Easy Flexibility

I’ve probably posted about this in the past, but I am still intrigued by the Easy Flexibility program. Even trying out a few of the exercises I can glean from the trailers feel really good, effective, and are different from anything else I’ve seen anywhere. What the instructor says about pliability vs. flexibility makes sense, too. (AND there is a course on relieving anterior pelvic tilt.)

One thing I’ve noticed when trying splits: they scare me and I am afraid of them. I’ve never been able to do them, and my body and mind actually fear getting too close to the ground. I forget the term for it, but it’s some sort of reflex. When I am in a splits position, the muscles I want most to be flexible are the very ones contracting and restricting me from doing it. I don’t know if that’s the totality of it, but I do know that sometimes my mind is able to just let go of a little bit of fear, and incredibly, I am immediately able to go deeper into my split.

I’m not saying my body absolutely can do any sort of split- I don’t know. I hope so. I’ve gotten kinda close. But I am saying that the more I am able to relax, the stretchier I become. Props help with this, too. If I can lower myself to a yoga block and make absolutely sure it’s steady, that frees up some upper body strength, allowing me to focus a little more.

I hope my last post didn’t come across as whiny or as my trying to be a know-it-all. I absolutely know that I can’t tell anything at all about a person and their ballet experience, including amount and time of training, based on a photo or even ten. It’s more about finding it within my own self to stop comparing myself to others, stop comparing my practice to others, and to focus on and ENJOY what I DO, what I have learned, and all the fun stuff I have to look forward to. No one is making me dance. I do it solely because I want to. Comparing myself to others takes the fun out of it.

Slow vs. Fast Progress

I see these other adult ballet dancers online... some of them haven’t been taking ballet a full year, and already they are on pointe. I have mixed feelings about this- and yes, part of it is a little bit of envy! 

In my school, I’m one of the only, if not THE only, adult students (besides, of course, the 18-year olds who have been practicing for years). My school goes by grades. I’m currently in the 2nd grade (although I could have started the fall in 3rd, but I couldn’t commit twice a week right then). There’s grade 3, then an advanced grade 3, and then pointe begins sometime in grade 4. I don’t even know what the advanced grade 3 means, but I’m thinking it’s an extra year before 4. From my understanding then, I have 2 more (full) years before I can go on pointe. (And I’ve been at this ballet thing for a few years already, just not consecutively or regularly, so I can’t count it much.)

So that’s the frustrating part: I want to EARN those Capezio Contemporas I managed to get myself fitted for back when I first became obsessed with ballet! (LOL! Please don’t tell my teacher!) I want them NOW!

On the other hand, I’ve now taken classes at three other studios, and I love mine the best. I love the strict focus on doing the same barre every class, and somewhat the same center work. I love that once I can get the hang of the barre exercises again, I can let myself start moving freely into the movements, letting it flow instead of always trying (so far quite unsuccessfully) to just remember what the heck my feet and legs are supposed to be doing next- not to mention my arms that would inevitably get stuck in first or second so I could just try to get through this set of exercises. I love that I have so much time to learn technique, to practice a few moves over and over and over, almost meditatively, instead of the constant confusion of thinking about the future, what comes next, allowing myself to feel each smallest movement of my feet, toes, body.

Of course I’m aware of the fact that I have NO CLUE what kind of progression the ladies who have moved fast have made, or how much time and effort they have put into their own practice (although I do cringe when I see someone on pointe in a classroom, and their lower body looks just like mine when I try on my beloved Capezios for a few minutes a month- from my knee to my toe is barely even a straight line, and as tall as I may try to stand, my knees just won’t straighten... and their teacher is encouraging this? But again, what do I know?)

So I guess in summary, I need to stop comparing myself to others! I don’t know their situation, and right now, I’m actually very happy with mine (well, I will be as soon as the second week of January comes around!). I have a LOT of work to do. My barrework is starting to flow pretty naturally, which is very exciting (even though, as you can see below, my flexibility still has a long way to go!). But even at the gym, I’ve been putting off a lot of centerwork. How I dread sautes and echappes and anything else that requires a fast upward motion of my body with my overly heavy elephant feet leaving the ground! I’m not too worried- that will change when I’m in front of a decent mirrored wall, being told I need to get my feet off the ground- that will be plenty of encouragement to work on those! 

Ballet Movies, Shows, & Documentaries

I've recently been on a ballet documentary movie binge. I've seen A Ballerina's Tale, which... well, it's Misty Copeland- how could it not be great?

via Pinterest, from Seventeen magazine? June 29, 2015?

I didn't think there were many ballet movies, so I didn't research much further right after I saw that. Then I noticed Ballet 422 on Netflix. At first I thought it was a bit boring (since the focus was slightly more on choreography and the choreographer), but then, as I kept watching, I fell in love.

There weren't really any other ballet documentaries on Netflix (although somehow I missed Restless Creature with Wendy Whelan), which was very disappointing. Until I remembered I have the Amazon Prime membership (that you can now just pay like $10.99/month for instead of paying for a year up front), so I did a search for "ballet" on that app. WOW! There are a LOT of both ballet documentaries, and actual ballets available, just on Prime. (Note: I have no affiliation with Prime and make no money from it*.)

My next movie was Prima Ballerina (some subtitles), documenting my favorite, Svetlana Zakharova (Bolshoi Ballet), along with the amazing Ulyana Lopatkina (Mariinsky Theatre Ballet). This has thus far been one of my favorites.

Next up: Prima, featuring Larissa Ponomarenko (Boston Ballet). Larissa is a beautiful dancer, but honestly, I just wasn't feeling this movie. It's more about the non-classical direction she is taking now, trying new approaches to dance and self-expression. Believe me, I'm all for doing your own thing, but in a ballet movie or documentary, this isn't what I want to see. That, of course, is just my personal take.

Following Prima, I watched American Ballet Theatre: A History. Yes, yes, YES! I've noticed in some ballet schools, ballet history is a required class at some point. My ballet school doesn't offer this, but this documentary was a fantastic way to learn some ballet history, not just of ABT, but of American ballet history in general, along with the history of the roots of ballet itself. It includes not only modern-day videos of ballet, but also what looks like some of THE earliest videos ever made of ballet. It's great!

Then: TuTu Much. This one is about young ballerinas-to-be(?) as they dance during the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Summer School Program. It documents their heartache at being so far away from their parents for so long, knowing that if they get chosen, they may go on to live and work with the RWB long-term... or if they don't get chosen, they've missed one of their best opportunities to become a professional ballerina. I really enjoyed this movie- very heartfelt, as I wanted each of the dancers to get in, though not all could.

Finally in my ballet documentary journey thus far, I watched the far-too-short episodes of Strictly Ballet. I really wish they had made these into full-length shows. For the 10 minutes or so per episode, though, a decent amount of information and dancing is crammed into it.

Next, I'll watch The Movement, which documents dancers who have overcome struggles to get where they are today. Ballet is not the only dance shown in this, and the episodes, unfortunately, are even shorter than Strictly Ballet.

Here are some of the other documentaries on Amazon Prime:
Getting to the Nutcracker
A Life for Ballet
Sometimes I Dream I'm Flying
Backstage (Behind A Paris Ballet)
Czech Swan (about retired dancers coming back to perform!)
Oh Watson! (Sam Watson, modern and jazz choreographer)
Place
Etoiles: Dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet

And some of the ballets available on Prime:
Jewels, Balanchine
Mariinsky Ballet with Ulyana Lopatkina & Igor Zalensky
Coppelia, Patrice Bart, Opera de Paris
Sleeping Beauty, Marius Petipa, The Royal Ballet
Swan Lake, Nureyev, National Opera of Paris
Cinderella, Nureyev, National Opera of Paris
La Bayadere, Petipa, Bolshoi Theatre Moscow
along with:
Giselle, Bellini, The Pharaoh's Daughter, Debussy, Raymonda.

So yeah- if you want to get inspired, Amazon has some great nearly-free ballet movies to binge on (or watch like a normal person)!!

*at the time of this posting. Yanno... just in case 😉

Vaganova students

presumably Vaganova students

Svetlana Zakharova

Russian ballet dancer Darian Volkova (place: Komsomolskaya Metro Station, Moscow ) // photography by Kristina Makeeva (@hobopeeba Instagram)

Progress Photos

I wanted to post some progress photos so I can see how far I move along. Also: hopefully, if any of you are feeling bad about a lack of flexibility or some such, you can look at these photos and be glad you aren't this bad! :)

So here is my turnout:

And here are my "splits", as I call them in jest:

Funny, huh?

And so you can see the weird setup I have to work with in my local gym:

Who designed this?? Basically, I can see from my chest up when I am at the barre. But I'm not going to complain: at least I have barres to work with, AND as long as there's no class in there, I've usually got the room to myself.

Once my schedule meshes with another exercise room they have at the gym, I'll go there to work on center movements. No barres, but full length mirrors everywhere!

Training Plan, Post I

I've been thinking of coming up with a training plan for the gym/ballet once I start classes at the beginning of the year. Coincidentally, while searching for something else, I came across this article, "How to Design a Training Plan" (for ballet). (That link is pretty much the sole reason for this post, but enter: some personal thoughts on what I need to work on.)

Edit: Toe strengthening exercise here

Since moving back to my hometown, I've been doing GREAT with going to the gym. I've never been able to be as consistent as I have been, and I'm extremely pleased and proud of myself. I have been focusing more on strength at the gym, and that's definitely good- but this article serves as a good reminder that I really need to focus on stretching, too! I've been doing a little, but not nearly as much as I should be doing.

Another note to self: I need to wake up earlier so I can do as I was previously at the gym- doing a full workout before even starting on ballet... and then doing a full 45-60 minutes of ballet. Lately (thanks to the colder weather, much shorter days, and ergo: depression), I've been getting up later, and haven't had the time to do both, so I've pretty much only done ballet, with like 10-15 minutes of cardio (ugh). This needs to change.

Speaking of cardio, I'm already dreading ballet class jumps. I really need to work on my endurance- I recall from class that my jumps have never been high enough, and I feel like an elephant trying to get my feet off the ground. My body just feels so heavy when it comes to jumping (and I'm not talking jetes or anything fancy), and the fact that it's so cardio does not help. But: I WILL IMPROVE.

I just couldn't stay away...

...Ballet is now in my heart!

Hello, lovelies! It's been over two years since my last post. Life happened, and ballet classes became difficult, but it hasn't left my heart!

I made a move in December 2015, and while there was a ballet class option for me as an adult, it was about a 45 minute drive one-way- a tough prospect even without the inevitable depression swings! I did make it to two or three classes. They were so much different from the classes I've normally taken. There was a lot more work on different combinations, but a lot less work on proper technique. It was definitely a lot of fun- it felt far more "dance-y" than usual, but I didn't really like that I had to focus so much on remembering what I was supposed to be doing that I couldn't work on form. I did, however, learn how to do a pirouette... technically, anyway! ☺

Fast forward to summer of 2017 and we come to my being back in my hometown. I hadn't been here long before it was time to register for fall classes at my favorite school, and circumstances were that I just couldn't yet make the commitment to attend class twice a week, so I didn't enroll. What I did do was get myself a gym membership, and I'm proud to say I've been pretty regular at going to the gym! Even better: my gym offers a Barre class (yuck, I tried it)... which means... they have BARRES in the studio, attached to the walls! Guess who has added some very basic ballet to her gym routine?

Now, I don't know if they changed their website, or if I somehow missed it (more likely), but I was drooling over the school's website one day, and I happen across this statement:

Adult students who are unable to attend on a regular basis may pay for individual classes.

Say whatttt??!! I could have been taking classes all that time without worrying about whether or not I missed occasionally?

So, of course, I made it to the next available class! I'd be too behind in the grade I've graduated to, so I took the class in the same grade I'd taken two years ago. I spoke with one of the administration and paid my drop-in rate. My class was going to be in a different studio, with a different instructor. Said instructor was surprised to see an adult in her class- "You spoke to admin? And they said it was okay? Well, okay...."

I also had to deal with my young classmates (8-9 years old or so) being surprised at having such an old lady (haha) taking a class with them. That part is weird for the first class or three- it's like they're either in awe of me, or terrified of me, or both! I've forgotten a lot of the steps, but I had a general idea of what I was doing. I found some of the little girls were sort of looking to me to follow, while I was looking towards another little girl to follow! I always try to be a really good student, because I'm really grateful to be able to take classes there even though I'm the only adult in the class, and one of the only ones in the school. I count out the steps or call out the movements the way we are supposed to when I remember, even though it's sometimes just me and the teacher doing so.

The huge highlight of my first class: one of my classmates asked me where I did ballet at. I told her I just took classes at the school. Her eyes grew big and she replied, "wow! you're really good!" That was awesome :)

Anyway, at the end of that class, they handed out the schedule to the Nutcracker rehearsals and such. I don't even know if I CAN be in the Nutcracker, and even if so, it wouldn't be this year, so I am waiting until the holidays are over, and starting classes again in January! I'm SO excited!

In other news, I'm tending to an injury of some sort, so I haven't even been to the gym in a week or so. I thought it was my hamstring, but it's flaring up to my rear end, so I'm pretty sure it's my sciatic nerve. I'm taking it really easy, babying it, icing it, and I tried compression when I thought it was just my hamstring. It doesn't seem to be getting better, though, and I don't know what to do :( I read to try and stretch out a sciatic nerve flare up, so I am going to try that again, but it didn't seem to help around the time I tried compression. I have a doctor appointment later this month, so if it's not feeling better by then, I will ask for help. I so badly want this to be healed by the time class starts back up!

Last thing: OMG, Instagram! All of these wonderful beginner (and more advanced) adult ballet students posting! Honestly, it's what inspired me to start writing in this blog again. the.pointer.sisters are currently my favorite ballet students to follow- more advanced than I which is so inspiring, and they always look like they are having such fun! Anyway, I haven't posted anything yet, but I plan on doing so soon, so please follow me @luvballetluv!

Actual last thing: I was very surprised to come back to see that I had a comment on my post about MDM ballet shoes- it meant someone's read this blog! At the time I read the comment, I couldn't find a US retailer of the shoes, but since then, it looks like they are once again available in the USA. I tried using them recently at the gym, which worked a couple of times, but the floor is really dirty there sometimes. I still really love the shoe, and feel like I get more of a foot workout with them than with normal full-sole shoes, so I may invest in a pair just for practice. (Currently using Bloch 205L, which are increasingly difficult to find.)

Ending with some beautiful photos: