THREE TECHNIQUE CLASSES A WEEK AND ROLLING THROUGH MY FEET...

Since January I have been training, documenting the training, obsessing over the training;) - ballet and contemporary class, cardio, pilates, walking... All of this in preparation for the 2009 season of PhOOM!, a season where I envisioned pushing the dance more and asking more from the bodies that performed it. I needed a body that was strong, capable and resilient - I needed a dancing body.

One of the major hurdles has been my big toes. Two years ago I sprained both. This has made it difficult to roll through demi pointe - I clunked down instead;). So after class out the theraband comes and I do foot exercises... A couple of weeks before the PhOOM! Summer Solstice performance I was doing a photo shoot and found myself up on demi pointe and then using the foot properly to come down - Then it happened again in ballet class that week - I lowered down in first arabesque like an autumn leaf floating to the earth. WOW. I was dancing again.

It was odd to look back at the May training schedule and see the class schedule I used in my mid to late twenties. My class taking has shifted in that it is now heavy on the Contemporary work, while in my twenties I was doing mostly ballet class. I now do two Limon based Contemporary Classes and one Ballet Class per week, depending on the week and am experimenting with how much time needed for recovery. I am reveling in the Contemporary work - the use of parallel, less emphasis on rotation, the thrill of fall and recovery; My hips feel good, my spine feels good, my body feels good. The cardio is a challenge - I hate it, but have noticed it's benefits in small and big jumps and when moving in big space.

As I dance into summer I treasure the class time that nurtures my body and soul for performance and creation - and the ability to roll through my feet!