Piruetti is the Finnish word for pirouette. The Finnish word for devil is piru. Coincidence? You think? Well, I can tell you this for sure: that devil's leg has been broken. My pirouettes are back, as is my confidence. The latter came first and lo and behold - multiple turns followed! Yesterday I managed a clean double from fifth, which always feels harder to do. And today I turned several solid doubles in our advanced class, which felt really nice. Madame's class is not exactly easy to begin with and sometimes I end up trying too hard. But today I was in the right state of mind and on top of my legs. Love when that happens. Oh, and got me some pirouette-praise from Madame! Happy now. :)
The Adult Ballet Experience
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To That Special Ballet Teacher
To that special ballet teacher, who not only teaches you about technique, but helps build your confidence, nurtures your inner artist, ...
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Never say never - but when I posted You Will Never See Me In Pink Tights , I meant it. For real. Because when I'm in ballet class I... -
Multiple pirouettes, tricky steps on pointe and acrobatic jumps are eternal crowd pleasers, and rightly so - after all, it takes exceptiona...
Congrats on your clean double! It feels nice doesn't it? :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! It feels great, always does. :)
Deletegood for you, Johanna! i had my own little pirouette epiphany just earlier this week! I can do turns from tendu front/arms to high 5th, quite well, and i just learned those in the last few months. But i suck at turns that are tendu back w/arms forward. i think i figured out the trick! in the good turns, there is that slight forward movement of the arm before the turn, that coincides w/the breath, and it's all easy and controlled. in the bad turns, (which i am always tense in b/c i know i suck at them) i've just been pulling my arm so forcefully across my chest and the whipping movement is too much! i've instituted the slight forward movement and it's helped! it was a very exciting discovery after 5 years of hating turns! i'm actually looking forward to turning to improve with my new trick, instead of dreading them!! yay!!
ReplyDeleteSee! Never give up hope :) Sometimes the big ahaa-moment comes years after, even if you've been hearing all the directions and corrections. Maybe some other problem got fixed along the way, and your finally ready to move on to the next challenge. One of the reasons why I love ballet. The surprises just keep coming!
DeleteGood girl! :)
Nice :)
ReplyDeleteVery :)
DeleteLol, you made me laugh with the "piru" thing. It's not a coincidence. Pirouettes are evil!
ReplyDeleteGlad they are not that evil for you anymore, Johanna! Keep up the good work! :D
Thanks, Nerea! Actually, I think those new contact lenses have really helped. I can spot from a distance now, and have a better sense of my surroundings. I just feel more secure :)
DeleteHi Johanna! Never thought about the piru-"coincidence" before - makes sense, haha! I did my first ever double pirouette yesterday. It wasn't pretty but felt so good!
ReplyDeleteYes, and I wonder how many dancers would be prepared to sell their soul to the devil.. ;)
DeleteCongrats on your first double pirouette! Enjoy the feeling - oh, and "pretty" will come eventually!
COngratulations on getting past the Evil Turning Block! It's a constant battle that comes and goes but it seems like a rite of passage for dancers, perhaps :) Still, it's encouraging and comforting to read that others face down this monster and win!
ReplyDeleteKaija, I missed you! So glad you're back commenting :)
ReplyDelete"The Evil Turning Block" - hahahhaa :D I will have to copy that sometime, it's just brilliant. Also, the "shitty committee" you shared some time ago has long since become a staple in our ballet circle. :)
Seriously, pirouettes come and go. Whenever you're on a roll it's best to prepare already for the next battle!
Loved your comment about the Finnish word word for pirouette being devil. Clever connection.
ReplyDeleteI'm a student doing a project on adult beginners in ballet, and I was hoping you might be willing to answer some questions for me. Perhaps we could trade email addresses as I live in America.
Best,
Dana
Hi Dana! Sure, I would love to help you out in any way I can. Although it's been a while since I was a beginner.. ;)
DeleteI would also recommend you contact Lorry from Bead109 - she writes a blog just like me. And is a fairly recent adult beginner in ballet.
You can e-mail me at: PointeTilYouDrop@gmail.com
Best,
Johanna
Do you think it's a coincidence that "fouette" includes the word "fou", French for "crazy"? ;-)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the pirouettes.
Definitely no coincidence. Fouettés drive me crazy all the time! :D
DeleteThank you, Katherine.