Choreography

I was thinking of not going to ballet today because I've got a blister between my toes from walking too long in my flip-flops after not wearing any ever. But the blister ain't that bad and it was the last day. So.

I came, expecting to have to explain to the teacher how I couldn't do pointe today because I had a blister, etcetera etcetera, when she asked the pianist to give us a few waltzes so we could do choreographies to them - though she called them "improvisations." I got myself a group of four and we did a short dance to the slower of the waltzes.

I think it was good. We finished first, so while the other groups were still practicing, I went and did some actual improvisation, which was immense fun.

We showed the dances, then the class finished early. I said goodbye to the teacher and pianist, as well as most of the girls. It's weird, this is like a softer, subtler version of the nostalgia I felt before coming here. Which is okay, because I guess that's what you're supposed to feel.

Silence and the End of Some Things

Ballet teachers will yell, some more than others. It is simply a fact of life.

However, today my teacher lost her voice. The class was literally silent between exercises. No one spoke at all. We communicated via hand gestures.

It's strange, but when someone in the room doesn't speak and uses hand gestures to communicate, we often feel the need to stay quiet. And today, there was no yelling, and barely any speaking. Just music and concentration. I came out of the class feeling relaxed and with a huge grin on my face. There's nothing like silence to help you get centered. It was almost like yoga.

---

Earlier today, I had my last geometry class of the year. And as usual, I was being loud and calling out and screaming answers. Of course, my math genius friend got everything first, but I got it shortly afterwards. Then, the teacher handed out the class placements for next year. If I were to stay, I'd still be in the highest math class - א'1 or I guess A1. You see? Calling out does pay.

---

I think I'm going to watch an episode of Doctor Who now and eat some ice cream. What a wonderful evening.

(By the way, see The Vampires of Venice - Season 5 Ep 6 – as well as The Big Bang - Season 5 Ep 13 – for the Doctor Who reference in the title.)

The Annoyance of Builders

So we're having the building renovated. Not big things, they just mostly fixed up the outside, along with a few touch-ups on the stairwell.

Right now they're re-doing the walkway and the patio (I don't know what else to call it). Each day either the front or the back door is blocked, so people have to go around depending on where they're going.

Twice now I've annoyed people by walking in the wrong place.

I'm not one for taking the long way. Long ways annoy me. So when I have to go around, I try to shorten it a bit. One time I walked on something that looked right and solid to me but supposedly wasn't.

"Why, why, why?" said the guy who saw me. "Just go around like a normal person!"

"Sorry, I didn't know."

"What do you mean you didn't know?"

I just went around. May I say that no harm was done to the cement whatsoever: it stayed flat. No footprints or dents or anything.

Then today, I got home from ballet and took a look at the front door. It looked blocked-off. I went around. That looked blocked-off too. I went around, then back again. I decided to take my chances with the back door.

Then someone got out of the elevator from inside.

"Can't you see it's blocked off?"

"So is the front door."

"The front door is open."

"Well, it doesn't look like it."

Can I make a point that I walked on the same piece of patio this morning and I avoided the parts I knew were wet? How stupid do they think I am?

So I walked around to the front door. Turns out the tape was only tied from the wall to the doorknob and the door was not blocked at all.

"Thanks much?" I muttered angrily, ripping the tape off the doorknob.

I stomped upstairs. Building is annoying.

Random Rant

Does it ever bother you when you do something not exactly good and then your teacher goes, "When I was a kid at school, I would do [blah, blah, blah]. I wouldn't do [blah, blah, blah]." They use themselves as an example. I really dislike teachers who do this, because they definitely weren't angels all the time. Unless they were WEEPING ANGELS and they're OUT TO GET US! Maybe they're just holograms that hide the Angel behind. I'm going to try not blinking for some time and see if they freeze.

Do you ever get the feeling that you really don't feel like doing something even though you should? I don't feel like going to ballet today BUT we don't have it on Wednesday because of Memorial Day. Here it's a proper memorial day, no picnics or sales or days off. Almost everyone knows someone who was killed in the army. Nobody even says "killed in a war" because there's always a war.

I don't want to go to ballet. Sigh.

Did it ever occur to you that English day names don't make much sense? I mean, what's "Wednesday" got anything to do with anything? In Hebrew the names of days are "first day, second day, third day" and so on. Makes more sense if you ask me.

Okay FINE I'll go get ready for ballet. Sigh.

Ballet Accomplishments

I recently - that is, on Sunday - restarted ballet. After three weeks of nothing, it was good to be back. Yes, it was work. "Ballet is hard, and then you die."

Today, when we were traveling across the floor, I managed to do my first-ever double pirouette in which I stopped at the end on balance. Supposedly, everyone in Boston Ballet Intermediate 2 is supposed to know how to do that, but I never could. So this is major, and a great source of pride for me.

Of course, the rest of my pirouettes for the day were utterly horrible, but now I know that I am capable of doing a successful double pirouette (that was something doubtful earlier on). So it may well have been chance, but I'm going to take pride in it for all it's worth.