Too many irons in the fire

Wednesday I went to the "intermediate" class at MSD. I chose that mainly because it was mid-week. It went pretty well, though I left after petit allegro because I was hot and tired and that was making me grumpy. But no muscle cramps!

Today, Saturday, I went to the so-called "Beginner II" class at MYB. This is a very popular class. I've seen it worse, but with 26-ish students it was crowded. Even doing adagio in two groups, rather than all at once, I had to watch the people near me to make sure I didn't kick or backhand anyone by accident. petit allegro was dangerous, with some students barely moving and others apparently confusing glissade with grand jete. At this point I collected my things and made an early exit.

Changing after class I came to the conclusion that I just didn't have the time or energy for the repertoire class that starts next week. The idea of dancing choreography with other dancers, rather than just being one person in a sea of others doing exercises, is very appealing. But at this point I think I need to tune up some basics before attempting the repertoire class again. And I'm just juggling too many other activities to give this the attention it would require to make it worthwhile.

The answer is always "Tour Jeté"

Tonight was the last Adult Repertoire class of this session. I'm exhausted. My feet hurt. And I'm both relieved and sad.

My first Pas de Deux

Due to conflicts in other classmates' schedules, only two of us were able to attend last evening's repertoire class. Their loss was our gain!

Saut du Basque

The Powers that Be took pity on us, and okay'ed the repertoire class to go ahead with only 5 students registered, though a sixth signed up in person the evening of the first class. Only five of us showed up that night though.

Before class, while I was loosening up in the hallway, Jeff (our ballet master for this class) asked me two questions: first, did I know how to do a tour jeté; second, did I know how to do a saut du basque?

Pas du Groundhog

We've had unusually cold weather this week. Snow canceled classes Tuesday. I decided not to go to class Thursday to be rested for Friday's repertoire class, but it was canceled Friday mid afternoon due to yet more snow and cold, shifting the start date of the 5-week class back a week.

Today (Saturday) I went to my usual class. When I checked in I asked how many were registered for repertoire: 5. They want 8 to make it economically viable. Uh oh.

Just before we started centre I made an appeal for anyone who was interested in the repertoire class to sign up this weekend. One is a probable; others asked questions but I don't expect they will.

Barre was grueling. Fortunately centre was easier than it might have been. This instructor deliberately builds from one week to the next, so most of the exercises were familiar. This is especially important when I'm tired and my IQ drops off. It's also the reason for the title of this post.

After class I talked with Jeff, who teaches the repertoire class. He has one other person who said they will sign up, which would bring the registration to seven. Is anyone local interested in signing up for this class?

We're tantalizingly close to the minimum registration for this class to go ahead. It now starts next Friday, February 8th, and runs for 5 consecutive weeks at 7:30pm.

Selective amnesia

I've always wondered why women are willing to give birth to multiple children. It seems that after all the complaining and swearing that they'll never do it again there would only be families with single children. Apparently some sort of amnesia sets in.

Yet, after swearing I'd never do anything like the Adult Weekend Workshop again, I find myself signed up for the Adult Repertoire class starting February 1st. (link) Here's the class description:

Use your years of ballet training to experience the joys (and discipline) of learning a group dance from one of the world’s finest choreographers. Emphasis will be placed on presentation and working as a corps de ballet. A single dance will be taught over the 5 class session, building weekly, and includes a quick warm-up. Level – Intermediate. No performance. Lead by Jeffrey Luke.

I'm actually a bit intimidated by this class. The original announcement specified "Advanced Beginner" level and up. When I spoke with Jeff he suggested that I could watch one of the classes and decide whether I wanted to sign up for the next session, but I never got around to doing that. One of the participants says he thinks I'll be okay, but then again he's the same person who roped me into the Adult Weekend Workshop. Now it says "Intermediate" level; I've never taken above Advanced Beginner, and I haven't been in one of those classes in a couple of years.

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In other news...

The knot in my right thigh is all but gone, and the spot is only slightly tender when palpated. However, the bruise has developed colorfully:

My back is pretty well recovered, so with an abundance of caution I went to class Sunday, that being the easier of the two weekend classes. Neither my back nor leg caused any real difficulty. In fact, I was pretty happy with the state of my turns and got some positive words from the instructor.

Tuesday rolled around again, as it does every week, and I braved the unusually cold weather to go to class yet again. The instructor commented that she had been feeling a bit lethargic in the late afternoon, so she'd treated herself to an extra glass of green tea. By the time class started she was wired on the extra caffeine. This always makes for an amusing class.

I am definitely noticing that I'm feeling more confident with my dancing. Our first centre exercise involved pirouettes en dedans, which I've always found challenging. For the first time I found myself wondering if I could manage a double, though I didn't try it. The pirouettes en dehor I think I could have done doubles, at least early in the class before I got tired. Again I didn't try, but that's because I need to focus on proper form (working foot position, for example) and consistency before I try for anything showy. I see a few other classmates doing sloppy doubles while struggling with other basic steps. I think a well-executed single is a better goal than a sloppy double.