One of the problems I have with having learned ballet as an adult is that I didn't get any sort of structured instruction at the beginning. I pretty much jumped into a low-level adult class and tried to figure things out as I went. The result is that I find myself stumbling (sometimes literally) over what should be basic things. Like petit jeté and glissade.
After 8 years these should be no-brainers. Automatic. But I have trouble with them. So I decided to look at some YouTube videos to see if I could identify what I'm doing wrong. I found this video helpful, once I got past her Australian butchery of the pronunciation of the French ballet terms.
What I think I'm doing wrong is thinking of these as sideways motions, rather than upward jumps. Before class this past weekend I resolved that rather than trying to fit in all the steps in the petit allegro sequence I'd focus on doing these specific steps properly, as best I understood them. And I felt like it worked better. Much more up-and-down, with full extension of both legs.
Another thing that helped was that one of the retired professional dancers who takes classes in the same studio decided to drop in on our Beginner II class. The comment I heard repeatedly from classmates was, "That's what it's supposed to look like!" Definitely inspirational.
For most of the summer I've been bailing out of class after the adagio portion of centre, feeling like I was too tired to really do much more. This past weekend, and again last night, I found myself feeling pretty good going into the allegro section. I have no idea what changed. Maybe it's the change in weather (the mid-day temps have dropped 20 degrees F). I'm not sure, but I'm happy about it.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
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That's so funny!!! When us Aussies watch the American ballet youtubes we cringe at the US butchering of the French terms!
ReplyDeleteOne day I might study French to learn how the French say things. But I bet I'll still be speaking it with an Aussie accent *grins*