I arrive at Joel Hall Dance Studio 15 minutes early. Whenever the 'Not Davids' are manning the desk, I can never know if it will be a quick registration or a trial of my patience.
Normally within minutes of entry, I spot MDB. Not today. Not David tells me she's having car trouble, she taking the bus and will probably be late - but there will still be class. After talking to her directly, Not David has confused the issue by trying to multitask - FAIL!
We start about 10 minutes late and 6 women in class - and then 4 more join late.
Kipper - Barbie's younger, flexible, blonde sister comes to class late and tries displace me from my spot at the barre. I'm also 5 inches taller and about 100 lbs heavier than her. MDB moves her behind me for her own safety and winks at me in the process. MDB is infinitely nicer than a kick in the ass from my size 9.5 ballet slipper, but some people like to learn the hard way - and WHO AM I NOT TO OBLIGE THEM?
As we move into our third attempt at su-su's, Not David comes in to do a count while we are taking artistic and 'crasi' license with that combination. When the music ends, MDB turns to us and says, "It was perfect, right? Let's do the other side."
To which she watches in HORROR of the various butchered combinations we can create from a simple four count.
"Um...ok. Let's try this instead."MDB says with the WTF face and a giggle. We try the new combination - rond de jambes - without too many complications. Our frappes combination doesn't hit all the highlights either, but we manage to get some of the finer details right.
We stretch and do splits....... Ok, we stretch and they do splits and I..umm...stretch some more. Then we move into battements - flat footed is hard enough, but she's throwing in the third and fourth set in releve. I don't tip over and take out Kipper, but I did let me slipper get real close to her bony ass.
When we move to the floor combinations, we have an adagio with tendus, balance, pas de bouree, pique, plie, and su-su - but the timing is a little wonky. MDB is a little leery to give us 'creative' license seeing as we demolished a simple 4 count move in 0.0 seconds flat, but she gives us a chance to work it out. I ignore the majority of the class that wants to spring up and hold the su-su for minutes at a time and work my plie until I felt it in the music. I was the last to get into su-su but I also didn't have to worry about the 'twins' having reverb as much either. Pick your poison I always say.
We head into jumps in first, fifth and second (echappe), but Bitchy (my left knee) is feeling fine, so I stay in the center of the floor and jump for it. I'm still struggling with the royale part which looks like a leg flutter from front to back before landing. I'm working on it. It's right next to glissade, assemblage and sissone - ugh.
We move into traveling floor combinations - 4 pique turns, tombee, pas de bouree, glissade, grand jete. I finally got it after I stopped forgetting the glissade.
It was perfect, right?
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