Blog Archives

Danseur Ignoble: Dialing Down The Intensity

I spend a lot of time thinking about turns, because I think they’re probably the thing that I’m kind of struggling with right now — like, that transition from having a solid, reliable single to having solid, reliable doubles and beyond.

I’ve been trying to quantify what it was that I found so unique about Baryshnikov’s turns when I watched The Turning Pointe the other night,and I just realized that it’s this: he dances with immense intensity, but before every turn, it’s like he dials it back, just for a second, and finds a still point from which to turn.  His preparation is vividly obvious, but he uses it and makes it beautiful — if he was a boxer, he’d get knocked out every time, but he’s win on style points alone (you know, if there were points in boxing for artistic expression!).

I tend to do everything with the intensity dialed up to 11 all the time.   This week, I’m going to work on cribbing Baryshnikov’s still place; on dialing it back and doing it beautifully.

Posted on | Aside

In Class

In class on Saturday, as Claire was giving us a combo, four of us were standing in a zig-zag, waiting in various half-baked b-plusses.

Then Claire gave us all the hairy eyeball and said, “Even in class, even when you’re just waiting, you can never sickle or cross your feet. You have to stay on your supporting leg and keep those working toes weightless.”

And we all looked at ourselves and realized we were being lazy and straightened up and flew right.

Until that moment, I had never noticed how slack my rest position was. Lazy, slouching, sickled.

Consider that fixed. I’d like to upgrade my b-plus to an A-plus.

Posted on | Aside

Winter Plague #2

You know you’re starting to recover when you wake up and think, “Guess I should go brush my teeth”  instead of “Oh ye unkind gods, whhhhyyyyyyyyyy?!”

Posted on | Aside

Small World

I’m apparently cyber-stalking New Haven Ballet at the moment (read: poring over their website, apparently in an attempt to avoid finishing my math review?) and I noticed that one of their instructors, Christopher DeNofrio, used to dance and teach at Louisville Ballet (and was, in fact, the Assistant Director of our school at one time!). That was before I moved here, so I wouldn’t have known him, but still pretty neat stuff.

Wait, what’s that sound?

Oh, it’s just the ballet world shrinking again*.

Notes
*In case you’re wondering, it usually sounds a lot like Swan Lake, but right now it sounds suspiciously like the Nutcracker.

Posted on | Aside

Plants

I’m at school, working on Serious Research Bizness.  I walk across the library to grab some coffee, and on our book sale table, I see a book called Perennials: How to Select, Grow, & Enjoy.

I am reminded, momentarily, that there is a book in the universe called How to Boil Water, and that I would be very happy if someone would produce a similar book called Perennials: How To Not Kill Them.

That’s it for now.  Exciting Research Update Things to follow … maybe?

Edit: Perhaps ironically, WordPress has decided that it would be a good idea to add a “related post” link to the very optimistic initial post about the pineapple I tried to grow back in the summer.  Note that I say tried.  >.<

Posted on | Aside

Turn It Out

Normal people do not lie awake wondering whether they did pique turns en dedans instead of step-over turns in Friday’s class.

Just sayin’. 

Posted on | Aside

You guys, remember when I said that Giselle would be really cool reworked as a zombie ballet?

Turns out that our Wilis go out and do the Zombie Walk every year.

…So why aren’t we doing Zombie Giselle already???!!!!111oneoneoneone

Posted on | Aside

Ballet Squid Chronicles: Shoe Adjustments; Philip Glass Project Update

When I was packing our dance bag on Saturday, I noticed that the straps on my Sanshas are sewn in a different spot at the heel than the ones on my Capezio Romeos.

I’ve had issues with the Romeos (which are a touch on the wide side) rolling down at the back, so I decided to try re-sewing the straps.  Snipped them just above the seam, then sewed them in again right behind the old spot (pictures to follow, but I’m too lazy to go get my phone right now).

I’m wearing them now, rubbing my heels against my therapy ball (because leather + vinyl = friction) to see if I can get them to peel off.

So far, so good.

I’m going to try them again in class tomorrow.  I’m still not sure if I like the little sole pads on the Capezios as much as the ones on the Sanshas.  If the adjustment to the heel attachment works as well as I’m hoping, I’ll probably adjust the anchor point at the front as well.  Right now, it’s a bit too far forward, so the strongest support is just ahead of my arch.  If I move the strap back, I think the Romeos will be even more comfortable.

In other news, Denis and I sat down to listen to the music for my choreography project today.  He was having trouble finding the pulse in “The Poet Acts,” and since I’ll probably be working with at least a few non-dancers, we looked around for a piece with a more detectable pulse.  We decided on “Escape!” instead, also from The Hours.  We’re sorting choreography.  He likes my ideas, which makes me feel like maybe they’re not crazy.

So that’s it for now.  More tomorrow.

G’night, everybody.

Posted on | Aside

Apparently, I am just as bad at Math On An Empty Stomach as I am at Ballet On An Empty Stomach.

Good to know!

Posted on | Aside

Department of Mood Retrieval

So I got my exam back.  I made the usual array of stupid ADHD mistakes that I make on any first-exam-of-the-semester in any math class, because I always forget how absolutely horrible I am at error-checking my own work (seriously, you would not believe the bone-headed crap I do).

Today’s winner?

On a question asking us to identify the equation representing the translations of a given graph, showing both the original (solid line) and translated (dashed line) graphs, I first wrote out the correct equation for the translated graph.

Then, instead of circling THAT SAME FREAKING EQUATION in the list of four possible answers, I circled the equation for the un-translated graph.

>.<

This is the mathematical equivalent, I am quite sure, of sissone-ing the wrong way in the combo.

Oh, I called this “Department of Mood Retrieval” because initially I was very depressed about this, but now I find it funny, and it’s improving my mood a bit.

Posted on | Aside

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