It's the last day of April and I feel like I'm going to miss the month. This year's has been a different kind due to La Nina-caused showers. It made the air cooler and the usually fierce equatorial sun during this time of the year bearable.
I remember being in Bangkok early in April last year and the intense heat I had to conquer just to maximize my visit. It was a special time in my life and it's funny how easily it was already a year ago.
I'm looking forward to May, my favorite month of the year in my childhood. Light rains start falling in the Philippines come May, and flowers start to bloom, and everybody gets a relief from the torrid March-April heat. May is also when the May flower parades of flores de Mayo happen. Most unoccupied little to teen-age girls look forward to joining this parade where you get made-up and dressed-up in special gowns.
Santacruzan, the bigger event, is normally prefaced by the flores de Mayo.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Grand pliè in second position
As I was clearing my wallet of all-important documents (pieces of paper with phone numbers, grocery and bank receipts), I chanced upon my scribbling on a little piece of scratch paper detailing where I should go to get my ballet gears. The information was from a staff of the Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) who I inquired upon from months back.
A sense of gratitude washed over me as I realized how I have moved on from that point when I was just planning my move. Indeed, things happen in my seemingly boring life. I am now taking my Beginners’ Ballet Course with SDT and have actually gone to that store that I scribbled to get my first pair of ballet shoes.
I’m well on my way to my third lesson this coming Friday and I’m glad I did not quit after the trying first class (also considered the trial class) which rendered me immobile the day after. The second class seemed easier than the first, or maybe I just got better at the steps too. And according to my teacher, I do an amazing grand pliè in second position, even better than she does due to her short Achilles. Nothing could have made my after-office Friday night better. The call-out for my other mistakes did not matter anymore after hearing what she said. My perfect grand pliè in second position was a laurel in my crown that would never go away.
Ballet movements, like in Pilates, rely heavily on the stomach muscles. I have mentioned that I don’t have them strong and I feel truly excited about attending a Pilates class and deciding to attend a ballet class simultaneously. The combination is probably the therapy that my back has needed from long way back.
Ballet has interested me since I joined a jazz dance performance group. It was hard for me to catch-up with long-time dancers with dance class background and they made me feel like I needed to know the basics to be a better dancer. I noticed how much ballet movements are borrowed by jazz and how ‘finding one’s center’ seems very important in these dances. I was also often called out upon about looking down on the floor while I’m doing my floor exercises; and this made me realize the importance of maintaining the proper posture while doing the dance. Hence, I bore it mind that ballet is good in helping people with their balance and their posture. So far, my classes have proven such to be true.
So for people who are looking for means with which they can improve their posture and balance and who do not mind the rigors of dancing with discipline, I would say ballet is for you.
A sense of gratitude washed over me as I realized how I have moved on from that point when I was just planning my move. Indeed, things happen in my seemingly boring life. I am now taking my Beginners’ Ballet Course with SDT and have actually gone to that store that I scribbled to get my first pair of ballet shoes.
I’m well on my way to my third lesson this coming Friday and I’m glad I did not quit after the trying first class (also considered the trial class) which rendered me immobile the day after. The second class seemed easier than the first, or maybe I just got better at the steps too. And according to my teacher, I do an amazing grand pliè in second position, even better than she does due to her short Achilles. Nothing could have made my after-office Friday night better. The call-out for my other mistakes did not matter anymore after hearing what she said. My perfect grand pliè in second position was a laurel in my crown that would never go away.
Ballet movements, like in Pilates, rely heavily on the stomach muscles. I have mentioned that I don’t have them strong and I feel truly excited about attending a Pilates class and deciding to attend a ballet class simultaneously. The combination is probably the therapy that my back has needed from long way back.
Ballet has interested me since I joined a jazz dance performance group. It was hard for me to catch-up with long-time dancers with dance class background and they made me feel like I needed to know the basics to be a better dancer. I noticed how much ballet movements are borrowed by jazz and how ‘finding one’s center’ seems very important in these dances. I was also often called out upon about looking down on the floor while I’m doing my floor exercises; and this made me realize the importance of maintaining the proper posture while doing the dance. Hence, I bore it mind that ballet is good in helping people with their balance and their posture. So far, my classes have proven such to be true.
So for people who are looking for means with which they can improve their posture and balance and who do not mind the rigors of dancing with discipline, I would say ballet is for you.
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