21 Jan Back into the Swing of Things
The first week is done! It was not as hard as I was expecting. I’m so glad to be back.
The first day of ballet was on Tuesday, and we had the School Director for both ballet classes, which were technique and pointe. Our technique class was supposed to be 1 hour and 45 minutes, but it ended up being 2 and a half hours! I actually liked that because she was very detailed and meticulous, which was a great start to the new season.
Wednesday, we had gyrokenisis. That class felt very awakening, and it totally set me up for the day. Then we had modern, and I had a lot of fun trying new movements. Wednesday is our longest day, but with the shortest classes. Our technique class was 1 hour and 15 minutes, so that flew by. Then we had pas de dues. To be honest, I was very nervous for this class. Our teacher brings in company members to partner with us, and I am so worried I will hurt them or do something wrong, simply because of my height. Surprisingly, pas went far better than I expected! I was not falling everywhere. Then we had variations. That class is the last one of the day, but it’s really fun. We did a variation I had never heard of, but it was light and fun. We did it in couples, and then quadruplets. It was very tricky, but I’d rather it be that, then something easy!
Thursday was a great day. We had Robert for technique, who is also doing our New Works piece. He conducts classes that really set one up for the day and warm our brains up as well as our muscles. Instead of pointe class, we had a contemporary class with someone who was with the contemporary company called Aspen Santa Fe. We learned one of her solos and it was AMAZING. It was such a powerful dance. It was difficult to move in the ways she wanted, but I really enjoyed it. Lastly, we had our New Works piece rehearsal. It went really well. Robert worked on choreographic details with us, and it went by very quickly.
Our last day. I had a hard time getting out of bed that morning. I knew we had one of our hardest teachers for the majority of the day. She’s one of the ballet mistresses and I love her classes, but they’re very challenging. I got into class and by the end of barre, I was sweating like a pig! But after that, I felt really on my leg, and far more capable of getting through the day. Then we had variations with Maria (the same teacher as before) and we worked more on a variation, again that I can not name, and ran it in groups of four. I made sure to pay close attention to her corrections so that when it came to be my turn, she wouldn’t have to keep stopping and starting the music. While adjusting to the altitude, and never having run the variation all the way through, I was gasping for air by the end. I feel like persevering through that variation really helped me regain my strength and stamina. Lastly, we had New Works again. It was such a great rehearsal. Robert focused on the emotional level of the piece. There are many things we have to do in it which would make dancers very uncomfortable. First, we have to talk. We have to introduce ourselves and then say something about ourselves. I say, “My name is Reagan Kilpatrick, and my favorite color is lavender.” or sometimes I say “My name is Reagan Kilpatrick, and I have seven chickens.” Then, we have to walk through the audience and grab their hands or fix their sleeve or touch their shoulder. The meaning behind it is very powerful, but it’s going to be really challenging and it will take a lot of courage.
I hope you liked my general overview of the week!
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