Back to ballet class after a 2 week break

There are some days after ballet when I seriously doubt myself.  Why would a 33 year old with no dance experience and limited flexibility decide that taking a ballet class would be a good idea?  It's near impossible to do anything correctly in class and even though I'm sort of flexible, none of that counts in ballet.  But tonight, I have hope! Class didn't go as terrible as I thought it would and I was actually able to do a pirouette!  Sort of.  Not really, but sort of.  Even though I haven't had ballet class in 2 weeks I have been going to the gym and stretching every night so that helps.

But I still hear the same corrections from my teacher: Stand up straight, don't move your hips and point your toes.  Those seem to be my biggest flaws.  I tend to move my hips when I try to just move my legs.  But unless your hips rotate in the socket like Barbie's hips, I don't understand how you're supposed to really rotate from your hip and only move your legs. Rather, I DO understand how it's done (in my head) but my body will not comply. 

I found this article randomly online today and I think it really explains why I'm having such a hard time in ballet.  Random article here.  Basically you have to do about a million things in order to perform one simple move.  You have to make sure your core is engaged, your head is facing the right way, your arms have to move with your feet, your feet have to be pointed and your standing leg always has to be turned out.  I usually remember about 2 things at a time.  My head hardly ever moves correctly.  Then throw in having to be on releve (or as our teacher calls it: on tippy point", and all hell breaks loose.

Here's how you're supposed to look when standing in a proper passé.  (well I wouldn't do this on pointe of course)
 

Here's my attempt at a passé on releve.  It's a bad angle I don't know why I look crooked but anyway it's all wrong.

The article above gives you a list of questions you should be asking yourself during class.  I will answer them based on today's class:

What Aches Today?
-Today I didn't have many aches but my hamstrings were a little tight.  After standing on releve for a few minutes my calves ached.  Now at home, my calves are killing me.

Do I Feel Warm?
-I actually felt pretty warm in class, but had a hard time doing jumps and grand battements at the end.

How is My Alignment?
-Terrible.  My shoulders and hips are hardly ever square and my shoulders are never "down" enough.  All class long I hear my teacher say: "Claudia shoulders down!".

Am I Breathing?
-Absolutely not.  I have learned that I can hold positions longer if I don't breathe.  Oh well.  Maybe if I get better I'll learn to breathe during class. 

Is My Weight Out of My Heels?
-Nope.  My main goal in class when we're doing center work is not to fall over because I can't seem to figure out how to shift my weight properly, especially when attempting to hold an arabesque.

Am I Rotating From the Hip?
-Only when I remember.  Having my hips and legs turned out is really hard for me since it's such an unnatural position.  I do admit I've gotten much better at rotating from the hip instead of the knees.  When I first started taking classes back in September my knees would really hurt after class.  I quickly corrected this because I do NOT want knee problems!

Where is My Head?
-Never following my arms, that's for sure.  All class long I hear my teacher say "Claudia, head head!".  I just can't seem to focus on pointing my feet, moving my arms correctly AND moving my head- way too many moving parts.

I really thought these questions were great because they are exactly the issues I struggle with during class.

Oh, and I originally started this post wanting to talk about how I felt hopeful after today's class.  Despite my troubles I don't actually think class went too badly.  I was able to sort of follow some of the exercises today and after one combination my teacher actually told me that it was "pretty not bad".  That is a BIG compliment by the way.  She's a sweetheart but hardly concedes that I'm doing anything properly (well because I'm NOT).  So, when I hear that I did something "pretty not bad" in class it's very exciting.
I
 even came home and did a few stretches at my barre since I was so excited I did something "pretty not bad" today! 

Until next time, I hope your week goes "pretty not bad"!