Testing new waters

Before I decide to jump into the TWSB's adult program concert, I thought I ought to find out where I stand in their class structure. They're hosting what I'm calling a "Sorting Hat" event January 13th. This is a series of free 30-minute classes, observed by various instructors, intended to help sort students into the appropriate houses... err... classes.

I've been taking MYB's advanced beginner classes for a few years, and figure if TWSB's classes are similar then I'd probably be fine in the advanced beginner concert group. But maybe I could fit into the intermediate group? I'm especially interested in this because the intermediate group will be choreographed by Tamás Krizsa, a recently retired member of The Washington Ballet's professional company whose work I've admired.

While perusing their class schedule, though, I noticed an interesting wrinkle. Tamás usually teaches the Saturday morning advanced beginner class. However, this weekend's class was taught by Alvaro Palau, who will be choreographing the advanced beginner portion of the concert. This meant I could sample both instructors' styles on successive weekends.

Thus I spent Saturday morning taking class with a new instructor in new surroundings.

I've gotten spoiled with the live accompaniment at MYB. This class at TWSB used recorded music, and technical problems caused a significant delay in the start of class. My classmates ranged from "OMG you're too young to be that good" to "I hope I'm still dancing when I'm your age", which isn't much different from what I'm used to. There were a couple of other men, too. 

The instructor spoke quite softly, which combined with a slight but unfamiliar accent to make his instructions difficult to follow at first. The barre had a different sequence than I'm used to, which isn't surprising. Once I got more used to his accent and the way he structured his barre exercises I didn't have much trouble following him. Of course it helped that I'd deliberately chosen a spot at the barre around the periphery that put me between two regulars helped!

For some reason I was a bit off-balance during the centre exercises. Maybe it was that this class starts hours earlier in the morning than I'm used to, or the lingering effects from having taken a rather energetic class at MYB the day before. More likely, it's having been mostly out of class since my injury in early November. Still, it wasn't terrible. My pirouettes have suffered, though strangely my en dedans turns are better than my en dehor turns.

The petit allegro combination, usually my nemesis, was easier than my previous class. The most tricky was a sequence of sissonne fermés with temps de cuisse thrown in to change direction; this was challenging for some, but is fairly common in my classes. Similarly, the grand allegro exercise, while new, wasn't anything I hadn't come across in my classes. The most challenging for me were the chaîné turns at the end of the sequence. These are not new to me, but I'm way out of practice. Twice, one of the other men asked if we could mark a combination. The instructor declined both times, probably because we were already running over the scheduled end time. He instead suggested anyone who wasn't clear on the combination to go last and watch those who went before.

Since one of my goals in taking this class was to see how I fit into TWSB's class structure, I wanted to see how I compare with the other students in this class. If I apply Olympic scoring (throw out the best and worst, then average the others), I'm at or above the median. I'm hoping to be seen as good enough at the audition in February to join the intermediate group, as I think that's most likely to have the sort of choreography I'd like.

In the men's dressing room after class, one of the others asked if I usually take the Saturday morning class. I'm not sure if he meant this class or the Intermediate II class that runs at the same time. Perhaps he usually takes an evening class at the same level, and wanted to know if this was a typical Saturday morning Advanced Beginner class? I don't know, as when I answered that I usually take classes elsewhere he didn't say more.

The really good news is that I've now taken three full classes without trouble from my heel/ankle. It still feels tighter than it used to, but it doesn't hurt during class nor stiffen significantly afterward. I guess that means it's back to work once classes resume in the new year.

Speaking of which... Happy New Year!