The Great Pants-less Escapade

I never realized how muscular my feet are!

Everyone has days where stuff just doesn't seem to go as planned. But those days look a little different when you're a dancer.

First of all, I know that caffeinated soda is no excuse for good nutrition. But every once in a while (a little too often, lately) I have moments where I substitute a Coke for real food. It's a terrible option, but that's where I was today.

So there I was, driving along to tonight's class, when I opened my Coke and it was way more carbonated than I expected. Coke sprayed all over the inside of my car and on my pants. In a most un-mom-like fashion, I didn't have a single napkin, paper towel or rag in my entire car and I figured, "these pants already need to be washed, I'll just use them to clean up this sticky mess." I waited until I was at a stoplight to take off my pants, and I was wearing booty-shorts underneath, but I was still technically in gear so I'm guessing that's a ticket-able offense. And I couldn't think of a reasonable excuse to give an officer, so I was pretty relieved that there were no police around.

What kind of ticket would they write for "removing pants whilst still in gear" anyway?

I made it to class and it was, as expected, just great. I left the windows of my car rolled down about an inch to take advantage of the cooler night air--despite the 30% chance of rain--because I live in the desert and it just doesn't rain that much here. Until tonight. Holy buckets of rain, Batman! Tonight it poured! And soaked at least half of the driver's seat. Great.

Pants-less, perched on half the seat of my car, and getting a soggy bottom, I received a text from my husband asking me to stop at the store and pick up some brown sugar. I happened to know that he was making secret-recipe cookies for some friends who were stopping by later, and I know how good those cookies are, and I knew I would be getting some too, so I agreed to stop by the store. (It helps that there's a store near the studio.) But I still didn't have any pants.

Did I let that stop me? No, I did not. I marched through that store, dripping wet, in a T-shirt, booty shorts and flip-flops and got the job done. Did people stare? You bet. Do I blame them? No way. It was a weird thing to wear.

But now I'm home, enjoying the aroma of delicious cookies baking in my oven, so all's well. Oh, and I finally put on clean, dry pants.

Bless my heart.

Geeky Favorite Band

This post has nothing to do with ballet. Ahem, The Doublclicks are adorable!!

Don't ask me why I just barely found this fabulous band. In case you, too, are searching for an addition to your "geek" playlist I have to share. My current favorites are: 

• Oh, Mr. Darcy (and I don't even like Jane Austen)
• Apostrophe (because punctuation matters, you guys)
• Can't You See The World Is Ending (I'm hoping to convince my daughter to make this her theme song when she gets to junior high)
• Impostor (because didn't we all stay up late watching Curiosity land?)

and I'm sure I'll add to that list. 

Back in Class

Sorry, I only have pictures of me teaching

The studio where I normally teach/take class is closed this month. Fortunately I found a great adult class nearby. Adult classes can be really hit-and-miss but this one is taught by a great teacher, Kayci Kirkham.

I've taken class from Kayci before (a year or two ago) and I thought that she was inexperienced but would become a very good teacher. She isn't inexperienced anymore! She is young, but she's great! She was Vagonova-trained, so there were some minor differences from what I'm used to, but what really made the class excellent was her use of imagery.

I am totally going to incorporate her imagery into my own teaching. I have been getting corrections on my port de bras for 20 years and tonight I actually understood what everyone has been trying to teach me! She talked about taking the bottom of my scapula and wrapping it around my ribcage and into my core. (It makes more sense when she's actually manipulating your arms.) I am going to be working on this for a while.

She also talked about using my feet like suction cups and I really could feel an improvement in my plié in petit allegro. I was connecting my energy so much better than before.

And, as always after any break, my posture wasn't perfect. Kayci connected my posture to my hamstrings and helped me release tension in my shoulders by lengthening my back.

Oh, and she talked about imagining your belly button as a black hole so that the upper abs lifted and connected to the spine.

Tonight was the beginners class and I'm almost nervous to take the advanced class. But I'll be going back on Thursday because she is such a good teacher. A word to the wise: Center Stage isn't great about keeping their adult class schedule updated online so if you want to join me I recommend calling to verify the class time.

Taking class from a great teacher is an amazing experience!