March 14, 2014

Beginner Ballerina Profile: Beth Porter of Trees and Toes

This week’s profile is of Beth Porter who runs a blog over on Tumblr called Trees and Toes! She also wrote a fabulous guest post last week, Turnout in Your Twenties.

ballet01 copy

Why did you decide to take ballet as an adult?

I had been intrigued by ballet for a few years, and after I moved to Washington DC, I found that I finally had time for a hobby and I needed something separate from my job and other passion (environmental work). Ballet provided just the right mix of a mental challenge and physical activity, plus offered an immensely freeing way of self-expression. I was hooked right away!

 Where do you take classes?

A few studios around Washington, DC: Joy of Motion, Dance Institute of Washington, and occasionally I do drop-in classes at the Washington Ballet. I travel a bit for work and try to take drop in classes at other companies like Alonzo King Lines Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet when in SF and Chicago.

 What is your favorite part about ballet?

As far as specific moves or exercises, I love doing circular port de bras, fondus, and rond de jambes at the barre. I also love arabesques and grand jetes en tournant are quite fun.

What is your least favorite part?

I’m always challenged by making my glissades a bit tighter and quicker! Long legs are tough to pull in quickly…so I’d have to say combinations with quick glissades. Also, when class is nearly over and we’re all worn out but the instructor asks for 32 changements. 🙂

 Who/What is your ballet inspiration?

I seek out taller dancers to follow, like Joffrey Dancers Valerie Robin and Fabrice Calmels, many of the dancers from Ballet West, as well as Teresa Reichlen from NYCB…they always inspire me to embrace my height and use my long limbs the best ways possible. I also adore watching Sylvie Guillem and her amazing fluidity and flexibility.

 What motivates you to keep dancing?

The drive to improve my technique in the hopes of eventually being able to perform! And honestly, when I go a week without taking a class or practicing on my own, I feel my entire attitude shift. Dancing keeps me positive and energized.

 Do you take any other dance classes?

Not yet, but I’d love to start learning some modern and branch out into contemporary ballet.

 What are your hobbies outside of ballet?

I’m kind of a tree nerd and love helping out local non-profits in DC that do tree plantings and education. I also enjoy going to the many art museums and galleries around the city and spending time with friends while eating delicious food!

What advice would you like to give to those who want to start ballet or have just started?

As cliche as it may sound…don’t give up! It’s so easy to feel inferior as a beginner, especially when you’re in a class with dancers who may have been trained for years when they were younger. I try to remind myself that learning ballet is my own personal practice (kind of a yoga mindset) and that some days, my technique will be great and others not as much. It’s all part of the process of learning and the beautiful moments when you realize how far you’ve come are absolutely worth the confusing and sometimes frustrating moments when you’re just starting out. I also noticed a huge difference once I stopped looking at my feet, and tried to “fake it til I made it” by holding up my head and carrying myself proudly like a ballerina.

Do you have a blog?

I do! http://treesandtoes.tumblr.com/

 

image

Filed Under: Adult Ballerinas, Interviews Tagged With: Leave a Comment
March 3, 2014

Guest Post: Turnout in Your Twenties

tumblr_mpu21g8WlH1sas3pao1_500

It was the fouettes that got me.

My ballet obsession would be nothing without the film Center Stage. There’s that moment at the end of the performance where she just spins like a carefree top, making it look so effortless and liberating…I wanted to do that.

I started learning ballet rather late in life, the ripe old age of 24. After musing about it for a few months, I’m a little embarrassed to say that a tumultuous break-up was the catalyst for my first class. I needed distraction and a way to express all I was feeling. I got that and then some.

My first time at the barre I felt like an imposter.

Before my first class, I observed dancers stretching in full splits, working their turn-out, and doing so with a calm expression, exuding a sense of confidence and experience in their motion. Not knowing anything beyond “first position,” the next hour and half proved to be one of the most physically challenging times of my life. However, it also proved to be a sincerely exhausting mental work-out.

I’ve heard many dancers say that they dance because of the moment when “it all fades away,” except for the music and their movement…there’s some sort of magical ‘zone’ they find themselves in, like a safe place to just let everything else go.

Naturally, I knew I wouldn’t find it right away, my own little zone. But I wasn’t quite prepared for the amount of mental work it takes to get through even one ballet class, my head swimming with French terms, combinations, and of course, massive self-doubt.

Where could this alleged zone of freedom possibly exist in all the confusing thoughts buzzing around my brain?

Not to mention, when I started out I felt like an oaf.

The mirrors flanking every inch of the studio served as a constant reminder that I tower over most other women in the class, at my sky-scraping 5’10” height. But, in time, I’ve learned how to have more control over my long limbs (developing muscles I never even knew I had!) and now when I feel myself slouching to be shorter, I raise my spine up with pride. I work through my frustrations with my height and remember that though I stand out, I will have an immediate presence and I try to find strength in that length.

Dancing requires one main thing: movement. Tall, short, thin, curvy, slow, fast. The ability and love of expressing ones’ self through the body is something to be respected. No matter if you’re 5’4” or 6’0”. No matter if you’ve had a thousand ballet classes or are just rising to relevé for the first time.

In the past year, I’ve seen some beautiful glimpses of my little zone of freedom, where my brain stops thinking and my body continues moving…pushing out the stressful noises and the worries of what’s going to happen next year, in a week, in 5 minutes. I won’t hear the ring of my nagging cell phone, I won’t read a ‘catastrophic’ email, or a text saying I’ve missed a deadline. My little zone is a moment of pure elation held exclusively for me, that I can find when I stop doubting myself and let go.

 Check out Beth’s blog Trees and Toes.

Filed Under: Ballet Tagged With: , , , , 1 Comment