Hi and welcome again to my 11th week dance diary! I can't believe I have been doing this for more or less than 11 weeks! That is a lot and I will probably being saying this in the next coming weeks too so I guess time can just fly.
This week I actually got to dance unlike last week and I can tell I really missed it! It was nice getting last week off and just watching the performance of Giselle but I still wanted to dance myself. So coming in this week I promised myself I would work hard and not be so easy like I have been in the previous weeks. I wanted to make an effort and not be shy to ask and see if I am doing things correctly.
I actually did more stretching this week before class. I usually just stretch a little and then wait until class to really warm up but this makes things easier. I can really feel I am getting flexible again and thank goodness for that. I can really feel a difference in general so this makes me happy that I am getting closer to losing weight and going en pointe soon! I did a few lounges in the hall and tried touching my toes for about a minute and then repeating and it did really help.
In class, I was going for my regular spot but the teacher moved me to the front barre and right in the center so technically I was front and center in front of the mirror and thought it was so weird to be there but I think seeing myself up close like that has made me more aware of myself to correct and see what I'm doing. I usually am a few rows away from the mirror so I can't see myself that much but now I'm right there. It is a little intimidating because I am a little overweight and I can see my body much more but the leotard is my best friend and it hides everything so well and I don't feel as large and I'm thrilled about that. So as I'm there the teacher demonstrates right beside me and I get more of an up close look to see what the steps are.
I did get corrections today and since some of the major dancers weren't in class the teacher is focusing on us again. I guess since the performance is over we can go back to normal. I shouldn't be happy I got corrections right but since I know it can help me and since I haven't gotten corrections in a while I guess that is good. I did get my tendu really stretched and she really made me pointed and that made me hurt my thighs and so did the plies but I pushed and worked every muscle as much as I could. Before I held back a little because I was scared I could hurt myself but now I am getting comfortable and trusting my body more and I am testing how far I can go without hurting myself that is and I think it is working.
Barre was fine and we aren't doing the same routines every week which is good so we do various steps that we don't get tired of. I am memorizing it in my head but sometimes I cannot get my body to do it. I am starting to get everything back and my body has learned now too but sometimes my brain and body just don't want to listen and it gets frustrating because right after we do it I can do it perfectly but while we are doing it with music I just lose it. I did notice when we do it on the left side I am better and can really just perfect it but on the right it just looks blah. I hope I can fix it soon. Also I have noticed that the teacher was right and holding your core really helps my balance and this week she has referred to it as "not spilling the soup" if we keep our cores nice and strong then we can hold up and it is making a difference.
As for any injuries none so far. My ankle isn't hurting that much when I go up on releve anymore and it just cracks but it isn't like the last two weeks. I guess since I had a rest and wasn't on it that much because of school being canceled all week and me just cuddled in bed it really gave it time to heal. I can go higher in demi-pointe now that it doesn't hurt and i can hold my balance better than I did in the beginning.
After barre we did some split stretches which I needed and I can feel my splits coming back and I am so close to it! I thought I was supposed to point my toes in splits because last time I had them flexed and the teacher corrected me to always point my toes not matter what because that is the trademark of a ballerina so I can almost point my toe so it can reach the floor but she came over to flex it and that is when I felt the stretch. I knew something was wrong when I thought it was too easy and I really felt it once i got my foot stretched out. I am better in the back and I really want to practice that stretch at home now but I am still a little afraid I will hurt myself. I am just going to ease towards it. I still can't get up without using my hands and stand in an arabesque. I am heavy so I need some support but I am getting better and just using my knees to get up instead of my hands so I guess yay for improvement. The teacher doesn't say anything because I know she can't push my limits and I'm glad she doesn't.
We did some center but we don't do it that long since we spend almost the whole hour at the barre. We did a few port a bras and then we did across the room which is my favorite but we could only do one step. I wish we did turns still but we are slowly getting there I think. I hope i can do some turns soon because I really want to. The last thing we did was balanche in the center which is my favorite step and then we hold a pose. Since I have mastered it and knew it since I was little I think that is what makes it my favorite.
That is what I did in ballet. A little long and a lot of details I hope. I took notes after class so I can add them to this dance diary and I think I will be doing it so I can remember to add some more points. I hope I get to be in the December recital because we are doing Cinderella and I really want to join. I am literally counting the days. I almost forgot this week's picture is my turnout. I just got done with class and put my legwarmers on and thought I would take a picture since I haven't been posting pictures for my dance diary lately. I probably need to work on my turnout more but there it is.
I think that is enough for today. I hope you enjoy this weeks dance diary and can't wait for next weeks!
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