Returning to Relevé

At the beginning of June, I traveled to Salt Lake City for the  artÉmotion Adult Ballet Summer Intensive , and it was THE BEST THING EVER. The classes were amazing, the teachers were amazing, the other dancers were amazing...I could go on and on. Plus Salt Lake City had some pretty amazing weather (sunny and hot all week, which I love). To sum up (I'll go into greater detail below), I HIGHLY recommend it and would do it again. In a heartbeat. With exclamation points!!  Side note: my ankle did fine, and I wasn't nearly as sore as I expected. More details on the program below for those that are curious.

"Plié is the first thing you learn and the last thing you master." -Suzanne Farrell This has always been one of my favorite dance quotes, because its so true. Throughout my dance training, teachers have always emphasized how important a good plié is. When I was teaching, I really made an effort to pass that advice on to my own students, though I don't think I really realized how far reaching it is. I'm currently struggling with an uneven plié and its making my life difficult. The flexibility of my right ankle (that'd be the Ankle of Doom ) still needs work. I can't get the same deep plié I can get on the other side. Landing jumps doesn't have the same squishy feel, and in pointe class recently, I struggled doing a simple tendu fondu to sous-sus en pointe (which requires a bit of a spring)--it was such a mess! I felt like I just could NOT push off the floor enough. Not to mention my complete inability to get off the floor for petit allegro. It's b...

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 ...

Sometimes I see a fellow adult dancer go crazy town and DO SO MUCH (i.e. take classes at multiple studios, in multiple dance styles, every day of the week), and I start wonder to myself if I'm doing enough/dancing enough. Then I remember how easy it has been for my body to freak out and develop issues ( ahem ) when I overdo it. My body is not the same as their bodies--mine gets grumpy pants if I don't rest. (As an aside, will I ever outgrow this comparison crap? UGH.) But it makes me wonder. Fellow adult dancers, how much dancing is enough dancing for you? I realize that your answer will likely depend on why you dance in the first place; maybe even your "dance goals." As an adult dancer who wants to continue to perform (while I can), I find that I want to dance as many hours as possible so that my technique continues to improve and I stay strong, but not overdo it. Dance is also my happy place, the refuge where all my real-world adult troubles disappear. I...

I think most dancers favor one side or the other when turning, and a lot of us seem to favor turning to the right (clockwise), including myself. It doesn't matter what leg I'm actually turning on, but if I'm going clockwise, I can turn pretty darn well. I've even managed some consistent triple pirouettes and consecutive fouettés in that direction. I was having some major problems with the left (counter-clockwise). Doubles were sloppy at best, and there was no way I could manage a triple. We won't even talk about my fouettés on that side (ugh). I was getting frustrated, and the mental roadblock wasn't helping. So I started going through my mental list of what I was doing on the right that I wasn't doing on the left. First major difference? For some crazy reason, my foot moving up into passe was taking its sweet time. Adjustment #1: Hit passe more quickly. When I do right turns, I mentally visualize my opposite side coming around to help me turn (i.e....