Alexander

"improver" may be more useful term. Or, as I like to put, know enough to get myself in trouble very quickly with limited excuses.

"Intermediate" covers a wide spectrum. I may be practiced or proficient at some things but thoroughly agricultural at other things. And I think sometimes we may confuse fundamentals with "beginners". For me, I can't get enough of fundamentals. There is always room to practice and polish something fundamental, even a plie.

Yes, the chemistry between instructor and student I find important. Some I don't get on with at all: nope, not doing that, not ever. Sorry, not happening, going on strike. Did you say something?

On the memory thing, my instructor shared a story of famous ballerina (Fonteyn?). Anyway, story goes my instructor who knew a dancer who practiced with Fonteyn who insisted they always stood at the barre in front of her. This went on for a long period. Anyway at some point, the dancer asked Fonteyn why she, being so much an accomplished dancer insisted on this? The answer was that she forgot the sequences and wanted someone to follow and remind her what to do. Yeh, I know, ballet is probably littered with these stories but sort of gives the permission to be forgetful.

Not sure if this helps but I'll share - it's something I've struggled with. That is, I allow sessions where I absolutely suck. I can be the crappiest, rubbish dancer or fencer ever. But, and this is a house rule, I have to find one or two things that I liked, that was new, that felt good or that improved even if they seem small or minor. I really have a love hate realtionship with relevees.. too quick, feet all over the place and it is not, in any sense Baroque. Nasty, nasty relevees. Its just one bundle of nervous twitching. But over time I find small things get better, slowly. I make a wee correction here or there - not the whole thing but focusing on one part of the exercise slowly builds.

Oh, and I forgot, regular updates on rodent activity in the instructor's garden. Ballet needs rodents. It makes me want to gnaw the barre,

LOL, some of the instructors' sense of humour is very entertaining. Select instances: - "don't plonk down" one instructor - "no splatting [down]" the other instructor - "I'd like to see a nice foot extenson, no preying mantis, please?" - "we don't want turkish slippers" [aka, don't curl toes upwards] - "we don't want chicken wing" port de bras - "we really don't want [the aesthetic] bursting through the saloon doors" as if in a cowboy western movie Now, one could listen carefully and make the necessary adjustments as good student might or one may get a bit excited and deploy the spindly dino arms port de bras.. er..umm

On the memory thing I do a lot of baroque dance where there are step patterns. This helps with the memory but is sort of more fun I find because we're dancing as a group or with a partner rather than being at the barre. Good feeling to remember a whole dance without fluffing it too much. And good for finding sneaky ways to correct the footsies when things go a bit awry.

Someone shared with me in fencing: "we're all beginners, just that some have been beginners longer than others".

... may sound a bit left field but exploring music has helped - different types of rhythms; duple, triple, compound and how this can relate to step patterns. Though anything more than moderate and I fall to pieces

Sounds like a plan! Yes, memory is a thing. Interestingly, the more I do the more I find dance and ballet has a language of its own so with practice the body, weirdly, has a tendency to find or desire a line or position, especially if I am not struggling with myself or paying more attention to the music. I fence also and there is a strong overlap with the sort of historical fencing practiced; a shared aesthetic but that can sort of get confusing in the coordination department. Relevees. My ballet nemesis!

Thought I'd share as the gathering gloom of Omicron descends. Teacher uses French terminology so with the resumption of real class (good fun) I was struggling with one particular reference in class for feet movement "carre parque". Took me several weeks to realise the foot to be moved was the one nearest the car park. Erm... DOH!

Hi there! Good to read your post. I'm relatively new to adult ballet starting in my 50s and it is a blast. Very good fun but can be frustrating; some days go well, some not so well!. What I am finding is not to place too much pressure on myself as I go along; some things are okay, some things are very tricky. I do some ballet conditioning classes (stamina, stretching etc) and this seems to help a lot find security, strength and flexibility that benefits work at the barre. But the conditioning can be tough going. I think I pretty much blessed being a class with a good teacher - a strong focus on fundamental techniques. If we seem to be struggling as a group we go back and practice more fundamentals. Alex

Reverencing to the Presence and partner is a thing in historical dance, removal of hat, shuffling around, putting hat back on. Not too dissimilar to salutes in fencing.

Real class has restarted. Thought I'd pop along to the new conditioning class. I mean what could possibly go wrong? To my horror there is the prospect of therabands... er, I might need close supervision to avoid self strangulation.

Pterodactyl en l'air

It's their spindly dino arms port de bras that elevates their dino moves!

I was particularly impressed by T-Rex tendu derriere. Negotiating that tail looked tricky.

Not enough crustaceans in dance.

That was so funny. But also so special because making the mundane like sitting down look so beautiful and to create that comedy as they do.. joyous!

Peck’s Pulcinella Variations was fun to watch and some of the variations had a Baroque feel to music and dance. Perhaps not really what the choreographer wanted or desired, I'd like to have seen more of that chaotic, ribald and subversive element that commedia dell'arte brings; the costumes show this. I''m left wondering whether some of the variations really encouraged the potential for sardonic foolery and satire that can edge into darkness?

ROFL, hilarious!

After watching Moon Water...