Working in Ballet

First, let me say that I am so excited to have a forum by which to respond and talk about ballet. I love reading other people's responses to the prompts. It brings about new things that I have never thought about and reinforces the concepts that I already know.

The work in ballet is what made me fall in love with this genre of dance. There is never a point when you have it "perfect". The work is never done. Even the best ballet dancers have things that they are constantly working to improve. I like having goals in class. Goals give me something to focus on so that I can work more efficiently and confidently. For instance, I might decided that I am using this class period to focus on my ribs and how they affect my dancing. Another class I might work on making sure I maintain my turn-out through the entire class. Or something as small as remembering to breath while dancing (which I guess isn't a small concept at all).

My word for this school year is "efficient". I want to be a more efficient mover, person, student etc. I think that idea goes hand in hand with the work one does in a ballet class. So often I get bogged down and overwhelmed by things we do in class. But once I remember to breath and calm down, I usually do much better.

The amount of work one does in a ballet class is completely up to them. For example, if I'm not getting a concept or step correct in class, I usually practice the step over and over at home. More often than not, that approach works really well and sometimes it takes a little longer for the body to pick up a concept that the mind already understands.