Arriving this evening for class, I was informed that our regular instructor was out sick. Unfortunately, "sick" wasn't a euphemism for a happy baby event, and she stayed at home to avoid the chance of sharing whatever she has with others. Instead, the artistic director for the school would be teaching her class.
Yeah. The same artistic director who is a 20-year veteran of a major ballet company. Who was a principal dancer for Suzanne Farrell. Who still teaches ballet technique at a nearby university. That guy. Oh, woe is me!
The odd thing is that while he is more demanding of technique, his class is physically less demanding than our regular instructor's. Much less time spent standing on demi-pointe, although we did a bit of that. The result is that while I worked harder mentally, I didn't work as hard physically.
After the day I've had, that might well have been exactly what I needed.
No class tomorrow night at the old place, so I'll have to do stretches on my own.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
2 comments:
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I think your regular teacher's increasing emphasis on demi-pointe is to prepare students for the possibility of going on to take pointe. You'll remember our conversation about the importance of demi-pointe in building strength and stamina in the ankles and calves before pointe should be undertaken.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt, Jill. I've developed muscle definition in my calves that I haven't seen since high school. I wish I could capture a good image with a camera. Still, that doesn't mean that I don't dread hearing the words "passé relevé".
ReplyDeleteI like our regular instructor a lot. She's really good with us beginners, unlike some of the instructors who teach primarily advanced classes who seem to be frustrated with our inability to do even the basics well. But trust me, this week has sucked big time, and I really appreciated the change of pace.