Self-Doubt Update
My ploy to boost my own ego by sandbagging[1] beginner class worked.
- In case this sense is unfamiliar, it’s bike-racing parlance for entering a race in an easier category than you really should in order to improve your results. The UCI frowns on it, as does everyone else, but it happens all the time anyway.
Had a very good class; supporting leg remembered how to do its job during turns. Effortless doubles ensued, including a very nice slooow double en dehors (I’m better at en dedans turns, which prevent me from leaning back). Thank goodness. Technically, this being beginner class, doubles weren’t required.
Repeated a nice combination from yesterday:
- Tombé 4th
- Rond de Jambe (à terre)
- Fouetté (à terre) to 4th
- Brush through 90 degree 2nd into en dedans turn
- Repeat other side
We were in the itty-bitty studio, but it was possible to do about four repetitions (total: right-left-right-left) because this one doesn’t travel that much.
The first time, I missed the bit where Señor Beastmode informed us that the short wall would be the front, and proceeded to do the whole combination treating the long wall as the front and wondering why everyone else was so aggressively wrong. As such, I spent most of the combination being aggressively correct about my technique–and then figured it out on the last rep. D’oh.
So basically I adhered to the maxim that says, “Whatever you do, own it. ”
On the second trip, I both owned it and did it right, except for one time when I started thinking. Ah, well.
I also did the little jumps (effortless) and the petit allegro (also effortless, especially since BG didn’t make us do assemblé no change-assemblé changé this time). I think he gave us different directions the second time, but apparently I didn’t pick up on them. That or else I was the only one doing it right that time! (Just meant that I did extra reps of the harder bits, so no biggie.)
Posted on 2017/10/21, in balllet, class notes and tagged sandbagging, sometimes it's okay. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
danseur ignoble 
In my experience, *thinking* is a big mistake during a combination! 😀 I enjoy the ego boost provided by a class with lots of beginners, too. Nothing wrong with that. (Except maybe that some of the beginners end up hating you forever, but that’s their problem.)
Hahaha, so right on both point(e)s! In class, we’re forever reminding each-other in our best “Tom Hanks in *A League Of Their Own*” voices that, “There’s no *think*ing in *ball*et!”
Beginner class is an especially nice ego booster because the combinations are so doable, too 😀 Due to scheduling woes, beginner class often gets a good mix of dancers, so the beginners are pretty used to being invaded by intermediate and advanced dancers (and, for all that, the occasional company member).
On the other hand, we mostly make a point of leaving the Intro class to true neophytes except in true Ballet Emergencies. Under those circumstances, I have definitely demoralized the Intro class a couple of times! 😛
The Tuesday night gang seem much more consistent than Thursday or Sunday – no scary pros or deep strugglers – but there was one lady who clearly needed to make a big effort to believe she was in this weird place doing this thing. Really? Hop on one leg while kicking out to 90 degrees with the other?