course I also love dancing to it. Whether I'm in class warming up with plies & tendus or else dancing an exciting enchainement of glissades, jetes, tombes and jetes at the end of class, the music is always perfectly suited to the steps. Many times after class I'm left humming the remnants of the last tune played whilst attempting to walk "normally" in public-I do admit though, that sometimes I get carried away going through everything in my head and one of my legs will jerk out suddenly..wanting to execute a glissade or assemble in the middle of Hickson Rd :)
To control these cravings I've resorted to good old Youtube where I've found some old RAD *Royal Academy of Dance* music from grades 7 & 8 that I always enjoyed. This has worked thus far; however, I love the music played every Sunday so much that I finally asked my teacher where she gets her music from. To my delight, she offered to transfer the music onto a USB for me. I can't wait! So far, I've only found one ballet pianist through iTunes whose songs I hear in class. The artist is Aly Tejas and 3 of her tunes I hear quite frequently-her "Moods, Impressions & Reminiscences" is one we frequently do our first plies for and her "Tendu Plie 4/4" is of course one used often for tendus! Not wanting to drop heaps of money on music, I contented myself with purchasing just 3 songs (including those 2 above) from iTunes until I get the music on to my USB :) I can't wait! As aside from Aly Tejas, there's adaptions from Disney movies such as Mary Poppins (it is lots of fun doing grand battements to "chim chim cheree") and broadway productions such as "West Side Story". My absolute favourite of all songs is "I feel pretty" adapted for a ballet class. One Sunday at the end of July, Andrea came up with a very exciting enchainement for class-end to "I feel pretty"..the song and the sequence quickly fell into my long-term memory bank and so when I get the music off of Andrea I will be playing and dancing to "I Feel Pretty" till kingdom-come :P
To control these cravings I've resorted to good old Youtube where I've found some old RAD *Royal Academy of Dance* music from grades 7 & 8 that I always enjoyed. This has worked thus far; however, I love the music played every Sunday so much that I finally asked my teacher where she gets her music from. To my delight, she offered to transfer the music onto a USB for me. I can't wait! So far, I've only found one ballet pianist through iTunes whose songs I hear in class. The artist is Aly Tejas and 3 of her tunes I hear quite frequently-her "Moods, Impressions & Reminiscences" is one we frequently do our first plies for and her "Tendu Plie 4/4" is of course one used often for tendus! Not wanting to drop heaps of money on music, I contented myself with purchasing just 3 songs (including those 2 above) from iTunes until I get the music on to my USB :) I can't wait! As aside from Aly Tejas, there's adaptions from Disney movies such as Mary Poppins (it is lots of fun doing grand battements to "chim chim cheree") and broadway productions such as "West Side Story". My absolute favourite of all songs is "I feel pretty" adapted for a ballet class. One Sunday at the end of July, Andrea came up with a very exciting enchainement for class-end to "I feel pretty"..the song and the sequence quickly fell into my long-term memory bank and so when I get the music off of Andrea I will be playing and dancing to "I Feel Pretty" till kingdom-come :P
The beauty of new pointe shoes :)
Last Thursday I finally purchased new pointe shoes-something that I meant to do back in July. I had the fitting 2 months ago, had the shoes put aside for 2 weeks and subsequently kept putting off the purchase. This was not done because I didn't want to get the shoes; rather I was ho humming about the cost. I won't lie, pointe shoes are expensive and since I like to spread out my dance costs, it seemed appropriate to wait awhile longer. Finally I made the purchase. I had to have another fitting done-about 45min of trying on at least 7 different styles of shoes and standing with my feet in parallel, then in first position, rising up on pointe etc. It was a very enjoyable experience. Initially I thought I would have the same style and size as my last pair (a 7 1/2 sonata); however, I ended up with a lovely '7' Amelie..which is surprisingly comfortable as far as pointe shoes go. I learned a lot of things about my feet at this fitting. I learned that I have "good strength and flexibility in them" (more strength will develop with pointe work), that my feet don't sickle (a very good thing!) and that my feet aren't as broad as I was always told but they are quite narrow at the back-which explained why I tried on so many shoes-I was having issues with the back part of the shoe beingt too loose on the heel and such. This may seem trivial and petty to most people but the thing with ballet, is that you spend a fair amount of time manipulating how your feet work and adjusting their appearance (i.e. making sure that they are pointed and not sickled) so I found these new revelations about my feet very interesting!
After having being successfully fitted for my shoes, I got toe pads and more ribbon for them. The cost came to a hefty $140.00. However, when I reminded myself that my last pair were purchased +6 years ago, along with the fact that I plan on doing pointe just once/week, it put the cost into perspective.
After lovingly taking my new shoes home and admiring the lovely new look and the colour of the satin (different from my first pair of Bloch shoes) I began the process of sewing ribbons on them. Obviously it had been awhile since I last sewed ribbons on pointe shoes and I think I did a neater job the first time. In the end though, I sewed all the ribbons on the shoes Saturday evening. I took them to class yesterday and Andrea, my teacher had a look at what I'd done and made a few suggestions as to adjustments (aka just a bit more sewing). Last night I then removed the elastics from my old shoes and sewed them onto my new ones. I then also cut the ribbons slightly as they were a bit too long. The end result? 2 lovely new shoes with freshly sewn on ribbons and elastics ready to be broken into on Tuesday :)
After having being successfully fitted for my shoes, I got toe pads and more ribbon for them. The cost came to a hefty $140.00. However, when I reminded myself that my last pair were purchased +6 years ago, along with the fact that I plan on doing pointe just once/week, it put the cost into perspective.
Sunday, 31 July 2011
The meaning of "recreational"....
*Note-after the insight into my first few years of ballet, I am fast-forwarding to present times :)
Last Sunday I had an excellent class..not even excellent..stellar..amazing..The combinations which are always fun and exciting, were even more so that day (I thought) and everything I wanted to do, I did..I did my pirouettes on dedans & on dehors smoothly and with good port de bras..maximised the space in the centre of the room when going across the floor in balances & in the last exercise, I felt like I was flying..literally! When the class ended I nearly cried it had been so excellent..I left the studio smiling from ear to ear and the music from the last centre combination playing over and over in my head..
When I returned home, my Mum was on skype and having been away so many weekends in a row I hadn't spoken to her in a while..so of course I signed in and we began talking. During our conversation, Mum mentioned to me that she'd run into a family aquaintance whose younger daughter had danced at the same school I'd gone to. She'd been one of those "dancing since 4 years old" girls...and is now a student at the a pre-professional ballet school. Anyway, the aquaintance asked Mum how I was and whether I was still dancing and Mum said I was..but "just recreationally".
What is it about that word? It doesn't have a negative connotation to it, it's quite a pleasant word normally, but whenever it's used in the same sentence as Nicola & ballet I get miffed. For one thing, it reminds me of how when I first started ballet 9 years ago, mum kept saying it was "just for recreation" . It bothered me then and it still bothers me now. To me, the word "recreation" screams "hobby" like nobody's business. It also brings images of laidback "whateverness" to mind. I see recreational dancers at the studio every week. They come to class occasionally..maybe once a month. Sometimes you'll see them twice and then never again..A few others come a bit more regularly but you can tell they're there for 2 reasons (none of which are bad by the way just not my reasons). They are there to learn a bit of ballet and have a bit of social and perhaps become a bit physically fitter. They also don't improve in their technique or abilities nor do they seem to want to either; the teachers don't really interact with them or they with the teachers. While there's nothing wrong with any of those things, to me that's what "recreational ballet" is. One definition for recreation I found online said "something engaged in but not for gain"..
For me however, ballet IS done for gain. I go because I love it with a fierce passion and strive to improve on my abilties each and every week so that I can be the best dancer I can be. I stretch every day, do barre work every day, and continually seek feedback from my teacher on my performance in class and then use that feedback to improve even more. I also read ballet books and websites on stretches and at-home exercises that can improve arabesques and alignment. Any social or physical benefit that comes from ballet is an added bonus. I also know that if I wasn't the age I was with the background I have, I would have aimed for professional dancing. Heck I still have dreams where I'm dancing on stage at some theatre and it's awesome and exhilarating and then I wake up..much to my disappointment...
Given what I've just written, do I sound like a "recreational ballet dancer"?
Last Sunday I had an excellent class..not even excellent..stellar..amazing..The combinations which are always fun and exciting, were even more so that day (I thought) and everything I wanted to do, I did..I did my pirouettes on dedans & on dehors smoothly and with good port de bras..maximised the space in the centre of the room when going across the floor in balances & in the last exercise, I felt like I was flying..literally! When the class ended I nearly cried it had been so excellent..I left the studio smiling from ear to ear and the music from the last centre combination playing over and over in my head..
When I returned home, my Mum was on skype and having been away so many weekends in a row I hadn't spoken to her in a while..so of course I signed in and we began talking. During our conversation, Mum mentioned to me that she'd run into a family aquaintance whose younger daughter had danced at the same school I'd gone to. She'd been one of those "dancing since 4 years old" girls...and is now a student at the a pre-professional ballet school. Anyway, the aquaintance asked Mum how I was and whether I was still dancing and Mum said I was..but "just recreationally".
What is it about that word? It doesn't have a negative connotation to it, it's quite a pleasant word normally, but whenever it's used in the same sentence as Nicola & ballet I get miffed. For one thing, it reminds me of how when I first started ballet 9 years ago, mum kept saying it was "just for recreation" . It bothered me then and it still bothers me now. To me, the word "recreation" screams "hobby" like nobody's business. It also brings images of laidback "whateverness" to mind. I see recreational dancers at the studio every week. They come to class occasionally..maybe once a month. Sometimes you'll see them twice and then never again..A few others come a bit more regularly but you can tell they're there for 2 reasons (none of which are bad by the way just not my reasons). They are there to learn a bit of ballet and have a bit of social and perhaps become a bit physically fitter. They also don't improve in their technique or abilities nor do they seem to want to either; the teachers don't really interact with them or they with the teachers. While there's nothing wrong with any of those things, to me that's what "recreational ballet" is. One definition for recreation I found online said "something engaged in but not for gain"..
For me however, ballet IS done for gain. I go because I love it with a fierce passion and strive to improve on my abilties each and every week so that I can be the best dancer I can be. I stretch every day, do barre work every day, and continually seek feedback from my teacher on my performance in class and then use that feedback to improve even more. I also read ballet books and websites on stretches and at-home exercises that can improve arabesques and alignment. Any social or physical benefit that comes from ballet is an added bonus. I also know that if I wasn't the age I was with the background I have, I would have aimed for professional dancing. Heck I still have dreams where I'm dancing on stage at some theatre and it's awesome and exhilarating and then I wake up..much to my disappointment...
Given what I've just written, do I sound like a "recreational ballet dancer"?
Friday, 10 June 2011
Beginning of 3rd year and Nutcracker
September marked the beginning of a busy and mostly happy 3 months. Nutcracker rehearsals started the day that school returned for a new year and regular classes the week after. This year, I took 2 ballet classes a week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Having the extra class each week made such a difference! Even though I practiced at home using railing bannisters as barres and our large basement as a dance floor, having that extra class with a trained teacher gave me that extra little boost to expanding my dance knowledge and abilities and I could tell that I was improving at a faster rate as a result of this.
Nutcracker rehearsals were typically scheduled for weekends and some Friday afternoons and I found myself at the studio a minimum of 4 days a week! Green soldiers rehearsals were first..I still remember most of it as it was quite fun dancing in a "marchy" sort of way and in the end the battle scene was highly exciting with the green and red soldiers rat king and mice etc. After that came the First Act in which I was the nanny to Clara. The First Act involves the guests arriving, the young party girls and adults performing dances, Clara receiving Nutcracker and such...the party scene was really fun..my only qualm was that I wished to be part of the adults dance. I watched it so much that I eventually learned the choreography!! (hehe) and all the girls dancing were my age and some of whom I went to school with, but again they had years of dance experience over me. Being the nanny was fun though as I got to open up the party scene..So, rehearsals began well and I began feeling excited..that is...until I went to the first trepak rehearsal.
The trepak is the Russian dance involving character shoes..I was excited if not a bit disappointed not to be one of the spanish dancers or in the flower waltz A (the flower waltz B group were all dancing on pointe and more advanced). The first trepak rehearsal was horrible. All of the girls were about 4 years younger than me, and the dance, which was initially to very quick music, got changed as the fast past was too much for some of the dancers. This made the choreography which was quite basic, painfully slow and I felt ridiculous doing it. After the first rehearsal, I went and spoke with my ballet teacher who had seen some of the rehearsal. She said she could tell by my face that I was far from enthused by it. Unfortunately, they'd squeezed enough people into all the roles based on the number of costumes they had and the only thing they could offer me was an understudy role for Flower Waltz A. Since the flower waltz was something I had wanted to be part of (plus the music alone is enough to get me teary-eyed) I accepted and officially left the trepak role.
Then began the whole experience of being an understudy.Initially I was pleased, as I got to attend the rehearsals and learn the dance with the others whom were all in my ballet classes and a few older girls as well and I had no difficulty picking it up. However, when rehearsals got more serious and the room became full of flower waltz B and the rose queen and such, there was no point in me taking part in them any more, but being an understudy meant that I was to stay on top of the dance and attend every rehearsal whether I was dancing or not. Initially I didn't mind but closer to the performance I began to get annoyed as it was becoming obvious that no one was going to drop out or get the flu. There was one girl though who was quite slow in picking up the choreography and made several mistakes right up to the last week of rehearsals..there was a glimmer of hope at one point that I might replace her or this other girl, as the teachers were becoming frustrated but both girls picked up their act in the end, much to my disappointment.
That period in Nutracker with the waltz was definitely a test for me. It was hard to be completely happy about it all since I desperately wanted to dance at least one of the performances in the flower waltz. I understand though that after giving roles out and assigning performances, that they couldn't just take 1 or 2 performances from a dancer just so I could take part. I was infuriated though to overhear two girls in flower waltz A and the arabian dance (one my age who had been dancing since 5 and who was in my classes at school) and the other two, a year and two years younger than me, say that they were only doing nutcracker because their parents wanted them to do it and that they wished they didn't have to. I got upset at home over this a lot and it still upsets me to remember this..as I both knew by now and had accepted the fact, that I wouldn't get to dance in the 2nd act (The Land of Sweets) which to me was the ultimate act of the Nutcracker. But it was very difficult to hear these comments and not be upset and angry as it became obvious how much more I loved dance than they did. I never missed a class, practiced at home and I would bet lots of money that neither one of the girls is dancing now..in fact, I know that 2 of them quit within the year after Nutcracker. So to know that they got to dance waltz, arabian or spanish for all 3 performances when they didn't want to be there while I was left to understudy when I really and truly did want to be there for every second of it, was heartwrenching.
Nutcracker aside, regular classes were moving along well..barre and centre were becoming increasingly more technical and I learned a lot of new steps and felt that I was progressing very well, and by Christmas I had somehow managed to execute a triple pirouette (on my right ride).
Mid-November brought full day rehearsals every weekend and in the last week, rehearsals during school hours which meant missing some class. I remember leaving geography at 11:30 one Friday morning with a friend in the class who was also in Nutcracker. Everyone knew why we were leaving early and I must say, I felt pretty important :)
Another highlight was that many of my teachers went to see Nutcracker. My English and Geography teachers went, as did some others that I'd had in previous years. I received positive comments on my performance which was really nice. Nutcracker was done every 2 years and in the past I'd felt beyond jealous of the girls participating (this was before I began dance of course) and this time I didn't have to..
Nutcracker opened the first Friday in December with a 7:30 pm show, followed by two more shows the following day at 2:30 and 7:30 respectively. I was incredibly nervous to be performing in front of a packed theatre but the nerves brought both adrenaline and excitement as well and all 3 performances went very well and even though I felt bitter about not being in the second act, I felt proud of my dance achievements in the little over 2 years that I'd been dancing.
Being nanny to Clara meant that I also interacted a lot with her "parents" who danced in the adult dance and who were actually teachers in their late 30's who did ballroom dancing but who had done ballet years before..they were Dave and Evelyn and they were unfailingly kind to me and seemed to both know and understand my love of ballet. They knew how much I loved it and were obviously sorry about what happened with Act 2 and disappointed for me but told me to keep my chin up because who knows what could happen in the future. On opening night, they presented me with a lovely card saying how much they'd enjoyed dancing with me and how if they ever needed to recommend a great nanny they'd recommend me and to keep dancing :) Along with the card was a cute Christmas bear with a snowflake santa hat. I was touched. Long after Nutcracker, I used to see Evelyn shopping occasionally while I was working in the bookstore and she'd always stop and chat, give me a big hug and inquire about how ballet was going and comment on how much she loved that I loved it so much..the last time I saw her was a little over 2 years ago. Her last words were "keep dancing girl" :)
The following Monday at school, I walked into English to see a small Christmas bag on my desk. Inside was a card thanking me for an enjoyable performance and a Nutcracker christmas tree ornament from my teacher. Another girl in my class in Nutcracker, had also received a gift and card. We were both very surprised and pleased.
The end of Nutcracker came a week before school let out for Christmas holidays and the holidays brought some snow and a lovely Christmas present from my Mum of 2 beautiful and expensive ballerina book holders :)
Nutcracker rehearsals were typically scheduled for weekends and some Friday afternoons and I found myself at the studio a minimum of 4 days a week! Green soldiers rehearsals were first..I still remember most of it as it was quite fun dancing in a "marchy" sort of way and in the end the battle scene was highly exciting with the green and red soldiers rat king and mice etc. After that came the First Act in which I was the nanny to Clara. The First Act involves the guests arriving, the young party girls and adults performing dances, Clara receiving Nutcracker and such...the party scene was really fun..my only qualm was that I wished to be part of the adults dance. I watched it so much that I eventually learned the choreography!! (hehe) and all the girls dancing were my age and some of whom I went to school with, but again they had years of dance experience over me. Being the nanny was fun though as I got to open up the party scene..So, rehearsals began well and I began feeling excited..that is...until I went to the first trepak rehearsal.
The trepak is the Russian dance involving character shoes..I was excited if not a bit disappointed not to be one of the spanish dancers or in the flower waltz A (the flower waltz B group were all dancing on pointe and more advanced). The first trepak rehearsal was horrible. All of the girls were about 4 years younger than me, and the dance, which was initially to very quick music, got changed as the fast past was too much for some of the dancers. This made the choreography which was quite basic, painfully slow and I felt ridiculous doing it. After the first rehearsal, I went and spoke with my ballet teacher who had seen some of the rehearsal. She said she could tell by my face that I was far from enthused by it. Unfortunately, they'd squeezed enough people into all the roles based on the number of costumes they had and the only thing they could offer me was an understudy role for Flower Waltz A. Since the flower waltz was something I had wanted to be part of (plus the music alone is enough to get me teary-eyed) I accepted and officially left the trepak role.
Then began the whole experience of being an understudy.Initially I was pleased, as I got to attend the rehearsals and learn the dance with the others whom were all in my ballet classes and a few older girls as well and I had no difficulty picking it up. However, when rehearsals got more serious and the room became full of flower waltz B and the rose queen and such, there was no point in me taking part in them any more, but being an understudy meant that I was to stay on top of the dance and attend every rehearsal whether I was dancing or not. Initially I didn't mind but closer to the performance I began to get annoyed as it was becoming obvious that no one was going to drop out or get the flu. There was one girl though who was quite slow in picking up the choreography and made several mistakes right up to the last week of rehearsals..there was a glimmer of hope at one point that I might replace her or this other girl, as the teachers were becoming frustrated but both girls picked up their act in the end, much to my disappointment.
That period in Nutracker with the waltz was definitely a test for me. It was hard to be completely happy about it all since I desperately wanted to dance at least one of the performances in the flower waltz. I understand though that after giving roles out and assigning performances, that they couldn't just take 1 or 2 performances from a dancer just so I could take part. I was infuriated though to overhear two girls in flower waltz A and the arabian dance (one my age who had been dancing since 5 and who was in my classes at school) and the other two, a year and two years younger than me, say that they were only doing nutcracker because their parents wanted them to do it and that they wished they didn't have to. I got upset at home over this a lot and it still upsets me to remember this..as I both knew by now and had accepted the fact, that I wouldn't get to dance in the 2nd act (The Land of Sweets) which to me was the ultimate act of the Nutcracker. But it was very difficult to hear these comments and not be upset and angry as it became obvious how much more I loved dance than they did. I never missed a class, practiced at home and I would bet lots of money that neither one of the girls is dancing now..in fact, I know that 2 of them quit within the year after Nutcracker. So to know that they got to dance waltz, arabian or spanish for all 3 performances when they didn't want to be there while I was left to understudy when I really and truly did want to be there for every second of it, was heartwrenching.
Nutcracker aside, regular classes were moving along well..barre and centre were becoming increasingly more technical and I learned a lot of new steps and felt that I was progressing very well, and by Christmas I had somehow managed to execute a triple pirouette (on my right ride).
Mid-November brought full day rehearsals every weekend and in the last week, rehearsals during school hours which meant missing some class. I remember leaving geography at 11:30 one Friday morning with a friend in the class who was also in Nutcracker. Everyone knew why we were leaving early and I must say, I felt pretty important :)
Another highlight was that many of my teachers went to see Nutcracker. My English and Geography teachers went, as did some others that I'd had in previous years. I received positive comments on my performance which was really nice. Nutcracker was done every 2 years and in the past I'd felt beyond jealous of the girls participating (this was before I began dance of course) and this time I didn't have to..
Nutcracker opened the first Friday in December with a 7:30 pm show, followed by two more shows the following day at 2:30 and 7:30 respectively. I was incredibly nervous to be performing in front of a packed theatre but the nerves brought both adrenaline and excitement as well and all 3 performances went very well and even though I felt bitter about not being in the second act, I felt proud of my dance achievements in the little over 2 years that I'd been dancing.
Being nanny to Clara meant that I also interacted a lot with her "parents" who danced in the adult dance and who were actually teachers in their late 30's who did ballroom dancing but who had done ballet years before..they were Dave and Evelyn and they were unfailingly kind to me and seemed to both know and understand my love of ballet. They knew how much I loved it and were obviously sorry about what happened with Act 2 and disappointed for me but told me to keep my chin up because who knows what could happen in the future. On opening night, they presented me with a lovely card saying how much they'd enjoyed dancing with me and how if they ever needed to recommend a great nanny they'd recommend me and to keep dancing :) Along with the card was a cute Christmas bear with a snowflake santa hat. I was touched. Long after Nutcracker, I used to see Evelyn shopping occasionally while I was working in the bookstore and she'd always stop and chat, give me a big hug and inquire about how ballet was going and comment on how much she loved that I loved it so much..the last time I saw her was a little over 2 years ago. Her last words were "keep dancing girl" :)
The following Monday at school, I walked into English to see a small Christmas bag on my desk. Inside was a card thanking me for an enjoyable performance and a Nutcracker christmas tree ornament from my teacher. Another girl in my class in Nutcracker, had also received a gift and card. We were both very surprised and pleased.
The end of Nutcracker came a week before school let out for Christmas holidays and the holidays brought some snow and a lovely Christmas present from my Mum of 2 beautiful and expensive ballerina book holders :)
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
How it continued..
So ballet began and I was happy..really happy..I never tried out for school sports teams again and halfway through my first year of ballet, I had my gr.10 piano exam which I got a 77 Honours mark for..seeing as I could go no higher (other than to become a certified teacher) my lessons ended..anyway I continued music through jazz band at school which I enjoyed but of course, it was ballet that I looked forward to every week..
Initially, I took just one class a week; I wish I could have taken more but Mum was firm that it should just be for "recreation" and that I had school to focus on..and that she'd spent enough money on piano for me; however, towards the end of my first year I was approached by my teacher's daughter and asked if I was interested in private lessons..I took this as a positive sign. For one thing, the only people that took private lessons were those preparing for festival or exams and of course, the studio favourites who took every class available to them and whose parents were pushing them (or they were pushing themselves!) to dance professionally..either way, I said YES immediately to the offer. Mum wasn't overly thrilled of course and just reminded me that "this is just a hobby Nicola; you're not going to become a professional"..which annoyed the heck out of me at the time. In the end, I got 3 private lessons just for me :) I learned some valuable things in those 3 lessons..they weren't like a class at all but were based on different aspects of a typial class. In the first less we went through the barre exercises that I did each week and things such as arm placement were adjusted..who knew holding your arms just a fraction of an inch in a different way would make for such a different look? But in ballet, every little detail is noticed (and felt )..all in all, those private lessons were wonderful and I admit I was pleased that I'd been asked as a few others in my class who were in my situation (my age who had started at the same time) hadn't been asked..
At the end of the year (June) brochures were posted around the studio for the annual summer school in August..$220 for a 5-day dance intensive..I can't remember the details of how I twisted Mum around to saying yes..but I was quite determined to attend the intensive..and so, for one wole glorious week that August 2003, I was at the studio from 10-5:30 doing jazz, ballet, which introduced pointe!, hip-hop & stretch & strength, all of which were super exhausting but so much fun! This intensive also introduced me to jazz for the first time..which I enjoy. I learned so much from this intensive in so many ways, and even now when working on my stretching, use stretches and exercises I learned from the Stretch & Strength class...THANK YOU STEPHANIE!
September marked a full year that I'd been dancing..my first milestone! That month began a little rocky. There was no "teen ballet" class anymore, as most of the girls stopped after just the one year (but myself and one other) and so I was put in with younger girls..which was fine-they were all 3 years younger than me and one of them was my now former best friend's younger sister..slightly awkward as I'd had a big falling out with my former friend . Anyway, there I was, full of the usual energy, enthusiasm but also of my newfound knowledge from the intensive and ready to begin another year..then I went to the first class..
That first class of the year was a nightmare. I was behind in every single exercise!! This was humiliating for me as I felt that I'd developed in my ability to pick up new steps and choreography-everyone else seemed to know the barre, centre and floor exercises but me..however, it turns out, that every single girl (but me) were preparing to take their Gr.7 RAD exam and they had all done syllabus in August (like getting a leg up with what will be required of you in September..you get taught all the barre exercises for your grade, and most of the floor and centre work)..so, before they'd walked into the first class of the year, they'd known everything..of course I didn't know this at the time and so felt utterly miserable being behind..even now, I remember that first class and wonder why on earth I was placed in that class at that point? Over the coming weeks, the routines were the same so I eventually picked them up and was fine, but considering that 3 girls not doing their RAD exam joined the class once the exams were over why wasn't I given that opportunity? There were plenty of open non-exam classes that I could have joined temporarily..I still remember being at the front of the barre and not knowing what to do and turning around too soon in the exercise to see my former best friend's younger sister laughing at me...not pleasant..
On a happier note, the exams were over within 2 months and November brought new barre work, new centre and new floor exercises which I was happily able to pick up in the same manner as the others. Over the rest of the year, I felt my skillset improve even more (exercises changed every 2 weeks or so), began receiving praise for my work, and before the end of my second year had successfully performed my first double pirouette. Nutcracker audition posters were put up that June as well and I felt confident enough in my abilities to audition.The audition was incredibly nerve-wracking..I was shaking with nerves the entire time which I know influenced my performance..after an hour of exercises we were thanked and taken to another room to be measured for costumes.. Over the summer, I found out that I was to have 2 roles..they were small in comparison to what many of the girls had..but considering they had 10+ years of dance on me, not bad. I was the nanny to Clara (which involved more acting than dancing), a green soldier (in the battle between the rats and soldiers) and part of the Trepak (the russian dance)...
Summer of 2004 I chose to do syllabus ( I was now at the RAD grade 8 level) over the intensive, so as not to have a repeat of the previous years' incident! While not as varied as summer school and shorter in length..(Just 3 hours every afternoon for a week)..it was intensive in its own way and in a strange twist of irony, the barre work for grade 8 and two of the dances (the movement libre dramatique and movement libre poetic) were things I learned over the course of my first year of ballet..(tho now they were taught over a few hours rather than many weeks!)..so it was nice that I was ahead of the others as I remembered it all..and initially the teacher was shocked when, as we were marking the first few steps, I went ahead (since I knew what I was doing already) and she was like "how did you know?" so I came clean and admitted that I knew from a prior class! Thankfully, there were lots of other grade 8 exercises and dances that I hadn't learned before, so that was good; a highlight of syllabus occured on the last day, when parents were invited to watch the classes, and all the dances we had learnt over the course of the week were performed for them..for one of the dances (a character one) the teacher had each of us dancing them on our own and then graded us out of 10..I performed the dance and was give a 9.5!! I was super pleased with myself to the point that I cannot remember the tiny critique I was given (that took off 0.5)...either way it was a great feeling :)
Syllabus ended after a week, and a couple of weeks later, September arrived... marking 2 years dancing, the start of Nutcracker rehearsals (yippee!) and my taking 2 ballet classes/week after promising Mum that I would be able to handle all of that, and school and jazz band and my paperoute!
Initially, I took just one class a week; I wish I could have taken more but Mum was firm that it should just be for "recreation" and that I had school to focus on..and that she'd spent enough money on piano for me; however, towards the end of my first year I was approached by my teacher's daughter and asked if I was interested in private lessons..I took this as a positive sign. For one thing, the only people that took private lessons were those preparing for festival or exams and of course, the studio favourites who took every class available to them and whose parents were pushing them (or they were pushing themselves!) to dance professionally..either way, I said YES immediately to the offer. Mum wasn't overly thrilled of course and just reminded me that "this is just a hobby Nicola; you're not going to become a professional"..which annoyed the heck out of me at the time. In the end, I got 3 private lessons just for me :) I learned some valuable things in those 3 lessons..they weren't like a class at all but were based on different aspects of a typial class. In the first less we went through the barre exercises that I did each week and things such as arm placement were adjusted..who knew holding your arms just a fraction of an inch in a different way would make for such a different look? But in ballet, every little detail is noticed (and felt )..all in all, those private lessons were wonderful and I admit I was pleased that I'd been asked as a few others in my class who were in my situation (my age who had started at the same time) hadn't been asked..
At the end of the year (June) brochures were posted around the studio for the annual summer school in August..$220 for a 5-day dance intensive..I can't remember the details of how I twisted Mum around to saying yes..but I was quite determined to attend the intensive..and so, for one wole glorious week that August 2003, I was at the studio from 10-5:30 doing jazz, ballet, which introduced pointe!, hip-hop & stretch & strength, all of which were super exhausting but so much fun! This intensive also introduced me to jazz for the first time..which I enjoy. I learned so much from this intensive in so many ways, and even now when working on my stretching, use stretches and exercises I learned from the Stretch & Strength class...THANK YOU STEPHANIE!
September marked a full year that I'd been dancing..my first milestone! That month began a little rocky. There was no "teen ballet" class anymore, as most of the girls stopped after just the one year (but myself and one other) and so I was put in with younger girls..which was fine-they were all 3 years younger than me and one of them was my now former best friend's younger sister..slightly awkward as I'd had a big falling out with my former friend . Anyway, there I was, full of the usual energy, enthusiasm but also of my newfound knowledge from the intensive and ready to begin another year..then I went to the first class..
That first class of the year was a nightmare. I was behind in every single exercise!! This was humiliating for me as I felt that I'd developed in my ability to pick up new steps and choreography-everyone else seemed to know the barre, centre and floor exercises but me..however, it turns out, that every single girl (but me) were preparing to take their Gr.7 RAD exam and they had all done syllabus in August (like getting a leg up with what will be required of you in September..you get taught all the barre exercises for your grade, and most of the floor and centre work)..so, before they'd walked into the first class of the year, they'd known everything..of course I didn't know this at the time and so felt utterly miserable being behind..even now, I remember that first class and wonder why on earth I was placed in that class at that point? Over the coming weeks, the routines were the same so I eventually picked them up and was fine, but considering that 3 girls not doing their RAD exam joined the class once the exams were over why wasn't I given that opportunity? There were plenty of open non-exam classes that I could have joined temporarily..I still remember being at the front of the barre and not knowing what to do and turning around too soon in the exercise to see my former best friend's younger sister laughing at me...not pleasant..
On a happier note, the exams were over within 2 months and November brought new barre work, new centre and new floor exercises which I was happily able to pick up in the same manner as the others. Over the rest of the year, I felt my skillset improve even more (exercises changed every 2 weeks or so), began receiving praise for my work, and before the end of my second year had successfully performed my first double pirouette. Nutcracker audition posters were put up that June as well and I felt confident enough in my abilities to audition.The audition was incredibly nerve-wracking..I was shaking with nerves the entire time which I know influenced my performance..after an hour of exercises we were thanked and taken to another room to be measured for costumes.. Over the summer, I found out that I was to have 2 roles..they were small in comparison to what many of the girls had..but considering they had 10+ years of dance on me, not bad. I was the nanny to Clara (which involved more acting than dancing), a green soldier (in the battle between the rats and soldiers) and part of the Trepak (the russian dance)...
Summer of 2004 I chose to do syllabus ( I was now at the RAD grade 8 level) over the intensive, so as not to have a repeat of the previous years' incident! While not as varied as summer school and shorter in length..(Just 3 hours every afternoon for a week)..it was intensive in its own way and in a strange twist of irony, the barre work for grade 8 and two of the dances (the movement libre dramatique and movement libre poetic) were things I learned over the course of my first year of ballet..(tho now they were taught over a few hours rather than many weeks!)..so it was nice that I was ahead of the others as I remembered it all..and initially the teacher was shocked when, as we were marking the first few steps, I went ahead (since I knew what I was doing already) and she was like "how did you know?" so I came clean and admitted that I knew from a prior class! Thankfully, there were lots of other grade 8 exercises and dances that I hadn't learned before, so that was good; a highlight of syllabus occured on the last day, when parents were invited to watch the classes, and all the dances we had learnt over the course of the week were performed for them..for one of the dances (a character one) the teacher had each of us dancing them on our own and then graded us out of 10..I performed the dance and was give a 9.5!! I was super pleased with myself to the point that I cannot remember the tiny critique I was given (that took off 0.5)...either way it was a great feeling :)
Syllabus ended after a week, and a couple of weeks later, September arrived... marking 2 years dancing, the start of Nutcracker rehearsals (yippee!) and my taking 2 ballet classes/week after promising Mum that I would be able to handle all of that, and school and jazz band and my paperoute!
Monday, 16 May 2011
Part 1: How it all started..
I love ballet..I always have and always will. When the average person knows that I dance, they assume that I'm one of those typical dancers who's been dancing since the "tender" age of 3..wrong! I haven't been dancing since 3..more like 15...Sometimes I wish that I could say the former, only because I generally find that people take your love of dance more seriously the longer you've been doing it. In truth, I've loved it as long as I can remember..long before my Mum took me to see the Nutcracker at Christmas when I was 7..I remember begging Mum to enrol me in ballet many many times.. Mum would always say that I was doing pian, girl guides and school sport, and that that was plenty. She also said that ballet was too girly (this coming from someone always described as "very feminine"..Later on, I found out that she only said that because she thought she'd have to spend all her time sewing costumes! So I did piano, girl guides and school sports instead. In all honesty, I was the average athlete..no special talent at any sport but decent enough that I could score sometimes. Piano I did for 9 years and did 10 grades..I was good at piano and enjoyed it, but given the option in the first place between dance lessons and piano, I would have taken dance easily. Mum would cringe reading this (especially since she spent so much money on piano lessons) but deep down, I know she already knows that. For one thing I've never talked about piano the way I have about ballet and two, I don't play the piano a lot anymore. If I feel like playing, I do and once I begin playing I enjoy myself, but it's a very different feeling from how I feel about ballet. Yes it is relaxing and soothing, but I don't dream about playing for grand audiences or being a professional pianist. I've rarely dreamed about it at all. On the other hand, when I hear the word "ballet" my face lights up and I feel this tingle of excitement rush through me :) On the other hand my Mum's big love is music (she has a beautiful operatic sort of voice and her father played the piano really well), so that's what she had us all do: Mixhuca-flute and saxaphone, Monica-violin, Vanessa-piano, Justin-trumpet & piano, myself-piano, clarinet & saxaphone (and for a very short time cello), & Olivia-piano & clarinet..
Anyway, I suppose I always knew that I really loved ballet. I had a pair of navy blue leggings when I was little that I loved-the reason being that I used to pull them down over my ankles and the heels of my feet so that they looked like ballet tights and slippers; I would then dance around to Mum's classical music (my favourite being the music from the Nutcracker) pretending I was in ballet. Then there was the fact that I was insanely jealous of any girl I knew doing ballet, jazz, tap etc. My best friend's younger sister danced and I used to always ask her to show me steps, let me see her shoes and admire her ballet photos ever single time I went over to her house.
My dance classes started out of a fluke really..Mum had decided to enrol Olivia in ballet and hip-hop at 12, as she thought they'd be good for her coordination. Of course I put up an indignant fight, especially since I'd long been after Mum for dance lessons and Olivia never had.. So Mum agreed to let me do "just one" ballet class. I'll never forget the moment Mum agreed to that "one ballet class"..I was beyond ecstatic :) I loved ballet just as much as I thought I would and could hardly contain myself when Mum took me to get my first pair of ballet slippers and later on, pointe shoes..Suffice to say, Olivia stopped lessons after a few months as she wasn't enjoying it and I continued on, eventually taking 2 classes a week and later on, jazz as well.
Anyway, I suppose I always knew that I really loved ballet. I had a pair of navy blue leggings when I was little that I loved-the reason being that I used to pull them down over my ankles and the heels of my feet so that they looked like ballet tights and slippers; I would then dance around to Mum's classical music (my favourite being the music from the Nutcracker) pretending I was in ballet. Then there was the fact that I was insanely jealous of any girl I knew doing ballet, jazz, tap etc. My best friend's younger sister danced and I used to always ask her to show me steps, let me see her shoes and admire her ballet photos ever single time I went over to her house.
My dance classes started out of a fluke really..Mum had decided to enrol Olivia in ballet and hip-hop at 12, as she thought they'd be good for her coordination. Of course I put up an indignant fight, especially since I'd long been after Mum for dance lessons and Olivia never had.. So Mum agreed to let me do "just one" ballet class. I'll never forget the moment Mum agreed to that "one ballet class"..I was beyond ecstatic :) I loved ballet just as much as I thought I would and could hardly contain myself when Mum took me to get my first pair of ballet slippers and later on, pointe shoes..Suffice to say, Olivia stopped lessons after a few months as she wasn't enjoying it and I continued on, eventually taking 2 classes a week and later on, jazz as well.
Sunday, 15 May 2011
I finally did it! :)
Well, I finally did it! I created a blog! It's been something that I have thought about doing for awhile but there didn't seem to be any reason until now to begin one. This blog will serve as my ballet story of sorts-first with how it all began and ranging from random ballet musings or exciting events relating to it. Anyway a peaceful Sunday evening following an excellent weekend of friend catch-ups, coffee and yet another wonderful ballet class seemed like a great time to begin this blog of mine. I don't know how often I shall update it. I aim for a couple of times a week but of course that will depend on several factors. Anyway..I'm just listening to my recently played itunes songs. They consist of Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night", Lenka's "The show" and lots of ballet music..
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