*Yeah, it’s a pun, and a bad one.

I can’t sleep, so I might as well write, eh?  

Mostly good barre today (or, well, yesterday). No scary turns-at-the-kneewhacker; got my RdJ en l’air back, extensions were okay-to-good. The adjusted passé/retiré is becoming automatic.

That said, the frappé was delightfully wicked: facing the barre (universal ballet code for This will either be a piece of cake or hell on wheels), singles (from flexed) en croix on flat, repeat in a sustained fondu, spring straight up to doubles en relèvé, petit battement at maximum speed for a billion (okay, actually sixteen) counts, straight into the reverse, repeat twice as fast, plié, brush out while remaining in plié, close back, other side. Doesn’t sound too hard, but it’s that “repeat twice as fast”  that gets you. It adds up. 

Also, my petit battement is currently way(1) better on the right than on the left. Feh.

1.  Or, well — the difference at double-time is definitely enough that I notice it, which is too much. 

What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. BW either wants us strong or dead. I’m guessing strong; he’s a sweet guy.

Also a fondu-adagio thing with all the attitudes and demi-ronds en l’air and the holding the extension à la la seconde until the legs became impervious to pain, plié — inside passé balance for eight, plié — outside passé balance forever, sus-sous, détournée, other side. This was lovely and light and painless except for that à la seconde. At one point BW shouted, “Fight for it!” and I kid you not, that gave me a second wind. Because I adore BW as ridiculously as I adore Ms. Killer B of Wednesday Class fame. Basically, if he told me to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge…

Also, at one point he touched my foot, and part of me is like I will never wash those shoes again but, to be honest? They’re kinda grungy, and they’re white, soooooooo… .  

Anyway, at center we did a tendu (or dégage, or grand battement) combination that was all about body facings and épaulement and little faillis and turns from fifth. I did grand battements and doubles on the repeat, since my body finally decided to get with the program and face the right way.and my arms Asiago sorted themselves. 

We then did a really nice (and simple) terre-a-terre with back-to-back turns from fourth:

balancé

balancé 

chassée – pas de Bourée – fifth

chassée to fourth

turn 

land fourth

turn

Sweep through to soutenu turn from croisée to opposite croisée

sus-sous balance with port de bras

balancé, etc. 

Going right, I felt good and managed two easy doubles in  the first three turns, so I aimed for a triple on the third. 

Turns out that you can, in fact, force a triple through sheer stubbornness, even if if you haven’t got the momentum for it, if you’re willing willing to let it be an ugly triple.

It was totally, “Around, aROUND, gorammit WE … ARE …  MAKING … IT …  AROUND AGAIN IFITKILLSME!” 

But it was still a triple. 

I made up for for it by almost careening into the mirror doing hell turns  chaînes on the left. Apparently, my ear isn’t quite up for those yet, no matter how hard I spot. 

Also, I travel like a mofo. I managed to eat up the whole floor doing 2 piqué turns, 2 soutenu turns, 2 piqué turns, 4 chaînes. There was a lot of ATTAAAAAAACK! involved. I get a little excited about piqué turns sometimes. I’m even worse about tombé-piqués/lame ducks, though. Frealz.

So that was Thursday. Today it’s all about scraping the paint, then painting the paint.