What is this thing called Wordpress? It’s been ages, and yes I do not apologize. When someone (such as myself) has a blog, one tends to think that it’s bad not to write all the time. Well, I had a reality check while listening to NPR the other day. Some man was talking about the blog revolution. I forget his name, but for some reason I want to call him Frank Bruni (but that’s just because Frank Bruni is a protoype blogger, entered late in the game stealing ideas and inspiration from my dear friend Arthur). It’s growing at a higher rate than the population of China. He said, anyone who thinks that someone reads their blog everyday without fail is justr self-absorbed and unrealisitic. Well obviously this man doesn’t know me, Art, Ari, or Eliot.
Arthur is the captain of blogging in both posting and reading. The man doesn’t miss a beat, and I think he should be the one giving commentary on the reality of blogs because he knows better than anyone!
I had such an awesome birthday on Tuesday, but as they say in tha Blandini family, “it’s not over yet.” Biggest thanks to Eliot for sweetness and good food, and Art for seeing the light on the first day of Spring. Since my birthday is on the first full day of Spring, I like to think of myself as a Spring chicken, but maybe a Spring Lamb Steak is more appropriate.
Spring has always been the craziest time of year for me. Since I was three years old, I’ve danced in recitals between the months of April, May and June. Now, being on the other side as a teacher it’s even more insane. My Lexington students have their recital in one week, and to say the least, I feel like they’re not ready. It’s hard being a teacher of students who want to dance but started late in life, and are full of weird teenage juices. Classes tend to be a struggle a lot of the time; friends constantly chatting, little attitude pinches from their hormonal overloads, and awkward bodytypes to beat the band. All in all, I do feel like I’ve done my job as a teacher.
See, one of the most valued steps by dancers is a pirouette. This word is translated to “spin” and this is where the dancer spins around on demi-pointe or pointe on one leg. The other leg can be in various different positions; the standard one being retiré, also known as passé, where the knee is to the side and the toe is pointed against the opposite knee.
All of my students in Lexington could not do a pirouette at the beginning of the year. For the past 6 months in class I have always made it point to practice the technique and the progression to which a dancer can exucute this step, which actually is not as easy as it looks. Students fall over, bend their legs, and tend to do weird things with their arms. One of the hardest things about this turn for a dancer is “spotting”. Spotting is when your eyes and head focus on one point in front of you. While turning you want to keep your eyes and head on this point for as long as possible. Since we are not owls, there comes a point where you have to look away, and that is where the concept of “snapping the head” comes in to play. A split second is all you have to regain that focus, and this is what makes a successful turn. And it is absolutely necessary to spot correctly if a dancer is ever going to complete a double, triple, or even quadruple turn. Your eyes can’t look at anything else except that point, or else you will lose focus and get dizzy, and therefore lost your balance.
All of my students can now execute a single pirouette, and correctly for the most part. However, their hormones and their bodies fight me in making corrections. It’s been a hard year with them, and I only hope that they appreciate what I’ve done. See, they really do like me. They love the fact that I’m young and they can talk to me about their boyfriend, or failing that test in school. And they like how I choose good costumes because I know what they like. But sometimes this lack of an age-gap can work against a young teacher. It’s very hard to define a line of authority, so instead of trying to something like that, I try to reinforce the idea of simple respect for one another, and get across to them that we are all working toward the same goal; improvement in dance, and a clean and rehearsed performance. I do have faith in them, and really the proof is in the pudding. Dress rehearsal is this weekend, so we’ll see how it goes.
In other news:
Ari is in Guatemala building a security fence around a local school…I miss you Ari! Read her pre-trip thoughts at Stubborn Lion.
More bird-flue cases, now hitting the Holy Land.
My cousin owns a tanning salon. Last week in exchange for computational technical assistance, I got a free tan as compensation. Fine by me! He swears by the benefits of healthy tanning, and some agree. Sun is life! (and sometimes death).