Lovely mixed-level open house class tonight. I took it as an opportunity to focus on expression and musicality, mostly. I also worked on pelvic placement, particularly in our fondue and rond-de-jambe combination, and at least once got it really right. I can feel it when it’s right; it magically makes grand rond-de-jambe work perfectly at 90 degrees.  Well, that and bringing the heel around as you come from arabesque when going en dedans.

It was cool to be back in Studio 5, where I took my first steps back into the roiling waters of ballet almost two years ago now. It was especially cool to be sharing a barre with a brand-new dancer, doing my best to demonstrate good port de bras and work cleanly through the combinations.

In a way, it’s like coming full circle. (Because I am ridiculously tired, my brain is now insisting on going all Sir David Attenborough, like, “At last, the mature dancers return to the waters of their birth, where they will bring about the new generation, blah blah blah…”)

My flexibility is now as good as it has been since I started dancing again: effortless splits both ways; pancake in straddle. I’ll work splits where they are for a week or two, then see about regaining hypersplits. My cambré back also looks great. Turnout is much closer to 180 degrees as well.

Anyway, I’m about to nod off, so I’ll close here.

À bientôt, mes amis!

Acro-Balancing tomorrow, which will fill my Yoga slot on the ballet challenge that I keep neglecting to mention, but before that, a little more history review, then evaluations, then bell choir.