It appears that I am unable to successfully recall previous class blunders and comments after more than a day or two has passed so I will go back to writing regularly as they happen.
I did go to MDB's class on Monday. Mostly I remember Lil Black Chick being there and a wacky reference to quasi being pronounced 'crasi' - to which I assume is the French/Ballet word for 'CRAZY'.
(Quasi is a position -either stage related or in my instance - mirror related.)
I skipped Mr. Hall's class on Saturday (I didn't chicken out). I had a wedding shower to go to in the middle of bubble f**k nowhere, IL. I only venture to the unknown for people that I truly care about. (Note: If you live in bubble f**k nowhere - I still love you - I just don't want to drive there!)
So today, feeling guilty, I decide to go back to the Sunday 12 noon slot. Mr. Heinz is currently out of town doing whatever professional ballerino's do when they don't have performances, otherwise, I would surely let him set my brain on fire with all the 'crasi' combinations he makes up.
The rumor mill has mentioned that Lil' Miss Babymaker (LBM) isn't teaching the 12 noon slot anymore and Miss C or Missy as I call her is now teaching. As I round the block a second time looking for parking, I promise myself if I see Lil Miss Babymaker, I'm heading BACK out the door. (Note: LBM is a wonderful instructor - but somewhere between the forward slash in beginner/ballet I - she slid in ballet III.) I walk in, register and I don't see hide nor hair of Lil Miss Babymaker or the baby.
Side Bar: Disaster averted?
Menty: Or TBD??
I walk into the studio and see a regular that I know. I drop my things, slide into my slippers and meet her at the barre. Interestingly enough, she starts right in on the difficulty of LMB's class and how much she struggled. She also stopped coming because she said, "I don't mind being challenged but I stopped because I always felt bad after class was over."
Side Bar: It is true.
Menty: What?
Side Bar: Misery loves company.
There are five of us in class and then Legs comes in wearing a black leotard, a red lacy wrap around ballet skirt, hideous flesh tone tights and white pointe shoes. I shuttered before I could stop myself. It's the flesh tone tights.
Before I can ponder the clothing selection any further, Missy gets us started with plies: two demis, releve, grand plie, port de bra forward on front, side, back - then circular port de bra. Missy calls it out, but she says it different from her original instruction. Three of us just ignore her and finish the combination - the other three hesitate and then do what she says. We all just smile at each other.
Forecast: Lots of sunshine.
We move into tendus and degages, but when we hit rond de jambes, she asks the one guy in class who he studies with - to which he says he teaches. After this announcement, class goes from beginner into ballet I/II ish. Suddenly, we have developpes with releves, fondus and passes. Missy asks us how many developpes were in that combination - and then she counts it for us. She said, "You're doing 4 of those." "I didn't do any." I replied while shaking my head. Of course, we have to do it again - I think I got three TOTAL from doing both sides. And for kicks and giggles, our battements have a pirouette turn thrown in there.
Side Bar: Do you smell that?
Menty: Yea, that's our brain cooking again.
Side Bar: Why is that always such an uncomfortable sensation?
Menty: It's connected to fear of embarrassment.
Side Bar: Well at least you know....
Forecast: Partly Cloudy.
We stretch and then move to floor combinations. The adagio isn't too difficult but it's lengthy. We flub this combination of tomlee front and back, rond de jamb to quasi, chasse to arabesque, fondu, releve, pas de bouree to fourth, plie, pirouette - start again other side. Then we do jumps in first, then echappe with a royal - which I don't do. Not due to fear of embarrassment - fear of pain is a pretty good deterrent too!
Our petit allegro is glissade, assemblage (both directions) and then three sissones with a subersaut - twice slow, then two times fast. I want to sink into the floor. I avoid eye contact. I stop looking around the room and just remember to breathe.
Missy sees three of us struggling and tells us we are doing fine. But I'm not doing fine. I'm trying not to burst into tears. I'm trying not to let my frustration with this same combinations of movements make me lose my nerve. We are up one more time and I try to get the combination right at least once....Epic Fail. Insert deep sigh. Glissade, Assemblage, Sissone combination - 1001, Me - 0.
Forecast: 70% Chance of Rain.
We move into traveling floor combinations - and we do a sissone forward, back, side to side - and then two pique turns, chasse, grand jete. I manage to do this combination relatively right, but I don't do the jete on my left side. My left knee isn't even twitchy, but my brain is automatically protective so I can't get the mechanics together. Insert deep sigh.
Missy confessed at the end of class that it was beginner to intermediate. She could have skipped the confession, I knew after we started the rond de jambes that maybe I should have stayed at home.
Forecast: Low Visibility.
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