My Time in Russia

More than two months have passed since my return from Russia, but I have yet to write about this very personal journey of mine to the Mecca of ballet. Only two months have passed since my return from Russia, but now the very streets that I walked in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, are "occupied" by hundreds of thousands of Russians protesting against election fraud and general corruption. The passage of time is and will forever be a mysterious duality: A blink of an eye feels like ages ago.

It is amazing how quickly matters can change. It is amazing how two months ago, I left Russia with the impression that politics was dead, and the culture of corruption so entrenched that the belief in the people's power to effect change had been extinguished into indifference. Now, while watching the action from the sidelines, I realize this indifference, or lack of desire, was in actuality a latent desire-- asleep, but not dead.

And now suddenly, something, someone, or perhaps the spirit of the times has caused this sleeping thing to wake and rise in droves of hundreds of thousands of Russians rallying under the Kremlin walls and across the Siberian tundra. How quickly matters can change.

And yet how steadfast other aspects of life appear to be. Ballet still has a hold on me, and no matter the politics of the country, I will always look back upon my brief 12-day sojourn in Russia with fondness and romance, as a place of hospitable hosts, a fascinating and beautiful underground network of trains, and of course, a first-class experience in ballet education.

I should explain that ballet was the reason I went to Russia in the first place. My name is Angelina. I am a 27-year-old woman who discovered ballet only two years ago, but took it up with a passion and rigor that at one point bordered upon obsession (but no longer, I like to believe...) This story of my love for ballet is an ongoing one that neither begins nor ends with my journey into Russia, which is but a few measures of an ongoing tune; a single movement in an ongoing score; an adagio, say...

Monday evening, 12/5/11: 

Ballet en solitude. Watching my shadow spinning as I practice fouette turns. A walk home in the dark in the fine mist. A baby slug on the kitchen floor. An exchange of texts on my old phone. Finally, I climb up the stairs to my room and close the door.

Morning ballet on Street Delhi. 
Look out!...into the twilight sky.

-a concept of street ballet: adapt to the given surroundings; for ex: uneven ground
-today's barre: the post in front of Richard's house; the gate that encloses Supper's enclosed trash lot

Street Ballet

I gave myself my first street ballet class-- in my own neighborhood, Delhi street. Just before you walk out onto South street, there is a wheelchair access ramp with a rail; I used this railing as a barre, and...it functioned just fine as one! Facing the brick wall to do the jete combination, I heard applause. I turned around and saw a group of friends standing in the street corner watching me.

"You look beautiful! We're dancers too!"

That was so nice. Ballet has brought me so much pain lately...It's nice to experience some solidarity and positive attitudes from fellow dancers, from strangers who appreciate it and have no association with...inconsistencies, empty promises, and other not very nice things. I should not take any of this personally, and yet I cannot help it. It distresses me. It hurts me. Every time I hear the old adagio music, I am reminded of a time two years ago when ballet meant nothing but pure bliss to me, and it always plays with a tinge of sadness.

This trip to Russia which approaches so quickly will be a time of searching. What do I wish to get out of ballet? I wish to be self-sufficient; I wish to be able to train on my own, but how can anyone learn how to do this in 11 days? I will not experience some sort of magical transformation in Moscow, just because it is the mecca of ballet. It will have to begin here, in Philly, and it will have to follow wherever I happen to go. Practically speaking, I have this diary of exercises.

A choreographic class. A class worth framing in the mind.

-rond de jambe with a long, beautiful prep
-from plie to sus-sous, maintain the turnout of the backfoot
-fancy back pas de bourree: deepen plie in back tendu; step and cover space (travel)
-we leap into piles of aSymmetric objects
-a first attempt at complete recall reveals chaos in the brain: a puzzle completed, then thrown haphazardly back into the box; a method of notation must be devised to include counts

Home from work. A fedex envelope greets me at the door. It contains a visa to Russia! At last, my official pass into the Mecca of ballet!

-to close the rib cage: hug self; hang over upper shelf; stretch up by the earlobes
-swoosh! swoosh! drop the steering wheel, not your center
-from a lyrical centerpiece to 32 changements, a disjointed ending

"The Response: L, R, LRL."

-trust your instincts, but only if they are correct
-overuse of head directions leads to a misread; simplify it
-a split end

-we open with pliEs to the Kingdom of the Shades, from La Bayadère; sigh...
-blades of grass bend with the weight of dewdrops; similarly, we cambré to the side
-an exercise "for beating" begins with a beat to the back; only one royal exception to the beat back-front rule
-entrechats and royales: from compression,
-arabesque overlays

Letter

I took a break from ballet for 3 solid weeks. It gave me time to develop other aspects of my life which had been stalled because I only have so much time and energy to devote to my obsessions (I never have hobbies; I have obsessions). Upon returning to dance, I am reminded of what a gift it is, how it brought my so-so life to a level that is more like exceptional. I also am reminded of how much learning there is to do, but still it was a very good break...an innocent chat with Mary, who will be leaving for China soon, reminded me, thirdly, that to become great at something, sacrifices must be made. To follow an extraordinary path, one must give up the ordinary one. Now I sound delusional, but so be it! I have a crocheted pink Maryflower to remind me to Always Be Extraordinary.

Yours truly,

Angelina Ballerina

Bikram ballet. A medicinal class. A sweaty, tropical class. Ballerinas can sweat.

-path of movement: head --> center --> outward; ever expanding
-with arms at 2nd, push self forward into the round space
-how to get up from a chair; studying the force of resistance; we push off and stop in low arabesque, but appear to keep going forward
-jetEs deconstructed
-rib cage: Argh. Why won't it go in?

A tower of cards; a pink Maryflower; a dancing form trapped in glass; beads trapped between layers of ceramic; creativity is everywhere apparent, is in full bloom.

"There is only one 2nd arabesque."

-with the right leg back; the packaging of various directions and limbs into a single idea: the arabesque; the simple act of naming a movement facilitates understanding and retention of the combination; "développé" rather than "the left leg flicks out", for instance
-holding giant oranges: only the beginning of an idea which has to do with laundry billowing on a clothesline and segmentation
-pas de basque vs. pas de valse: a difference in accent

-how have things been? chug chug chug
-"last" means "middle"
-a standing ovation for Kip

A veritable army of dancers in the later evening class. An impressively spartan class.

Advice for grand plié adagio at center:

(1) don't look around unless the aim is to gain your neighbor's balance and equilibrium
(2) relax the back
(3) and be happy! and here we go!
-----------------------------
-the head reaches forward in the ending pose of grand assemblé; it leads the jump
-the head reaches out toward the outstretched arm in ecarté front pose
-the head reaches, as if pulled by a yearning in the direction of the arm
-----------------------------
"Out, damned spot! out, I say!"

-Macbeth. The spot has been outed.

Pas de bourrée dessus-dessous

-aka fancy grapevine
-contains 2 directions: ecarté front & ecarté back
-going from ecarté front to ecarté back: tendu'd foot steps over (dessus) then under (dessous); sur le cou-de-pied is always behind the stepping leg; adjustments made for epaulement
-going from ecarté back to ecarté front: tendu'd foot steps under (dessous) then over (dessus); sur el cou-de-pied is always in front of the stepping leg; adjustments made for epaulement

----------------
-steering wheel analogy for pirouette en dedans from 4th; hands at shoulders during turns a useful tool
-en pointe: ankles out, knees in to create longest line possible from inner thighs to heels
-let us engage even our ears; strong, defined lobes are a desirable quality in a ballerina

Why does it hurt?

Does it help to know the anatomical reason for pain?

(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) Morphine, please.
(d) Vodka, pazhalusta.

"...a position I called 'nothing', a soft bent leg, I now give it a name: attitude..."

2nd day of the AB intensive: tendu+plié; turn in towards the barre; speed up rond de jambe from 1/4s to 1/2s; fondu+arms (review arm, feet positions; importance of 1st position arms-- b/c turns go through 1st, must "memorize", balance at high arm-- 3rd position in Russ. Method); adagio (relevé long "straight lifting of the leg"); ankle/calf stretch after grand battement; at center, grand plié+side cambré adagio ending with cambré+relevé; alternating battement tendu entournant side to side (torso informed by right twist; foot goes in direction it wants to land in; finish with 1st port de bras; explain holding core in 2nd position arms); pirouette prep (balance + 1/4 turns; toe placed lightly at side of knee; arm in 1st; must spring up to demi-toe; 1st connecting move (tombé pas de bourrée; essential to fall onto bent leg to (a) preserve knee, & (b) develop power across the floor; connects); jumps from 1st & 2nd (4-4-2-2-7); echappés+arms; across the floor (tombé step step; another "tombé"); verbalize/cue everything

-a germ-free barre
-what do you think needs to happen? for glissades at a quick pace, the foot must come out for the next move as soon as the feet touch the ground; requires a double espresso
-manage space so that important moves do not disappear into the wings
-en pointe: woooah! pulling at the barre: a cautionary tail

 

...Stop!

...Stop!

...Stop!

...Стоп!

A stoppy class.

A ballet warm-up focusing on ballonE. Weight is kept on the ball of the foot even as you pliE back down. Kicking leg pulls/scoots you forward in fast ballonEs. Let the foot lead the frappE and pull the knee along forward and backward.

Birthday Plans

-wear a pretty pale peach dress
-climb on top of bike handlebars and cambrE back
-photograph a $5000 bike
-pet a cat
-strike a balletic attitude over a bike seat
-walk barefoot over a bed of fallen cherry blossom blooms
-have a birthday ballet class
-pet a dog
-proclaim that "freedom is bondage"
-eat cheez-its

"We all look good for our age...ain't that right, Margaret?" Ballet is our fountain of youth.

-Angie's Adagio <3<3<3  (not inspired by the royal wedding; counts of 2's and 7's; sums of 3's)
-failli was transferred from hips to upper back/shoulders
-spot something that you really don't want to miss...like a man running off with your purse
-Giselle's leprechaun leap
-en pointe: it is not such a great leap from demi-pointe to pointe; weight is already on the ball of the foot, though imperceptibly so; jump from both feet

A playful class.

-"I believe I can fly"; the R. Kelly Adagio
-Hotel Cosmos: $500/night if you're a gringo
-pas de poisson. Wait a minute...fish don't have legs!
-to be pliable with one's mood

-It takes great effort for things to become effortless. It takes effort both in and outside of the studio. It takes assuming the carriage and mentality of a ballerina outside of the ballet studio to reach the ideal sought inside the studio. The way to becoming a ballerina is to bring the dancer with you as you leave the studio and go out into your daily non-studio life, and in effect, make the world your studio. When you pack up your bag after class, you cannot leave her behind. She must come with you, along with our leotard and tights and toe shoes and hairnets and umbrellas and other less significant smatterings and paraphernalia.
-en pointe: ...and by the ball of your foot, he means the heel; push the heel forward as you roll up onto relevE; Andres floats away before the conclusion of the class; first, practice mechanics of a bourrEe without traveling
-С Днем Рождения, Ленин! (Happy birthday, Lenin!)

Algorithm:

-"The point of this exercise is to develop a skill."
--"That skill is to quickly and accurately throw your leg to a very specific point."
----"That point is 45 degrees."
------"45 degrees is at the level of your knee cap."

I marvel at Kip's algorithmic way of speaking. That is to say, his algorithmic way of thinking. Moreover, he has a very analytical style of imparting information (teaching). Take, for instance, his analysis of the profile:

"The chin looks directly into the elbow [if chins had eyes]; the eye looks into the wrist/wristwatch/bracelet; the middle finger falls directly in line with the nose."

As he once said, ballet is an art, but that doesn't mean that it cannot be looked at with a fine eye. My teacher, he speaks from experience.

The summer breeze sauntering in through the window screen is intoxicating. As I participate in this study of the size of attitude, facing the window into the dimness of night, the parking garage across the street at our third-story level. Reflections of the new crop of dancers are background to my own reflection, whose shoulders I try to keep square and depressed, the neck long, kept cool by the intermittent breeze.

I've come a long way since last summer, but incredibly-- or not so--, there are plenty of moments when I perform a pass or combination as clumsily, awkwardly, and naively as I would have last summer. I am reminded every day (especially during Friday morning classes!) that I am still a beginner and have much to learn before I have gained the finesse to make even my mistakes appear graceful and controlled. He introduces alternating degagEs to the dancers, and even this I find challenging to perform, though this time with the added challenges of not having a barre and having to follow the port de bras arm at that.

After class, I pick up a teaching technique from Kip: to teach people starting with what they know. Twist from the torso, then later from the feet, then later from the hips/pelvic floor, which is the true answer to the question: where does the motivation for turns come from? It is like when they first start teaching you about atoms and as the years go by, you uncover lie after lie after lie to get to the truth, but the lies were part of the journey to comprehending the truth. We learn through metaphor; by mapping the known concept to the unknown one, and this is true of concepts in any field of knowledge, whether it be ballet, chemistry, math or anything else in the learnable world.

Everything has the potential to be a deep study; it only depends on how far you allow your curiosity to go, and whether you decide it is worth the time and the effort. One wonders about limits...do they exist, and what are they for me? However, whether or not they exist, or are or are not defined, I think actions should be least motivated by limits. One should act as if the limit does not exist, just as in the studio, one should dance as if space is limitless and expansive, and one should stretch out one's limbs and project the body outward as if to embrace as much of this great space as possible.

"This is pure Vaganova. Don't blame me."

-battement divisE en quarts (rf: page 38 of the Vaganova handbook); a study of the depth of pliE to its release
-attitude, full promenade
-Cecchetti divided up the dancer's personal space with microscopic units; he was excised by Vaganova
-electromagnetic force between fingers at low, mid, and high arm
-coupE pas de bourrEe: must contain a sense of urgency in this filigree footwork; literally the muscles used to hold in the urgency; get on top of the hips; is a movement motivated by the feet, showcasing the feet; is not a sticky floor dance showcasing the knees
-piquE arabesque must be strong and assertive, not fearful, hesitant, or timid
-pirouette en dedans en attitude: torso forward, then around
-Mary's right hand is a great distraction

-ba-lan-ce-oire
-character dancing incorporated into ballet language
-a questionable ending to a combination
-Austin is very loooong; the rest of us give the impression of being long
-project yourself; I mean PROJECT YOURSELF; so much SPACE to ENCOMPASS! so much SPACE to EMBRACE! EMBRACE the SPACE!

-7, 6, 5 (3)
-7, 6, 5 (3)
-7, 6, 5 (3)
-Nail Polish Union

-it is said that an exceptional uniformity characterizes the Russian language, in spite of its expansive territory; this uniformity also exists in Russian ballet; whereas in the States, one sees all manner of style and school, in Russia, it is just one style, or method-- Russian method
-the grand battement element exists in the rond de jambe exercise as an homage to Cecchetti, the precursor to the Russian method
-in the Russian method, the head reaches back toward the outstretched toe in 2nd arabesque; Vaganova recognized the inherent circularity of the arabesque pose
-4th arabesque is only ever seen at croisE; at en face, place arms at 2nd
-when the leg is at 60 degrees en avant, 90 degrees de cotE, or 17 degrees en arriere, the pelvis easily maintains an upright stance; beyond those critical angles, work to maintain the integrity of the pelvis by pulling up (and counterpull)

Ballet marathon today. Three classes from 10am to 10pm. It's the best kind of tired.

Relish life, not hot dogs.

What is wanting now is a hot bath. I'll settle for a shower.

Morning:

Fever! in the morning! Fever all through the class, you give me fever...

-heel heel, shoulder shoulder, rub tummy, pat head, and eat ice cream all at the same time...in 5/4 time
-modern attitudes: table top; square; ninja
-deconstructing ballet into representative components F = f(x) + g(y) + h(z); failli developpE combo = knee knee + arm arm leg leg leg arm arm + shoulder shoulder +...

Evening:

-a Delibe-erate prelude to the class
-pliEs to the LakmE Flower Duet

Where else did you hear the LFD?

(a) the lesbian vampire scene in The Hunger
(b) the Canadian art house flick, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
(c) Ridley Scott's Someone to Watch Over Me
(d) Andy's prank in Shawshank Redemption, for which he got 2 weeks in the hole
(e) La Vita e Bella, the song which momentarily raised the spirits of the camp dwellers

Non-answers: (d) & (e). In general, the LFD is featured in movies to heighten the eroticism of a scene, which often involves vampires (for obvious reasons); whereas other operatic excerpts are used to signify, cause, or enhance the feelings of spiritual liberation, ie: transcendence (eg: the Belle Nuit Barcarolle in La Vita e Bella; the Duettino Sull'aria in Shawshank Redemption)

Night:

-with preparatory arms for assemblEs, do not carry a heavy pile of books; do pick up a great amount of space
-preserve integrity! the integrity of the pelvic girdle in temps liE
-jetE entournant: pull the energy back in as soon as you throw the leg out (like as a fishing reel); twist torso, foot follows; internalize the twist so that the movements appear simultaneous, not as two separate but connected actions
-most of the action is created by the feet, but I find that balance is more easily achieved if the focus is drawn away from the feet and toward the upper body: the rib cage, the carriage of the torso, the back,...

Awkward AssemblEs Anonymous:

-kick leg out, but pull energy back in immediately; like as reeling in a fish
-up! up! up!
-come to ballet class

-moonlight sonata pliEs 
-birds swoop across the Symme-tree; tires screech; coffee spill #2
-soft-STRONG, soft-STRONG is the rhythm of ballonEs
-a small series of small adagios:
of ebb and flow;
  of decision and indecision;
    of logic and illogic;
      go fast!
        but go slow

"Sorry!"

"What happened?"

"I slapped him."

-how we welcome new students to the studio

-Theme: Variations on Jeté Passé
-pas de cheval: purpose is to work on (a) the shape of the articulating foot, & (b) turnout; immediately wrap pinkie toe (heel for en dedans) around the ankle
-force of turn wants to come from the legs, rather than from the desire to turn
-the head is a weighty object; bend all the way down in forward cambré; maintain integrity of the line in back cambré
-Poses: A Prelude to Rond de Jambe
-we would like pointed toes for frappés (why?)
-at center, exercises that have been worked out in detail by many thinkers over hundreds of years; they are anything but random; it is a language to be learned
-paper planes

The feeling in today's class is of not listening to music for a very long time, and then suddenly hearing a song. So happy :@)

Maiqui
-facing the mirror
-high kneecaps (activate muscles surrounding them)
-stand on both legs on one leg; pull up to balance, rather than shifting way to the side
-her mother was her first ballet teacher
-beach ball; beach ball expanded; elbows
-P for passé
-tombé battement: drag back leg through first, into battement
-chassé: sliiiideUPsliiideUPsliiide...
-there is only straight or bent, including the foot
-a ballerina's feet are her deadly weapons; point them sharp; sound all the airports

Oh, Brother...

-Tiny Dancer captured

The wooden picture (картина) mantle has tombéd off the wall (стена); what should hang in its place?

(a) a fat mirror (зеркало)
(b) a Snellen chart
(c) knitting pattern that reads "Inside Shoulder!"
(d) the skeleton in Kip's closet

A class full of attitude. A super-reversible class. можно? да, можно.

-present, present, rond present
-a relatively calm exterior belies the inward frenetic pace
-melting rond de jambe
-flying pas de basque; aka, 'the dance-y move'
-adagio turn; turns can be fast or slow
-turns: spot up, not down; (not too high); let it grow, let it grow
-first arabesque is meant to be held and "quote un-quote 'revered'"
-давай водка let's go, vodka!; aka 'flic-flic' (à la Tsar Peter; not to be confused with the ballet move 'flic-flac')
-wasted brain cells. Too much vodka. Not enough reversing. Croisé/effacé are the constants in most reversal problems (ie: they do not change). Use them as reference points.* What is reversed is front/back & inside/outside turns.
-молодец pat on the head; hearty slap on the back; you go girl!; atta boy!; well done
-конечно of course! (not an Eastern European/Yiddish dumpling pastry stuffed with mashed potatoes and sold at hot dog stands around NYC)

*an interesting point: a reference point (ie: a constant, an anchor) is necessary in any kind of reversal, not just in a balletic one-- or else with respect to what is it reversed? "Reversed" is a relative notion, not an inherent characteristic of the reversed object.

Ballet Rosetta Stone:

-Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 (Патетическая; Pathétique) (translation: welcome back)
-adin, dva, tree, cheteeree (translation: pliE, pliE with half port de bras)
-kalena witnee, durak! (transl: Such a beautiful language...)
-и снова? (transl: encore? do it again?); not a question; upward inflection was accidental
-turns a la seconde en dedans: like arabesque turn; bring leg quickly to second/deepen pliE; high arm
-pas de ножницы (transl: pas de ciseaux)
-reverance: 360 degree turn with leg held in proximity to the ear (ideally)
-спасибо (translation: thank you for putting the lustre back into my days)
-на здоровье (translation: you're welcome; lit: to your health); indeed, ballet is for my health
-Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 (reprise): it's title, Патетическая, translates as 'pathetic' in French, English, etc., but what the composer actually meant to evoke was the meaning of 'passionate'; in both senses, a fitting word to describe just how pathetically passionate I am about ballet
---------------------------------------------
Absolute beginner class:

-concept of balancing on one foot introduced at barre
-concepts explored at Center: conception of space (strangely counted walls; charmingly counted corners); weight transfer; turning
-as dancers, we value communication

-a traveler from the Far East comes to pliE and pointe with us; she comes bearing gifts: black raiment graced with symbols of esoteric meaning...possibly 'peace'
-parking ticket trash talk
-ecartE beat assemble: pivot, then ecartE & beat; hit ecartE and beat positions in the air
-once in a blue moon, a solid triple pirouette (en dedans) comes out; a desire to trap it in a box, then release it at will
-3rd port-de-bras on relevE
-en pointe: compensate for the enlarged foot; aim to stand on the toes, no longer on demi-toe; pliE pliE soutenu, blah blah blah...talk is waste; developpEd on pointe for the first time!

-3 adagios
-unwind the shoulder after multi-pirouettes 
-the sun breaks through the clouds just before we repeat the pirouettes; what nourishment!
-cabriole: meeting of the inner thighs; upper leg kicks high to 90; lower thigh kicks up to meet upper thigh; they kiss; the upper thigh bounces higher still
-what is the height of not good? About 9 feet up the wall at the new studio; On the VCR at the old studio
-what time is it? 11:05. Plenty of time to allegro
-the count: 7 allegros (still only 7!) in the 1.5 hour class; how to fit in 20 allegros in the same time frame? time dilation comes to mind, though would require traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light. Plan B: combination condensation
-stories about Nureyev and his lover Eric Bruhn; cabrioles across a huge floor; cigs and the bottle as weights; AIDS

"These are not the counts. They are like the counts."

-shoulders over hips in grand pliEs at center
-("two groups?") x3
-can-can, chug-chug pass to Esmeralda
-jetE pass defined by arms: look, look, don't look, high arm, high arm
-failli order: hips pass through; tendu; turn
-(admirable glissade) x8
-gasp! groan...a close encounter with the mirror
-spot in the mirror; tape on the mirror
-en pointe: in piquE-piquE, raise body onto a place slightly beyond/higher than the toes

A beat-filled class. Beat assemblE. Beat ballonE. Entrechat-six.

Review of how to derive the number of beats in an entrechat:
-for even-numbered entrechats, halving the number gives the number of beats (land on both legs); eg: entrechat-quatre contains 4/2 = 2 beats (land on both legs); in general, for any entrechat-n, where n∈N, the number of beats is given by the formula n/2 (land on both legs)
-for odd-numbered entrechats, subtracting one from the number then using the above rule for even-numbered entrechats gives the number of beats (land on one leg, w/ working leg in coupE); eg: entrechat-cinq contains (5-1)/2 = 4/2 = 2 beats (land in coupE); in general, for any entrechat-n, where n∈N, the number of beats is given by the formula (n-1)/2 (land in coupE)
------------------------------------
-"Do something better than what you just did."
-for all morning classes, working our way up to 20 petit allegros in this upcoming season of sunshine, flowers, and allergies; ie: aiming to become superhuman springers this spring
-if Kip could split himself in two to count and cue each group, he would; time to build a carbon duplidifier; N.B.: nurture shapes as much as nature, so his clone may not turnout exactly identical; he might have a less than perfect turnout
-why do we look up? functionally speaking, we look up to target before we jump
-a random moment of admiration for K's philosophical approach to ballet education; through his explanations of the reasons, mechanisms, and causes/effects behind movements, I feel...that I am learning to be a philosopher of ballet rather than just a dancer with muscles trained to react


Define "ballet"

The debate about whether ballet is dying or evolving is based upon a fundamental difference in how the debaters define ballet. In genetics, it is slightly clearer when a new species arises. But how to define the point of speciation in the dance world? Does the term "ballet" evolve with the dance, or does it remain lodged in the Classical Era, the Neoclassical Era, or whatever other Era that is not now, while the dance itself continues to morph with the times?

-first 3 (out of 6) port de bras covered in the set pliE; this is Russian method
-the width of 4th position: where the heel is in tendu is where the turned out foot should be
-piquE rhythm: slow down, quick up
-why do we point our toes? To lengthen the line of our leg.
-Kip is the teacher (only he gets to tell you when your leg wants to come down)
-echapper: to escape (from 2nd to 5th to 2nd to 5th to...)
-gaze is important in ballet, therefore, refrain from watching self in mirror too directly; then again,
-watch carriage of upper torso while jumping; adjust if necessary
-unless you suffer from tunnel vision, use peripheral vision to watch feet in the mirror; looking down will not help
-why start learning turns from 5th? Because it's harder
-purple Mardi Gras beads have appeared as lamp hangings alongside the dying roses; someone's been partying!

Bournonville arms: 
-of the Danish school
-same as pirouette arms (ohhhhhh...an Argentine expression of epiphany)
-held in front of the torso, not too wide open
-in order to contain-- rather than push through and dissipate-- energy
----------------------------------
-flic-flac becomes adagio
-pas de bourrEe becomes choreographic
-coupE ballonE becomes grand allegro
-glittery backs
-en pointe: pitch forward; imagine top of legs (iliac crest) to be higher than they really are; push floor away; ribbons join the ankle to the shoe; ballet is a total re-imagining of the structure of the body and how it ought to be carried; going en pointe, even more so

-a day graced by a beautiful adagio
-allow leg to lift into attitude upon deepening of the pliE; timing is key; leg lifts body
-feed the birds; tale as old as time
-momentary jam to a jammed CD
-we've exhausted the music; syncopate the grand allegro
-one of our own has been joined in holy matrimony; the ceremony did not take place in an ancient Egyptian pyramid, much to my dismay

-the crybaby waltz; a request for more syrup; an exercise in theatrics
-who cares? do not allow thoughts of quality to detract from the turns; in preparation, knit belly button to rib cage upon pliE
-the Little Puppet dance

-academic pas de vals w/ a lingering spot; accelerando; on turning count, torso keeps traveling backward as foot kicks out
-scoop the sous-sus
-project upper torso forward 
-a newborn babe lies sleeping inside a mug

No class for 9 days now, yikes! It's always difficult when K disappears from the face of the earth. One wants to reach out, and one wants to let alone. Then also, an unsettling fear resides in me that it was all a dream, or a thing of the past.

On the other hand, each time this happens is a necessary reminder of my ultimate goal in this whole ballet journey, which is to gain complete independence from K. To not need him to do ballet, to carry it within myself-- "it" being the knowledge, the physical ability, and the wherewithal to bring myself to the barre every day and give myself class instead of having to go to K for these things. To that end, this latest disappearance has been healthy-- a healthy reminder. Still...

Timeline: A re-working of a doodle I made for K last August 2010

Ballet En Solitude

Turns through first:
-impetus for turn comes from upper back; keep it solid, upright
-relax turnout of supporting foot if it is impeding feeling of groundedness & pull-up
-keep ribs "floating"
-avoid turning so much in initial preparatory close; carry this idea to chainE turns
 -----------------------------------
-step-turns at the barre: oppositional twisting action of way inner thigh muscles (pelvic floor muscles?); lift from ribs
-turns: ground the ribs; float the ribs
-back cambrE: pull up from back/scapula, not from shoulders; depress shoulders in fact
-back attitude: pull up the U-shape formed by upper body and upper leg
-at all times, look out past myself; the theatrical gaze

-a space at the barre in honor of the fallen hero of ballet
-extreme effacE pose: avoid 'hanging head' & hanging on for dear life; do emphasize deep curve by reaching head back toward toe
-step turn en dehors, step turn en dedans at barre: relax (check!), beginning and ending steps step slightly forward (check!), stop turn with a firm foot (check!), keep frisbee in check (...oops...)
-there goes another pipe
-who keeps dropping the pipe?
-en dedans turns through 1st at barre: push supporting heel forward, keep following foot in 1st (ie: keep hips open); prepare immediately for side degagEs by squeezing gluts and consolidating rib cage
-piquE arabesque: think of as (temps lie) elancE
-evolution of the arabesque: form vs. gaze; inverted heavens vs. reaching; the we vs. the I

Balancing aides, past, present, and fictional: 
-the barre
-straps and pulleys
-K's hand
-an imaginary prince

You mistake me...for Denise Austin! C'mon guys! And pliE! PliE! PliE! Burn that butter! And one! Two! Three! Four! Five!...after five comes six...Six! Seven! Eight! That's right! Just 8 more to go! Ready? If you rest, you rust! And one! Two! Three! Four! Five!...after five comes six...Six! Seven! Eight!...I'll put on my little microphone...You're worth it!...We are thinking human beings. The spin class is across the hall...

~Ballet-Aerobics fantasy class

Do you remember what we did last week?

temps liE effacE: tilt the head back & look toward the audience to accentuate line created by tendu leg; arms closed toward the audience; close front, front, back, back in order to begin w/ effacE each time

Do you remember what you did yesterday?

-karaoke
-came home to a bloody kitchen
-celebrated survival with coconut layered cake
-a discussion on happiness that carried on until 4 in the morning
-temps liE elancE w/ cambrE

-an adagio that really was an adagio (not an allegro adagio)
-there goes the pipe
-piquE arabesque (1st, 3rd, 2nd, 4th): to balance, relax the back to keep going up and avoid collapsing; step farther out; rib cage hangs over leg; strong piquE; visualize final image
-5th port de bras! Scooping down into 4th port de bras. Nice.
-as a rule, one cannot hold on to a noun forever; examples of nouns: barres, ballet, beloveds
-en pointe: the elastic band is more important than the ribbons; an adventurous, precarious beginning to the study of pointe

List of things to do today:

-ballet warm-up
-sew ribbons on toe shoes
-draw a unicorn
-read
-play outside
-Symmetry note
-ballet class

plier, etendre, jeter, glisser, relever, elancer, tourner, sauter, plier, etendre, jeter, glisser, relever, elancer, tourner, sauter plier etendre jeter glisser relever elancer tourner sauter plier etendre jeter glisser relever elancer tourner sauter plie etendre jeter glisser relever elancer tourner sauter plieretendrejeter glisserreleverelancertournersauterplieretendrejeter glisserreleverelancer
tournersauter
plier...

-8 essential movements of classical dance: Deborah, Ellen, Margaret, Megan, Jeannie, Mary, Angie, and Sarah (note: the last two are interchangeable...for obvious reasons)
-ballet did not spring out of a cave fully formed and immutable; that was Athena of ancient Greek fame
-dance is music without sound; bodies are the instruments of expression, and eyes are the receivers of the music; that said,
-in music, notes without rhythmic structure is about as meaningful as an alphabet without an associated language; that is to say, it is utterly meaningless; thus, we must learn to associate rhythmic structure with the actual steps; the hills are alive with soundless music
-in pirouettes, internalize grounding site in torso, not arm
-turns w/ jetE: good ballet posture leads to stability
-good ballet posture: tuck under, zip up, rib cage, sternum, lean forward, arms forward

What is the significance of the number sequence 2, 3, 5?
(a) first three prime numbers
(b) 699th, 700th, and 701st digits of pi
(c) head position for high arm
(d) bank pin number of the ex-dictator of Egypt

non-answer: (d)

ChainEs: ie: the Russian ruble game
-step 1 is not the first turn; thus
-do not overcross step 1; let following leg follow with less energy
-hip out at step 1 like ice skater coming to a quick stop; this is the launch

Ballon:
-means "balloon" in French
-in ballet, refers to the ability of the dancer to sustain a jump in the air
-every jump, no matter how small, must be carried out with this quality of ballon; functionally speaking, the longer a jump is held, the more time the audience has to receive the image
-eg: in ballotE (a move that is like as pas de chat b/c feet cross in air), the quality of ballon gives the illusion of floating
-in general, changing the configuration of the body while in flight masks the descending portion of a jump's trajectory, thus creating the illusion of floating

Breathing Life into Ballet

The winds of change have come and whisked away the old b&w photos, turned the page from Terpsichore to a twisted terpsichorean interpretation of rock 'n roll, hung up the bouquet of wilting roses, and out in the foyer, a dynamic image of Serge Lifar in mid-flight is impressed upon us: back arched, muscles of the legs bulging, bold, the hands flung with the delicacy of scarves yet full of life, the eyes wellsprings of emotion. He seems ready to leap out of the page in all his graphite-and-ink glory.

Similarly, we must impress our image upon the audience, constantly going forward and upward. Similarly, when, for example, we pose in attitude at various angles, we are not to become objects to look at, but remain human beings conveying ideas to the audience. Carry the body forward and with aplomb--a constant dynamic energy that flows from the floor to the pelvic floor to the top of the head and shoots out like a geyser--; and may the eyes be full of life and wordless, soundless speech.

-let the arm lead the gaze; do not look through the arm
-erase the mirror; redraw the fermE front, back, and side
-be ready to move: lean slightly forward, expand space in front of sternum
-warped syllogism: ballerinas lean upper torso slightly more forward than the average human being; the average human being leans farther back than the ideal human being; therefore, all living human beings should lean their upper torso slightly forward
-heehee! babies learning to walk! silly creatures! But that is what we are...a matter of building strength in the abdominal wall through continual practice; eliminate the lumbar curve-- which deepens as hips tip forward-- by tucking tailbone back under; sensation is of everything from below belly button on up zipping up into a very tight vest
-assemblE jumps: what did we say about the epaulement? Nothing. Shoulders are not the featured action. The shoulders soften the featured action of the legs/feet.
-croisE and ecartE assemblEs across the floor; foot slides through first in ecartE assemble; again, let the arm lead the gaze; look up, not into arm
-go through the ball of the foot in each tendu
-all 8 essential barre exercises: pliE, battement tendu, battement jetE, rond de jambe, fondu, frappE, adagio, grand battement

We spun until the sun broke through, sudden and brief. A fast-footed class. A center combination turns grand allegro, and we tumble ball-like into Prokofiev's score: jarring, percussive, farcical.

A conceptually compelling class. 

-A rond de jambe combination exhibiting a great degree of circularity in both form and pattern of movement; laden with luxurious cambrEs, it circles to a natural close with the other half of the port de corps en rond.
-Rond de jambe fouettE combination at Center becomes math-y: Does this center combination lie in the set of reversibles, R? If so, what is its reverse? As in math, certain paths are fundamentally restricted; certain operations are performed in order to produce a particular outcome; the existence of constants. Leads to a curious idea: the symbolic representation of ballet combinations.
-There is no right or wrong; just closed systems that obey fundamental rules and build on them. We can only define or prove something as a truth within the closed system to which it belongs. Moreover, as Kurt Godel proved in 1931, all logical systems of any complexity are incomplete. Computers will never be as smart as human beings, and human beings can never know themselves fully. That said, some closed systems are more general, ie: more universal, than others. For instance, ballet is a fairly general human-centric system. A central tenet of contemporary ballet is that movement emanates from the beginning of the rib cage, the focal point of the modern classical sense of curvature.

Catharsis

A belief in the necessity of catharsis. From the Ancient Greek κάθαρσις, meaning 'cleansing' or 'purging'; Coined as a dramaturgical concept by Aristotle in his Poetics. A medical metaphor that describes the extreme emotional transformation a soul undergoes as a result of experiencing intense emotion (sorrow, fear, pity, laughter, etc.) through the dramatic arts. A means of purging the soul and restoring its emotional balance.

Tendu:

-grow more in the supporting glut
-don't let the motion of the foot affect the attached hip
-placement and separation of rib cage
-keep weight on both feet as long as possible and massage floor
-close by squeezing gluts/inner thighs rather than by shifting entire body back

-Pas de biche: a cervine move. What's the difference between a stag and a doe? Besides the obvious-- antlers-- the female deer's leap is ornamented by a dainty rond de jambe. The French are keen observers of nature.
-A flavor of yoga, but not too breathy and free of chakras.
-A dash of tango via overcrossing and the (leader's) box step.
-En pointe: the secret to pulling up is pushing down. Push forcefully into the ground.

-consensus for the Great Crunches Debate: crunches for abdominal knitting; cambrEs for the back of the trunk
-rib cage placement & separation from lower body; for eg: when standing in 5th, in pirouettes, pique arabesques, and ouvert to 1st arabesque
-how to close rib cage: flick (causes involuntary muscle contraction); release breath; meeting point of X-band
-3 ways of breathing: chest, diaphragm, and lateral expansion of ribs
-frappe frappe frappe beat CHANGE
-remnants of NYC momentarily slow down music
-what happens on count X, where X ∈ ℕ? PliE.

-in assemblEs, entire torso must be carried through aplomb; a great sense of growth, or lift, must be felt through the entire spine (incl. head)
-The Basic Stance (TBS): catching snow, light radiating outward from sternum, a kiss on the cheek by a very tall man, earlobes tugged to the ceiling, belly button pulled in toward the spine, a very tight vest, look out! breathe
-first four essential barre exercises: plie, battement tendu, battement tendu jetE, rond de jambe
-Solve: 8n=96; n=12 sets of 8 degagEs from first at an ever increasing pace; fun times for the gluts

-turns through 1st: keep hips open; energy in hips
-flic-flac mechanics are coming along! a note of satisfaction is detected
-arabesque stretch at barre: straight leg for gorillas; bent leg for all other beasts with arms of average length
-jetE battu assemblE pass: maintain turnout when foot passes through 1st for glissade; kick leg out high enough to complete the following battu
-saran wrap, angst, and stripping with abandon: makings of a 21st century dance

An insidious class.

-premature lowering becomes a danger in allegro; complete turn, then lower
-demi-toe begins to creep into our barre exercises; the working leg lifts the body into demi-toe
-obsessive study of & fixation on the details of temps lie adagio at center is encouraged-- no, demanded of us; a seamless transition from sus-sous croisE to coupE en face; leg reaches at developpE front as if going somewhere; principle of bending in which pliE of supporting leg is delayed; the upper arm holds the weight of the high arm (but does not give reason for the rest of the limb to relax); etc.

Notes on the Nature of the Barre:
-presents itself as a great aide in our quest for balance
-is always there for you to lean on when you're not strong, to catch you when you fall, to help you carry on
-appears to have everything you look for in a good friend
-is not your friend
-does not give rise to warm and fuzzy feelings behind the navel
-is the avatar of Evil
-preys on your naive willingness to accept its proffered, iron-clad arm during every combination
-will drain you of all your energy and leave you a cripple at Center
-ballerinas should look at it slightly askance and with a wary eye
-ballerinas should aim to lay no more than half a finger's worth of weight on it

-ouvert arms open towards audience
-ballonE: means "bouncy/ball-like"; coupE-jetE-coupE (with no transference of weight)
-a flic-flac en dedans breaks down; a baseball player gets depantsed

-introducing stretch at the barre through Pull
-muscles relax after a certain amount of time under great weight; in plie fouette, for the sake of conserving energy, begin with shallow plie then deepen just before rotation
-ballet is about living line; in attitude promenade, pause at attitude efface, lengthen working leg and neck, deepening the curve
-diaphragm breathing impedes not only aesthetic sense of line, but also the tension needed to execute movements; practice shallow breathing (breathing without moving the abs) even while outside of our Domain
-in front temps lie from 4th, pull toes back to avoid injuring knees (heel forward in back temps lie)

Balletic Quantum Mechanics

The state of the ballerina leaning her head toward her supporting leg (the center of gravity) exists in a parallel and slightly forward universe called efface. It is one of many possible states in which the ballerina can exist. The sum total of all her possible states is called the ballerina's wave function. In an observer-less room, the ballerina exists in all her possible states simultaneously. This state, called superposition, is broken once a separate observer enters the room. The wave function collapses and according to the Copenhagen interpretation of balletic quantum mechanics, the ballerina is essentially forced to "choose", or assume one particular state from her wave function. In the case of the temps-lie adagio at center, we chose to lean our head away from rather than toward the supporting leg in croise derriere.

Interestingly, in the competing Many-Worlds interpretation of balletic quantum mechanics, the entrance of an independent observer into the room causes a split, rather than a collapse, into not one (obviously), but all the possible states that the ballerina can assume. In other words, each possible state in the ballerina's wave function is uniquely realized in a duplicate universe to the one we know and are aware of. So, somewhere out there (say Tuesday's advanced intermediate class, or Thursday's intermediate class), a parallel universe exists in which we chose to lean our head toward the supporting leg (the CoG). We call this parallel and slightly forward universe efface.

The youngest dancer
in the room
was tossing dizz'ly
in the womb

Lessons drawn from fondu en tournant:

-deepening of plie upon releve
-extended foot initiates turn
-balance comes from abdominal wall, gluts, and lower back
-the ankles are clueless; avoid relying on them for balance
-avoid throwing the body blindly into the void and merely hoping
-embrace life's imperfections; explore the various causes of imbalance

Fondu en tournant is a metaphor for Life.

-the energy drains from here (shoulders/upper torso) to here (abs/pelvic region) all the way down; it does not drain from here (brain); to think of the neural impulses is to get the combo come hell or high water...and then think of placement and all that
-"Rib cage!" More specifically, the point of focus is the center of the X-band over the abs
-shallow breathing creates the necessary tension
-Estonians make the nicest thieves.

How many people are in the studio on a given day?

(a) 12
(b) 8
(c) 9
(d) both (a) & (c)
(e) 2

Answer: (e). By the Law of Resisting Our Hoarding Instincts, it follows that there are only two people in the studio, ever: I and K. Don't forget that.

-look up & Up, not sneaky...or else K might start dusting off his hair and thinking all sorts of strange thoughts
-prepare the arrow, then stretch the bow & arrow at the same time; do not belatedly install the arrow after the fact
-throw the frisbee by engaging the rotators of both acetabula; the purpose of ultimate frisbee is to develop rotation in both working & standing legs; the working leg escalates in height as it rounds
-nix the squirmy stomachs...although it's kind of adorable. Alas, ballet is not about looking adorable;
-it is a meticulous study of achievement; We begin with small achievements and build on them toward grander ones. We aim to reach our fullest potential as human beings, which is greater than is generally recognized.

Why do we look over the barre in ecarte derriere?
(a) to address the audience
(b) to clearly differentiate it from ecarte devant
(c) b/c it's ecarte derriere
Answer: POSTURE!

Details matter. Why does one choice have a more pleasing effect than another? The answer lies in details.

-the planes of the cheek and face become important; cheek catches light
-in croise away from the barre, noncongruent planes and foreshortening of the outside arm make it necessary to allonge, which in turn makes it necessary to look down the length of the arm
-arm stays closed upon fouette; opens at sus-sous
-pas de bou hold: arm in preparatory pose before the petit jete
-Good schooling is defined as the creation of habitual movement; facilitates immediate internalization of choreography and of related "grander" movements later on; eg: from sus-sous high arm, we conclude the combination in the following manner: turn, touch barre, lower to 5th, arm to second, allonge/tendu, and close

The urge to correct misplaced moments of stasis is too strong to resist. We receive a play-by-play of the Failed Resistance. Admittedly, it is more exciting than football.

A young girl learning to figure skate drops in, and the class gets all spinny. Failli-failli. Historic usage of 3rd position for pencil turns. The foot must draw in quickly. All turns are motivated by the hips. Turns from echappe. The foot wraps around straight away. The fun increases exponentially.

Kip's Tips:
-in 4th position, be mindful of hip placement: pull hip attached to front leg back
-in ecarte back, it is more academic to tilt the head toward the supporting leg (ie: toward Center of Gravity) and look into the hand
-in rond de jambes that cannot be fully realized due to the speed of the counts, the en dehors rond should hit the back each time, and the en dedans rond should hit the front each time (rf. Lady Vaganova, whose advise we shall comply with for the time being)
-in developpe to 2nd, so that the thigh doesn't take over and displace the hip: initiate with release of passe foot forward; pull up from knee

Things to ponder this Saturday night:
-Why must the head tilt in passe jetes? Movement in ballet is predicated on the concept of creating line; namely, the real vertical line from supporting foot to head extended infinitely, and the imaginary diagonal line from tendu'd toe through the tilted head, extended infinitely
-Why must the arms be soft in ballet? We use the arms to soften the strong actions of the legs
-Why do you get jiggly in the rond de jambe exercise? Jiggliness is (a) caused by the failure to maintain the "Integrity of the Standing Hip" (ie: to keep it intact and upright), and (b) one letter away from "Giggliness"

Ischial tuberosities:
-aka "booty bones"
-alternating isolation of left/right ischial tuberosities is a circular action; ergo, put yo back into it
-warning: isolation of ischial tuberosities may engender spontaneous dance parties; isolate with extreme caution

"You must plie in order to do number 2." Can't argue with that!

-on the agenda for 2011: fouettes, flic-flacs, and seamless transition from croise to efface and vv.
-inside turn: slide tendu'd foot slightly out; deepen plie as soon as you draw foot into coupe
-SNOWWWWWW! YESSSSSSSSS! If there's anything that calls for a break from decorum, it's the commencement of a long-awaited, much-anticipated snowfall. As well, the above quotation.

PS, a request: Think about the things you learn in class outside of class. That way, K won't have to talk so much.
PPS: The walk home was beautiful.  Snow makes me want to be quiet.

The face should follow the port-de-bras arm...the face should follow the port-de-bras arm...the port-de-bras arm...port-de-bras arm...port-de-bras arm...

Static poses vs. pure movement:
-in any given combination, each count can be divided into moments of movement and moments of repose
-poses held during moments of repose ("static poses") resonate in the viewer's mind like visual echoes; they are the images that stick with the viewer long after the show is over
-when dancing any combo, aim to make the moments of pure movement grow organically into the static poses you wish to have resonance
-ex: the 3rd port-de-bras has only one moment of repose-- at the very end
-ex: the moment of repose in fondu tendu demi rond occurs at 2nd; the body moves continually into this static pose

Is she dying, or sleeping? Is she withering or rising from a deep repose? Petrifying...or reviving and evolving to fill a great void? Who is she?

-It takes thought to relinquish thought. Until muscles become conditioned to work properly without thinking, we must think...we must think intently with each rond of our jambe
-Where do you suppose the supporting knee straightens? At 2nd, even as the leg continues to rond past 2nd. The tendu plie grand rond de jambe is a precursor to jumps; we are conditioning our leg to straighten in a timely manner.
-With regards to leg holds: You really have to demand it of yourself-- every time you developpe.

Every time we developpe, I am reminded of the dichotomous nature of ballet. It is a Spartan art. For all its effeminate grace, it's got a definite hardness to it, like a statue that exudes beauty in form yet is hard as stone to the touch. The hardness comes from its seemingly inhuman demands combined with its extreme orderliness and emphasis on code of conduct. In the past, we've jokingly call K's classes "ballet boot camp", but like most jokes, it has a basis in truth. Boot camp doesn't sound like fun, but actually, the fact that it is so demanding and stoic is one of the very reasons why I love ballet class so much. It gives me something to be serious about.

In the last days of 2010, the thought crossed my mind that there was no way I could put more time, more energy, more passion into this "hobby" of mine than I did this past year. A few days into 2011, however, I realize how naive it was to think so. I can think of many a day, and many an hour when I could have been doing a ballet warm-up and was not, stretching and working on my turnout and was not, and so on. Every once in a while, the thought creeps in that I am living a delusional life. A perfect turnout, for instance, is something you gain as a young dancer when your bones are still growing and malleable. Then again, what is this obsession with turnout and leg holds? It's time to stop playing Ballerina. Every so often, the thought also creeps in that I've directed an emotion called "love" into an inanimate concept. There's no doubt that I love my studio, I love ballet class, and I love the dance with a depth that is normally directed toward people. At times, I am struck by the truth that despite surrounding myself with all these things that I love, I am very much alone precisely because they are only things and not people. How much satisfaction can I gain from a thing, which cannot love me back? Moreover, to pour so much of my energies into this one thing. It's frightful, really. Then again, nothing is eternal.

A couple nights ago during a stretching session before bed, I was thinking of these things. Then I was woken up while it was still dark out by a loud and insistent knocking on our door. I stumbled over to the window, pulled the shades, and was struck dumb by the sight of snowfall. Flurries fell silently, here and there illuminated by the warm marigold light from streetlamps. Sigh...

We are learning about placement of our bodies-- and that includes our eyeballs.

-tendu jete holds: refrain from contracting or tensing up; continue expanding; send energy out of working leg's middle toe and opposite arm's middle finger
-cambre forward: maintain tight 5th position; functionally speaking, good turnout is a result of contracted gluteals and other muscles in the pelvic region, which is essential
-spotting is a matter of conditioning oneself to spot the same point over and over again; conditioning requires limitless practice
-finish every exercise in TBS pose, eyes on Mt. Kilimanjaro
-when K was in Russia: Russia was still the Soviet Union; Gorbachev was head of state; aftershave, boot polish, and window cleaners were considered beverages; the bread was good

A fancy dancy class characterized by deep cambres.

-pre-class gossip: the fat mirror has gotten fatter
-a purpose of barre is to establish your center
-lovely rond-de-jambe exercise with deep cambres
-deepen a temps-lie by deepening the cambre, not the plie
-energy through fingertips
-happy to be back

Passageway