Konnichiwa

The Beauty of Movement

I was not going to do 2 consecutive posts on ballet, but I just chanced upon this and just had to put it up on this blog.

I used to do gymnastics and really enjoyed it. Gymnastics when I was a kid in Singapore is not like the gymnastics it is now, the level that is.  It was hardly competitive but I just enjoyed the leaping, the jumping, the tumbling.  It was about movement.  I especially liked the floor exercise as it is movement to music.  

So when gymnastics ended (when I left school), ballet was a natural choice to fill the gap.  Although there were quite a few years in between gymnastics and ballet. What the more than 10-year gap meant was that although my body was rusty, the muscles have already been stretched and the bones have already been made strong.  It was just a matter of getting those muscles warmed up and going. The more difficult part was the hands.  In gymnastics, the hands are always placed facing outwards, ready for the next cart-wheel, flip, tumble. In ballet, they are always curved in, to maintain the graceful look.

Whatever the difference, it is about the joy of moving, the joy of moving to music. Like the girl in the video above.  Ever been in a store and they start playing a beautiful, danceable piece over the speakers?  I have had to fight the urge to pull my muscles up and in, get on my toes and just leap and bound. I grab the kid nearest me (mine, of course!), carry him tight and sway to the music.  I hope they learn the joy of movement and music.  And the beauty of it.  It is very therapeutic.

The Pirouette

Pirouettes.  My achilles heel.

Since I restarted ballet 2 years back, it was something my (new) ballet teacher noted was weak immediately. Not that I could not turn 1 turn then without falling out of the turn. I could.  I just did not use my head.  "Use your head," is the refrain often heard in my class, directed at me. What he (my teacher) meant was to spot. Ever see ballet dancers turning? Their eye are fixed on a point and as they turn, the head whips around and goes back to the point.  I was doing all my pirouettes without spotting.  And that, apparently, is NOT a pirouette.

Sounds simple right. All I have to do is just fix my eyes from now on a spot.  It has been 2 years and I am still trying to master it.  It is not that simple.  It is not only about fixing the eyes to 1 spot.  It is also about timing, when to let go of the spot and whip the head around. The level of force used to whip the head around. And after whipping the head around - I have to find that spot again!  

And then when it seemed that I finally learnt how to spot, I just kept falling out of my pirouettes. What good is it to spot but fall out of the pirouette? Pirouette is all about balance and counter-balance.  And centrifugal force. By using the head, the previous mechanics of the body when doing a pirouette does not apply anymore.  So here I am, learning pirouettes from scratch - starting from the head!

I would bet my bottom dollar that my ballet teacher's new years resolution is to have me perfect my pirouettes. Within this year. He did not say it, but I am certain. From the very first class since January, the barre exercises have been totally reconfigured.  The new exercises I felt were largely aimed at waking up/strengthening the necessary muscles to do a pirouette.  And then the center exercises - almost every center exercise had at least 1 pirouette built-in.  And every single time when we do pirouettes at the barre or at the center, my teacher walks right up behind me and watches me closely. No matter how far I try to stay away from him! Sometimes just before I start my pirouette sequence, he will be hitting my various muscles to "activate" them.  And to remind me to use them.

And? I have perfected the pirouette! The last month or so, the head and the body have all come together. I am still not consistent though but every class there have been a couple where I managed to hit it and get my teacher yelling "subarashi" (beautiful). Finally.

Think I can pirouette like the 2nd girl in the video above within this year?

My Progress in Ballet

It has only been 3 months since I started, but I am amazed at its effect on me already.

After 1.5 months, I could feel myself walking straighter and taller.  No more hunching.  All this without any conscious effort on my part.  Ballet just retrains my muscles to act in a certain way.  And with a better posture, I could also feel my footsteps lighter.  From the start of this year, I could feel my footsteps getting very heavy and on certain surfaces, I could hear the boom, boom, boom as I walked.  I certainly felt very flat-footed then.

And equally importantly, my mind feels more refreshed.  I feel ready to face the world again (or at least, my kids!) after a class.  So for those of you out there who feel stuck in a rut (as I did before ballet), I would highly encourage starting whatever form of exercise that you like to recharge you again.  Initially, I thought once a week would not be enough.  But in the circumstances with kids to look after and all, once a week is more than enough to see the change already and within so short a period.

Most of the girls I have met in the ballet classes only started as adults.  So if any of you would like to start and are too embarrassed thinking that it is too late, that the only adults who do it now already started when they were a kid, worry not.  And no one is there to judge you.  Everyone is there to better themselves and they have all been through the initial stage of trying to get into a fit form and so everyone is super understanding (and helpful).   For me as a foreigner and working in a male-dominated environment (not because it is Japan but it is common in my line of work), it is also a good chance to meet Japanese females (and males) in a non-work situation (and not in my line of work - how refreshing!).   

In my regular Monday class, there are no regular males.  In the Thursday class which I attend quite often too (when I can't make it for the Monday class due to work), there are 3 regular males.  One is only about 11 yrs, the other a high school student and the third is probably in his 40s.  The 11 yr old boy is very good.  By far the best in class.  He wants to be a ballerino and is eyeing to join the grand prix of ballet competition - Prix de Lausanne.  I think that is why he is joining the adults at night - for extra practice and guidance.  The class before mine, the beginners class, there is a man in his 50s who is an aboslute beginner.  And he looks like he is enjoying every minute of it and not at all uncomfortable with being the only male in the class (apart from the teacher).  It is quite amazing for me to see him after his class - in his salary man suit and briefcase, what a difference from his ballet attire.  Bravo to him!

My 1st Ballet Class

It went much better than expected.  Sure, I had lost a lot of strength in the abs (core area), the thighs, the calves, the ankles and the back muscles etc, but happily my pirouettes were pretty decent and stable for at least the 1st spin each time and I was able to do an arabesque en pointe without barre support for a couple of seconds.  So all that was good.  It was nice to be able to move to classical music.  Very cathartic for me.  It was really nice to see my old teacher (Honda-sensei) and former ballet-mates.

I totally surprised everyone by coming back.  As mentioned in the earlier post, it has been at least 3.5 years since I stopped.  That is an eternity, esp with these girls who do classes almost every day with this teacher. 

Honda-sensei was so surprised to see me.  He (yes, my teacher is male!) actually remembered me.  The moment he saw me, he instantly called my name.  We had a chat after class and he even remembers where I stay.  When I first started ballet in Japan, my Japanese was almost non-existent as I had arrived only shortly before.  He helped the class to get tickets to a ballet performance (we like to buy through him as he can get all the good seats) and all the girls were to pick it up from a special booth in the theatre.  But because I was so new/lost with lousy Japanese to boot, he was quite concerned for me and instead met me at the train station near my house to personally deliver the tickets to me.  Isn't he the greatest?  Very kind indeed.  And due to my lack of Japanese ability, he started giving the class in English!!!  I felt really bad for the other girls but they all seemed not to mind and found it rather amusing.  The first few classes were totally in English and thereafter, it was Japanese but with special English translation for me.

I should also mention the girls.  In a way, I was surprised that at least 1/2 of the girls there last night I knew from before.  I was thinking, wow, they are still at it!  But in a way, I was not surprised because these girls (more than 10 of them) are really passionate about ballet, are totally dedicated, and are cult-followers of Honda-sensei!  He teaches in different parts of Tokyo every weekday, and they follow him everywhere.  For example, Monday is Shibuya, Tuesday is Shinjuku, Wednesday is Ikebukuro ....  The girls could not believe that it has been 3.5 years already.  They said it feels like only a year or so.  They also could not believe that I now have 2 kids!

The other half of the class did not know who I am.  I am sure they must have been very puzzled why yesterday's class was suddenly in English!  (But I guess they figured out after the class as when the class ended, I had a little chit-chat with Honda-sensei and everyone was just about eavesdropping, if not joining in the conversation!)

Anyway, really happy that I can do this every Monday night from now.

Starting Ballet Again!

It's finally happening.  I am starting ballet again.  Next Monday.  (Unless my boss or client puts a damper on that!)

I stopped about 3.5 years ago.  I was about maybe 8 months pregnant with Kai then, and my ballet teacher was getting very antsy with me going on.  Even though my very modern-thinking Japanese doctor said "no problem, just no big jumps".

I never thought it would happen.  Seriously.  Up till last month when I was going through an old handbag that I used to use pre-kids, and saw my membership card to the ballet school.  I was going to toss it out thinking it will never, ever happen.  (I finally decided to hang on to it just for the memories.)  I did not think my MIL will take kindly to me taking a dance class whilst she is stuck with my 2 kids.

Then, 2 weeks ago, out of the blue, Tomo sprung it on me.  He even positively insisted that I should start again.  He said that I used to have a much healthier complexion, shining hair etc when I was doing ballet, compared to now.  And that I used to be more cheerful, bubbly etc.   In other words, he is saying that I am a certified grouch now.  Which is absolutely true.  Since having kids, with little support here, all I do is work in the office and then rush home.  Once I am home, there is no time for myself.  It is kids, kids, kids and dealing with MIL all the way.  And dealing with the trail of destruction left by both kids and MIL.  The only exercise I get is when I am mopping the floors at 4am in the mornings as MIL does not believe in strapping kids to high chairs when they eat (and dribble) their yogurt/ice-cream.

So anyhow, Tomo got more excited than me and he made all the arrangements and payments.  I am even getting back the same teacher whom I think is the greatest.  All I have to do is show up for class on Monday evening.  And the deal with Tomo is, we won't mention this to my MIL.  He will instead try and get home earlier on Monday nights to relieve her.

We are so excited!