So, guess what I am going to do this week? Take the level 3-5 class instead of my 1-2 class on Thursday. I'm a little nervous about it. My shin splints are still bothering me, and I overdid it a little tonight in an attempt to do a few gentle jumps that turned out to be a terrible idea. They are getting better, sloooooowly, but it will probably be a while before I'm back up to speed. I was going to wait until I hit that magical and halcyon day when I felt competent in level 3, but that day, sadly, will probably never arrive. Because I never really felt competent in level 1-2, either. I begin to believe there is no such thing as feeling competent.
Anyway, so I asked my teacher if I should wait for a while or if I should just go ahead and advance. And she said I should go ahead and advance because "you want to do pointe, right?" at which point (ha) I thought to myself oh geeze, do I? I mean for realios? Like... do all the hard work and suffer through the stupid painful parts for the sake of looking a little like I have GOAT HOOVES?
This is not a new line of thought. In fact, I am often seized by this exact same feeling when presented with any opportunity that looks like it's going to require work. You know. Effort and time and inconvenience. I'm nearly convinced that I would be a famous runway designer right now if I had any ambition whatsoever. But, I don't, and so I neglect opportunities when they knock. They've been trying for YEARS to get me to advance at the theater to a more interesting position. But... then I would have to work six days a week, and wouldn't even earn overtime when I have to put in 11 hour days?
Sigh...
Anyway, the answer is yes. Yes I do want to prance around with goat feet for a while, just to see what it's like. Five-year-old Me would never forgive me if I didn't. It might suck, who knows. And yes, I will even go to the extreme of feeling like the clumsy new girl for the rest of my life in order to continue doing something I enjoy. I will advance much faster and nail the tricky stuff with much less flailing about if I can focus on it more than once a week.
Also, just FYI: tonight's level 3 class wasn't half bad ( "it ain't half good, either" as I always think to myself when I feel like quoting Pinky and the Brain) I actually managed to not get all that lost on the funny barre combinations we always seem to do. The ones where instead of doing everything en croix we do some crazy switcheroo and start using our inside leg at what appears to be a totally random point. I think it was explained better this time, to be honest. But, I claim this victory in the name of getting my lazy ass to Thursday class, anyway.
I love the "goat hooves" image! I may have to talk one of my arty friends into photoshopping a pic of pointe shoes so they look like goat hooves.
ReplyDeleteSomehow, though, I think the goal is for the dancer to be silent and graceful, not clomp around like they have hooves. That's what separates the girls from the goats.
(p.s. Yes, shin splints suck. Had those when I ran track in high school, and never never ever want them again. What kind of floor are you dancing on?)
Goats are surprising spry little fellas! When I was a kid we had a neighbor with goats and we would let them graze in our field (it was a lot easier than mowing five acres with a stream going through the middle) and they would somehow manage to get into and onto things that you wouldn't believe. True, though, when they clambered on to the roof of our car it certainly wasn't silent OR graceful...
DeleteI'm not sure of the brand, but the studio floor was recently replaced with a new subfloor, which was designed for dancers. I suppose the change in the floor (even from one sprung floor to another type of sprung floor) could contribute to the shin splint problem.