After bailing out half way through class Thursday a week ago, I skipped classes this weekend. The doctor I was to see is geographically close to the dance studio so I'd scheduled my appointment for late Tuesday afternoon, thinking I'd go straight to class from there.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Thursday, February 6, 2014
A Waste of Gas
Been feeling sub-par all week. I skipped class Tuesday because of my heel, and that little annoyance has gone away. But my endurance has been low; sometimes walking down a flight of stairs made me feel tired. I've booked an appointment with my doctor for next week to find out what the hell is wrong.
Tonight I went to my Advanced Beginner class. It's been a looong day today, and I was looking forward to a little stress relief in class. Instead I about fell over twice during barre, and not from lack of balance. I might have been able to tough out center, but then again sometimes I listen to my body when it says it's time to go.
Forcing myself to be objective, I did get 50 minutes of exercise. It's not my usual 90, let alone the 180 of my usual Sunday, but it's something.
Tonight I went to my Advanced Beginner class. It's been a looong day today, and I was looking forward to a little stress relief in class. Instead I about fell over twice during barre, and not from lack of balance. I might have been able to tough out center, but then again sometimes I listen to my body when it says it's time to go.
Forcing myself to be objective, I did get 50 minutes of exercise. It's not my usual 90, let alone the 180 of my usual Sunday, but it's something.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Lame Duck
As I implied last post, I did get to class yesterday. With mixed results. In B2 we did a bunch of piqué turns, and I'm starting to get the hang of them. I still have trouble getting my head all the way around, which means I tend to curve by under-rotating a bit with each turn. But the instructor said she "sees potential". A nice ego boost.
During AB barre I felt a sudden twinge in the tendon just to the outside of my right heel bone. I pulled up short and gave it some tentative stretches to see if something bad had happened, but it seemed fine. A few minutes later I felt a pain in the middle of the same foot at the metatarsals which continued to ache a bit. But by center it all seemed fine.
In center I did okay with the adagio portion and the first part of the allegro. We did a turning combo that I thought I managed tolerably, until the instructor started telling us that we should start turns while keeping the leading arm in first rather than opening it. That took care of my over-turning tendencies and then some! It is prettier, but it makes it harder.
When we got to the long/fast/complex combo I've been bailing on, we walked through it at a slow, deliberate pace. That helped a lot and at first I thought I could try it at speed, but it's about twice too fast for me still. I found a nice, safe corner and rested a bit instead. Some day I'll get it. At the end we did a combo I thought I understood, but clearly I was leaving out steps in the middle and getting both timing and position muddled up. But the last few steps was the chassé, pas de bourrée, glissade, jump combo, and I managed to finish the last bit in good sync with the other two guys in the class.
Leaving the TWB performance I noticed my heel was stiff, but it loosened up. Today, though, it's been achy and tender all day. At least the metatarsal joints aren't causing me trouble too.
During AB barre I felt a sudden twinge in the tendon just to the outside of my right heel bone. I pulled up short and gave it some tentative stretches to see if something bad had happened, but it seemed fine. A few minutes later I felt a pain in the middle of the same foot at the metatarsals which continued to ache a bit. But by center it all seemed fine.
In center I did okay with the adagio portion and the first part of the allegro. We did a turning combo that I thought I managed tolerably, until the instructor started telling us that we should start turns while keeping the leading arm in first rather than opening it. That took care of my over-turning tendencies and then some! It is prettier, but it makes it harder.
When we got to the long/fast/complex combo I've been bailing on, we walked through it at a slow, deliberate pace. That helped a lot and at first I thought I could try it at speed, but it's about twice too fast for me still. I found a nice, safe corner and rested a bit instead. Some day I'll get it. At the end we did a combo I thought I understood, but clearly I was leaving out steps in the middle and getting both timing and position muddled up. But the last few steps was the chassé, pas de bourrée, glissade, jump combo, and I managed to finish the last bit in good sync with the other two guys in the class.
Leaving the TWB performance I noticed my heel was stiff, but it loosened up. Today, though, it's been achy and tender all day. At least the metatarsal joints aren't causing me trouble too.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
TWB: The Jazz/Blues Project
After class this afternoon I headed downtown to see The Washington Ballet's production of "The Jazz/Blues Project". I was a bit hesitant about this, because although I like jazz and blues music, I like classic ballet and really don't get modern dance. This was an interesting blend of classical ballet and jazz and blues music. Nothing too abstract, nothing boringly repetitious. I ended up really having a great time.
I'm really glad I invested the money for the season tickets. And this is a perfect example of why I did: it leads me to see productions I might otherwise not see.
I'm really glad I invested the money for the season tickets. And this is a perfect example of why I did: it leads me to see productions I might otherwise not see.
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