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March 27, 2014
Getting Back in to the Swing of Things
Up until this last week, I had only been attending one ballet class a week. This has partly been because I’ve wanted to take it slow and partly because it’s been super cold this winter. This past week I finally decided to take the leap and take not one but three ballet classes.
As HQ wrote earlier this week, he came to class with me last Friday. Friday night class is quickly becoming one of my favorite classes because it’s earlier in the evening and because it’s in a pretty nice studio. I decided to take another class Saturday morning.
While I’m not a huge fan of back-to-back classes, I decided to go to a Saturday morning class as well. It went really well, but I was immediately sore afterwards.
But it was good to feel that sore again and not really be in pain. It was mostly my quads, but my calves still tend to get really sore, too. Compression gear has helped immensely with dealing with the soreness and I spent nearly all Saturday and Sunday in full compression gear.
It’s good to be getting back into the swing of things. As I wrote yesterday, I went to another class on Monday and felt great as well. Yesterday I was super antsy since I hadn’t been active the past few days, so I even did a few barre exercises at home.
Here’s to another great weekend of ballet classes!
What’s been going well in your ballet classes lately?
March 26, 2014
“There’s a reason why we do the boring exercises.”
“There’s a reason why we do the boring exercises.”
One of the instructors says this in Dance Academy, demonstrating how simple quarter turns eventually adds up to multiple pirouettes and fouettes. I was reminded of the value of the “boring exercises” in my class last Monday.
Despite being pretty tired from the weekend and work, I decided to try out Philly Dance Fitness’s new Monday night beginner ballet class. The instructor has been with Philly Dance Fitness for a while, but she just started teaching a new ballet class. I’m always nervous about taking classes with new instructors (since I never know what to expect), but luckily the class was at least in a familiar studio.
It was a super back-to-basics class, which I feel like I really needed. Currently, I’m trying really hard to focus on not over-pronating, which can be really tough to do when we’re doing more difficult combinations. The simple combinations allowed me to really focus in on this (although wearing too tight ballet slippers made this a little tougher). In addition, it was a pretty small class (there was only about five of us), which was nice. My only qualm about the class was that it was so late (8 to 9:15pm).
Overall, it was really nice to focus on the basics and work on positioning my body properly and having better technique.
I’ll definitely be keeping this class in my rotation so that I can keep working on the basics and really focus on not over-pronating.
Have you taken a “back-to-basics” class lately?
March 24, 2014
Boyfriend Does Ballet: Second ballet class in…3 years?
It has definitely been a long time since I’ve done any ballet or taken a ballet class. I have to admit–I miss it. I’ve been relatively inactive since graduation: I became so used to being in college and going to the gym all the time because it was convenient. Once I graduated (and moved off campus), it wasn’t.
Now that I have a job I can start going to dance classes again and that’s what I intend to do.
Being at the barre felt bizarre. When I “started” ballet in high school through my schools theater program, we never did barre work. Now I know most of you are thinking “Blasphemy! How could you not work at the barre?!?!” but the dance classes were mostly there so we could gain exposure to different styles of dance. It also served as time to work on dances for our yearly musical and teach us the fundamentals. I definitely don’t miss doing jazz squares for 2 minutes in our musicals.
Back on topic: I forgot how tiring barre exercises are and how easy it is to forget form when trying to remember the entire combination. When we were on the floor for our center combination I felt a little better about the combination, but still felt extremely lacking due to my terrible form.I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of technique and fitness.
All in all, I definitely want to start dancing more. It’s expensive, yes, but I feel that it’s worth it for how different it exercises the body and the mind compared to just going to the gym.
Why do you take ballet classes?
March 20, 2014
Thursday’s are for Thinking Out Loud #5
Check out the link up at runningwithspoons.com!
Admittedly, it’s been pretty hectic around here. HQ started a new job last week (yay!) meaning I’ve been doing a lot of this blog work solo (if you notice more typos or grammar mistakes, that’s why).
Dancing with the Stars
I’ve actually never watched this dance TV show, but I tuned in on Monday to catch Meryl Davis and Charlie White. While I’m far from the biggest fan of the show, I imagine I’ll keep tuning in while the two of them are still on the show.
Talenti Gelato
Earlier this week, I was really craving gelato, and really wanted to get some from one of the gelato places in Philly. Unfortunately, that’ll run you about $5 for a teeny tiny cup of it. Although this is fairly expensive compared to other store bought ice creams, this stuff is delicious.
Yoga Time
My dance studio is running a “Yoga for Runners” class on Sunday that I’m super excited for. Not just because I’m a runner, but because usually yoga classes made for runners give my ballet muscles a good stretch, too!
Do you watch Dancing with the Stars? Have you taken a yoga class recently?
