Just something Madame said in class. Why? Because the moment ballet starts to feel easy, you are no longer progressing - you are settling for less. "Easy" is a sign that you can push yourself further, and that you have more to give!
Tuesday's advanced class was intense. Corrections and instructions throughout the entire barre. Twice my teacher asked me to do part of an exercise again, while the rest of the class pliéd and tendued along. Once Madame even did the exercise with me so I could get the rhythm and accent of a tricky double ronde de jambes right. And I was happy to do it! There are still so many things to improve upon.. More turn-out, deeper pliés, no tilting of the hip in pliés, keeping weight on the working leg, longer back, bigger port de bras - always presenting yourself, stretched knees, forwarded heels, pointed toes at all times..
When it gets easy, make it harder. Just be aware that "harder" is not about quantity - what you want is more quality! Yesterday I really pushed myself, to the pointe that I could barely haul my derriere back home! But that's what you get for making it harder. That and better turn-out, improved balances, decent pirouettes, stronger legs, more bounce in the jumps and more dance in the steps. I had an amazing class, and I loved every minute of it! The cherry on top of it - Madame told me "that everything is getting better." Now, how cool is that? :)
I just Had to mark both, "getting better" and "good girl" :D Because that's true!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Iepukka :)
ReplyDeleteI did get a "good girl" at the beginning of class, and twice there was a "nice". M-P is very generous with giving everyone positive feedback. But best of all was the assesment after class - like getting an unexpected A+ in school! ;)
No, even better was getting all that attention and fine-tuning! I would advance nowhere if my teachers would not correct, demand, encourage and push me further. You pay for your classes, but teachers like that are simply priceless!