It has been over 2 months that I’ve been back in ballet classes. Month one was a fairly rigorous re-introduction to basic barre work.  Early on, I had a feeling that with the addition of one more class, technique would come back much more quickly. So, for the month of February and in [...]

I have always found second position arms and legs difficult.  Without looking down, it’s so hard to get the heels spaced and aligned.  But look up, and in to the mirror, and I remember that my shoulders are raised and my elbows are falling (”wet chicken wings,” says Bob).  All the while, my standing leg [...]

This month, instead of two ballet classes per week, I’m taking three.  The additional class has already made a difference.
The most obvious effect is that the improvement of technique accelerates dramatically.  With only a day or two between each class, there is simply no time to forget.  This got me thinking about the marginal benefits [...]

This past week marked the end of my first month, back to ballet classes.  Along the way, I made notes of some lessons and challenges that became clear.  Naturally, I’ve also jotted some of Bob’s reality-check truisms.
January/February:

The closer your arms are to your body, the easier - but uglier - the full turn.  Arms must [...]

When I used to work for Lululemon, there was a strict, company-wide policy: no complaining.  Since complaining is sometimes amusing, adhering to the rule was far more challenging than I would have guessed.  Failure to do so resulted in fairly honest conversations, where words like “solution” and “grouchy” would get used.  Really, the idea sounds [...]