Last night I attended my first ballet class!
As part of the Raqs Flow program with Sadie Marquardt, we are required to take classes in yoga and another form of dance such as ballet, jazz, etc. I chose ballet.
When I started social dancing (salsa, swing, ballroom), I noticed that the best dancers, or the dancers who looked like they were more grounded - I hope that makes sense - and especially those who had the most beautiful spins were trained in ballet.
They don't call it "classical dance" for nothing! Like classical music, it really is the backbone of all other dance forms. If you can dance ballet, you can dance anything (yes, even hip hop).
It was so refreshing to try something completely new. This wasn't a dance I could "cheat" at. For example, I can fudge my way through a class in kizomba because I already have a background in salsa, bachata, merengue, etc. This was a class where everything was brand new: the position of my feet, body, arms...
What I loved so much about taking ballet is how my muscles felt! Wow! I've always said, "Don't mess with a college or professional cheerleader!"...well, add ballet dancer to that list. I was doing the absolute basic movements of ballet and I felt every single muscle in my body working to elongate and be beautiful yet strong all at the same time - and I was probably doing most of it incorrectly!
I also found out how large my calves really are haha. No wonder ballet dancers have to be slender and thin! I was trying to touch my heels together in first position and found my foot bouncing away as my calves collided. As my Polish great grandmother would say, "You have nice, big legs. You strong. You go pull plow." Thanks great grandma ;) - I also have to buy an 11 inch ankle bracelet to fit my ankles...if you have never worn an ankle bracelet before, just for comparison, most bracelets are 9 inches long, and those 9 inch bracelets are loose and dangle below the ankle bone of most women...haha...riiiight....
I look forward to taking ballet classes on a regular basis and seeing how it affects not only my body and muscles but also my quality of dance in other dance forms. I'm most excited about being able to spin properly!
If you have never tried ballet, I highly recommend it. You can be an adult and a complete beginner. It's really a fantastic experience!
Happy Dancing <3
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I fell in love with belly dancing when I was 16 years old. I was a Russian dancer with a group from my church and we were performing at an international party when I saw belly dancing for the first time. I couldn't stop watching the dancer and decided from that point on that I would focus all of my dance energy on belly dancing. The rest is history...
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