Progress with ballet has been steady albeit slow. I think I've crossed the last of the sharp increase period and now am back in slow grinding mode. But I shall press on, and there are definitely concrete improvements (particularly in my pointework).
In fact, I finally managed to do a double pirouette en pointe in my private lesson this week! My teacher has been nudging me to attempt them for the past few lessons now, but I've always either chickened out or just outright failed when I tried. However, on Tuesday I actually did a really nice double! Not even a fake one, it was complete with suspension at the end, and to think it was actually kind of by accident, and on my left side too. Apparently I am a leftie for turns this week!
What's funny is that my turns in soft shoes have been completely disasterific. If I can just figure out what exactly it is that I'm doing so very different when I turn in pointe shoes, maybe my turns will all improve overall. I think being terrified and thus extra careful/concentrated has something to do with it, but I can't identify the physical ramifications of this mindset.
In any case, I've learned three more variations over the past few weeks. About a month ago, I learned the second odalisque solo from Le Corsaire. We did it in one lesson, and that was it, since it's short and fairly simple. It's so cute! (Scroll to 3:57)
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h-qxOMkYCI&w=420]
Then, about three weeks ago, we started the first solo variation of the pas de trois from Swan Lake Act I. It took I think 3 lessons to finish learning it. I love it because it's a lot of fun to do ^_^ Made me realize I have rather low stamina for these sorts of things though, haha! (Scroll to 2:24)
And during my last lesson, I learned Odette's variation from Swan Lake Act II. It's not a complicated variation, and slow enough for my brain to process in realtime, but it's deceptively easy-looking. I actually find it quite difficult, and I certainly can't do it well. My arms flail all over the place and I have the worst sense of balance for those rond de jambes at the beginning T_T But I'm really pleased to be learning it, since it's one of my favorite variations ^_^ (Scroll to 2:53)
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOwGEj0yoIo&w=420]
Onwards and upwards! Hopefully we will work at least a little bit more on the Odette variation. My teacher also mentioned that we might revisit Giselle's Act I variation, which I learned the steps to during class (in soft shoes), but never actually attempted in pointe shoes. And here's to trying to do more double pirouettes and hopefully not breaking anything ^_^;;
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