Returning to Relevé

I was cleaning out my dance bag the other day, and started thinking about how personal a dance bag can be. Some people have small tote bags and only carry the necessities (e.g. tights, leotard, shoes), while others (like me) pack every possible thing they could ever need. In my defense, the dance studio I attend has an actual "dance bag requirements" list for the advanced students, which does actually include me (unlike the dress code). Subsequently, I have a giant dance bag filled with a ton of stuff: The whole shebang.

The last month has been a little intense, and not just with dance things. Two weeks before Christmas, I suddenly found myself unemployed. The company I had worked for for 10 years lost a contract, and thus all of the planned work for the next year; nearly everyone in the office was laid off. It was very sudden. Ironically, I had been considering a career change (to what, I have no idea, but still wanted a change). I guess we'll see what the future holds? Luckily, I had dance to focus on right after it happened, as we had tech/dress rehearsals and our Christmas show. Everything went really well--I had a small solo bit and managed to not mess it up once in any of the three shows. Go me! We had a two week break and started classes up again this last week, though not everyone is back yet so things are slow. Going back to class after a break is always an interesting time, and while I somehow managed to get in some decent double pirouettes to the right, the left was a complete disast...