Back in the Saddle (or ballet shoe)

I’ve finally done it. I went back to ballet class.  It’s been years since I was in dance class.  The mirror has not been my friend (but that’s another story for another time).  I got a great deal on Groupon for ballet class at the Joffrey Academy of Dance.  I purchased the Groupon in January, but it took me until April to get my ass to class.

There was the issue of the lost ballet shoes.  I had two pairs of relatively new ballet shoes, and they disappeared into the ether of my closet.  It’s kind of okay because when I had my mother sew the elastics on the shoes, she used black thread.  Did you hear me?  She used BLACK thread on my pink ballet slippers.  Oy, mother.

So, it took a couple of months for me to purchase new ballet slippers.  Then, it took me a couple of months to sew the elastics on.  (I used bright yellow thread).  Then, it took a couple of weeks to gather the courage.

So, three weeks ago I made it to a Sunday morning class.  It wasn’t as bad (read: painful) as I thought it would be.  I thought I wouldn’t be able to walk come Tuesday, but I was pretty okay.  The studio is beautiful.  It is right on the corner of State and Randolph just north of Marshall Fields.  Two of the walls are floor to ceiling windows, and it is just an amazing city view.  I’ll have to take an evening class to see the night view.

I learned that if I raise my eyebrows during relevé, I can balance much better.  I also have decided that arabesque is an unnatural position and should not be required in people over 40.  I also learned that I get much dizzier than I ever have before when doing turns across the floor.  On my second week of class, the teacher was trying to give me a correction after a turn sequence, and I was so dizzy, I couldn’t even see her.

Sunday mornings are a great time for ballet class, so feel free to join me.  I’ll be the chick hiding in the back, wearing all black.