Tips from Lesson #1

At the end of the last academic term, I decided that I wanted to start taking private lessons. Sometimes I waffle between thinking it's ridiculous to take privates when one is only ever going to be an amateur hobbyist ballet dancer, but then I remember that it's totes okay in this day and age to be serious even about hobbyist interests, that there should be nothing wrong with simply wanting to improve.

The teacher (I'll call her K here) I planned to study with finally returned from summer vacation, and so I had my first lesson today! I'm so glad that I started with some privates during the summer in Scotland, because it really allowed me to understand what my goals are with taking private lessons. Here's the list that I sent K (to which she exclaimed, "You're so organized!" Ha!).

1. Continue adjusting basic technique and alignment
2. Where to put my head
3. Improve technique for petit allegro and jumps
4. Beginning pointe
5. Learn variations/choreography

I'm also really glad that Peter (in Scotland) managed to fix a lot of my very basic technique issues because K's strength really lies in the artistic and technical fine details. I'm hoping that privates will help me up the ante on my dancing in open classes so that I'm better able to handle more advanced classes on my own.

Anyways, here are some tips from today's lesson that I don't want to forget about. No doubt there are several things I'm forgetting about here, but in my effort to get the most out of privates, I'm trying to solidify what I've learned in my memory.

1. Point toes by folding/squeezing the insteps of my feet (as if trying to squeeze a pencil or finger). Point all the way through the big toe. (Especially my left foot big toe, which due to an injury, never got into the habit of properly pointing!). K kept being like, "Especially because you're going en pointe now, you need to learn how to point your feet!" haha. My terrible feet. At least I was reassured that my arches are reasonable.
2. Stop looking down. Apparently my introversion really gets the best of me here and I'm constantly looking down between every step. Argh. This is why I find it so much easier to dance on a stage, looking out into a dark audience--because then I don't have to *look* at anyone! Anyways, I need to snap out of the habit.
3. Release some control. Especially in the front of the hips but also just everywhere generally, my over-trying and over-cerebralness gets in my way and I'm way too tight. So it's bigger movements, with more release of limbs to get into longer extensions.
4. Weight down through legs. "As if you're trying to make a hole in the floor!" This one wasn't a tip from today but instead from yesterday, in K's open pointe class. This is one of the things related to the fact that my knees are always too micro-bent and never fully straight. Pull up through psoas I've managed to work on a bit, but apparently I need to get better at the opposite direction through the legs, too.
5. Keep weight on standing (front) foot in side tendus. This really helped with my losing fifth problem in center tendus.
6. Support shoulder blades, especially opposite arm in promenades. It's amazing how much this improves balance, in adage and turns. In general, there was a comment that I should really make more use of my back to perfect arabesques and such.
7. Stop pulling down retire leg and arms in pirouettes. On the plus side, apparently my turns are good, "once you fix this." lol. Oh, and I need to learn to definitively finish my turns rather than falling out of them.
8. In petit allegros, don't waste mental energy on the parts you know. Allow your brain to rest and focus your memory on the parts that are more complex.

Of course, there were all the little things that I've been working on, too: hip alignment, keeping back leg straight back while still releasing the hip into the extension. Chasing ballet perfection is a lot to think about!

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Also, the plan is for me to learn (a simplified version of) the Gamzatti variation from La Bayadere! It fit several criteria: (1) I'll eventually be able to learn it en pointe at my level, (2) it has big jumps, (3) I'll get to practice in a tutu, and (4) because K was impressed by my pique turns en pointe yesterday! I'm pretty excited to get to learn to play a devious evil princess. 💐🐍💐