Disgruntled December

[Mazenderan]

Noticed no-one had started the usual monthly thread. Two moans from me. First, I seem to be horribly loose just now. Grande battement derriere was stressful and queasy because my leg just kept going up and it made my back feel weird . Turns from fourth were wobbly and disjointed because I kept losing turn out when I went from the plie to the pirouette.

 

Secondly, I caught sight of myself in the mirror . Hourglass figures do not look good doing ballet. It looked especially silly during pas de bourree couru. I have very small feet and ankles, and the tapering effect from wide hips to tiny, dinky feet looked awful.

[Sharon B]

Can't decide whether or not to continue with the pointe class I went to Saturday. It was just ok. Studio was small, dark, and had less than desirable floors ( rosin all over the place and wooden floors). Teacher was a bit too new agey for my taste, although she was somewhat hands on with corrections. Atmosphere was a bit weird, not from my being the newbie, that kind of thing doesn't bother me, but more from folks looking too perfectly clothed/made up for serious work. A real pageant princess sort of vibe was going on. Definitely not what I though it would be, little repetition of basic exercises which is what I thought a beginner adult pointe class would be. I'm not convinced that spending time and money on this class would get me farther ahead, stronger, or more confident, than an additional private lesson ( the cost of the class x 4 would = a private lesson and wouldn't take as much of my time).

 

Still mulling this over in my mind, I thought it would be a good thing, then I went to my regular classes yesterday, and took the 2nd beginner class en pointe. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the studio and teachers, but I also am realizing that I am challenged by them as well. While I know that a new perspective is good, and experiencing new teachers is also beneficial, in this case I'm not convinced it is worth it.

[Tiffany]

Mazenderan, your legs being too loose does not sound like a problem to me but I guess it could be! I get annoyed because my hips are so tight lately.

 

My moan is that we perform next weekend and my toes/bunions/lower legs are worn out (good bit of pointe work). My back is sore because a lot of our choreography includes port de bras bending from the waist, which is new for me (or this amount is new enough for me to discover unused muscles!). My other moan is that December is so busy it flies by & I wish it would slow down a little!!

[Balletlove]

Mazenderan I am afraid I cannot relate to feeling too loose... being very tight despite lots of stretching etc I cant relate and just feel totally jealous

 

Sharon B thanks for the laugh "A real pageant princess sort of vibe was going on" that was just so well put I understood exactly what you meant . I know that I have tried out a couple of "beginner" pointe classes at a couple of studios and have finally just accepted that private lessons are the way to go . I dont need exercises to teach me to push over the block at the barre (which are repeated umpteen times) and then pirouettes in the centre all in the same class !!! maybe i dont get pointe work

 

Tiffany good luck for that performance!

 

My moan is that classes have finished for the year ... some of the young ladies from our studio are at summer school this week and I am sooo jealous, would LOVE to be going to dance all day every day for a whole week... but summer school is only for the younger generation and not for the adults.

[Sharon B]

I tried to be as descriptive as i possible, I simply can't deal with "pretty" in class, meaning, everything matchy matchy, perfect makeup, no sweat, and perfect pointe shoes that hardly looked broken in. There I was in my black skirt and tights, long sleeved shirt/t-shirt over, and my pointe shoes which are finally getting broken in ( definitely not the perfect pink shoes of the other 2 ladies "en pointe." I guess if you only take 1 pointe class a week for an hour your shoes aren't going to get dirty right away. Perhaps I should try the once a week pointe method rather than my current ( 3 classes and private) and see if I get better and my shoes stay pretty and pink.....

[BlleFille]

Feeling blah

 

I know I am slowly getting better but kinda feeling what's the point lately...don't know why but I guess it's because I am goal driven and there is no goal... only personal improvement. That IS a great goal, I know that but I wish there was a way to show off how much I've learned and also I wish our teachers would give evaluations...but I feel silly asking....since I am SO an adult

 

There is also a young woman (30ish) in class who is bugging me a bit. She is very experienced (at least from an adult recreational point of view) but is a little big headed. She complains about our intermediate classes being too slow...HELLO! This is intermediate ballet class!!! She takes company class sometimes too and actually may end up in the company in a small way. She is always saying things that make me feel small. This is like the opposite of that recent post on here about an advanced dancer who was being very respectful in beginner class; dancing smaller, etc..

This dancer dances HUGE! I wouldn't care but for the fact that she complains about our speed of class all the time!

 

So what to do about my feelings of blahness...??? I need a boost/ an incentive/ some goal...help!!!!!

[Mazenderan]

Trust me, Balletlove and Tiffany, it is not as good as it sounds! My battement derriere is pulling me off my supporting leg, and it's a weird sensation in my back when the leg doesn't come to that natural 'stop'. Plus, I sort of fall apart when I try to turn from fourth. You remember push button toys? Those little wooden dolls who just collapsed when you pressed the button on the base? That's me!

 

'Pageant princess'? I thought it was cooler if your clothes and shoes looked a little beaten up?

[Redbookish]

So what to do about my feelings of blahness...??? I need a boost/ an incentive/ some goal...help!!!!!

 

I think that sometimes feeling Blaaah is par for the course. We've often compared experiences of the 'plateau' here: the times when you're plodding along, and not appearing to make particular gains or breakthroughs. That's learning too, and what seems to happen to most people is there's this period of feeling blah, and then a breakthrough to another level or depth of knowledge and facility.

 

I hope that's what it is for you!

 

As for your class mate, the only solution is ignore, ignore, ignore. She's in her journey, you're in yours. And if she dances big, fine. You know what she's doing & where she's likely to go. I'd rather dance with someone covering the ground, than taking dolly steps and never getting out of the corner, myself.

[Balletlove]

Sharon B you would so not like my pointe shoes... it has become a laughing matter at our studio at how clean my shoes seem to stay when I do more pointe work than some of my class mates... of course in part it is the frequency with which I have to replace them that doesn help with the staying clean look I have very arched feet, the type everyone thinks they want and are great for flat work but just horrible in pointe shoes which together with the long toes etc means that I break down the vamp of my shoes quickly and thus have to replace frequently. As for the matchy matchy bit... black matched black right? other than that you have to be joking, I barely have enough time to find a skirt and leo before rushing off to class let alone match them as for the make up... well I am invariably wearing makeup but that is because I have come straight from work on the weekend you wouldnt think I owned any.

 

BlleFlle I know how you are feeling, I think we all do. I have two possible suggestions:

1. Is it possible for you to do exams? there is nothing like an exam to get you moving and goal driven.

2. maybe try work on one thing (anything) and improve that, your delight at getting something to look great can help the blah feeling. I had this a while ago and decided to work on my doubles from a 4th (they were not doubles before they were bad sloppy single and a bits and just but after a couple of weeks of practicing just those every night I could routinely pull of neat clean doubles, my teacher was stunned, I was motivated again AND I had fixed something that really badly needed attention.

 

Ooooh Mazenderan, that does not sound cool at all... somehow makes you appreciate what you have even if it is very tight hamstrings/back/glutes.

[DancinMomof2]

BlleFlle I can definitely relate to how you are feeling as I find myself at that same "plateau". I continually feel like I am not improving at all, even though I know I have (compared to where I have been on this ballet journey). Sometimes I wish my teacher would offer more corrections and comments but that's just not her "teaching" personality, especially with us adults (she's great with the teens and younger kids). What I have been trying to do is to really focus on one tiny thing to work on in each class to keep myself motivated. It does help when I notice something feels better or looks cleaner, even if my teacher doesn't say anything. It could be as simple as a higher extension at the barre or a higher jump in petite allegro - it may not look much different overall but for me to notice that tiny detail I decided to focus on really helps me push through the "blahs".

 

As for my December "moan" I wish I could get my arms to cooperate with my brain, ha ha. My arms are long and my control of them is not very good (working on strengthening the muscles) so when I do something funky it looks horrible; or my arms are going in the wrong direction (probably because I was never properly taught port de bras). Ugh!

[KikiM]

DancinMomof2-- funny I was just thinking about my long gangly arms! If you have any tips for how to make them look better, please let me know! I also have sharp bony elbows so I am always trying to figure out how make my lines look rounder and them less angular.

[brie]

My moan this month has to be about the number of (minor) injuries I've had. I strained my hip flexor at the beginning of this term, and have had trouble with my ankle and knee as well. I know I'm only just getting back into my dancing,so it's going to take some time to get my strength and stamina back to the level it was when I was 18, but it's frustrating when avoidable injuries put me back even further. I find that I keep comparing myself now to my 18 year old self of 5 years ago, and it's just getting me frustrated.

[kylara7]

Ah...I also commiserate on the gangly arms and trying to work on more graceful and correct port de bras. My arms are long and my elbows are pointy and I'm trying to make my positions look more round and less angular. I think that port de bras and petit allegro get glossed over in adult ballet classes so I am trying to work on those on my own...the little basic things like transitions and timing.

 

Also still plodding along in pointe class whilst trying to find THE shoe that will fit and work with my weird feet...

[Balletlove]

I also have VERY long arms, in 5th en haut i can cross my wrists and it does not look funny or squashed ot any of those things...

 

The best help I got with my arms was from my teachers teacher who comes and fixes our arms every now and then and she pointed out certain moments particularly just in port de bras which make the movement and concentrating on those does seem to have a positive effect on the whole thing; the other thing she says is to be greedy and take up as much space as you can... I think that I tend to flop my arms in a bit because they are so long and so consciously "taking up as much space as I can" or "making the movement as wide/big" as I can really seems to improve it... interestingly I tend to find that as soon as I do this all the muscles in the back engage as well

[arciedee]

Disgruntled December, indeed. Feeling rather disgruntled lately. Probably just because I'm ready for the holiday break.

 

I love so many things about my studio, but sometimes I have a hard time being patient with the constant running banter in class. While I love to chat with people before class, after class, during stretching, I'd like to save the rest of class time for actual technique. I crave corrections, feedback (good and bad), a feeling like there is some sort of method, that someone sees the areas we need to work on and then helps us get where we need to go. Instead I feel like I'm lost amid the inside jokes trying to make progress on my technique while people carry on conversations about what they're going to eat after class. I realize that all I can do is concentrate on my own self, make the experience the best I can for me, but I've really been struggling lately. I know I'm not a kid anymore, but sometimes I wish I could be treated like one... given the attention and the focus and the progression from point A to B and then C. Sigh.