What am I doing in THIS class?

Today I intended to take an Advanced Beginner ballet class with Tamás Krizsa. I've really been looking forward to seeing what his teaching style is like.

I always like to get changed and ready at least 15 minutes before class to have the time to do some solo stretching. Shortly after arriving I overheard one of the other students comment that Tamás was not teaching today; Brittany Bailey would be substituting instead. This annoyed me. I'm on the monthly plan at MYB (I can take as many classes as I want during the month for a fixed price), where as I pay per-class at TWSB. I could have taken a class this morning at MYB and saved myself $20. But I was already there and it was too late to cancel my registration. Maybe I might like Brittany's class?

Two kinds of ballet student

I've come to believe there are two basic types of ballet students. The first type is the sort who wants to understand the steps and motions in detail, and takes classes to learn to execute them perfectly. Of course, we all know that perfection is impossible, but that's the goal we strive for.

Students of the second type are in love with the idea of ballet. This is kind of like a little girl who dresses up in a tutu and slippers and dances around with her arms in the air and thinks that's ballet, only older. The accoutrements play a critical role in creating the proper image.

I doubt many people fall strictly in one category or the other. Everyone is some mix of the two. I'm primarily of the first type, drawn to the futile attempt to achieve perfection, but I'll admit to an element of the second.

Today I ran into a student who I believe is almost entire the second type. That's rare in the classes I take.

Why is my easiest class the hardest?

I arrived for my Beginner II class early Sunday morning. I did some warm-up, then practiced a few pirouettes: left and right, en dedans and en dehor, from fouth. All working fairly well. I was feeling pretty good.

Class started with barre, of course. There were hints that we'd be working on pirouettes in centre, giving me that spooky feeling again. Barre went on and on, with lots of time spent rising to passé relevé and balancing. I told myself to conserve energy by doing some of the exercises flat-footed instead of demi-pointe, but I didn't. Finally, after 50 minutes, barre was done. I was feeling tired and a bit sore already.

We got to the pirouettes section of centre. Starting in fifth we rose to passé relevé and returned to the same fifth. Then an en dehor turn closing in the opposite fifth. Tendu to fourth and a pirouette en dehor landing in the same fourth. Stepped to the opposite fourth and a pirouette en dedans landing in fifth. Repeat in the other direction.

I told myself, go slowly; don't over-do the turn. But I was already tired and wobbly. We did it again, with some general corrections. I didn't fall over, but I wasn't happy: an hour before I was doing pretty decent turns.

This class is the slowest class I take, aside from Floor Barre, yet it's exhausting. It's because it's slow that it's hard.

Lost and Found, made of Unobtanium

When I got to class this evening, I could only find one of my So Danca slippers. Fortunately I still carry my Capezio Hanami slippers, so I had something to wear. Of course, the Fates made sure that every exercise included at least one turn, including barre. I still like the way the Hanamis look and feel, but they also still twist on my feet during turns. When I got back to my car after class I found the other So Danca slipper on the back seat of my car where my dance bag had been; at least I didn't lose it.

I'm confused (again)

I've been taking the Beginner 2¾ class two or three times a week for a few months. Barre always ends with 16 single-leg relevés on each leg. Centre is packed with activity. After class I'm tired, but otherwise have no ill effects.

For the last couple of weeks I've taken the Sunday Beginner 2 class instead of the Saturday Beginner 2¾ class because of scheduling conflicts. This class is much less strenuous than the Saturday class. No relevés at the barre. No grande pliés. Simple, short centre exercises. Yet each Monday morning I've woken up with sore, stiff calf muscles that make walking difficult. Why?

I remember this... and I wish I didn't!

I've sometimes said that ballet is like a narcotic: as long as you keep doing it you're fine, but if you stop then go back it'll hurt you.

I'm kinda prone to leg cramps, which is a side-effect of an asthma medication I take. Last night, as I was falling asleep, I started getting cramps in my calf muscles. Not terribly surprising, given what I do to them in class, but very unwelcome. Through trial and error I've found that keeping my legs cool helps prevent them, so I spent the night sleeping with the A/C cranked and a comforter over the upper half of my body. It's not terribly comfortable, but it's better than screaming in pain.

This morning I felt reasonably rested, but I could barely walk. It's now after 6pm and walking is still difficult; stairs would be impossible without using the handrail for support.

The really sad thing is I knew this would happen.

A journey of a thousand miles

If all goes well, next week I get my second shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. Thus the beginning of May will mark the greatest effectiveness. To celebrate I want to do one of the things I've missed most: take a real, in-person, ballet class.

 It will have been roughly 15 months since I last stood in a ballet studio, and 10 months since I took a virtual class. As much as I'm looking forward to it, I know that I've gotten really out of shape. Rather than jumping back into even a virtual class I thought I'd start with one of the prerecorded classes my regular studio posted online. I cleared away the debris from around my home barre, set up my laptop to play the video, and tried to remember how this works.

The Plague: Anniversary Edition

Yes, it's been over a year since COVID-19 — otherwise known in my mind as The Plague — changed life as we knew it. I count from mid-day Friday the 13th, 2020, as that's when my coworkers and I were sent home for what we expected to be "a few weeks".

Does 53 weeks count as "a few"?

Groundhog Day #280

At the end of July I posted about how it was Groundhog Day #140, a reference to the movie "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray.

For me, today is Groundhog Day #280. So what's new? Nothing. Not a damned thing. That's why it's like Groundhog Day: the same thing, day after day. I have a little weather station on my wall that tells me what day of the week it is so I know what meetings I'm supposed to virtually attend.

I've been to my office once, to pick up a new laptop computer for use in my home office. The place looks a bit like the photos I've seen of Chernobyl. Clearly people used to go there, and there are remnants of their presence, but it looks like it was abandoned on short notice. The plants some people kept in their offices have withered and died from lack of water. A sad sight.

On the bright side, I remain healthy. None of my close friends have been infected; one or two acquaintances have tested positive but none have died. I still receive weekly notices of virtual ballet classes (and even some limited in-person classes) but thus far I'm still a drop-out. Maybe next summer.

Groundhog Day #140

Does anyone remember the 1993 movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray and Andie McDowell?

"A weatherman finds himself inexplicably living the same day over and over again."

That about sums up my life for the last 140 days, aside from the weatherman part. I work, I cook, I eat, and I sleep. I know what day it is by which work teleconferences I attend. Every few days I check the mailbox to empty the junk mail, and every few weeks I make a brief trip to the grocery store to stock up on essentials. When the weather is decent I walk around the neighborhood, though it's been above 90°F (32°C) for 28 of the last 30 days. Thus far I've managed to avoid getting anything worse than an upset stomach one night from binging on ice cream.

Dance Ranked Most Physically Demanding Job in the U.S.

If you want to understand how physically demanding dancing as a profession can be, take a look at this article in Pointe Magazine. It points out that a study by the Occupational Information Network ranks dancers as the most physically demanding job in the US, based the level of strength, stamina, flexibility and coordination required.

The worst ballet movie ever

A week or so ago I stumbled upon a ballet-themed movie from 1977 called "Suspiria". The summary sounded interesting:

This horror gem follows Susan, a young American girl whose talents have brought her to an illustrious European ballet school. But once she gets there, she realizes there's something strange going on as she's faced with a cluster of freaky happenings, from a shower of maggots to poison in her food. What she soon learns is that the school has been a meeting place for witches for many years.

It was available from DVD.com (the DVD-subscription part of Netflix). Although DVD.com rated it only 2.5 stars (of a possible 5), IMDB gave it 7.4 stars (of 10). Although I'm not a fan of horror movies I love a good mystery, so put it at the front of my queue. This evening I got a chance to watch it.

And the (shoe) verdict is...

But first, a rant. Well, not really a rant. More of an observation.

The classes I'm taking are not beginner classes, despite being listed as "Beginner 2" in the catalog. I know it and I've said it here before. One of the guys who often takes the Intermediate classes but who dropped in tonight because of the US Thanksgiving holiday later this week said it in the dressing room after class this evening.

As I mentioned in the last post, our instructor has decided that we should spend more time doing things that move across the floor. Okay, great. It's more like dancing and less like a balancing exhibition (not that we're doing much less of that). But how did we come to doing renversé in our combinations?

Why don't YOU do that?

For much of the eight years I've been writing this blog I've been the only male in my ballet classes. Occasionally, though, there have been other men in class, and recently we've had as many as four of us in class at once. When this happens our instructor often asks that we men do the petit and grand allegro sections as a separate group. This, I suspect, is because we tend to move across the floor more than the women. Recently she's also asked for the music to slow a bit when we go; apparently this is traditional, to allow us to jump higher—which takes longer—and still keep pace with the music.

As I've written before, I'm a little bit competitive, but in a good way. When I see someone doing something really well I feel challenged to perform better. Maybe the term "inspired" would be better than "challenged". I watch them to see what it is that they're doing differently. A good example might be my efforts to improve my petit jetes and glissades. But the feeling of competitiveness is heightened when it's a group of four men, two of whom are more advanced than I am.

Still, this is me telling myself that I can do better. Before class, when I'm feeling fresh and energetic, I've completed double pirouettes. The last quarter turn often isn't nice and my spotting needs work, but I'm not falling over and the landing is stable. By the end of class, though, when I'm hot and exhausted I'm content to land a single pirouette with some measure of precision rather than hop through a sloppy double attempting to keep up with the others.

And so it was rather shocking when one of the women asked me, "Why don't YOU do that?", indicating one of the other men. I managed to suppress my initial reaction, which would have been to slap her across the face and demand, "Why aren't you on pointe like some of the other women?" Instead I blinked a couple of times before replying truthfully, "Because I'm exhausted and I'm happy to just remember what step comes next." She smiled and nodded understandingly, but inside I was seriously pissed off.

Please, folk. Don't be judgmental of others. You probably wouldn't be happy if I asked you a question like that.

Ow! Ow! Ow!

If you want to read about muscle cramps, feel free to read on. Otherwise go read something else. It's my blog and I'll whine if I want to!

The staff are not idots. But the patrons are.

Thursday I was all set to go to class in the evening, but life intervened. I'm really trying to get back to a regular schedule for the winter, so I told myself I'd definitely go this weekend.

This morning I was kind of ambivalent about going to class. Eventually I convinced myself to get ready and made it to the studio with enough time for a brief warmup. Barre was good, though it seemed a bit more challenging than usual. One of our regular classmates who takes barre on pointe came in just before we started, and I honestly think this instructor tailors her class based on who shows up; for example. a student on pointe pretty well guarantees more releves.

I didn't get as much sleep last night as I would have liked, and I burned a lot of energy during barre. Normally I recover during the break before centre, but today I was still feeling very tired when class started again. I walked through the explanation of the first combination with everyone else, and while it absorbed the sequence pretty well I just didn't feel up to continuing. I grabbed my bag, nodded to the instructor, and took an early exit.

Normally I'd consider this a partial waste of time, but not today. It was an unusually long barre and I felt like I got a good workout. I just felt like I'd run out of energy, and if I'd forced myself to continue I doubt I would have been very stable.

Maybe I'll go again tomorrow morning.

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We now interrupt our regularly scheduled blog entry for a rant...

Ditching my Capezio Hanami slippers

When I first became involved in ballet, back in the mid 1980s, Capezio was the brand name I knew best. My first shoes, tights, and dance belt were all Capezio. Now I almost feel like the name Capezio is a code for "stay away from these".

I loved my Capezio 4945 tights. They were soft and stretchy and comfortable. Poof! Gone, replaced by the inferior MT-11. I asked the owner of my favorite dancewear store if she knew where I could find some, and she told me that if she could get them she'd "buy a thousand of them". The Capezio website now shows "Ultra Soft" footed tights (10361M), but I have two pairs each of M. Stevens and Wear Moi tights and am not inclined to buy more for a while.

I tried and fell in love with the Capezio CA222 leggings. They were officially a women's style but they fit me quite well. Again, soft and stretchy and comfortable. Poof! Gone. So far gone that this blog is now Google's top hit when searching for them.

I started with Capezio Cobra shoes. Their failing was inconsistent sizing. Eventually the Cobra was replaced with the Capezio Romeo, which was an improvement in my view. Last November, when my big toe started protruding through my most recent pair of Romeos, I went to my local dance store to by replacements. They told me they didn't stock the Romeo anymore, and Capezio's replacement was the Hanami. In case you're wondering, "Hanami" is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers. At first I thought the Hanami was an improvement over the Romeo. The fabric is very stretchy compared to my Romeos, which makes it conform to the foot really well, and the absence of a drawstring avoids having a knot digging into my instep. However I've become increasingly disenchanted with my canvas Hanami slippers.

Oh my aching...!!

I went back to class this morning after a week off. It wasn't my idea to be off this long, but I couldn't find an appropriate class due to the holidays. I knew the result would be that this class would be harder than usual, but I didn't expect it to be like this.

Before I start ranting, I'll mention that our instructor was not wearing pointe shoes today.  She didn't arrive as early as she normally does and thus didn't get much of a chance to warm up before class, and we actually started on time for a change. This was a very full class, with 29 students by the time the last of the stragglers came in. Three of the students were wearing pointe shoes at barre -- two continuing through center -- though one of them was a school company member proudly wearing her Nutcracker Cast T-shirt.

I had an interesting conversation with a couple of the students about the difficulty level of this class. They've been taking the Advanced Beginner class that starts a bit earlier, and they believe that this Beginner II class is more technically challenging. I haven't taken that Advanced Beginner class, but it echoes my own opinion that this ain't no Beginner II class. I suspect that sentiment is also shared by the two newbies in this class who clearly didn't realize what they'd gotten themselves into, though they bravely tried to keep up as best they could.

Now on to the ranting...

Overheard at the Barre

This morning, while warming up before barre, I overheard an older woman talking to another. Her husband has started cooking, and she was laying into him for not being the best chef ever. The recipe said it would take two hours but it took him FOUR hours because he was being overly careful to remove all the stems from the herbs rather than just removing the biggest ones. The onions he used were too strong and she couldn't taste the milder herbs. On and on she went; he just couldn't do ANYTHING right in the kitchen.

I'm not a violent person, but I really wanted to go over and slap her across the face. Here she has a husband who is learning something new and all she thinks about is how she's "suffering". Was she born with crazy cooking skills, or did she learn it by trying like the rest of us mortals? Would she rather have a husband who flops in his recliner, demands she bring him a beer, and expects a gourmet dinner on the table every evening at 6pm sharp?

It's been two hours since this happened and I'm still furious. I've been trying to cook more at home and I find her comments personally offensive. I don't know if she's sniping at him because she's insecure and views this as an intrusion into her domain, or if she's just a judgmental jerk.

Ballet Techniques review

I've now taken three of the four classes in the four-class "Ballet Techniques" series. It's so much like an intro class that it seems like it should be easy, but it's not. Or maybe I should say this is really basic beginner stuff but I'm still having trouble with it. Of course, that's why I wanted to take this class in the first place.

This posting started out to be a narrative of the first two classes, but it's taken until now to sort out what I wanted to say. I've finished the narratives but switched to more of a commentary (or rant) at the end.