Something different: I had fun!

Yesterday was the Veterans Day federal holiday. I'm not a federal employee so it wasn't a holiday for me, but it did mean I got to work at home. Sometimes after working at home on a Monday I'll drive up into the hinterlands of the county and take a ballet class at a tiny but well-regarded ballet school in a nearby small town. An instructor I took classes from several years ago teaches the adult classes there, and it's kind of a chance to relive fond memories.

I also thought this would also give me a chance to try out my latest attempt at finding a soft ballet slipper I like.

Wait, what? Yet another new pair of ballet slippers? Yes, I'm still trying to find a pair of soft slippers I like, now that Capezio has discontinued the Romeo in canvas. About two years ago I wore a big hole in my last pair of canvas Romeos and bought a pair of black Capezio Hanami slippers to replace them. By January 2018 I found that because the Hanamis are so stretchy they'd come off my feet during turns. By August 2018 I'd become so disenchnted with them that I stopped wearing them and switched to a pair of white leather Romeos I had stashed away. Unfortunately, I wore/tore a hole in these shoes this summer.

I could only find one of the discarded black Hanamis, so I went to my local dance store to find something else. I ended up with a pair of black canvas Grishkos but in class I found I didn't like the feel of them; I think they're too wide and a hair too short. A month or two later I went back and got fitted for another pair of Hanamis, this time size 13.5W in "light suntan" color. These turned out to have the same problem of coming off my feet as the previous pair. For the last few months I've been doing barre in the Hanamis because they're comfortable, and centre in the Grishkos because they'll stay on my feet. A thoroughly unhappy situation.

A few weeks ago, one of my classmates asked my why I changed shoes half way through class. When I described my problems with the Hanamis she suggested that perhaps they were just the wrong width, and maybe a narrower size would work better. Now why hadn't I thought of that?

Saturday after class I walked across the street to the dancewear shop and marveled at a sight rarely seen (or not seen) there: no customers. Not a one, only staff. Normally this place is packed with kids and parents, and while the staff tries their best it's hard to get personalized attention. Apparently they'd been swamped the previous weeks with kids trying to meet the school's deadline for Nutcracker gear, but with the deadline past there was a lull.

With the luxury of an attentive -- and more importantly, experienced -- fitter, I poured out my tale of footwear woe. She also suggested that I try going narrower. Trying on a pair of Hanamis in size 14M I found they did seem to stay put even when doing a turn on their small patch of Marley flooring. I was busy Sunday, so last night was my first chance to try the new pair of slippers.

I was looking forward to talking with my old instructor, but a young woman in her 20s now teaches that class. The school director remembered me from my previous drop-in appearances and assured the new instructor that I had taken classes "at several places" and would be fine in her class. After the instructor explained the first barre exercise she asked me if I understood; I smiled and nodded yes, thinking to myself that this was less complicated than "Part A" of one of my Saturday instructor's routines, and lacked the "Part B" and sometimes "Part C" that can tax my short-term memory.

On the MYB scale, I'd grade this class as a bit easier than the MYB Beginner 1 class. For the other three students, women ranging in age from 13 to maybe early 40s, I'd say this was about the level they needed. They struggled a bit and learned from good feedback by the instructor. I remember being in their shoes, so to speak, but that was 6 years ago. So to me, barre was an easy warm-up and centre was nothing but fun. No long adagio requiring balancing on one leg through developpes, grand ronds, promenades in attitude and penches. No complicated allegro sequences with turns this way and that. Not even a single pirouette, I realized later, that would have told me how well these shoes would stay on my feet. Centre was just some simple jumps followed by a short, easy allegro sequence. While I'm sure I learn a lot more when I'm challenged, it's a real ego boost to feel relaxed and confident in a ballet class once in a while.

Oh well... my regular Tuesday evening class tonight will tell the tale. If these don't stay on my feet I'm going to buy several pairs of leather Romeos while they're still available to forestall having to find new shoes for a few more years.