Blog 12

To me, ballet is much more than a dance technique. I think ballet is a form of mindfulness, where body and mind work together. 

After a tough day, there is Bayadère.

Just the sound of the accompanying piano music during barre exercises can give me such a rich and fulfilling experience. The music is soothing, clear and touches me. Music is so powerful; it reaches your deepest feelings in an instant and cleanses your soul. And how beautiful and enriching it is to combine this experience with the precise and balanced movements of my body, in sync with the music. 

Talking about my body: each time I think I’m progressing with ballet, Lyda waltzes me into something new and again it feels like I am a salmon swimming upstream. It takes effort and to be frank, it isn’t easy at all. But I love it.

Ballet as my medicine against the harshness of life, ballet as a meditation; yesterday I even thought of it as performing a prayer, a tribute to life. Another mindset, concentrating on the exercises, breathing in and out, flexing my muscles, on demi-pointe in that classroom filled with that beautiful music. 

In one of my previous blogs, I asked for advice about combining my sports with ballet. So one of my fellow students, Marion loaned me a book: “The dancer’s book of health.” It is written by L.M Vincent MD and gives valuable insight into the care and training of the body. A book written in the eighties that proves to be timeless in a lot of ways. 

Marion is one of the students I met when I started ballet in November 2017; she helps and encourages me on my way as a ballet student. 

Thank you, Marion, for your enthusiastic and positive attitude! 

By the way: this was the week of the crazy socks at Bayadère. Put on some colorful socks Lyda said; leave your ballet shoes at home. Lyda has a way of brightening up her weekly lessons. It is fun. And hilarious to see what the fellow students wear and how they react.

See you next week!