Dance Diary | 2nd Midweek Ballet Class

Surprise a 2nd midweek dance diary! My classes got canceled because of a massive power outage on campus leaving us no choice to cancel. So with that good news I decided to go to the 7pm ballet class. I can't go on Wednesdays or Fridays because my class usually ends at 6 and the studio I go to is an hour away from campus and 2 hours away from where I live so when I get a chance to go to a ballet class I jump for it!

I went to class in the morning and nearly died from the heat and when they canceled I rushed home to rest and get dressed. I left the house at quarter to 2 and then got there before 4. And since I had so many hours left I went up to the Cutural Center's library to do some reserch about my thesis topic. there were so many books their about the arts and I struck gold because I found a book that was exactly what I was looing for and was so happy. I stayed there until 5 and then headed towards the basement to the studios.

In my 2 hour waiting I read the book I am currently reading which was Becca Fitzatrick's Finale. I didnt fisnish it because I decided to do some strecthing. The hallways on a weekday are quieter and no kids running around and thelights were semi-off so it was dark and a little scary I do admit I was a little scared.

Now for the class, I didn't have the same classmates as I did on Saturdays but I did see only 1 familar face and we got to share a barre together. The rest of the girls were maybe a little younger and then there were some that were much older which i guess was a relief. I did feel a little nervous and shy but as soon as the cass started it melted away.

The teacher was not my regular teacher nor was it the teacher I had last tie I took class on Wednesday so I felt a little intimidated because it was another company member and if you remember the last time the company member was the teacher it was far to fast and not like I was used to. But good news, I loved her and class! It was amazing and I cannot describe how fun and how much I enjoyed the class1

So we did barre excersises and they werent those simple ones we do on Saturday lasses. This company member did some new steps and made it a little difficult but I loved the challenge and pushing myeself in my regular cass it's like the teacher treats us like we are new and do the same step that is like it is for kids. This class was just so rejuvanating and made me do things I didnt do before.

We did the standard plies and tendus but we did extras with it and we even did some arabesque excersises and she lifted my leg higher than ever and straightened my upper body and for a split second when i looked in the mirror I saw myself do an arbasque nd it looked lovely. That was my first time doing it and it ade me feel lovely. we did splits and I still can't get it but I almost do. We did some piques and more balancing and I am still practicing my balance and I cracked both my ankles good so I am giving them a rest but they didn't hurt that much after.

After barre we did center and this was one of my favorite parts in class. We did some pirouette exercises and the lead up to the actually turning and then we actually did pirouettes. And guess what, I did one flawlessly and spotted and everything. It was perfect but after that I couldn't get one anymore but i was so happy. I need to work on it but I am getting there and I can see so much improvement in my dancing then when I first started so yay for progress! We did more center work and I was doing the leaps freely and at first I was embrassed like I said but now I just go with it and smile and have fun.

Now during across the room was by far my favorite part of the class. I know I love it in the first place but we dd staeps I used to love during which made it more special. We started off ith glissade and jetes and did a round of those. The next was tenleves. i love those so much and I really gave my effort to perfect those and relly getting up and jumping high and perfecting the arms nd head. I do this move at my house and use it to transport myelf in the halls. Instead of skipping you can see me doing this step through long hllways or across my room. I love this step so much so doing it in class really made it for me. And then we did turns, first pique and then regular ones across the first corner. When she demonstarted it she made it look so effortless and so flawless. I had them before but doing them again was kind of new so I stumbled my balance but I got a good set in. So I know next time what to practice and try to get better at. For the warm down we did some middle spits and side strecthes and I am afr from laying on the floor to be flat. It was a great session and I wish I could do that class again every day.

So I know this is long and I'm sorry for ballbing on but clss just made me so happy today I had to share every detail about it. I know I shouldnt compare but she was an amzing teacher because she did steps that were the level we were at and she didnt forget to correct the students. If I see her in the hall I will defiently thank her and would tell her she defiently deserves that spot in the company because she diefinetly made my day and even if i got home left and feeling so tired I am still grateful of doing it.

I hope to see you on Saturday's dance diary! No other posts are going up this wee but I can try if I have time.

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Dance Diary | 12th Week of Ballet

Hi everyone and welcome to my 12th week of ballet class! Sorry this is a little late but my faithful laptop died Sunday night and wouldn't turn on anymore. I took it to my dad's but it couldn't be fixed. So, if you are wondering how I am writing this blog post well, I got new laptop! It is so pretty and it is hot pink! I thought I would update because it is just so lovely.

As for dance everything was fine this week. I had a morning class which wasn't all exciting but since not having an 8am college class for a while it was kind of straining and I really felt tired right before my 3pm ballet class. I've gone 3 weeks without having to go to my media class but now that I am starting again it is really taking my energy. Besides that I am pretty much fine the whole day.

In class I got the same spot as last week and we did the same exercises we did last week so not much to update with. We did get to have a few minute talk with our dance teacher to help motivate us and do some explaining which was I guess nice. Having talks like that really do help and encourage me a lot more.

The only thing we did different this week was pirouette practice. We are preparing ourselves to do some pirouettes and all I could think was finally! This is what I've been looking for! We are doing some practices to straighten ourselves even more so that is good. My only problem is my balance. I am doing badly with that and am falling to quickly. That is the number one thing I am going to work on from now on so I can see some improvements. Our teacher says by December we should have our pirouettes so yay! First we did them t the barre nd then in the center. We aren't really turning just yet just half way to familiarize. I guess I like that we are going slow and just getting into it which is great.

We didn't do any floor exercises or stretches this week which I a kind of happy about so I won't be sore all this week like last week and we didn't do across the room because we did some much barre and center doing turning exercises. Other than that, that's what we did!

Sorry this had to be a little shorter than normal but I really need to finish my thesis and I just snuck in a quick post to satisfy me. Again, see you next dance diary update!


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Dance Diary | 11th Week of Ballet

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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Dance Diary | 10th Week of Ballet

So, I didn't get to dance this week because the company had it's first show and we got to watch for free. The students all went because who will teach classes when the dance teachers are either part of the show are are working for it.

I was disappointed because I really wanted to do ballet because it feels like I haven't danced in forever. I am so waiting for our three week break from school so I could have dance 3 days a week and not spend my week waiting to dance.

I will write a review for the ballet I watched. The company restaged Giselle and was really good. I got to sell soviner programs and posters and all that fun stuff in the lobby before and after so that was fun.

I hope this Wednesday  can take a class but I doubt it because it is a holiday here so they might be closed but I am crossing my fingers they aren't. So if they are open look forward to a post this Wednesday! If not then I have some interesting blog post this week and even some cool pictures too coming out!

xo
Jackie

Dance Diary | 9th Week of Ballet

And today is my 9th week of dancing! How fast has it been? I can't really believe how time just goes by. Now what did I do this week?

I tried not letting last week get to me so I went in after my college class with my mom this time because she wanted to see me dance again I guess. She probably misses taking me to dance and still thinks I'm that little girl she always drove wearing a tutu and lugging around all those dance shoes. I hate to admit it but I missed how she sat there for hours waiting for me while I danced. It just feels so nostalgic and even though I'm just 20 she probably thinks I'm so grown up going to classes by myself now.

I did have to work a little because I had my classmate from college come by so we could work on our thesis. I thought I would have time but she came so late and I was going to be late for class. We are doing our thesis about ballet and so we had to observe the comapny class and since it was almost going to start when she arrived I was running up and down the hall with her in my ballet shoes to get the details sorted and it was just a mess but finally I had to push her to come into the studio so we could take pictures and get everything sorted and stuff like that.

The good news about all that was I got to dance a little with the company. A dream come true right? I was so excited and even though I was there for only 10 minutes so I could attend my regular class. It felt so professional and to me the best part was they had a piano guy! Yeah a real life guy playing the ballet music. I know it is such a small detail but I never had a class that had a guy play the music instead of a cassette. It was amazing and a highlight definitely.

So my expereince was that they were so trained and looked amazing. A lot of them didn't wear ballet shoes and they wore a lot of layers and they just looked so professional and just I really wanted to stay and do the class but I didn't want to disrupt. I would of put pictures but I can't because they are for my thesis and there is copyright issues so I couldn't but I do have some for my memories and to add to my scrapbook!

So after we got our pictures and videos I left to go to my regular class and another teacher took class with us but I don't really like her but I had to be at the barre with her and I was just ignoring her. She is young and has the body of a ballerina but doesn't dance there that much anymore. I won't get into why I don't like her but it was just weird having her there.

I also noticed I am not getting corrected anymore and I know that should be a good thing but the teacher is focusing on the other dancers like the ones who are majoring in dance and the ones who will be in the recital. The others like me who are there because it is a hobby aren't getting critique either. I know she should correct the others more but I would like to know if I should do anything better or have anything be done in a certain way. I am hoping it will be over when the recital is over and that will stop her favoritism. I also hope its normal when big shows are coming up but I was always in a class that was going to recital so we would all be prepped. I'll let you know next week if it is the same because if that is the case I would like to change studios if I'm not going to get any good dance training.

Well that was a long one this week! It makes up for my short ones the previous weeks! So as always see you next week!

xo  Jackie

Dance Diary | 8th Week of Ballet

And I'm here again with another Dance Diary! Well class was okay this week and I can say I've been a little sick but I am still there making it and I still took class. I noticce I was a little sore this week for some reason especially when I went on releve but I am trying not to force myself and I just want to take it easy.

I don't get to do the recital after all because I think it is supposed to be cast and I don't really fit in I guess. I don't understand the dance schools requirements and I'm a little bummed because I was so into it and was so excited but I guess it doesn't workout that way. I have been trying not to let it get me down but I still really wanted to dance on stage again. I was talking with my dad and I hate to admit I was upset because it might be my weight and I don't have that ballerina body but that is why I am there to try and lose some pounds and then work harder to get in shape. He told me stop thinking like that and not judge them right away because it might be cause I'm new and they don't want me to over do myself. I am trying to listen but I always have that thought in the back of my mind and I know therre might be some great over wieght ballerinas and that I shouldnt worry at all.

I just went home right away after class and I usually stay a while but I wasnt in the mood this week. I hope next week is better and I don't have to think and just dance because isnt dance supposed to get rid of your emtions and help you. I guess I'll just use dance to not think and just do what I love without their stupid opinion if they have one about me. I am still deciding though if after my internship if I should still dance with them if they won't treat me good. There are a few studios I could try and I might get better treatment as a dancer.

I think it's because they are a company and train company members there so they don't know how to deal with others. It is just an opinion but I hope it's true. Well I guess I'll be back again next week.

xo  Jackie

Dance Diary | 7th Week of Ballet

And here I am again with another dance diary. I didn't blog this week because I had so many things to do and my classes demanded so much of my time I couldn't spare a minute to do anything leisurely. I did treat myself though and took an hour break to watch the first episode of the 2nd season of Breaking Pointe. I miss the show and like all other dancers was so exicted for it to be picked up for another season.

Dance was good this week I guess. I mean I'm getting into routine and starting to not feel so dumb with the steps and can follow along without looking down as much. I am trying to train myself into looking straight ahead and at the mirror aswell.

I'm cutting it short this week so I hope you understand I should be doing my thesis instead of procrastinating. But this was a really fun distraction for me! 

xo  Jackie

Dance Diary | 6th Week of Ballet

So, if you didn't notice I didn't attend last Saturday's ballet class because of the storm we had. I had class in the morning and went to that and I was going to drive down to the studio but the rain was so harsh and the wind was just terrible and I knew I wouldn't be able to drive away from my campus and an hour and a half away from my house in that kind of storm so I had to miss it. I was so upset about this and really wanted to go to class. This was my first time missing it and I promised myself that no matter what I would go even if I was sick but I just couldn't drive through it and risk an accident or getting stranded in the city. I'm glad I took a class last Wednesday or I would have felt worse that I didn't take ballet that week. It was almost like a sign telling me to go to class on Wednesday.

This week though, I thought I would be a little behind and I feel like since I missed a week I would have trouble again and that my body will be sore. I did get used to it again though and it was like all the other times I did class.

We are still doing technique and improving. I am getting better in holding in my stomach and trying to remain nice and long. I think I'm doing okay and even if I'm not in class I am starting to form a habit of holding in everything and improving my posture. I felt like I slouched before but now I am slowly learning to elongate myself.

I'm not getting corrected as much like the other girls who are always getting yelled out for doing something wrong. But I did get corrected with my allonge. I always seem to flick my wrist and I was told that it is bad but I have been doing it that way ever since I was little so I need to train myself to stop flicking my wrist. I was furious with the teacher because I am not just a ballet dancer but also a tap dancer and I used to do it before to give it an effect when you dance so it is not so plain. I really had to think to stop getting my wrist to flick out when I do my routines. Other than that I am remembering to stand tall, point my toes and I am hoping with dear life that I can balance.

My big problem I seem to have is balancing when I am on my toes. I can do it but I think since I have so much weight in my that my toes are having a little hard time balancing all that weight. I can hear my ankles crack when I first go up in relleve but then I am fine and find my center. I just have to improve my balance and I will be fine.

I do have good news this week. We have a recital coming up! I thought it was going to be in December and there is one which will be a full production but this August our recital is going to be happening. They do it every quarter and so there is one in August, December and March. You cannot believe how excited I am and when I found out I was so thrilled and couldn't wait. I have something to look forward to know that is much closer. I was so excited for December and planning things but now I have a small recital to plan for. It is also an evaluation which I know I wont get promoted or anything but it is exciting. We don't have full costumes this time which is a little sad but I do get a skirt and we get to dance in the main theater which is great. I am planning on bringing my whole family because when I was in the US, it was only my mom and dad and now I can bring a whole army with me. I have an aunt who is actually considering to make me a banner and block peoples view and shout my name and give me a standing ovation before I even start. She is so sweet and is definitely my number one fan now and so is her daughter. She is two and loves to watch me perform so I can't wait for that.

Another good point is I got an I.D. Which is not a big deal but to me it was. I just kept on starring at it and as you can see it might not be fancy and made out of paper and laminated yet I love it so much. The picture is from way back in high school because that is all I had and I use that picture for pretty much anything. You'd think I would get another one done soon. I do love my drivers license picture which is rare cause you look awful but I look great in mine. I wish I could use that one instead though.

I hope you enjoyed my dance diary this week. I hope not to miss anymore but I will just have to see. And I also am so excited for recital day and I hope you guys are to since it will be my first time to perform on stage again after a long time.

xo 

Jackie

Dance Diary | Midweek Ballet Class

Yay, a special midweek dance diary! So that means I went to a ballet class but not on a Saturday. I will still go to my Saturday class though. Yesterday I posted I might be taking a ballet class because I didn't have to attend any college courses that day so that gave me an opportunity to take a class.

I left my laptop at the office at my ballet studio so I couldn't write this 'till now. So, I did my internship duties during the day and afternoon like always.

My class started at 7 PM and I stopped working around 6 to get dress and to stretch. When I got all dressed I sat in the hallways with my other classmates and stretched with them. Some of them I knew their faces from seeing them in class on Saturdays. I started talking to one and found out some much about her. She was so nice and really inspiring. She is a mother of triplets and her daughter wanted to try ballet. She used to do ballet but stopped because she couldn't afford it anymore, now that she can she dances 3x a week while her daughter dances once. She was so friendly and I liked getting to know the other ballerinas. To me it was kind of strange having older girls in my ballet class but I know it's a semi- adult class so I shouldn't really be surprised. The other girls were my age or close and some of the boys were too.

When class finally began we had a lot more students than what I was used to. All the barres were full and my normal spot was gone which I was kind of sad about but I dealt with it but you get so used to a certain spot. Some of the dancers took our class even though they just got done with the class before us. I thought our regular teacher was going to teach us because I gotten so used to her even though sometimes I was a little annoyed with her since she teaches slow and always reminds us and corrects us. But boy this class was not what I was expecting.

Our teacher was a company member and you should know that company members think you know everything like them so the class is fast paced and there is no movement being corrected. You either do the combination or figure out a way to do it. She was shouting out commands without demonstrating first and I hardly remember them anymore and I was just guessing and copying and trying to do everything all correctly at the same time. You thought I was having trouble doing it all before well this time around I was about to lose it.

I did keep up but I was trying to correct my technique and keep up with the pace. I know now not to complain about my regular teacher because it is slow after taking this fast one. But I do have to admit it was a nice change. I think I should take a couple slow classes that focus on technique and then this kind of fast paced one.

During class though she made us do releves every combination and then end in passe on demi-pointe. I can hardly keep my balance doing a regular passe so I was very unstable plus our arms were supposed to be in fifth position so that made me even more wobbly. I tried to remember what the teacher said and suck everything in and just imaging yourself being pulled up and I did and it did help a little but since I am carrying so much weight my ankles started cracking and I would go down right away. Now I know I should practice those and get my ankles to be stronger so I can don more combinations on demi-pointe.

Since I am writing this the next day. I went in again for my internship and to get my laptop back, my regular teacher was there and asked me how was class. I told her the truth and said it was fast but it was enjoyable and also I tried to follow her advice and tried to correct myself as best as I could. I was a little surprised with her answer, she said that it is one of the hardest classes on my level and she was glad I took her advice and did some correcting because that is what she wants to help me with. She also said since I took ballet before I knew most of the steps so she just wants to teach me the proper ways again instead of the actually move. That's why her class is slow and she does more corrections because she hates sloppy ballerinas and I know that would look bad. You should have seen us though we were all over the place with the company members class.

I hope to take it again though but since I have classes it might be a rare thing only if I get a break like this week. I enjoyed even though my ankles are in so much pain. If you would ask me if I would do it again I probably would. I am getting used this ballet thing and I think I will stick with it for a while. I'll still be doing my update on Saturday. It's going to be weird though because I am still a little sore and I usually wait a week in between my classes so my pains end up going away. We'll see what will happen than I guess.
xo
Jackie

Dance Diary | 4th Week of Ballet

The picture was taken after class at the main theater. I wanted a little pictorial session so I got my aunt to take a few pictures. She is not that handy with my Iphone so they didn't turn out that good but I saved a few of them. Next time I will bring my good camera and hope to get better shots of my dance outfit!

I've been counting down to ballet class all this week just because of my new stuff! I usually have been counting down to Saturday's because they are a highlight to my week but this week's was most anticipated for some reason. Partly I was excited for wearing my new dance gear but another reason was I have been practicing at home to help me a little more and to get me more flexible and such.

Class began as normal. I realized if I get in the room as soon as the other batch of dancers get out I have more time to fix my ballet shoes and get them comfortable instead of trying to redo them during class. My teacher likes to start right away so I don't have much time to prepare.

This week we did barre as usual but my teacher was very focused on making us find our center and sucking our belly buttons into our spines. I know weird and crazy! She kept on say it over and over 'till we got it. I tried my hardest to get my big stomach in as hard as I could. I wasn't really breathing through the routine because I was so focused on holding in all that I got to be tall and stretched up as possible. It was kind of hard because I can hardly keep myself up and to suck everything in was definitely a challenge.

Next she tried to make us do different barre routines than our normal ones. I am still having trouble remembering the names and what they actually do. I forgot the names but I know how to do the move. Sometimes it frustrates me because my mind is trying to remember, my stomach is being tortured to stay in and all at the same time I am tying to keep my balance and do everything. I am beginning to struggle and I know my teacher sees that and has been pointing it out more. I really am trying but some times it is frustrating. I am not as sad I was in my previous week but I am just annoyed at how I cannot do anything all at the same time plus I just started again and yet I want everything to be more difficult. I don't know if it is because it is too beginner for me or too fast paced for me to pick up on.

Throughout the class I was always called upon to point my toes. How can I point my toes when I have 50 things running in my head to get everything perfect? I do not know how I did this before. The teacher always said perfect ballerinas have beautiful feet. No they don't because they are in shoes that help them and do not look at your feet when you don;t have shoes on because they are probably not perfect as she says. It just frustrates me that I have so many things I am trying to work on and she is calling all these demands making me confused.

Another thing we did was stretches for splits. I got my splits done before but quitting and not doing anything athletic for 5 years makes you lose that flexibility. Doing those exercises made me hurt badly. I can not do what they were doing and I felt like my knee was going to give out from holding up so much weight. I did try but I could hardly take it. When we did the other side I could almost do the split but it hurt so bad and I couldn't go down anymore. We finally stretched it out and I was so realized to stand up because I can not handle it. I hope to get flexible again. Her goal for us is to get down in front splits by December but I don't think I could do it.

One thing we did different this week beside the stretching was across the room. We haven't did that since we started and I was wondering if we ever would. I would always like that back then and now it seems like not so much. We did a coupe tendu which was different from what I remember. Before I never started in B plus attitude and then the move but that is how she taught it. At first none of us got it and we looked so bad but as we kept doing it we got better.

Finally when we got to the center part of class, we put all our time into across the room which I liked instead f center. I don't really like center all that much so when we only had to do a short routine I was glad. We did a move that I used to love but I forgot the name I even forgot it in class until she demonstrated it. The only good thing about that class was I was doing good with that move and looked graceful. U also liked the way my skirt swayed and moved with that move. I must remember its name next time. After that class was pretty much over.

So I'm sorry this post sounded like a mini rant. I dint mean it to but my teacher can be a little perfect and a little strict when it comes to these things. I hope again next week;s will be better and that I can get more practice and get more a hang of everything. Hope you enjoyed this post and again 'till next week.

xo 

Jackie

Dance Diary | 3rd Week of Ballet

I did better this week! I still feel like I could do better but I wasn't so disappointed or sad when I got home. So class this week started out the same as the previous weeks. We did the same barre excersizes and added a few new moves. I forgot though how much grand plies hurt. We did more of those and my thighs were screaming by the time we were done.

This week we did focous on more strecting and trying to get our muscles flexible instead of working on technique. I'm glad because I lost my flexibility after quiting for 5 years and I have got the basic moves down so getting strected out is better for me. We did stecthes for arabeque and other leg streches to really get loose. We did some barre stretches and then some floor stretches to really get it going and make ourselves more looser than we are. I discovered I have some tension and doing this made me more looser and calmer.

We also did some jumps in the center and since we were not doing it seriously we had fun with it and I didn't notice how bad I was at landing. It was quite fun jumping and not just doing the ballet moves but to actually just let go of the stress. My teacher thought it would be fun to end the class with some jumps and to loosen our muscles from the workout we just did.

After the class I did have to wear my leg warmers because it was cold and raining out and I knew that would be so bad for my now stretched out muscles. It did feel nice and warm and I left them on even though i took my dance clothes off. They seemed to comfy to get out off. But getting home I felt horrible and so sore already and I knew in the morning I would feel so bad and it did happen. I woke up with sore muscles especially my thighs and shoulders. I was expecting this the first day after ballet but this is the third week and I am now just sore. I guess it was going to come sooner or later. I did follow on and stretch so I could be more flexible.

I might have a conflict with school! I might need to go to a class on Saturda because the professors are changing the schudule around and I might miss dance because of it. I am trying to reason with them because I am working for the ballet school also and I'm not just dancing for the company. I hope this gets sorted because I am paying a lot of money for this and I intend on not quitting ballet.

I guess this week was okay and I am looking forward to next weeks as always!

xo 

Jackie

Dance Diary | 2nd Week of Ballet

I'm back again for another dance diary update! I haven't posted much this week because this week was my first week back to college. I am now a senior and will be graduating college in less than 9 months! I am so excited about that so I can work for my country's top ballet company permentently!

Enough about that then! I worked at the company in the morning and did the stuff I always did so that was pretty much boring.

As for class. I hate to admit this but I want to be honest and say I think I did horrible this week. I mean it wasn't too advance or anything but I just seemed out of it. Last week I felt so confident and ready to be a ballerina again and now I just fell flat on my face, not literally because that would be bad and embarrassing, I just feel like I didn't do my best.

I kept forgetting about my arms when I was concentrating so hard to keep my feet straight and try to pointe my feet perfectly. I would get corrected so many times. The teacher would say, "Jackie, remember arms," and I would fix them and then I forgot to turn out my feet and she would say. "Jackie, those feet are not turned out." I felt like I was a mess.

After the barre I thought I would do better but the teacher had to ntroduce jumps and I wasnt to ready for that. I mean I am overweight as it is and when I jump and try to land gracefully I make a huge thump and would be embarrsed because I am the biggest one there. I tried to do the steps but I couldn't stop hearing that thump I made and the way my thighs clapped together. I know I shouldn't be ashamed because I am there to lose weight and that was my goal to be a ballerina again.

For me, I think one of my biggest problem that day was I was so happy from last week I let my confidence go and wasn't that determined. I was also worrying about my leotard and my shorts were bunching up on me. Lesson learned that I need a new leotard and a ballet skirt or something I feel confident in. My ballet shoes were a little off that session too and I had to readjust them several times. I should make sure they fit better for next week. 

I can't let this class day let me down or else I know I won't go back and I know I can easily convince myself to do something or not do it. I should take my own advice and just suck it up. There will be better days and I might have another worse one but I cannot let that stop me. I wish I could of said this to myself when I was in class but I was so focused on trying to remember everything and just do better.

Did anyone feel this when they had a bad day at dance. My teacher didn't say anything bad but I am beating myself up over nothing. I hope next week I am better and really go in there with a smile and be as confident as possible. This is why I put off writing this blog post. Now that I have I feel better and I know I can do better and improve for next week.

Also that is a picture of me! I thought I would take one and look at it and say I am a ballerina again. I need to work on it more but looking at that picture just makes me happy seeing I can improve and do better.

xo

Jackie