*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"?
Recreation? I lie on the beach as a recreational activity. I think you take it more seriously than is possible in the scope of "recreation" :P xx
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