The Continuous Cycle of Multitasking

Ballet in my opinion is a beautiful and continuous cycle of multitasking. Even during simple exercises in ballet class my mind and body are constantly thinking and doing a million different things at once. When I think I am doing something somewhat accurately there is always another task that needs to be done. For example, I tend to hyperextend my knees in ballet. While I am concentrating fully on engaging my muscles properly in order to prevent this from occuring, I convert the issue to my arms or back being out of allignment. As frustrating as this may sound, ballet always presents a challenge to me as a dancer. The constant strive for perfection without ever reaching it intrigues me. The idea that ballet is arduous for everyone in someway is almost comforting to me as a dancer. The idea that I am not alone in my struggle gives me a positive outlook in the classroom. I hope to reach my full potential as a dancer in this class with all of you lovely dancers by my side! We can struggle together and inspire one another along the way! The continuous cycle is neverending, and that is why I think ballet is beautiful.

"Work"

In a dance class I think it is mostly internal work. It is up to the dancer to challenge him or her self in order to achieve what it is they would like to accomplish. We listen to the instructors and then do the work by translating what they tell or show us on to our own bodies. I work on remembering to keep my hamstring over my working leg, engaging my abdominals, relaxing my shoulders, working my inner thighs as well as musicality, dynamics exc. I feel that the fundamental work comes mostly at the bar and then we are challenged to apply everything to the center while working on movement, transitions, traveling and much more. Work in ballet is very different for me than in other classes. In modern or contemporary I work on finding moments of release, staying grounded, finding alignment after distorting it, moving in and out of the floor exc. However I go about the work in the same way in every class; by picking specific things to focus on for each combination so as not to become overwhelmed.

Welcome Ballet 2!

Welcome dancers! This is the first, and will most likely be the last, message that I post to our new blog, On Ballet. It is your new home for tinkering with ideas and issues related to ballet, and, since we're using a blog format, your peers and the internet community will be able to benefit from your discussions. Challenge each other, use each other as resources, and use this platform as a way to better understand both ballet and yourselves as students of ballet. Your first post, and your first comment on someone else's post, should both appear here by Monday, October 3, at 5:00 p.m. Have fun!