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Today is World Aids Day and the 55th anniversary of Rosa Parks' act of freedom. I've been thinking about the combination that goes triplet, triplet turn, step draw, step draw, passe 1 arm, passe 2 arms,  chasse, contract twice, run three times, pas de chat twice, turning jumps.

My outfit was inspired by Arthur from PBS' television show about an aardvark and his friends.  I wore a yellow sweater, blue/teal chords, mustard timbs, white undershirt, gray belt.  It was really wind and the heavy rain mixed with it broke my umbrella.

MONDAY

I wore a gray American Apparel outfit.

Focusing on breathings on 2 going across the floor.  My dream of doing deep stretches happened.  I should have thought more gore.  Stephanie asked me if I understand her when she says, "Move."  I said yes and then did deep stretches and didn't hold my stomach.

RONDE ADAGE COMBO
Ronde de jambe
Contract Release
Over from pelvis plie
Arch head to butt
Contract knee to chest
Step draw x 3
Shift from feet
Release
Soutenu from pelvis
Passe
Tilt
Shift
Open
Turn
Floor


Stag x 2
Run
Pas de chat with contraction

THURSDAY

Today I wore yellow.  Stephanie always tells me I understand this conceptual.  I focus on the shape when I should focus on the movement. I told her I was glad she was born and she profoundly influenced my life.

Across the floor
Battement with contraction x2
Weight forward x6
Step draw
Release
Weight spiral to the floor
Contract
Change back
Battement

MONDAY

Today the breakthrough in class was positive warm energy. During high release, breathings on 4, we stood behind each other and became the focus to helping the energy travel up through the sternum.  It was hard because I was wearing all blue and looked like a blueberry. The sensation should be cruel and disgusting.

When you flex you are not trying to dig your knees into the floor, but extend the toes toward the torso.  The contraction comes from a heavy weighted pelvis--and flex. Stephanie said something really encouraging which made me focus in class even more. She seems to be paying close attention to me which makes me nervous.  On exercise on six she came to Dave and told me, "It's beginning to look whole body. I see the effort."  After that I lost focus and did the exercise like a crazy person.

The adagio was strange and new.  It definitely points out how I don't shift back at all.  Our legs in plie second were supposed to move like tails.  How it starts is really odd:

Second -- Contract with arm
Release
Lunge
Shift Plie
Tail Plie
Tilt
Shift passe
Move
Turn straight
Plie-- raise to 180 would be nice

I notice I pay attention to the notes during 3s&6s because I like the dance.  Whereas when I'm turning around my back it hurts to be in such a small spiral.

During deep stretches Erica demoed her initial contractions.  She did it about 5 times and it was super exhausting just watching her. It's funny because I feel like she doesn't even try and she understands the material really well.

Dancing downstage was the last thing we did. Then we thanked Dave for great music and we came to the center to find our weight rolling up through a plie.  My head was looking to the back and I saw Greg do this crazy thing with his torso and thought, "Oh, he's going to look weighted." And when we came up Stephanie told him "it was too torso" and looked pulled-up.  While she pointed out she could see the weight in my stand.  Probably one of the only occasions I love being a thick boy.  It was appropriate because Stephanie mentioned how her favorite position is parallel on a dancer.  I think my favorite position to see on a dancer is their parallel too because it's the most delicate and natural.

I'm so excited to see what I'll look like when I'm 30.

Thursday

We did the same downstage combination and I don't use my whole body. "It's a whole body idea," Stephanie told me during plies.  I also don't roll through my feet when I jump.  It takes 10 years to make a dancer. What am I going to look like when I'm 30?

I wore a forest green unitard and started noticeably sweating on my chest by breathings on 2. Looking at myself from the side helps.

We were introduced the single arm in fourth position today.  There's a lot of back and spiral facility.

From corner to corner we contracted really deep and then half turned around the space.  There was no spotting to keep in a straight line.  It was a lot of fun.

Exercise on Six standing was a lot better today.  The working leg always goes up when you turn.  Skittering comes from a shift not a standing leg.

Stephanie always talks about how we should be more vocal while we're learning.



I will say that today I've never been so exhausted from deep stretches.  I definitely used my pelvis more.  I'm going to think of it  reverberating.

MONDAY

One of my favorite things to do in class is dancing downstage.  It's always typical to go from corner to corner, but when you do a combination downstage it's a lot more interesting to watch in the mirror.  Today we worked on piquing with a battement while the torso was in a 3s/6s spiral.  Then we shifted really low twice into a contraction and on the release turned out like royalty.

Stephanie said, "I told level 2 to open their bodies like motherfucking kings."  I laughed to myself because a few classes before she mentioned how swearing on stage or in a studio was disrespectful.

We worked on shifting for a while.  It was a standing exercise on six:

Lunge
Shift
Lunge
SHIFT
Turn
Skitter with Leg
Doubleback
TikTok

During pleadings Stephanie mentioned how our bodies should wrap around an axe as if it were chopping us down the middle.  It was good imagery because if an axe were to separate my torso I would be really deep into the ground.