Thursday, May 10, 2007

A Surprise After Class



Watching Jimmy Sha and the other great dancers from Anaheim Ballet inspired me today. I worked really hard in class tonight: I concentrated on feeling narrow and flat like a fencer, but still pulled up my back to lengthen my body. I've had these coorections before, but watching good dancers on YouTube made me able to visualize what I was supposed to look like if I did it correctly. I still have to focus on making sure I'm using all my core and leg muslces at the same time, because I tend to just let my calves, upper and mid abs do the balancing, but it worked well, and I could tell the difference in my body position. I could balance longer and I felt my dancing was closer to how it was when I was a teenager. I decided to try triple pirouettes today. I came pretty darn close to landing one neatly during class. After class, I practiced on my own and landed a few triples. And then I just decided to just pull everything up real tight and centered and spin, and holy smokes...I landed a quad. I don't think I've ever done that before! I really can't remember if I ever did a quadruple pirouette. I know I may have landed a few triples, but never a quad. Man...you know what that tells me? Maybe if I had continued dancing seriously after high school, I would be doing sextuples or more right now. Lisa asked me why it didn't happen. School, of course. My parents quashed any dreams of being a dancer early on. I was 13 and had just entered high school. I had my first big pointe solo that year with multiple arabesque turns as the climax. They wouldn't let me go to nationals in New York after winning regionals in a DanceMasters competition. Ah well. I felt that they were being wise and I didn't push the issue that much. Though in my heart, I was quite disappointed, but I would have had to eventually lose maybe 10 lbs. even at my high school weight (105) to become a serious ballerina. They also don't make much and it's a cutthroat field, but least I could have said I followed my dream. It's a romantic notion. I'd like to think if I had kids, I'd let them follow their dreams, but maybe I'll be like my own parents and persuade them onto a more practical path.
My legs and butt already feel more sore than usual tonight. I'll probably feel more pain tomorrow when I get up in the morning. But it's a good feeling because I know it's from working hard.

6 comments:

Pei said...

Wow! Good job. I can't even walk in a circle without feeling dizzy.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I didn't know you danced competitively back in high school. I probably should have known. You're really good, Shulkie. ^_^

I know where you're coming from. I guess both of us just have to keep motivated.

Claire said...

Well, my parents' thing has always been that if Alex doesn't get a job, she has to go back to college and get a degree. They'll help her out but she has to work on the side too. I guess you just have to decide if your child has talent enough to succeed. Also, I think in the back of their minds that since she's only 20, they're not doing any more than they would for her if she were in school.

She-Hulk said...

C, your parents are pretty understanding. I don't think mine would have let me go much further with dancing even if I said that't what I wanted to do, unless i pulled some ridiculous stunts like drop out of school and runaway.

She-Hulk said...

Still, I probably should've pushed harder, but I've always been the obedient child.

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