Seamus Finnigan is my avatar

Seamus blows up a feather

 

Everyone knows who Seamus Finnigan is: he's the Griffyndor wizard who has a propensity for having his spells randomly explode, usually leaving him singed and soot-covered.

Allow me to explain.

Sunday, I couldn't manage a pirouette on either leg, in either direction, without falling over, falling out, or hopping. I tried all my mantras: slow down, use less energy, get properly positioned, etc. None worked. Not even when I tried outside of a centre combination. I did manage to execute the petit allegro combination with only one or two missteps, which was rewarding. But pirouettes? Fuhgeddaboudit.

Monday was a bit better. I could turn well enough not to be a danger to others in centre, but none of them were particularly good. By which I mean I've done much better.

Today, though, something changed. Perhaps it was the barre routine, which included several quick rises to passe. Or maybe it was a small correction the instructor offered regarding my upper body position. All I know is that, throughout the centre exercises, my turns were clean and well balanced. I could stop the rotation by gripping the toes on my standing foot and then lower to a clean finish, which is new. I even got a compliment on them from the instructor, which I wasn't expecting.

This evening I was complaining (okay, more like whining) to a friend about how inconsistent my pirouettes are. She's one of those people who was seriously considering a career in ballet when she was younger, but instead went on to more intellectual pursuits and now takes ballet classes for fun. The (text) conversation went this way:

Me: "I have no idea what changed."

Her: "Maybe nothing. This sort of thing is just weird."

Me: "So you're telling me that this whole pirouette thing is magic that works randomly?"

Her: "Yes."

Me: "I feel like Seamus Finnigan in Harry Potter, where my spells sometimes blow up spontaneously."

Her: "That is EXACTLY correct. However, skill does move your median point along the curve. But you will always have good and bad days that occur randomly."

As odd as this exchange sounds, it pretty well mirrors one I had with another instructor earlier this afternoon. I guess the idea is to work to move the median point far enough up the curve that good days are the norm and random spontaneous combustions the rarity.

Or else I need a big bridge to blow up.