"Words, words, words."

This has been my most challenging quarter at Ohio State since I started last year. I came back to school with an injury that had kept me out of commission for the month before classes began. My ankle injury and the guarded walk I had been limping with rendered my left knee unable to track over my foot and my leg significantly weaker than any other period of time in my brief dancing career. My ankle/foot is still only working at around 50% strength and participating in class is nerve-wracking because I feel as if I'm one misstep away from re-injuring my foot again. This leads to non-committal exercises at the bar and meager efforts across the floor. I've been feeling like my attempts at protecting my body are causing a general malaise to crawl upon my ballet technique. I've been experimenting with ways to address this because it effects not only ballet but every single class I have and recently a new idea has been bubbling up.

Locking.

The only form of dance that is somewhat natural for me is the "hip-hop" vernacular. I often dance to dubstep and hip-hop music on the weekends and in my apartment because I enjoy it and can freestyle my way through the music, but I've been experimenting with "locking" technique recently and it has re-informed my body of what stability actually means. With locking, you isolate and sequentially move parts of your body and the key to executing movement is an almost unreal capacity for tension in the core and legs. I had forgotten how much strength I was actually capable of until I was practicing locking on Thursday night after ballet and had a moment of mind-blowing realization of what stability truly was.

I'm looking forward to applying my newfound insights in class and hope that the changes will be significantly positive.

-B

Post from Taylor Craver: Dancing in my Head

Friends and family are constantly telling me that I am always moving, and I can never sit still. I know this. Whenever a song comes on it is my natural reaction, as it is any other dancers, to move ever so slightly to feel the rhythm of the music. If I can’t fall asleep I lie in bed just envisioning different movement to songs that I like or that are even just stuck in my head. Sometimes the dancing in my head comes out through my body no matter where I am. The other day I was studying in the library and Cobra Starship started playing on iTunes and without thinking I started dancing, when I quickly realized I was in a library and that probably isn’t the most appropriate place for me to be dancing.

That made me wonder is there a right place to dance? Obviously we are supposed to dance in class and always put full effort into classwork because that same work is displayed when we are on-stage. However, I feel that some of my best dancing occurs when I am behind closed doors, either by myself or even when I am just having fun with friends. I would like to try and change this. I don’t want my best dancing to be in my head or behind closed doors, I want my best dancing to be in class. I feel that because I am focusing on so many different things I forget to move. I forget to use my head and my upper body to truly dance my movements at barre, center and across the floor. 

Post from Tyisha Nedd: "Honesty Zone"

 This quarter has been a whirlwind of emotion for me. Last year Courtney would say "ah! Tyisha your improving soo much, but don't get discouraged when you reach the point where you feel like your not improving." I've reached that point...   The midterm grade was a frustrating yet eye opening experience. Frustrated in the sense that I felt like I had been putting forth a lot of effort but with no return. However, the same day I started to feel a new sense accomplishment and work that I hadn't yet felt this quarter or ever... and  I came to the realization that I had not been engaging my rotatators to their maximum .   What! I have more rotation! Scooore! I was also reminded of the constant need to multitask in ballet. I think many times my peers and I get caught up on working on one thing that we neglect other things.

Ballet bleargh

I must admit I was a little daunted by being given the task of blogging about ballet without a prompt. I mean, where do I even begin? Ballet, to me is beautiful and noble in the discipline it has to do in the proper aesthetic. Although, for my body, it's hard to adapt to strains that ballet pushes on it. I used to wish that I had started younger so that dance and more specifically ballet, wouldn't be so frustratingly hard for me at this point in my life. However, I've come to the realization that if I had started dance younger I would have different aesthetic while dancing , and I essentially wouldn't dance like "me". I would also probably find ballet less challenging, which would most likely result in a loss of interest. You always want what you can't have. It's best that ballet be a challenge, an ongoing thing I have to work on.

Let's Go, Body!.. Come ON! I ain't even playin'!

This year, which is my last year at OSU, is dedicated to reworking my body. My body has a history and while a lot of it is good, there is a need for versatility that needs to be met head on. In my composition classes, I am focusing on how I can choreograph various themes and elements. In my contemporary class, I am working on becoming more grounded and kinesthetically internal. However, in ballet, my focus is being placed on a skeletal-muscular plane. I have recently found a place that is closer to correct alignment and muscle use, so I am trying to push the envelope and really create new muscle memory. This is extremely difficult because my body doesn't have its old crutches to fall back on. My balance is a little wobbly, my turns have been reduced to singles, and my confidence is draining. However, I know that this struggle needs to occur in order for me to move one step closer to a friendship with ballet. I love the term "graceful strain", but let's be real... Ballet is an unforgiving beast. It shows you where you are weak and keeps poking that spot with a hot fireplace poker. Ending on a good note though, ever since I have been working with this new musculoskeletal process, I find myself sweating and hurting (the good way) a lot more in class!

Dance Is My Career

Say this title out loud to yourself. If you had the same reaction I did, don't worry the initial impact will wear off eventually. One of my mentors said this and it gave me a much needed wake up call. Being a dance major, we are going to college to dance. Eventually we will leave this bubble of "Academia" and will be off in the real world with the hopes that what we learned here will help us prosper and truly become the influential artists we all hope to be. So what are we doing in our technique and other classes that are helping us get there? Like Jessica said in class the other week and what many teachers have told us before, its not what we're doing while our teachers are watching but what we are doing when they aren't. Do you relax your turnout and lower your leg or still give everything you have and continue pushing yourself like you were the only one doing to combination and everyone else was watching? My midterm assessment helped me realize what i'm not working hard enough at. Since I got this information I have really thought about my work ethic and realized I could always be doing more. If I leave barre and am not sweating bullets then I clearly didn't work hard enough. To truly perfect my art I always need to constantly have my "Party of Past Ballet teachers" yelling in my ear all the corrections of my technique and really pushing myself to apply them. Much easier said than done, but still something that all dancers should really strive for if they want to be successful later on in life. It also comes down to consistency. Sure you can try really hard at combinations and parts of class that you enjoy but when you get to that one step that you really struggle with or just plain don't like you have two options, 1. just get by and do the combination but not invest that much effort or 2. try harder than the combinations you do enjoy in order to improve your technique. If you chose the first option, finding a professional career in dance is probably going to be a struggle, but if you chose the second option your technique will put you farther ahead than those that chose option 1. Its a constant internal struggle, but with enough self discipline, determination, and passion for what we do, anything is possible. Eventually when we are in our first professional audition for a company or show will you think back and wish you had chosen option 2 or know that because you pushed yourself to improve and succeed that you can lay everything you have on the floor and not have any regrets?

Ballet Musings

I want to take this opportunity to talk about what ballet means to me. This might come off as a "stream of consciousness" type thing.

Lately, I have only wanted to goto my ballet classes, thats why I'm taking it 5 days a week. My modern classes haven't been grabbing my attention the way classes ballet have. I find that the stronger I become in ballet, the stronger I become in all of the other dance forms that I do. Even on the days when I can't seem to do anything right in class, I would still rather be there than anywhere else.

Often, I wish my mother has introduced me to ballet much sooner. There is nothing I would love more than to be dancing at ABT or Alvin Ailey and had I had ballet much sooner, I think I would have been a cinch to get in.

I love the way ballet looks on my body, especially contemporary ballet. I wish we could do more contemporary ballet combinations in class. That's where I find alot of my connectivity to movement.

Freedom!

I would also like to take this free topic blog to discuss the ways in which I feel my body working differently in my classes this year. I think that every dancer finds a certain teacher, or multiple teachers if they're lucky enough, that they "click" with at some point in their education. I believe that I have found that harmony in my technique classes this quarter. Jessica and Susan give me corrections that make sense both mentally and physically in my body. Their use of image, personalized attention, and encouragement have been so motivational and beneficial for me as a dancer. I am getting new corrections, such as the lack of engagement in my hamstrings because of the hyperextension of my knees, and the length behind my neck, that have really changed the way I work in class. Both professors also stress the benefits in just going for it, even if you fall over, because it will teach you more about your body than staying safe. I have always been terrified to fall over and make mistakes, even in my everyday technique classes, so this idea has pushed me to take more risks and be more confident when trying more challenging combinations.

Overall, I am truly enjoying the atmosphere and working environment that I have experienced so far this quarter. I am a little sad to say that it is halfway over! :( If I feel vast differences at week 6, I cannot wait to see how I feel at the end of week 11.

Dancing

Ballet for me is such a passion. Ever since I first started to dance my senior of high school I had wanted to learn ballet and learn how to move with such grace and precise power. Since coming to OSU I had time to dedicate to the art form and to teach my body and mind how to become a ballet dancer but I feel as though I have come to a plateau in my dancing. Last year ballet was almost brand new to me and I was absorbing everything like a sponge. This year I feel like I am not learning as much. I feel like what I have to do now is truly start to focus on the little muscle and alignment suggestions that we get from every ballet teacher. I feel like that my days of just learning the dance combo and learning how to turn out my legs are beyond me. I need to start focusing on the more subtle corrections like staying up on my standing leg, using my inner thigh more often, keeping turn out in the middle, etc. I have never been so frustrated, yet passionate about anything in my life.

A wise dance professor once told me "It's kind of a metaphor for life.... relationships... when to hold on, when to let go..."

Ballet and I have an interesting relationship. Most of the time I love it and respect it, but lately I’ve been feeling a bit betrayed by it. I feel like the harder I work, the more it pushes me away…. perhaps it knows that I secretly favor modern, or does it just love the chase?

I have been taking double ballet this quarter, and I for a while I could really feel the changes in my body. I was better aligned and proper muscle memory was starting to set in, but then something changed. It may be that I am just over thinking things, or that I have hit a dreaded plateau, but classes have been a real struggle lately. I am trying to engage the correct muscles, and pull up, and look out, but stay grounded and rotated and then I still fall over. Just a couple weeks ago during adagio I felt very on my leg, I was confident in my work and loving this new found sense of stability, now I feel like I am doing adagio on a sailboat! It is discouraging and frustrating. I want to work through it and figure it out, but instead I find myself getting mad at my body and confused with what went wrong. I tell myself to think "up and out" but then I splay my ribs, or focus on standing leg rotation and gesturing leg looses it. What is wrong with me? Where did all that work go?

Overall, I know I am still getting strong and learning so much, but it is hard to work towards a goal and not always have something to show for all the effort I have put in. It is also such a subjective field we are getting graded in. Everyone has a different aesthetic and a slightly different view of “good” or “right.” One of my biggest challenges right now, aside from working on improving this never ending battle with ballet technique, is figuring out what my personal goals are in dance and my individual aesthetic. What do I need to do to improve my own work and become the best possible dancer I can be? Luckily for me, I am in the perfect place for that; I am surrounded by supportive and incredibly talented people, who can offer up a wealth of knowledge. Even when I’m feeling down on myself though, I try to remind myself that I get to wake up every morning and do what I love. Every relationship worth having is worth fighting for.

Yet ANOTHER Radio and Juliet Post

This past Thursday, October 27, 2011, fellow sophomore dance majors and I made a trip downtown to the Palace Theatre to see Ballet Maribor's performance of Radio and Juliet. At first, I was not sure what to expect, for I had not heard much about this production nor had I heard anything about this particular ballet company, Ballet Maribor, for that matter. Mostly, I was unsure of how this ballet company could successfully use songs by RadioHead, modern day strange and sometimes morbid music, while portraying the essence of the romantic tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, a seemingly ancient playwright. By the end of the show though I found myself sad that the performance was over and shouting "encore" to the dancers on stage, it was wonderful!

The show started off with a very interesting video clip of a woman; this video clip continued to play at other parts later on in the performance. All together the cast consisted of six men and one woman--a choice made to portray the idea of a woman in a man's world, said a Ballet Maribor representative in a Q&A session we attended afterward. All of the dancers seemed to be trained in the classical ballet technique. Through this obvious classical ballet training, I really enjoyed Ballet Maribor's contemporary twist they added to their production. I found this choice to be much more easily relatable and more appropriately paired with the dark and peculiar RadioHead music and storyline. Overall, I really enjoyed this company's interpretation of Romeo and Juliet. Although it was a very minimalistic interpretation, at times I was unable to follow the romantic tragedy's plot, I enjoyed the very modern day mechanics of the show, from costuming, to props, to videography, choreography, and of course the choice of music.

One thing that I found very interesting is that I noticed myself paying more and more attention to the performers' alignment, especially pelvic placement. Because I would say that my pelvis is the number one item I should be focusing on correcting, I've taken notice to the mechanics and sensibility of the pelvises of others (as strange as that sounds). Although the performer's pelvis always seemed to be properly aligned as a classical ballet dancer, it was also interesting to see much of the movement was driven by the pelvis, two ideas I don't usually pair together. Now I realize that both are possible, I just need more practice!

Oh Baryshnikov..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5AP33ygcKY&feature=related

Yesterday I decided to search Baryshnikov videos on youtube, partially to obsess over how incredible he is as well as to see exactly what he does while dancing and training to make himself into a beautiful dancer. I stumbled upon this video and had my thoughts trail back to class when we were told by Jess to, "dance the best you can, THE FIRST TIME." It is clear that his training was rigorous, but his dedication in and out of rehearsal is what sets him apart from many. In this video he is wearing weights to train his muscles, and he is moving with elegance but uses his strength and power throughout different combinations.

I have learned already this year, that the energy required in ballet class is much greater than any other class. The only way to tackle a combination or a certain concept, is to push the body to work to its fullest potential at all times. This is the only way we can truly create balon, and defy gravity as we move. Baryshnikov's warm up video shows me that training is done for yourself. If you want to achieve great heights in a dance career, the effort you put in parallels the effort that comes out of it.

50% Mental, 50% Physical

Ballet II with Jessica Zeller has made me truly realize how much mental work I need to do while in my technique classes. Obviously, I’ve always used my brain in class as well as my body, but this year I’ve had a different thinking process. My dancing has changed tremendously. Of course, your physical ability is very important, but the way you think during class will have an impact on what your body will do. Your body has to be present in class, as well as your mind. There are many things to be thinking about in ballet class including advice your instructor gives to you, learning the logistics of new exercises, and self-correcting your personal mistakes etc. Also your mind determines what limit you will push yourself to. By mentally pushing yourself you can physically make it through a rough exercise, when your calves are on fire and you are drenched in sweat. Positive and analytical thinking can have a huge impact on your success with ballet. Making your ballet experience better in mind, body, and soul.

Too much to think about

I know that during class, especially ballet, that I need to think of a lot of different things at once. For example just at bar with the plie combo I have to constantly remind myself to turnout from my inner thighs, keep my shoulders down, widen my back and try not to hyperextend my knees. At times I think that I should just focus at two or three things at a time, but then I get corrected for the one thing I'm not thinking about. Then I change my list of things I'm going to think about and get corrected again. I know that my dancing is improving, but I feel like some days are two steps back from the day before. I feel more confident about correcting most of my habbits at the bar than in center. I try my hardest to keep turning out with my inner thighs but then I feel my balance is off and then my inner thighs stop ingaging. After getting my ballet midterm notes I got a pretty good idea of the big problems I should work on for the rest of this quarter and perhaps the rest of my life.

Radio and Juliet

Well I guess I am going to jump on the Radio and Juliet bandwagon. It was, without a doubt, one of the best shows I have ever seen. It contained all of the elements necessary to make a great dance show. The progression of the story was present, but in a much more abstract way then I am used to seeing with Romeo and Juliet, and it was very interesting to be able to interpret which dancer was which character, how exactly the story was progressing, and what each symbol meant. There was a lemon used as a prop, which was very interesting, and could be interpreted in many different ways, and I liked the ambiguity of it. Another aspect of the performance that added to the story was the use of the projections. The first projection used showed the ending of the story, and from there the rest of the story seemed to be told as a look back at what had happened, which gave the dance and story a new twist. I was also amazed at how well the music matched the dance and how it gave new meaning to the story.

Although all these aspects gave the dance a new perspective, the part that made it stand out in my mind was the dancing itself. It was great how precise the dancers were with their movement. The muscularity of the dancers' movement was really amazing and the movement appeared very strong because of it. This made me think about how we have been talking about using our muscles correctly in class and in the dance it really showed how important it is to be constantly thinking about engaging muscles. It was clear that the dancers were always using their muscles in their rotation, extension, and generally all of their movements. They were so committed to the movement and the performance that their confidence really helped make the dance such a success.

Lately I have struggling with putting all of my energy into my dance in class. I find myself putting a lot of thought into each movement, but somewhere between all of that thought and its execution seems to be a disconnect. I truly appreciate this class and the way it makes me want to dance to my fullest potential all the time, not just in ballet. Therefore, my goal for the last half of the quarter is to find a way to constantly push myself to dance full out at all times in all of my classes.

Hurts So Good

You know those things you do to yourself that are painful, but make you feel better afterwards? Maybe not so much painful, but uncomfortable? Like getting pressure point massage therapy, where it feels like the masseuse's hands are knifes, but once you get off the table it's like you've been transported into a new body. Or like cracking our necks, backs, hips, toes, everything, anything, just to get a little bit of pain relief. The good pain, that's the stuff I'm talking about. Welcome to Ballet II with Jessica Zeller. I don't think I've ever worked harder in my life. That frappe combination...are you kidding me Jessica? You're killing me. I love it. I work so hard in this class that my entire body is literally aching in every combination, my muscles are actually screaming, and I'm dripping sweat like an overweight man in a sauna. But it all feels so good. After class each day I feel rejuvenated, more awake, and happier.

When I think back to my old studio and my former teachers, I wonder if I had been lazy compared to today. Would I be better now if I had worked this hard then? Of course I would be. Maybe I needed other teachers using different analogies, and awesome Michael freaking Wall on piano and whatever the hell else he's playing to get myself in gear. (Shout out to all you amazing musicians- it's a blessing to have you all in class.) I know how hard I'm capable of working now, because Jessica pushed me there. That's something that will stick with me for the rest of my dancing career.

I love that in class Jessica tells us to go farther than we think we can, to keep reaching for that something extra. I've found this to be especially helpful, and it's something that I think about a lot now even in other technique classes. Whenever she says it, it reminds me of a quote that I like to refer to on the days where I feel defeated, or feel like I can't try any harder:

"Much good work is lost for the lack of a little more." -Edward H. Harriman

Thanks for kicking me in the ass Jessica, I needed it.

Another Radio and Juliet Post

While I hate to be the third person to comment on this performance, I thought it was so inspiring that I have to talk about it. I, like Liz, have not had the opportunity to see many ballets, and this one was very different than any I have ever seen. Although it was contemporary ballet, it was clear how much classical ballet training these dancers had.

One of the things I found so inspiring about this performance was how strong the female dancer was. Whenever you see a ballerina depicted, they are always beautiful and graceful, and insanely thin and frail. This ballerina was so strong, and every movement was done with strength. This made me think about what we talk about every ballet class, about all of the muscles that we are engaging and strengthening. Previous to coming to ohio state, i really didn't think about this-- it wasn't something my teachers talked about. We learned the steps, and the artistry, and were told to "pull up," but never discussed at length what this actually means. The fact that I have taken ballet for over ten years and am just now figuring out how to engage my hamstrings is not good. Watching this dancer has shown me just how strong ballet dancers are when they are working correctly, and has inspired me to work that much harder in my dance classes, as well as in strengthening outside of class.

I Just Wanna Dance

I think one of the most frustrating battles I constantly seem to fight in ballet class, aside from those of alignment, extension, flow, port de bras, and every other number of issues, is the battle of "performance" versus "just going through the steps." I feel like a huge hurdle, especially for me, comes in translating all the ideas we always have to be thinking about, embodying them, and then actually "dancing" through the movement.

I think on one hand, this idea is sort of related to that of putting flow in movement. On the other hand, I don't think flow of movement is the kicker in dance. I think the performative aspect might come from that flow, in addition to the total commitment to the movement, as well as breath, a connection to the music, and some sort of outward emotional quality (not melodramatic acting, just some sort of indication that there is a soul in that body). I believe all these qualities are part of ballet; they're part of "dance."

So why is it so difficult to "dance" in ballet class, when I feel like I can do it much more easily in modern class? Why do I just try to hit each position, shaking and trembling, hold it for as long as need be, and then move to the next one thinking, "I'm dying, I'm dying"? Why do I just stop breathing?

The reason I think this might be a key issue to figure out is because I wonder if maybe trying to "dance" in ballet class might actually help the positions come. Maybe I'll embody the movement more, and get the flow down. Maybe those other concepts, like alignment and extension might come more naturally. I feel like this is an issue for many of us in ballet class (though I definitely can't speak for anyone else). I think sometimes there's an unconscious distinction between "ballet" and "dance" that some of us tend to make, failing to realize that ballet is dance, and can possibly be treated so: not as some kind of inaccessible entity above us, but another form of technique we are trying to put in our bodies and master the best we can in order to take what we need and want from it for our dancing selves.

I would like to end with a very short and simple quote from "Friends," just because this thinking brought it screaming into my mind: "You dance a dance class." That is all.

Radio and Juliet

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to see Ballet Maribor's Radio and Juliet at the Palace theatre downtown and it was absolutely stunning. I will admit I haven't seen that many professional ballet performances but this was certainly one of the most unique that I have experienced (along with Les Trockaderos). The cast consisted of one fabulous female dancer playing Juliet of course and six beastly male dancers. The story itself was really interesting because it was so interpretive and unlike the original play that so many people are familiar with. As the title suggests, the music was entirely Radiohead songs which I really enjoyed. There were gorgeous projections and symbolism from the costumes and props like the lemon which could have been interpreted as the poison or just bitterness itself within the story. I found the choreography in the contemporary ballet by Edward Clug to be truly inspiring. The angles, quick isolations and incredible technical demand was inspiring to me as an audience member and a dancer. My only complaint was that at around 45 minutes in length it was far too short! Below I've posted a couple of my favorite parts. Hopefully they're not super illegal...
Anyway, after seeing wonderful shows such as Radio and Juliet I always feel compelled to push myself harder than ever in ballet or any technique class. I obviously do not have a future as a ballerina, nor do I want to have one, but I realize that it is vital to any dance career to put in ridiculous amounts of work in ballet class everyday. I love what Jessica said the other day in class about pushing your body farther than you think it can go whether or not anyone is looking. That's what shapes a successful career!
fight scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3hG1JvFVN8&feature=feedrec_grec_index

pas de deux:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uMINkADw5A&feature=related

Radio and Juliet a must see contemporary Ballet

So for this week’s blog we were given the freedom to blog about whatever we wanted! I just wanted to take the time to thank our teacher this quarter, Jessica for using this blog as a way for us to talk about ballet in a way that most of us have not in the past. I feel like I have learned a great deal just by reading my fellow classmate’s posts and responses and I also feel that I am not the only one anymore still working on principles of alignment and rotation.

But with this freedom of subject this week I would love to share with everyone a new found love of mine from Ballet Maribor, the national ballet of Slovenia. This past week they had a tour stop here in Columbus to perform one of their most famous and popular works, “Radio and Juliet.” I dragged myself to the performance, because even though I was really sick, Ballet Maribor hardly ever tours throughout the United States so there was no way I was going to miss it. It was so worth leaving my comfy warm bed. I have never enjoyed a contemporary ballet as much as I did this. The idea for it was based on using what the choreographer felt were the most crucial points of the original story of Romeo and Juliet (the ballroom/party scene, fight scene, secret marriage) and combining them with the amazing music of Radiohead. Characters were not given specific roles or titles and were able to change parts with each other so there was never just one man playing “Romeo” or “Mercutio.” I found the work to be very sensory and emotionally compelling. I had goose bumps throughout the entire performance and my eyes were completely glued to the stage and the dancer’s bodies. They moved with such strength and precision and at speeds that I could never see myself being able to perfect. One thing why I really loved this performance was their inclusion of video dance in combination with the actual live performance. I have a real interest in video dance and this is the first ballet that I have ever seen to include it. I was pleased on how cohesive each part of the piece molded together, each part from music, lighting, movement, costumes and film was a reflection on each other. I really wish that everyone from our class could have gone to see it. Its minimalism was very refreshing in comparison to other story Ballets that usually have huge scenery and over the top costuming. It reminded me how Ballet has progressed, like Modern dance to be a part of our contemporary culture.

Here are a couple clips that I think that everyone should take a look at. Both are some of my favorite parts of the piece. But of course you can find more on youtube! Happy Halloween everyone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSD7nKIVavU

Sound quality isn’t the best on this clip but I still love this duet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uMINkADw5A&feature=related

Ballet Blog Post

Since we had the freedom to blog about whatever we want I would like to blog (similar to Aimee and Daniel) about the course so far and how outside influences have helped me. The biggest issue for me that I have had to overcome is a certain confidence level that comes with ballet. I always tend to hold back because of what other people might think or who might be judging me. However, the class we are in is so uplifting and all the people are there to get better and to help you as well. I feel like no one is ever judging what someone else is doing. We are all always learning from each other. I feel it is an environment where we can all push ourselves, and if we fail at something no one will ridicule anyone else, only help make them better. It also helps knowing we have an instructor who is genuinely interested in making us better, not there to just constantly tear you down and make ballet miserable.

The music is also a definite plus to the class. I find that the way I dance or perform a combination is very conducive to the temperament of the music. If a very light and soft piece of music is played I feel like my movement will flow and connect more. If something is played with very obvious and specific beats then I find my movement more strong and powerful. I feel like Micheal always know the perfect music to play for a combination to give an extra dimension in the movement. The music combined with the atmosphere and the people around me definitely help me want to be in class everyday and want to push myself to become a better dancer.

Stress vs. Distress

Here we are, the middle of the quarter, feeling the mid-quarter fatigue. A lot of us are sore, tired, stressed, and over our heads. How can we keep this lackadaisical feeling from creeping into our technique classes, specifically ballet? It sounds easy enough to say "man up or woman up" and rise to the occasion. This is of course the only way to make progress and to grow as a dancer. Sometimes, even when you feel your worst, you have to push through and work harder. My question though is when does stress become distress? I know it's beneficial to work your muscles to the point where they are sore, building muscle memory and strength. When you are falling over, unable to even engage your muscles, and light headed from working so hard, does this "man or woman up" theory go too far? If you push too hard you could potentially hurt yourself in the long run. It's such a fine line, though, that it often gets blurred.

Of course as dancer's we are taught to push through pain. We get up each day knowing that we may be uncomfortable in our dance classes and that means we are doing it correctly. In order to get better we have to work harder. So when we feel this "distress" in our bodies we try to put on a courageous face and ignore it. How healthy is this though? Are we actually hurting our bodies, not allowing them the much needed resting time. I know as a professional dancer that you don't get to "give up" and sit down, so how do we approach this? I know that this line between stress and distress is individual to each dancer and we are our own judges, but when we are constantly being evaluated how can we still work hard without over stressing our bodies? I'm still trying to find this balance in my own body and I'm struggling with this idea of feeling my own body and finding the courage to either work through the stress or rest when I am in distress..

_Kelly