I’m going to jump right back in and muse on the two classes I’ve taken so far during my triumphant (?) return to ballet! But actually! This is a lie because my first class back postpartum round 2 was with Alyona in Wilmington during my visit to my family there last winter. I left the kids with my mom and brother-in-law while my sister and I took Alyona’s beginner ballet class. I made it through barre before my (at the time) six-month-old had had enough, and then I fled, happy and very sore. Okay NOW I’m jumping in to the classes I took this summer back at home. CLASS ONE…
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I’m back!
Hello again dear “readers” (all zero of you)! It has been more than seven years since I updated my ballet blog! Much has happened since my last post in March 2019: I got married that year in July. In the month before the wedding, I signed up for a Barre studio across the street from our apartment; I did that instead of ballet (maybe my studio was on summer break?). I went all the time and I remember at one point getting a correction because I was doing a ballet arabesque and I was not supposed to turn out or something. So silly. “Barre” is an ugly distortion of ballet,…
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Hooves problems
Monday’s class was a disaster. Well. Only grand allegro was a disaster. But it’s the last thing we do! It felt like I had never taken a single ballet class in my life. Like I had total amnesia and woke up in the corner of the studio. We had to do a développé facing away from the mirror, chassé and turn to do it again facing the mirror and I KEPT turning the wrong way and getting all mixed up. And even the first développé where I had the direction correct felt sloppy and unsteady. How does everything fall apart so quickly after barre?? Oh well. I think sometimes a…
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Cool like that
Alas! I did not take a dance class in New York! I took a great yoga class, though (at Yoga to the People in St. Marks, highly recommend). I was afraid to dance because I injured (?) my foot/ankle/I don’t know what’s going on. I woke up a few Saturdays back (March 2) with a stiff foot, like as soon as I got out of bed and stepped on it, it hurt. I brushed it off as general stiffness and not a concerning injury, because it felt like the former! So I went on to ballet class that afternoon. Which is where I realized something was actually wrong. I let…
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One thin mime
On Thursday, I felt something in my slipper after pliés. Before we turned and did the other side I hooked a finger into the shoe to investigate whether a string had come loose and made its way under my foot. To my surprise, I pulled out a single shining dime. So that was a first. Last week, Thursday’s class had been packed. This week, apparently it was just down to the regulars. When I walked in the building, Jim said, “She came back!” and when we got into the studio, he loudly announced that I was the only new person from last week who returned. I don’t have too much…
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Good evening, NASA
I tried out a new class: Beginner/Intermediate on Thursday at 7:30. I’m so glad I did! I loved it! I think it will be a great addition to my existing schedule. I liked the instructor, Terese, instantly. I feel really lucky to have access to so many excellent teachers at my studio. I was ready for a tough class, but Terese came in exuding a friendly and light-hearted energy that immediately put me at ease. When she recommended the Thursday night class to me, my ballet-friend Miranda warned me that Terese likes difficult patterns, but that she repeats a lot and you get used to them. Indeed, Terese started off…
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Just call us the Sisters Sauté
Today’s post is a guest post from my sister, Kevina. I took her to “Intro/Beginner Ballet” while she visited Atlanta for the weekend. Here is her dance class recap! My notes are in brackets.] TAKEOVER ALERT! To all those in the dance world, hi, I’m Kevina, Kaylyssa’s big sister and a total newb to the dance world since starting modern dance in 2017. This whole “dancing with my baby sister” thing is a surprising twist in our sisterhood, since as a youth I was all about sports and feats of strength, and was/am also the least graceful person I know. Well, the times they’re a changing, and now I know…
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Zen and the art of the ballet body
Monday night upon arrival to the studio, I was suddenly and extremely bloated. Which was uncomfortable and, as much as I tried to dismiss it as unimportant when looking in the mirror, negative thoughts wormed their way in. It is sort of shocking to wake up with one body shape and end the day as an entirely different shape — while you are wearing a skintight leotard and looking into a wall of mirrors. Also, I’ve been trying to do some yoga at home, so I had sore shoulders and arms from that, and felt generally stiff. I guess it was a physically uncomfortable class. I had a really good…
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Semantic satiation
It’s been the usual ballet grind lately—no forays into modern dance or scary new teachers. I finally learned the name of the other lady that comes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Miranda. She’s really nice. We were chatting and I mentioned that class I went to on Friday. “Oh you went to Pedro’s class?!” she said excitedly. I told her all my woes and she was understanding but insisted that his class is great, if hard. I didn’t go to any class last Friday. Just didn’t feel like it. I’ve been good about going every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday as I promised myself I would, but I’ve been less enthusiastic than…
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This is bolshoit
I have now been to three four classes since I last wrote. I’m going to focus on Friday’s class but first: SHOUT OUTS Shout out to the dude who looked like he was some kind of high school sports guy/jock who came into Beginning Ballet on Wednesday in sweat pants and jazz shoes with little/no dance experience and a great attitude. I really hope these younger and upcoming generations of young men are getting a different idea about ballet and how fun and awesome and beautiful it is no matter what gender you are or are not. Special shout out to the young woman who I mentioned coming in with a…
