Blog 44

It is so intriguing to discover how well Russian Ballet is thought through. I experienced this quite intense in this week’s classes. It gives me a strange sense of proudness that I’m taking part in this beautiful art!

Thursday, we practiced the cambré. Cambré means bent over. A movement curving the spine forward, sideways or backward. We did the backward one.

In a backbend, your fulcrum descends down the spine. It initially supports the weight of your head, then more and more of the torso, as the bending becomes more extreme. And then stay in balance! That bending backward is quite an exercise. I can hardly make a proper backward bend. My shoulders and upper back are stiff. But so is my spine. And of course, the muscles of my back need to be trained.

I discovered (again) that I’ve got some work to do. Lyda gave me a few exercises to practice at home. The exercise starts with you lying on your belly, prone, hands beneath the shoulders and the legs in a slight second position. Push off, gently raise your torso, arms loose from the floor, stretch them in front of you and hold this position, as high as your torso can get, 8 counts and then release slowly. Do this a few times. Then gradually raise your legs, turned out, and your feet pointed, hold it as high as you can for 8 counts, and slowly lower. Again a few times. The crescendo of this exercise is that you slowly lift both torso and legs, hold it for 8 counts, and slowly lower, do this say 3 times. 

We practiced the temps lié in the center, Lyda said this was the official version, but it is also the simplest version. For you know: I’m a beginner.

You start standing in the fifth position croisé, the right foot front. Then do a demi plié, both arms in the first position. Your right foot glides forward into croisé, your left foot remains in demi plié. Then shift your weight on to the right foot and point your left foot behind. Bring your left arm up and your right arm out to the side. Bring the left foot from behind into the 5th position en face in demi plié, shifting left arm into the first position, right arm remains in the second position. Slide the toe of the right foot to the side, leaving left in demi plié, shift weight on to outstretched right leg (opening left arm into the second position), with pointed toe slide left leg into the 5th position front in demi plié. Drop your arm into a preparatory position, and repeat the whole movement on the left foot.

Mind the transference of weight onto the front leg that is accompanied by an oppositional extension of the back leg (pointe tendue derrière croisé), the back foot pushes the weight onto the front foot. So exquisite and elegant.

We had some chit chat in the classroom about the Bolshoi Ballet Company. Lyda showed us some pictures of young ballerina’s training the cambré, or arabesque. The alignment of the head, torso, arms, legs, and feet gives it its artistic beauty. So perfectly aligned! And she told how the young students grasp every moment to train their flexibility. The boarding school has carpets all over the place, so students can do their stretches on the floor.

And it’s time to buy new black tights. Lyda advised me to try another brand so I can feel the difference in texture, and fit.

Blog 43 A fun lesson

I could only attend the Monday evening class this week. An unexpected meeting came up on Thursday that lasted through the evening, so regretfully I had to text Lyda that I could not come. So only one class this week. Is the glass then half empty or half full? Half-full I would say. Moreover, we had a fun and relaxed class on Monday.

We practiced the regular barre exercises plié, tendu, jeté, ronde jambe, developpé, fondu, and frappé, of course, accompanied by that beautiful piano music. I'm still surprised by the many possible variations in these movements. As Lyda puts it: "I can think up of an endless variety of movements, I'll be able to surprise you until you're 100 years old."

The fondu is an intriguing kind of exercise. To achieve the quality of "melting," both legs need to stretch and bend at the same rate. The right foot moves from the 5th position to sur le cou de pied, and the left foot simultaneously does a demi plié, its knee turned out. Then the right knee opens forward (en avant) with the toes pointed on the floor, the left one straightens out and extends in the knee joint simultaneously with the right one. The right foot returns to sur le cou de pied, and the movement is repeated à la seconde, en derrière. A very controlled movement, très lentement, where the working leg successively and smoothly unfolds as the supporting leg straightens. As if you move when standing in a swimming pool. The resistance of the water makes you move slower.

Yes, I've learned that a swimming pool provides a perfect playground for a ballet dancer. Mind you, when you want to practice the developpé the water helps you to maintain your balance and lift your leg. But it also provides the extra resistance if you want to train on strengthening your muscles.

One of the students, Marion, lent me the book "Winter seasons, a dancer's journal," written by Toni Bentley. Toni wrote this book at the age of 22, as a young ballerina and member of the corps de ballet of New York's City Ballet, during the time Balanchine was the choreographer. She did not perceive herself as a successful dancer. She knew she would never become a principal or soloist. That feeling that her career had stagnated led her to take a long, personal look within, and she began writing a journal covering the City Ballet's winter season between November 1980 and February 1981. She left the City Ballet, but returned later. This experience taught her that the dancer's life is ingrained in her character; it was impossible for her to leave. Though still in the corps she rediscovers the joy in her role. Her life is simpler now, her energy directed toward her dancing. It touches me that though she didn't accomplish the top, she knew to reconcile with herself and find joy in ballet again. Ballet can be very competitive if you want to become a professional dancer. There is a downside to ballet when you look at it from this perspective. But this doesn't interfere with my love for this beautiful art.

This week Lyda added a link on the Facebook site of La Bayadère to a story of an older woman, Michelle Herman, who started ballet at the age of 62. It's an inspiring story. As a kid, she took modern dance classes for five or six years. She discovered classical ballet now, she is older and is in love with it. I can wholeheartedly recommend you to read the testimony of her new passion. 

Blog 42

I have to pay special attention again on my placement cause this was the second time this month that Lyda had to correct me in my placement. The knee of my working leg is slightly bent.

I understand the importance of correct placement. It really uplifts your performance. So here is a rehearsal, to remind me of the elementary lessons learned, but apparently seeping away. A wake-up call!

In a correct stance the weight of my body has to be correctly centered over the feet, with the armpit and the hipbone vertically aligned, shoulders low, the ribs in and flat, thus controlling the lower back and stabilizing the vertical placement of the torso directly on top of my supporting legs. In the aplomb stance, the patella is in an uplifted position, and this is a result of the contraction of the quads. You need to develop your quads in ballet to lift up your legs. Strengthening your quads requires exercising over some period of time. And these exercises are, in fact, the regulars of each lesson, tendu, jeté and so on. The trick is to perform the exercises with contracted quads, keeping your patella uplifted, so you build up strength. 

And looking in the mirror, of course, I tried to correct myself. 

I also noticed that a proper placement helps when you have to keep balance standing on demi-pointe.

And this brought me back to another eye-opener. When in tendu, I seem to have my working leg a bit bent in de knee. It's hard work for me to stretch that knee. Until Lyda remarked that my working leg was not properly turned out. So when I focused on turning my leg more out, the bent knee simultaneously became a stretched knee. 

And again, I discover that it is not yet part of my system that in ballet, all movements are performed with the legs turned out. 

We practiced the pas de chat (step of the cat) extensively in the Monday lesson. 

When going to the right on the diagonal: right leg fifth position back: the right leg is lifted to high retiré (not touching the supporting knee) as the left leg pushes off the floor and is lifted to a high retiré. The landing occurs on the right leg with left leg closing in the fifth devant. We did this in a series to the same side. Lyda added a special nuance with respect to the starting position: the right leg in the 5th position in front, from then on, as mentioned above. 

And then the assemblé (to put together, assemble) at the barre: the jump from one foot onto two. There are times when the assemblé seems to be so easy, but this day it was not. There are times when body and mind don't seem to work together.

On Thursday, we had a real ballet workout lesson. I loved it. 

Blog 41 

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit "(Aristotle).

Happy New Year, everyone! Time to start up again and make those wishes and intentions come true that you made on New Year's Eve.

My first disappointment this year came in fast: no exam this year, though a few weeks ago this seemed so real. I was so looking forward to my next exam. Not enough pupils enrolled, so the business case is negative for Lyda. I understand this, and yet I longed for that sense of purpose, that discipline when preparing for that Grade 3 exam. To bad!

In the week before Xmas, Lyda dedicated a lesson to flexibility and stretching. This week she mentioned the positive effect of massaging your neck on your stretching ability. And she referred to Lisa Howell, an Australian physiotherapist. Lisa is a well-known therapist in the ballet dancing community, a beacon for dancers with dance injuries.

Lyda experimented in her classes with the neck massaging method to improve flexibility, and she concludes that it is effective with say 50% of the pupils. So she invited us to try this for ourselves. By the way: the massage can be easily done by yourself. 

As you know, by now I'm a bit rusty. So about a year ago, I bought Lisa Howell's Front Splits Flexibility Program. There are a few eye-openers in this course. One of them is about fascia. A fascia is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles.

This fibrous connective tissue contains tightly packed bundles of collagen fibers that are oriented in a wavy pattern parallel to the direction of pull.

The fascia of each muscle links to that of many other muscles, so tension in one muscle group can be transferred to other muscle groups. So it is not the muscles themselves that interconnect, but the fascia. 

You can speak of a continuous fascial line: it extends from the muscles in the head and neck, through the upper back, lower back and pelvis, to the hamstrings and down into the calves and feet. 

Now you understand why massaging your muscles at the base of your skull can have a positive effect on all the other muscles down the back of your body even down into your legs. 

In my last blog I also mentioned the book "Relax into stretch" by Pavel Tsatsouline, a Russian sportsman. Worthwhile to read. A relaxed mindset is a key issue when we talk about flexibility. I immediately experience that relation when I have a busy day and have to run to be in my class on time.

I have to face it: stress causes tension of the muscles. And when in stress, it's not easy to start massaging your neck muscles. 

So time to form new habits…..

Please, let me awaken my 3 D's (drive, discipline, and determination) at times when I need them most!

On Sunday, I had a New Year's training in my boxing gym, culminating in a push-up competition. Primitive, raw stuff. I felt stiff the next day. Even my warm-up and flexibility exercises didn't work out well, so my first lesson of ballet started with a rigid body. 

But as soon as we started with the plié, accompanied by that beautiful piano music Lyda always provides for, I felt the relaxation unwinding my body. The delicate and sophisticated movements and music made me feel at ease, this was my moment of mindfulness. Ballet as a perfect antidote for living my busy and demanding life.

Blog 40 Xmas coming, holiday on the way

This week already the last lessons at Bayadère before the Xmas break. 2019 passed by like a whirlwind.

On January 6, lessons will start again, 2020 is impatiently waiting to make its entrance!

Monday evening I hurried tot Bayadère and came a bit too late. Lyda was giving a special lesson about stretching. Very interesting for a rusty person like me. Educational, because she explained to us the works of lengthening and contracting of the muscle fibers. And of course, after the information, she walked the talk. Not easy for me to perform the exercises she wanted us to do, because I came in late after a tough day at work, no chance to do my warming up. But heck, I gave it a try.

Passive stretching, active stretching, dynamic stretching, PNF stretching. Use Google and find out what it means. There are different opinions about what method of stretching is the best. The most practical solution to this riddle is to try and discover what method suits you best. 

In my opinion, it is not short muscles and connective tissues that make me tight; no, it is my nervous system. It's the muscle software that interdicts my muscles to slide out to their true full length. Muscle software is based on previous experiences like sitting all day or performing monotonous labor. I think my nervous system picked a fixed length for every one of my muscles in my lifetime and is thereby programmed to keep it that way. Whenever you reach too far compared to this self adapted standard, the stretch reflex kicks in and reins your muscles in. 

And things like fear and tension tighten the muscles up too, so they will resist lengthening. 

Lyda made us do a mixture of passive and active stretching. First passive, then bouncing, followed by passive. 

I want to deepen my knowledge of this stretching. One of the books I read right now is "Relax into stretch" by Pavel Tsatsouline, a Russian sportsman. He advocates PNF stretching: create flexibility through muscle tension.

I am astonished that in most of the ballet books that I've read, nothing is said about stretching. While so much flexibility is needed in doing the ballet exercises.

The Thursday lesson went on in a very relaxing atmosphere; we practiced jazz ballet and did joint mobility exercises. And after that a game, in two groups we pictured a few scenes of a fairy tale, the other group had then to guess which fairy tale we were depicting and vice versa.

During this vacation, I will not write a blog. It's time for some relaxation, visiting family, and reading books. I'll continue my daily exercises on flexibility and visit the gym to do my workouts. Oh, there is still so much that I want to know and to learn.

See you in January! Have a nice Holiday! My blessings to you!

I invite you to give a comment on my blog. Or to contact me at the e-mail address: bert.jonker@movetoballet.com if you have a particular question or issue you want to share with me.

Blog 39

A small class last Monday evening.

We took considerable effort to practice the chassé, in particular, the en avant type. The chassé is used as a traveling jumped step, one leg "chasing" the other. It can be done in all directions.

It is a single sliding movement of the front foot with the knee in demi plié along the floor. With a small jump, the back leg comes to join the front leg in the air, during the suspension the two legs are held close together, the landing occurs on the back leg, but the weight is quickly transferred to the front leg in wide 4th position. Then the movement is repeated. 

During the chassé, the body is held slightly in front of the line of gravity. That does not mean, in this case, that the torso is leaning forward; rather, it is an inner realignment of weight. 

Leaps like grand jeté are generally preceded either by a pas de bourrée couru or a chassé.

Lyda always talked about two feet coming together in the air. Until this evening, I supposed that the back foot then had to bump on the front foot, making a distinct clapping sound. And I usually hurt my feet a bit with this exercise. In this lesson, it was a kind of wake up call for me that it's not the feet that clap but the lower legs that collide and make that sound. The shinbone of the back leg touches the calf of the front leg.

In Thursday's class, Lyda gave us an outlook on our evolution as students. Lyda made us practice ballet exercises that we are expected to learn a year ahead of now. Of course, not simple. But promising. This makes me feel eager to go on.  

Somewhere this week, Lyda sent me an email that she added a link on her Bayadère website to my blog. And she announced on Facebook and Instagram that one of her adult ballet beginners writes a blog about his ballet lessons. 

It's a privilege to write this blog and see it gain so much attention. I'm honored.

If practicing ballet is on your mind, and you have never had ballet lessons before, then this blog is for you. I hope my blog will help, stimulate, and encourage you, adult, to make that next move, that big step, to start with ballet lessons. 

Next week is last week with lessons this year. Christmas is nearing, and so are the holidays. 

Monday a stretching class, Thursday a walk-in class, with specials.

Remarkable how time flies. With the start of the New Year, we will prepare full swing for the ARBTA exams in April.

Blog 38 Exam in 2020

Lyda sent an email to inform us about a new series of exams next year; in my case, we are talking about a grade 3 exam.
I took exams in Classical Ballet at Grade level 2 in April 2018 at Bayadère, under the rules of the Association of Russian Ballet and Theatre Arts (ARBTA).
I still remember Gypsy Booth, my examiner. Later I learned that she is the president of the ARBTA. A distinct and remarkable, grey-haired, British lady, who travels across the countries to take exams. I admire this dedication to the Russian Ballet. It's people like her that keep up the high standards and thus protect the Russian legacy in ballet.

I'm looking forward to preparing for my next exam. It gives a sense of purpose, goals to achieve. In a disciplined way, I will learn new exercises and become more proficient in doing them. A healthy kind of stress to do the right thing!
In April 2018, part of my preparations was a pas de deux with Marion, following a choreography inspired by the Knights Dance of Romeo and Juliet. You have to know that I started my classical ballet training a half-year earlier at Bayadère. And felt totally immersed in this beautiful new world. So rich in culture and full of color! And still in awe with my terrific teacher and coach Lyda.
She teaches me that ballet is all about theatre, and that posture and appearance is everything. Look fierce; walk with dignity, she said. Accompanied by that dramatic music from Prokofiev.

The pas de deux was the supreme moment during my exam. First, there was the regular stuff, like doing plié and so on. I still have the script for the exercises.
Dancing in front of someone who is examining you, looking intensely at you, and writing things down while you move and dance can be quite intimidating. And there were only two of us, Marion and me, dancing in front of her. Especially when you are the only man, and to be more specific, the oldest person in the house. And yes, I felt vulnerable and modest, for grade 2 is the beginner's level. But Gypsy showed integrity and respect.
I felt a bit stressed at the start of the exam, but the minute I moved, I felt confident that I would make it. I may have thought in some of my weakest moment that I was actually making a fool of myself, an old man, chasing his outdated dreams. Still, I must confess that my self-esteem never left me in de classroom. Gypsy even clapped her hands after the exam. Chasing your dreams requires the courage to break through barriers. Mostly your own.

Well, that's all, folks. See you next week.

Please feel comfortable to give a comment on my blog. Or contact me on email address: bert.jonker@movetoballet.com if you have a particular issue you want to share with me in my (or your!) adventurous journey into the world of classical ballet.