This morning, I was a space cadet, but I wasn’t alone.
There were five of us in LF’s class (I’ve been calling her LT for some reason … oops?), including a New Guy I Know From Somewhere, P. We were all pretty much in agreement that this was a Monday of a Tuesday—in other words, a “Moosday.”
Since it’s basically Monday for me this week anyway, that makes sense.
Anyway, I acquitted myself better than I expected given that my brain was on its way to the outer reaches of the solar system.
Basically, modern is starting to feel less weird again. Of course, given that 4 of the 5 members of the class were definitely Ballet Peeps (I think P’s background is more musical theater, so jazz?), LF kept having to remind us not to be so polite 😀
I’ve been working on applying the idea of letting my head be heavy and thinking about my head and pelvis as two bowling balls connected by, I dunno, a run of flexible conduit.
Modern dance, meet modern art?
This is somewhat facilitated by a note that J…M…something? G? gave us this weekend in Sunday class, which he got from our AD. In ballet, we tend to focus really hard on engaging the living daylights out of our core, but it can be helpful to think of engaging at a point just above the navel, so the ribs stay knitted but the lower trunk and sternum are free to move.
I said, “Oh, kind of like a single-button vest(1)?”
Not really a menacer at all, IMO, but kind of a cool gilet/vest/waistcoat. (Source)(2,3)
I’m not sure it’s a perfect visualization, but it works for me. Anyway, thinking about engagement this way helps me avoid over-engaging the core and winding up stiff as all hell. For me, this helps the pelvis place itself without getting into hyper-grippy blocked-turnouts land.
In other news, I’m pleased to report that I’ve regained the muscles that keep my ribs knitted together, which is extremely helpful for ballet, and the turnouts continue to make their way back from the Other Side.
Also, my black Blochs and my balance board arrived today (glad the Blochs opted out of a neighborhood tour this time). I’ve decided that those are my slighly-early birthday presents to myself, which makes me wish I’d sprung for the shiny balance board from Theraband. But for $10, this one will do the job for now 🙂
Maybe later I’ll get the more-expensive version and cart this one over to Suspend so I can use it there, assuming they don’t mind if it lives at their place.
Anyway, tonight I’m taking Trap 2 because rep/rehearsal begins tomorrow night. Mr. BeastMode played our music for me this morning—it’s Vivaldi! (The G minor concerto, which I’ve played on the violin, which probably means my world has officially come full circle now or something.)
Tomorrow, I’m doing Killer Class, and then I might throw in an extra Technique Class since I’m going to be at Rep class anyway—though my jury’s still out on that.
Apparently, nine or ten of us have volunteered as tribute for the spring show, regarding which: w00t! I think I’m the only boy, though, because scheduling.
Anyway, going to go try on the black Blochs and see how they roll.
Quick Update: My black Blochs are size 8 in the C width, since they didn’t have B. So far, so good. Width-wise, I think C is a touch wider than I need, but length-wise, I think 8 is right. Either way, they’re very light and comfortable and, like my other Blochs, secure in the turns. Going to test-run them in class tomorrow.
Also, if you spring for a pair of Bloch’s Pro Elastics, know that the heel will look weird when you’re just sitting there, trying them on—weird as in, “Why is there an extra little floop going on back there?”
Don’t worry about it. I’m not sure if it’s a functional thing or just a style thing, but it doesn’t get in the way when you’re dancing, and IMO it makes your feet look even nicer when you point them.
FWIW, these shoes are very much “Where have you been all my life?” shoes for me. Your mileage, of course, may vary, but if you’re on the fence, I would recommend giving them a try.
Also: Tried the new Sansha dance belt. As Dr. Dancebelt forewarned of Sansha’s models in general, it’s very high-waisted, but it actually works really well for me because of that.
My verdict thus far: Great option for those of us who are short-coupled and high-waisted with effing gigantic glutei medii (in short: me). Probably not a great choice for lower-waisted folks.
If you try one, be warned: you will put it on and it will be like, “Hm, I need to pull this up higher. Erm—even higher? And … huh, wow, still higher—okay. Now this just looks ridiculous.”
Just remember that, with rare exceptions (read: performing in only a dance belt, because contemporary ballet), we don’t buy dance belts for their looks. Yeah, this thing looks silly, but I’m still wearing it six hours later because it’s sufficiently comfortable that I literally forgot about it.
That feeling when you randomly see a video of class from a couple weeks ago and you’re like, “Who’s the asshat in the striped shirt with with the legs and the getting confused about the inversion?”
And then you’re like, “Oh, that’s me. Never mind.”
(To my defense, I am no longer confused about the inversion, though in today’s Totally Modern Men’s Class* we learned more choreography and I managed to wind up on the wrong leg at the end.
*Today it was 3 guys in class.)
…Besides, of course, “You’re hired, here’s your contract.”
Modern went well today. It was just me, and we worked a lot on release and … hm, what I’ll call the redistribution of tension.
My ability as concerns modern in general and release technique in particular varies drastically depending on various things.
I am, after all, Central Casting Troubled Ballet Boy, which means I am also Uptight Ballet Boy.
When I haven’t been doing modern class regularly in a while, I have to completely re-learn how to relax and release and let my head have weight and stuff like that. My first few classes usually leave me convinced that I dance like a poorly-maintained robot. It takes a little while to learn to feel my body again.
Once I figure all that out, though, things start to get considerably better.
Today was one of those revelatory classes. Parts of my body remembered how to modern, and I continued working on applying the general lessons I’m working on right now.
Anyway, at the end of class, LT said The Five Greatest Words to me:
You’re such a hard worker.
If there’s one thing dancers seem universally to respect, it’s a solid work ethic.
It makes sense: dance is work.
We go to class and we work. We go to rehearsal and we work. We get out there on stage and we work. We stand in our kitchens working on our balances and our turns. Even if our sleep, we dream about dancing, and our brains work overtime.
As dancers, everything we do is work, and no matter how talented you are, your talent will get you nowhere if you don’t show up and put in the work.
So when someone tells me I’m a hard worker, it means a lot to me—especially since, as a kid, I was The Talented One That Doesn’t Realize He Has To Work, and part of me feels like the rest of my life is basically a chance to atone for being that jerk.
In other news, I’m starting to “get” the choreography for the showcase piece. LT explained the concept today, and that actually really helped—a light went on in my mind. I’d been thinking of it as sort of a jungle cat kind of feeling, but that wasn’t working. In fact, it’s more like searching for something in a swirling fog.
Thus far, this has been a good week for me, dance-wise, except for the part where I hit myself in the face with a girl (yeah, that happened) but I didn’t drop her, so it’s all good?
Besides, she’s solid Cirque stock and not the kind of person to be phased by such things. We were doing that one lift that literally nobody I know can think of what it’s called right now where you scoop your partner up as if in a basket and toss her (or him) up onto one shoulder in a front balance. Every time everyone tries to think of what the feck it’s called, we just wind up going, “Well, it’s not fish dive…”
Essentially, it’s this:
Ganked via Googles.
…Only, in this instance, with fewer tutus and sleevy things and more grunting and sweat.
I didn’t give it enough oomph on the first go, so the second time I way overdid it and basically flipped my partner into my own face instead of rolling her up to my shoulder. Heh.
On the upside, our partner acro instructor said, “On the upside, that means you can definitely do this!”
Lastly, in other, other news, there’s a four-day Easter ballet intensive (for adults) at Holistic Ballet in London. I’ll add it to my 2017 intensives list. It’s all about La Bayadere, and it looks like there’s two levels; the beginner group will be learning the entrance from “the Kingdom of the Shades,” and the other group will be learning Gamzatti’s Act II variation.
It doesn’t look like there’s a variation planned for guys (though I wouldn’t object to learning either of the above, to be honest).
Honestly, I think the entrance from “Kingdom of the Shades” is one of the best possible pieces of choreography to learn as a beginner, since it can be learned and executed well and then continually refined. The ladies at Lexington Ballet’s intensive did it last year, and it was so lovely, even without the ramps.
Anyway, I must now run away and go dig through AS’s costume closet, then go collect BB for class tonight.
Slept 4 hours last night because I don’t even know why. Total robot-mode in modern this morning, mainly because my brain was so slow to play back the combinations that I kept pausing.
OTOH, some nice suspensions happened.
Had a great number of opportunities to think about a recent revelation, which is this: because I don’t feel stretch until I am in ridiculously extreme positions, I can’t use stretch as a barometer for placement. So I’m working on training myself to feel just the right engagement instead.
For all I know, every dancer worth his or her electrolyte tablets probably does this already—but for me it’s new; an extension of of the work I’ve been doing on balances.
Learned today what a good high release feels like. First off, it feels like almost nothing. By the time you really feel it, you’ve gone too far. So you kind of more want to feel the contraction below, and then just lift your sternum straight up (what feels like) just a little.
Knowing how things feel when they’re right is essential to dance (hearkens back to the “snapshot” exercise I came up with last year, come to think of it).
Of course, half of dance is learning what things should feel like, and the other half is learning to feel your body (and the other, other half is learning to feel the music).
In other news, we’re learning choreography for Spring Showcase. Got an email yesterday about that. Looks like it might actually happen!
Killer Class, Dance Team, Trapeze 3, and Acro tomorrow..
I’m starting to feel stronger and more fit, though.
Modern class began at my primary studio today.
I think I might have mentioned that the instructor dances in Modern T’s company? Anyway, she does, and it turns out that I actually know her(1). We were like, “Oh! It’s you!”
Anyway, I was not just the Onliest Boy, but the Onliest Student—another Ambush Private Class! 😀
This was great for me, of course. We took it slowly today, and this and the student:teacher ratio of 1:1 gave LF a chance to really drill in and sort some of the details of my modern technique.
Like, for example, I have apparently never had the faintest idea how to release my neck. I never realized that. Sometimes it would happen on its own, and I would think, “Oh, modern feels good today!” without really understanding why.
Most of the time, though, my neck just didn’t release—and I didn’t know it wasn’t releasing. Then, in floor work, either my neck was always straining away, refusing to cooperate with the process, or I just shoved my head down onto (2) the floor rather than letting my neck melt.
In case you hadn’t guessed, I’m your stereotypical flexible-but-very-tense Ballet Boy (another way in which I am, ridiculously and laughably, Central Casting Ballet Boy). I think this is one of the reasons that modern is so good for my ballet technique: it helps me relax and soften my upper body, which not only makes my dancing look better, but actually makes my dancing better.
Classical ballet technique—especially the Russian approach, perhaps—demands lightness and freedom in the upper body. In my experience, the funny thing is that once your upper body figures out “light and free” (while remaining engaged and disciplined), the lower body part actually gets easier.
The essence of classical ballet technique, via Pintrest
The hard part for me, though, is keeping the upper body light and free, instead of tight and bound(3). This is where modern comes in.
Floor work doesn’t, well, work if you’re tight and bound. Release technique doesn’t work if you don’t know how to release. When I’m not doing modern class on a regular basis, I forget how to relax and release.
This is the second time in my life I’ve had a private modern class, if I remember correctly. I feel like it was exactly the right way to jump (or, more accurately, ooze :D) back into Modern. It helped me figure out where some of my weak points in modern are (not just the “can’t relax” thing, but also the thing where I’m afraid of falling over sideways).
We touched on quite a few other things, many of which fit neatly into the “move like a human” concept that Monika discusses over at The Dance Training Project.
So I feel like I learned a lot today, and also like my body is coming back online.
That’s a good feeling. As dancers, we live in our bodies so much, and when we feel separated from them, it’s really uncomfortable—or, well, that’s my experience.
My fitness is starting to return, which is great.
Anyway, LT is a fantastic teacher, and she comes up with really amazing analogies that do a fantastic job conveying concepts central to modern technique and, really, to just moving effectively as a human being (which we Central Casting Ballet Weirdos don’t always do very well). She also described my legs as a long and powerful, which never hurts 😀
Anyway, that’s it for now. I’m really looking forward to Thursday’s class … and, of course, to Killer Class tomorrow!
Legs aren’t feeling too bad this morning, and I woke up feeling refreshed after 8 hours of pretty sound sleep.
Bonus: was sufficiently tired last night that falling asleep was not a problem.
New modern class today. I’m looking forward to it!
All my choreography worked today. Regarding which:
YAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSS!
My upcoming grown-ass semi-professional dance piece is a ballet/modern hybrid piece to Antony and the Johnsons’ cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” and the opening looks exactly as I visualized it—and it’s beautiful.
I was surprised by that. Maybe I shouldn’t be, but sometimes you suddenly make something beautiful, and it catches you off guard.
The rest is coming along nicely. The opening 35 seconds set a high bar(re).
Speaking of high barres, my coupé balances in class tonight were surprisingly good, though even the top barres in the studio where Monday class takes place are lower than is ideal for me. I think I’ve been over-correcting.
This class is at the school location in one of the two two larger studios. I’m guessing the top barre is optimized for students between 5′ and 5’3″. At 5’8″ with short arms, I have to do funky things to reach the barre when I’m on relèvé. The portable barres are even lower, though. The bottom barre, meanwhile, is optimized for cracking your knees when doing turns.
Speaking of turns, mine were meh today. I don’t actually have the faintest idea why, either.
Anyway, I’m cooked, so to bed with me.
Eventually you’ll get to see my “Heaven’s Door” dance, but probably not ’til it’s complete.
As of today, my schedule officially begins its trek through the land of:
This means rehearsals that end at 10:30 on Monday nights, a whole lotta class(1), extra conditioning for an upcoming audition, Dance Team, preparation for our annual Meeting With The Accountant, and work on the next iteration of the website for D’s business*.
In the interest of retaining some shred of sanity, I’m keeping Modern Mondays off the calendar until March, at least. My primary studio just added modern on Tuesdays and Thursdays, though, so I’ll be doing at least one of those, depending.
I’m trying to keep Tuesday unscheduled, but since tomorrow is the first class, I’m going to go.
For the time being, on Mondays, it makes more sense to take an evening ballet class instead of a morning modern class. That keeps my mornings free for goofing off on the Innertubes household stuff and groups all the dance things into a nice block from 2:45 — 10:30. (There’s a dinner break in there, don’t worry.)
This is one of the things I’m trying to do differently this year. Instead of saying, “Oh, cool, I only have three things on the schedule for Mondays!”, I’m accounting for things like transit time and the fact that I don’t change gears well, so it’s foolish to assume I’ll get even one task done if I have a couple of hours between engagements.
Thus, while I seem to have once again stacked a lot onto my plate, I’m trying to be sensible about how I approach it.
The thing I’ve learned about pursuing dance seriously is that you’re either up to your eyeballs in alligators—wait, let’s call them crocodiles because it will be funnier later—or you’re on break. The challenge is learning to Arrange Your Crocodiles In A Linear Array. Which is to say:
Get your crocs in a row! (Shamelessly ganked from Chris Booth over at Expatior)
Arranging my waterfauna is really not my forté, but I’m learning. Sort of.
The frenzy of class and rehearsal is worth it to have the chance to make art and do the thing that it feels like I was made to do(3).
I fully expect to arrive home exhausted at 11 PM tonight. Needless to say, I’m glad Tuesday isn’t Killer Class day.
If it was, I’d make it work. It would be worth it.
Right now I feel weirdly like my dreams are rushing towards me at terminal velocity.
All things considered, that’s a pretty cool feeling.
Though, really—ask me again in March how I feel about my schedule 😉
Here’s a detailed explanation of how my current schedule happened:
You guys! David King of A Ballet Education may be doing a summer program open to dancers ages 11-adult!
I’ve found his writings on technique to be helpful, and I think this could be a great opportunity. Click on over for more information.
Sadly, I probably won’t be going this year because I’ll be at Pilobolus’ summer program. …Unless, of course, one of you could lend me a Time-Turner and a private jet? 😉
Anyway, Monsieur King has me thinking about summer programs, so here are some options for adult dancers looking for intensives for this year. Because, at heart, ballet is my jam, I tend to focus on ballet programs and programs with strong ballet components, but the final version of this list will probably include some strictly modern options as well.
I’m not going to itemize all the individual Sun King options. There are a lot of them, they span the summer, and they have their own website for that! Besides, everyone knows about Sun King. That said, everyone always seems to have a blast at their intensives, so consider them duly linked 😉
For your planning pleasure, I’m organizing these by date. Here we go!
As always, if you know of a great summer program for adult dancers—anywhere in the world—and you’d like me to list it here, please drop the info in the comments!
Mam-Luft & Co Summer Modern Dance Workshop/Intensive for Adults (note: registration isn’t open yet)
University of Utah SaltDanceFest
Mark Morris Dance Group Summer Intensive (OMG, you guys, I might have to audition for this, you guys. If not, it’s on the radar for next year. Because MARK MORRIS OMG OMG OMG)
Repertory Dance Theater SummerDance 2017
Lexington Ballet Adult Summer Intensive (note: at the time of this writing, the 2016 info is still up, but the Adult Intensive is on the calendar sidebar)
Pilobolus Summer Workshop Series
Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company Professional Workshop
At the moment, it looks like my summer intensive schedule will probably look like this:
I’m applying for a scholarship for Pilobolus. If I make the cut, I might be able to do more than one week.
Depending on the cost of attendance and a couple other factors, I’d love to hit DanceTeq’s Intermediate intensive.
I’d still love to do SunKing, because from what I’ve heard they usually have enough men to make men’s class and pas de deux really awesome, but it’s the most expensive of the summer program options out there for adult dancers, and probably still not really on the radar for this year.
Content and language warnings on this one. Sorry, guys.
I’m in a weird place right now.
On one hand, I’m doing better than I have at this time of year in a while.
Fall and winter … okay, and spring … are hard for me. The whole range is loaded with difficult memories, and winter does all kinds of crazy stuff to brain chemistry. Crushing depressions studded with dizzying manias are more or less the norm.
While late summer is potentially the most dangerous season—that period when any Summer Mania shifts into agitated depression—but the winter is full of a trifecta of suck: crappy health, crappy brain chemistry, and really effing bad memories.
This year, I’m having less general trouble with the brain chemistry than usual. I’m not going to say that I’m not depressed; I am probably at least a bit depressed in the neurochemical sense. On the other hand, dancing and cirque-ing and having an actual supportive network of friends in meatspace helps, as does getting the house back in order and baking a bunch of delicious stuff all the time. Seriously, you guys, when something I cook makes D happy, the effect is weirdly magical.
Because of cirque, Winter Ballet Break doesn’t mean an abrupt halt to all the physical activity that helps keep the volume of the peaks and troughs in my brain chemistry a little lower.
I’m putting the rest of this behind a cut, y’all, partly so you have a choice about it, but also partly because it makes me feel less weird about writing about it.
YouTube: BOSU Balance Series
danseur ignoble 