I'm a jumper

In addition to my open ballet class, I'm also taking a modern class this semester.  The unclimbable mountain of every class is her major adagio-allegro double whammy that takes a good 15 minutes to learn by 8s.  Usually 4 counts of very slow 8, so you might as well call it 8 counts of 8.  They're great, though, and we do them over and over in two groups so we can figure out what we were actually supposed to do while the other group is going.


Normally we don't jump, really not at all, which is a shame.   My extensions are only so-so, my knees look perpetually bent from the inside, and my back will be forever thrown by some spinning falls off of horses.  But my jumps are good.  Petit allegro, grand allegro, turns, grand waltzes, whatever, if something is "for boys," I like doing them and I'm good at it.  After poking my knees at barre trying to get me to "straighten all the way," my instructors invariably see me jump and go, "oh look!  You are good for something."

I'm definitely bragging here, but it's my one claim to ballet okay-ness.

Anyway, we don't jump a ton in my modern class, so my modern instructor has never really seen my jumps, but today... oh, today.  We did THREE medium-allegro combinations from side to side, kind of like interval training because she made sure we knew what we were doing a couple of times across the floor, and then asked the musician to vamp up the speed, and then vamp it up again, and again.  And then we did a second combination, and then a third.  And she was very pleased with my jumps.  She SAID so.  To the CLASS.  In one of the crazy-fast renditions of the second combination she said, "Watch how Robin barely touches the floor--well, she hits with a very good plie, but then immediately pushes off.  That's how she can do it so fast."

That's all.  It was a good class. 

(Combinations:

1.  Moving from stage left to right.  8 counts.

Tombe onto right foot (1), coupe pivot as if going into a jete tour (and), saute arabesque on R leg facing UsR (2 and), run run to face DsL (3 and), rond de jambe R arching towards working leg, side to front (4), step onto R (and), pique facing DsL onto L (5) plie on L (and), grand jete a la seconde to R facing front (6) step (and), grand jete R leg front facing stage R (7) step (and), chug with R leg in passe, curving upper back (8 and).

2.  Moving from stage left to right.  10 counts.

R leg degage side, upper back arch away from leg (1) step (and), step (2) L leg degage side, upper back arch away from leg (and), step step to face DsL in parallel (3 and), degage parallel arabesque R leg (4) step back onto demi pointe onto R leg (and), step demi pointe L leg, arching upper back backwards (5) step forward plie parallel onto R leg (and), little pas de chat in parallel with L leg to passe first, starting to come out of the arch (6) step plie pivoting to turned out coupe, facing stage R (and), step backward onto L leg and saute with R leg arabesque (7 and), step backward onto R leg and saute with L leg arabesque (8 and), land fourth with R leg front (9 and), jump forward in fourth, arching upper back backwards (10 and). 

3.  Moving from stage left to right.  8 counts. 

Saute on L leg, facing front, R leg passe, upper back arched backwards (1 and), step onto R leg, facing DsL and saute with L leg in arabesque (2 and), grand jete backwards with R leg brushing back, L leg ending in a degage front (3 and), coupe, saute on L leg with R leg extended a la seconde (4 and), run run to face UsR (5 and), grand jete R leg forward (6 and), step fouette saute R leg extended, (7 and), little hitchkick to change legs so L leg is in low attitude back (8).  )

Risk taking

For my dance classes at UW-Madison I had to sign my life away.  You know, disclaimer, dancing is inherently dangerous and you risk serious injury, etc., etc., don't sue us when you're whisked away on a stretcher, etc.  I never really think about dance as a dangerous activity, but obviously it is--how else would professionals get so seriously injured on the job?  Things can break or snap or strain in all kinds of ways.  Just look at this slow motion!

Anyway, there's nothing quite like pointework to make you realize that this stuff is scary.  You know that part in Black Swan where she's doing the fouettés in front of the mirror, and they have that slow motion bit, and then her toenail cracks?  Yeah, I think of that every time I go en pointe now.  Thanks a lot, Black Swan.

But sometimes you have to take the risk.  Today I went to a ballet class with a different teacher, who didn't know how long (short!) I've been doing pointe.  Which is, of course, two months, if we're being generous--six weeks if you count the number of classes I've taken. 

I don't do an actual pointe class; I just do the last part of barre and the first part of center.  Initially I was putting them on after stretching because we always did relevés and elevés between barre and center.  But every class I've been adding a little bit more, like the corner waltz or corner turns.  Today our corner turns were two piqué turns en dedans, then one en dehors, tombé onto the working foot, and then turn on that foot, en dedans.

My initial reaction to this combination was "Hm, I wonder if I can even do this en pointe..."  But I tried it.  And I didn't break anything, but then I found out that it was actually a fouetté, and not a one-footed pirouette.  So I tried it that way, and it worked, and then the teacher says:

"You can do a double, you know.  The fouetté will whip you around for it."
Me:  "Er... not en pointe, I don't think!"
Her:  "Yes, you can!"  
Me:  "Well... I guess I can try..."

So I did, to the left, and I actually managed a double, which is amazing because not only was I turning on my weaker left leg, but also turning in the left direction, which is my weaker direction.  It only worked once; the second time I was slightly off and didn't make it around twice.  But now my biggest pointe accomplishment is a double fouetté en dedans to the left.  All because I managed to block out that image of bones shattering.  :D