Settling in

I have just finished the first two weeks of classes at Ballet West, and am glad to say it is going well so far! We have only had 4 or 5 hours of classes per day, so a nice gentle start. Although every day included a 90-minute ballet class, we have only done barre work, in fact the first week's ballet consisted only of plies and tendus- it's fascinating to go right back to the basics and really refine the fundamental aspects of our technique. Our ballet teacher Daniel Job is excellent at explaining exactly how to do each movement, focussing upon the physical sensation of the movement. He puts a lot of emphasis on posture and flat turnout, which has already helped me to see a change in my physique, as we develop a 'ballet body'. In addition, we have studied pointe, jazz, contemporary, pilates, choreography, conditioning, RAD and pas de deux. I particularly enjoyed the pas de deux class, as it's something I hadn't studied previously- I partnered a 3rd-year boy named Owen, who was excellent at instinctively knowing exactly how to get me on balance and to relax so that the movements looked effortless! I thought that promenades in arabesque en pointe would be quite difficult, but Owen helped me to feel secure in the movement and strongly hold the arabesque.
I also enjoyed the choreography classes; our first assessment is in October, we have to choreograph a duet for 2 dancers, but it has to be modern contemporary, rather than ballet, which will be quite a challenge! We are learning a variety of choreographic techniques though which will definitely be useful.
I think the best part about being here is feeling that I belong- being in the studio by 7.30 each morning, to warm up for 8am class doesn't feel like a chore, but rather a privilege; we are so lucky to be taught by amazing teachers, and to be dancing practically all day every day! Being in the highlands of Scotland does feel a million miles away from the big cities, but at the same time its as if i've stepped through a portal into a parallel universe where the world revolves around ballet! Perfect!!!

Intermediate Ballet

At the start of the school summer holidays, five weeks ago, my ballet teacher asked me "So what are we going to do over the summer?!" I had an idea, but didn't want to sound ridiculous by suggesting it. Luckily, she knew exactly what I was thinking, and grinned determinedly as she said "How about we get your Intermediate exam done?" When I started ballet, five years ago now, the teacher id had put me in an Intermediate Foundation RAD class, then quickly moved me up to Intermediate when the rest of the class moved up. Unfortunately, I wasn't really given corrections, so when I started at Rochelle ten months ago, I had been studying RAD intermediate for 4 years but still wasn't particularly at Intermediate standard. Miss Kaye was horrified by how my previous teacher had never really 'taught' me anything, but was incredibly determined to help me to improve my technique. We did a lot of non syllabus work, refining the basics; I did grade classes en pointe- I found that I could learn a lot just by watching how the grade 2 and 3 students danced, even though they were several years younger than myself.

In June I did my Classical Award 2- I passed with Distinction (88%), which gave me a lovely, much needed confidence boost. 

Learning the Intermediate work so quickly was a challenge, but Miss Kaye kindly allowed me to use the studio to practice whenever I wanted- often, I would have 3 hours of private coaching in the morning, then practice by myself, working on my corrections for a further three or four hours. It definitely made the summer holidays this year very special- there is just something so magical about having private lessons, and finally seeing a bit of progress!!! 

I did my exam on August 24th- the week prior to which, I had been on a family holiday to Menorca, so I was a bit stressed that I'd only really had a month to learn and practice all the syllabus!!! I don't usually get nervous about exams, but knowing that I was the only candidate in the exam (therefore if i forgot the enchainement I wouldn't have anyone to copy!) made it seem incredibly daunting. The night before the exam, at midnight I was still going over my syllabus notes.... I wasn't the only one having trouble getting to sleep though- Miss Kaye told me that she had had a nightmare, and dreamt that I turned up to the exam with my hair in a stiffly curled blonde perm!!!!

On the morning of the exam, I felt sick with nervousness, but Miss Kaye was wonderfully calm as usual, reminding me that I'd be fine as long as I danced as well as I'd done in my private lessons. "Don't go whacking your legs up too high, placement and control is more important!!"

Another young Rochelle student was going to the exam too, to do her Grade 3- she was incredibly hyper and giggly, which was a cute distraction from how apprehensive I was feeling! I felt as if I was going to forget the entire syllabus!! But once I was in the exam it was fine- although I did make quite a few silly mistakes, which I was annoyed about! Nonetheless, Miss Kaye and I were both incredibly relieved after the exam- even though when she asked me how I thought it went, I promptly reeled off everything that id messed up on, until she playfully said "okay shut up now, I don't think I want to know any more!" I wasn't overly pleased with how I'd done, and thought that I'd be lucky to scrape a low Merit, although it was nice to have finally just done the exam!

I got a text this morning from Miss Kaye, to say that.... I passed the exam with 86%, Distinction!!!!! I am so incredibly happy, and grateful to Miss Kaye for all that she has taught me ❤️