Double pirouettes

 Since returning to the ballet studios last summer I've been taking as many as 4 classes a week from three or four different instructors. Each instructor has their own specific thing they seem to focus on: one can spot a bent knee under sweatpants from across the room; another is laser-focused on core alignment, etc. Between them, I get lots of good corrections. Some of them seemingly tiny, but never without good reason.

Mid fall I started to notice a significant improvement in my balance, likely related to how often I'm taking classes now. On rare occasions I found I could sustain passe releve seemingly indefinitely. Then "rarely" became "occasionally", and then more frequently. This paid off in more consistent pirouettes. Although some of my classmates seem to prefer sloppy double pirouettes, I've been concentrating on clean singles (with varying success).

Last week, while marking a centre routine that included a pirouette en dedans, I found myself over-rotating. Just for fun, I decided to see how far around I'd get. To my surprise, I completed a fairly decent double. I'd never even attempted a double pirouette en dedans before, let alone completed one.

Monday, before we started the pirouette combination, I decided to try a double pirouette en dehors. I tried four or five and landed most of them, which really surprised me. After class the instructor commented that she'd noticed them and thought they were a good start. :-)

Of course, Wednesday I had trouble landing clean singles, let alone attempt a double. *sigh*

Something unexpected

I've often said that adult ballet students fall into one of two categories: those who are looking to improve, and those who just want to dance. I'm definitely in the first category, and I make sure to let my instructors know that I'm here for the corrections.

After receiving some subtle tweaks in body positioning during barre, I found myself having a good balance day. Later, during a centre exercise involving a mixture of pirouettes, I realized I was putting too much energy into the turns and that was causing me to rotate further than the single turn called for. Just for fun, I let an en dedans turn continue and landed a fairly clean double. I've never even tried a double en dedans pirouette before!

Naturally, I couldn't do it a second time. Trying it on the other side didn't work either, nor did attempts at double en dehor pirouettes. But, as one of my instructors observed, the first time something like this happens it's a miracle. But then the miracle happens again. And then it happens more frequently. Eventually it becomes something you try to perfect, rather than it being a miracle.

Three Weeks 'til Showtime!

I haven't been onstage in a production since my college days, some 40 years ago. But in three short weeks I'll be opening Act 2 in a locally-choreographed ballet of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in the role of Peter Quince, the leader of the actors troupe.

The Audition

Today, I auditioned for a supporting role in a ballet production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

I haven't auditioned for any sort of theatrical production in over 40 years, and never one that involved dancing. It's an odd feeling. In class, the instructor is watching to provide corrections. In an audition, you're being evaluated for suitability for a performance; basically a job interview.

Injured!

For the last couple of months I've been taking three and sometimes four ballet classes every week, aside from holiday interruptions. I've been doing pretty well, with satisfying but irregular progress. Until a couple of weeks ago.

I'd come home from my Wednesday class, eaten dinner, and was relaxing in my recliner chair while watching TV. Suddenly there was a snap and a momentary stab of pain near my right hip. Not in the joint itself, but in the upper front of the lilac crest (hip bone)

Fearing I'd done something really bad, I eased myself out of the chair and carefully checked that I could support my weight on that hip without instability or serious pain. Then I gently checked range of motion. Finally I took a few steps. Nothing really hurt, but the area was sore, like I'd strained a muscle.

Courtesy Wikimedia

Although as a former EMT I'm pretty familiar with skeletal bones, I'm not an expert on muscles. Fortunately I know someone who is, and she suggested I might have strained the tensor  fascia latae (see pic). That seems to attach in the spot that hurt, as does sartorius.

Frankly, I find it pretty embarrassing to have injured myself relaxing in a recliner. 

I read some informative articles on such injuries, which all recommended starting with rest, ice (or heat, depending), and an anti-inflammatory (NSAID). I canceled my next scheduled class reservation, giving myself three full days off, and took care not to do anything that might worsen the situation. It was a bit sore when I walked for the first day or two, but that seemed to subside by the third day.

Four days after this event I went to my regular Sunday class, ready to stop if anything felt wrong. I was careful to warm up gently and slowly before class, and the class itself was uneventful. There was a bit of lingering soreness in that hip, but nothing unusual.

My next scheduled class was the following day, Monday. I notified the instructor of the situation (saying this was "don't pick on Reece day") and warning her that I might need to quit class unexpectedly. She, of course, told me to do what I needed to do to take care of myself. Pre-class warm-up seemed fine, but about half way through barre the side of my hip began to ache. I picked up my stuff, and with a bow to the instructor I left. The ache went away, and I decided my hip just wasn't ready yet.

Two days later I gave it another try. Again, I warned the instructor that I might have to leave, but this time I felt fine. The same on Friday, and again Sunday. Ah! I'm healed!

Nope! Monday came and I got through the first exercise in centre before I started feeling sore in the hip. Seeing no benefit to pressing my luck, I bailed out of class again. However, I felt file after the following Wednesday and Friday classes. From this I concluded that I needed the day off between classes.

This weekend I had something else to do on Sunday (yesterday), so I wasn't registered for class. I thought about going to class Saturday, but decided against it. So after two days off I was back in class today. Aside from being out of breath after the petit allegro exercise, I really had no problems with class. I felt really on balance during pirouettes, completing three single turns en dehor in rapid succession, though I was getting a bit sloppy toward the end. 

As much as I enjoy the Sunday class, I think other activities will keep me out of it for a while, and I'll probably skip the Saturday classes until my hip is fully recovered.