Flattery will get you... everywhere?

I've been getting to at least one class a week, most often two, over the last month. Last weekend I had other commitments Saturday morning so I went to the Sunday Beginner 2 class instead. This is the true Beginner 2 class, rather than the Saturday Beginner 2.75 class I usually attend. The result is that the sequences are short and relatively easy to remember, which allows me to focus on technique.

Sometimes I have my...differences...with this instructor. Last weekend she directed what I consider a rather obnoxious comment toward me, though I'll write it off as a rather poor attempt at humor and not anything malicious. Fortunately I'm not in this class because of her charming wit or personality, but rather because she's quite an excellent ballet instructor and that forgives many sins.

Case in point. She made an observation to another student regarding how the working leg and foot should be placed for a pirouette. I always listen to her comments, regardless of whether they're directed to me or not, and I tried to apply the comment to my own technique. It made an immediate improvement in my turns en dehor.

On the other hand, she never believes that my legs are actually straight when they are. Bent legs when they're supposed to be straight are a big deal to her, and she can spot bent knees through skirts and sweatpants. She came over and tickled the back of my knee -- not poked, not prodded, just lightly tickled -- saying I needed to make sure it was straight. My knees don't get any straighter than they were at that moment, and the tights I was wearing hid nothing. But it's better than being ignored.

This morning it was pouring rain (again), and many students were still trickling in when it was time for class to start. She was explaining to another very new student that this class was much simpler than some of the other Beginner 2 classes, though some of the students took both this and the Advanced Beginner class that followed so she shouldn't judge herself in comparison with others. I commented on the pirouette advice that I'd found so helpful last week. She seemed very pleased by this.

Later, during barre, she took a position at the barre I was using, facing me, and gave suggestions on my pliés. At first I thought she was speaking to the woman on the other side of the barre, but then I realized she was speaking to me. I have to admit that because of this I really have no idea what correction she was trying to make, but I'm happy she did it anyway. It's been my observation that students in her class fall into one of two categories: those who are likely to benefit from receiving corrections and those who probably will not. Understandably it's those in the first group who get most of her attention.

As I look back on this morning's class, it occurs to me that the only turns we did were the detournés at the barre as we switched sides. No pirouettes, no waltz turns, nothing. Very unusual, even for this class. I recall hearing her tell one of the newbies that she had planned a different class, but the presence of several new and inexperienced students caused her to revise her plan. I guess that's why.