Building a dancer's toolbox

When you want to repair a leaky faucet, you investigate the many places in the pipe that could be the problem.  You need a flashlight to search for the leak, and then a wrench to shut off the water and - if you're like me - a roll of duct tape to wrap around the pipe until you can get an expert in. A leaky faucet is frustrating but it's not the end of the world.  It's something to be repaired.

Now, when you want to fix a faulty pirouette, what do you do?  Do you think, "I'll just spin faster and hope for the best"? Do you give up and pout? Or do you look in your toolbox to begin the repairs?

A dancer's toolbox includes all those marvelous things your teachers have told you throughout your years of training: pull up your abdominals, lower your chin, stretch your arms, spring from your whole foot, etc.  At the time that you hear these corrections - either for yourself or someone else in class - you may not see how they apply to you.  But eventually, you may have to use them.

You build a toolbox so it isn't merely a stroke of luck that you perform something properly.  The goal of consistent class attendance is to be able to recreate steps properly - and build on them.  While we all have "good" and "bad" turn days or "good" or "bad" jump days, you should know what it feels like to do something right and then do it again. And if you can't do it again, you have to figure out why.

Say your turns are wobbly and you're having trouble getting up en pointe.  That's when you dig in and investigate. Remember: it's a problem to be solved, not an issue to be stressed over and upset about.

First grab your flashlight: what exactly is my problem?  Falling forward?  Not enough suspension? Landing too fast?

Next, search your toolbox: am I pulled up enough?  Am I spotting the floor?  Am I not using my plie?

And if all of that still doesn't solve the issue, call in an expert - your teacher. You might need to add a new tool to your box!

Happy dancing~

Let me be your mirror

Our studios are filled with mirrors.  Our images are everywhere we turn. You can't escape looking at yourself the moment you walk into the room.  If you've grown up with this, as I have, it's just part of the classroom experience.

As a student, I use the mirror to check my alignment. As a dancer, I use it to review my performance quality.  As a teacher, I ignore it.

Yes, it's true!  I somehow manage to teach classes every single day without actually seeing myself.  I mean, of course, I notice my reflection but I refer to it only when I'm demonstrating. When I'm facing the mirror, I am looking through it and behind me at my students to see what they are doing, if they are catching on.  I'm at the point where I can dance with my nose pressed to the mirror and still not see myself!  Sometimes I have no idea what I'm wearing or whether my earrings match until after I get home.

Many students, especially beginners or those who come to ballet later in life, don't know how to look at the mirror.  Some of them can't tear their eyes away from their reflections; some can't even look at their reflections.  Lots of them don't know what they should be looking at or for.

That's where I come in. Let me tell you what to look at and when.  Let me tell you what I see. Let me be your mirror. All images -photographs or reflections - lie.  They whisper to you that you're fat or clumsy or unattractive - or conversely that you're doing everything right. I am your teacher and I will tell you the truth.  The mirror doesn't care if you improve or if you notice when you're doing things right.  But I do.

Happy dancing~