Returning to Relevé

Does anyone else LOVE corrections? Well, it turns out that I really do. I've been getting increasingly frustrated over the last couple of months because the current teacher of the advanced class, while complimentary of my dancing, does not give me corrections (and Lord knows I'm not perfect). She'll sometimes give other adults corrections, but mostly she leaves us alone and concentrates her efforts on the teens/kids. Which makes a certain level of sense. I mean...she can't train any of us adults towards a goal like YAGP, or for auditioning to be in a professional ballet company. But that doesn't mean we don't want to be better dancers. In addition, she's been obsessed with choreographing a piece for the summer show so we haven't been doing much center work. We've also been sharing the class with kids, because attendance has been sparse. Barre and anything we do in center is fairly simple. Personally, I like having something to focus on, somethi...

One of the things I pride myself on is my ability to quickly learn and adapt to new dance steps and styles. I think ballet is a fantastic foundation for all types of dance, and my background as a classical dancer has been a benefit more than once. However, every once and awhile I come across a step that completely befuddles me. Most recently this is a tap step, not a ballet one (I don't often post about tap on this blog, but in addition to ballet I take jazz and tap classes). Y'all. PULL BACKS. I can't figure them out. The entire class was struggling with them at first, but slowly, one-by-one, everyone else in class has gotten the hang of it while I'm still scrapping across the floor like a goober. Very frustrating. Part of my problem is that I have trouble letting my ankles relax (something tap does that is very contrary to ballet). I also haven't found a visual that speaks to me. "Think up," my teacher tells me, ever so patiently. "Think of ...