Originally posted on April 26th
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I pack my aching hips and back with my ass into my civic and haul them collectively to Joel Hall. I register with Mr. D (David is still on hiatus) and I roll into class. Class is getting started with some barre facing plie business. I quickly slide into my ballet shoes, ankle warmers, place an apple on the piano and then run to a place at barre. There are 6 of us tonight - 5 women and 1 man.
Lil Black Chick, the Swan and the Ponytail are in class tonight. The Ponytail has been a regular for awhile now. She's quiet and a little shy, but she warms up quick. My favorite first company dancer is in class tonight, but I'm not standing close to her. Just like I won't stand next to Spunk in Mr. Heinz class - really great dancers - but kinda intimidating to a beginner.
Assuming the position, we all perform our plies without any fussing from MDB. But when we get to tendus - she's got the arm business going again. She shows us at least two times before emphasizing that if the arms are too much -just do the tendu. She starts heading to the iPod before Side Bar blurts: Can I just do the arms?
MDB and class laughs. MDB agrees that I can do a tendu - so yes, I can just MOVE THE ARM, if I need to.
Hey - you don't know if you don't ask.
Like MDB, I want it all - so I screw it all up in the process - sometimes getting the arm, but screwing up the tendu position - getting the tendu position but screwing up the head position. DEEP SIGH!
I apparently was not quite alone in my "screwing up-ness" - MDB made us do it again on the right side.
Relieved with tendus down - we move into degages. It should have been false relief. I'm so naive. If MDB can make pointing your toes hard....cockroach flickers are definitely NOT going to be easier. Unfortunately, I'm right. What the degage combination lacked in complete WTF-ness - it made up for in speed!! MDB made us do it again...both sides.
Side Bar: She said she didn't have anything to fuss about, but she keeps making us do it again.
Menty: She doing Jedi mind tricks. She's not telling us what's wrong - but she wants to see if we keep screwing it up....
Side Bar: Sneaky - very sneaky.
Needless to say, rond de jambes and battements - do it again...and again.
I was almost relieved again (I'm so stupid) to get away from the barre tonight until we got to the adagio. It was very short and fairly simple. And it would have been easy if someone else was carrying my giant leg around in arabesque, but apparently ballet isn't primarily a partner dance.
We must arabesque (stick your leg out in back and keep your supporting leg straight) and promenade (turn your ass around) while in arabesque - THEN you need to develope to the front (which means don't drop yo damn leg -bend it at the knee and pull it to the front). And of course, MDB -forever focused on something I'm not even thinking about - says: bring the hand to the front of the chest- as I'm promenading. Side Bar says: Fine, you hold my leg and I'll move my hand. You guessed it - MDB was laughing.
We move onto some beat business. Beats while jumping involve slapping all of my thigh, calf and ankle fat together really fast -while trying NOT to shatter my ankle bones. MDB does not believe me when I say I can't do it. My thighs bounce off each other before my knees, calves and ankles get close to each other. I'm going to have to add that to the SHIT THAT LOOKS IMPOSSIBLE List.
As we move into the traveling floor combinations. I'm not relieved. I'm not stupid either...I'm girding my loins. We all appear to complete these two combinations with varying levels of competency - but MDB makes us do the first combination three times instead of our standard two - apparently pique, balances with inside pirouettes are in high demand this month.
We reverence to end class and MDB says that she will be teaching this Thursday and next Thursday. I'm going to miss this Thursday but I'm seriously thinking of getting her a different piece of produce. Apples worked for Snow White's evil stepmother but they don't seem to be working for me....
_____________________________________________________
I pack my aching hips and back with my ass into my civic and haul them collectively to Joel Hall. I register with Mr. D (David is still on hiatus) and I roll into class. Class is getting started with some barre facing plie business. I quickly slide into my ballet shoes, ankle warmers, place an apple on the piano and then run to a place at barre. There are 6 of us tonight - 5 women and 1 man.
Lil Black Chick, the Swan and the Ponytail are in class tonight. The Ponytail has been a regular for awhile now. She's quiet and a little shy, but she warms up quick. My favorite first company dancer is in class tonight, but I'm not standing close to her. Just like I won't stand next to Spunk in Mr. Heinz class - really great dancers - but kinda intimidating to a beginner.
Assuming the position, we all perform our plies without any fussing from MDB. But when we get to tendus - she's got the arm business going again. She shows us at least two times before emphasizing that if the arms are too much -just do the tendu. She starts heading to the iPod before Side Bar blurts: Can I just do the arms?
MDB and class laughs. MDB agrees that I can do a tendu - so yes, I can just MOVE THE ARM, if I need to.
Hey - you don't know if you don't ask.
Like MDB, I want it all - so I screw it all up in the process - sometimes getting the arm, but screwing up the tendu position - getting the tendu position but screwing up the head position. DEEP SIGH!
I apparently was not quite alone in my "screwing up-ness" - MDB made us do it again on the right side.
Relieved with tendus down - we move into degages. It should have been false relief. I'm so naive. If MDB can make pointing your toes hard....cockroach flickers are definitely NOT going to be easier. Unfortunately, I'm right. What the degage combination lacked in complete WTF-ness - it made up for in speed!! MDB made us do it again...both sides.
Side Bar: She said she didn't have anything to fuss about, but she keeps making us do it again.
Menty: She doing Jedi mind tricks. She's not telling us what's wrong - but she wants to see if we keep screwing it up....
Side Bar: Sneaky - very sneaky.
Needless to say, rond de jambes and battements - do it again...and again.
I was almost relieved again (I'm so stupid) to get away from the barre tonight until we got to the adagio. It was very short and fairly simple. And it would have been easy if someone else was carrying my giant leg around in arabesque, but apparently ballet isn't primarily a partner dance.
We must arabesque (stick your leg out in back and keep your supporting leg straight) and promenade (turn your ass around) while in arabesque - THEN you need to develope to the front (which means don't drop yo damn leg -bend it at the knee and pull it to the front). And of course, MDB -forever focused on something I'm not even thinking about - says: bring the hand to the front of the chest- as I'm promenading. Side Bar says: Fine, you hold my leg and I'll move my hand. You guessed it - MDB was laughing.
We move onto some beat business. Beats while jumping involve slapping all of my thigh, calf and ankle fat together really fast -while trying NOT to shatter my ankle bones. MDB does not believe me when I say I can't do it. My thighs bounce off each other before my knees, calves and ankles get close to each other. I'm going to have to add that to the SHIT THAT LOOKS IMPOSSIBLE List.
As we move into the traveling floor combinations. I'm not relieved. I'm not stupid either...I'm girding my loins. We all appear to complete these two combinations with varying levels of competency - but MDB makes us do the first combination three times instead of our standard two - apparently pique, balances with inside pirouettes are in high demand this month.
We reverence to end class and MDB says that she will be teaching this Thursday and next Thursday. I'm going to miss this Thursday but I'm seriously thinking of getting her a different piece of produce. Apples worked for Snow White's evil stepmother but they don't seem to be working for me....
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