The plan for yesterday was to skip class and be very productive around the house. Instead, I woke up with a nasty case of allergies and spent the day in a Benadryl-induced haze, accomplished little more than sleeping, eating, watching DVDs, and creating a mountain of used tissues.
This morning I wasn't sure I'd be clear enough to go to class. The shower helped clear a bunch of it out of my lungs, so I got dressed and drove to class. I was tentative about the AB class when I checked in, promising to let them know if I decided to bail. Having pre-paid for the entire four-month semester makes it easy for me to leave that decision late. Warming up before class was uncomfortable in ways I can't attribute to skipping class Saturday.
The B2 class was interesting. Taking the AB class has given me an increased sense of confidence in my Sunday B2 class. I'm still learning things in B2, though. For example, I didn't realize that pirouette en dehor from fifth turns toward the front foot, not the back. I'm still having trouble with those, but I guess it'll come with practice. By the time we moved to the center I was feeling good enough to try attacking the combinations. We spent quite a bit of time on spotting. I guess our instructor has decided that my ego can survive being picked on (she's right), because she used me as her example. At one point I was standing alone in front of the class attempting turn after turn with her yelling, "Look at Reece! See Reece in the mirror! Now turn, and look for Reece!" Kinda like a dog trainer. But it did help.
After B2 finished I changed my shirt, refilled my water bottle, and found a spot at the front-most portable barre. No trouble seeing the instructor from this vantage point! I did try to avoid obstructing those behind me. The barre combinations were more fun than those in B2, as the complexity and the tempo encouraged more of a flow than individual actions.
I was tempted to bail before we started center work, but I decided to try it anyway. One of the combinations seemed very complex when explained, but when we marked it it seemed to flow fairly naturally. The first time through I noted the places I'd goofed on and was looking forward to fixing them on the second pass. But halfway through my second pass the instructor decided to "help" me spot by shouting "Look at Reece! Find Reece!" at me again. From her tone it's completely clear that she was trying to be encouraging, but without context and with my focus on anticipating the next step it just was totally distracting and I didn't realize what she wanted until I was off the floor. Everything went (gently) downhill from there. The highlights being that I still think I have one of the best tour jetés in the class, and one combination ended with the four of us in my group achieving a synchronized grand jeté.
This morning I wasn't sure I'd be clear enough to go to class. The shower helped clear a bunch of it out of my lungs, so I got dressed and drove to class. I was tentative about the AB class when I checked in, promising to let them know if I decided to bail. Having pre-paid for the entire four-month semester makes it easy for me to leave that decision late. Warming up before class was uncomfortable in ways I can't attribute to skipping class Saturday.
The B2 class was interesting. Taking the AB class has given me an increased sense of confidence in my Sunday B2 class. I'm still learning things in B2, though. For example, I didn't realize that pirouette en dehor from fifth turns toward the front foot, not the back. I'm still having trouble with those, but I guess it'll come with practice. By the time we moved to the center I was feeling good enough to try attacking the combinations. We spent quite a bit of time on spotting. I guess our instructor has decided that my ego can survive being picked on (she's right), because she used me as her example. At one point I was standing alone in front of the class attempting turn after turn with her yelling, "Look at Reece! See Reece in the mirror! Now turn, and look for Reece!" Kinda like a dog trainer. But it did help.
After B2 finished I changed my shirt, refilled my water bottle, and found a spot at the front-most portable barre. No trouble seeing the instructor from this vantage point! I did try to avoid obstructing those behind me. The barre combinations were more fun than those in B2, as the complexity and the tempo encouraged more of a flow than individual actions.
I was tempted to bail before we started center work, but I decided to try it anyway. One of the combinations seemed very complex when explained, but when we marked it it seemed to flow fairly naturally. The first time through I noted the places I'd goofed on and was looking forward to fixing them on the second pass. But halfway through my second pass the instructor decided to "help" me spot by shouting "Look at Reece! Find Reece!" at me again. From her tone it's completely clear that she was trying to be encouraging, but without context and with my focus on anticipating the next step it just was totally distracting and I didn't realize what she wanted until I was off the floor. Everything went (gently) downhill from there. The highlights being that I still think I have one of the best tour jetés in the class, and one combination ended with the four of us in my group achieving a synchronized grand jeté.
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