Yesterday was all black day in MDB's class. There was 7 women in class - none from second company (thank goodness!) and we all wore black. It almost never happens in ballet - tribal belly dance - every other day for sure. Ballet - hideous flesh tone tights - almost every other class for sure :)
MDB starts us off with plies (like most instructors do). We are coasting along until MDB whips out the dreaded notebook paper.
THEN we go into frappes with petit battement beats when she adds a little tidbit that lets you know she's not really dealing with a full deck:
MDB says she was curious about petit battements one day, so she put CHALK BETWEEN HER TOES AND DREW THE LINES IN THE GROUND.....
Side Bar: Ok....I'm thinking she said that because she knew I would type it...
Menty: Well..you know she's got a thing for Barbie too
Side Bar: How many GROWN adults do you know with TOE chalk sitting around??
Menty: You got me there!!
Then MDB gives us a degage combination on CRACK and SPEED! We had to do degages in first, second, and fifth (in the shape of the cross so to speak). When she turned on the break neck speed music - we TRIED to do the first side and all stopped and started looking at each other in mirror. MDB burst out laughing...and so do we because it's kinda funny - US trying to do it and the LOOKS on our FACES trying to do it - everyone had WTF FACE!! MDB says that she could give us a slower song, but I stopped her.
I know what we are suppose to do - we know what degages are. If I didn't know what it was at all - I would have asked for the slower song. On the assumption that I am, in fact, performing a degage correctly - increasing the tempo is ackward, but NOT IMPOSSIBLE. So I stopped her from picking a slower song and VOLUNTEERED the whole class to do it at break neck speed. I'm typing this so no one actually killed, kicked or degaged me in the head. MDB, laughing instructor extraordinarie, says well how else are you going to learn it fast if you don't do it?, smiles, laughs and hits PLAY! And way we go....it was pretty much a seven car pile up - with some doing better than others - but it was fun and funny- per MDB's laughter :)
We move into battements, which I'm still struggling with. You would think the action of swinging one's leg straight front, side and back would be fairly simple. MDB wonders over to me and asks me a bombshell question: What is YOUR goal for battements? I think I stood stupid for a beat (standing stupid aka without mental capacity to formulate an intelligent response - emphasis on intelligent) when MDB continued. 'Is it height?' she asks. She said she wouldn't touch me (LOL), but she told me to think about it as pulling my hip down - which of course makes me draw in my stomach - DON'T ASK - sometimes I don't own my body - I just visit.
I was able to do the slow floor combination and fast floor and travelling combinations with varying degrees of accuracy and grace, but mostly being grateful to stay on my feet and off my ass (which happens to be getting rounder every other week - maybe it is trying to climb my back and kill me??)
But now that I think about MDB's question - What is MY goal for battements? Ultimately led me to What is My goal for ballet?? My short term goal for battements is to do them right/accurately - height is optional. My goal for ballet - other than utter, sheer enjoyment and complete humiliation - is to be a better dancer.
SO MDB, next class - you, me - your hands, my hips - battements! I'll bring you some mittens :)
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