I Dreamt of Blue Ballet Shoes

Apparently in anticipation of attending Bea's Thursday ballet class today, I dreamt last night that I was at Sylvia's Pointe Shoe Salon, trying on a beautiful pair of deep blue pointe shoes.  It was a fun dream; I had no trouble getting over the box of the shoes.  They looked awesome, and I wish it were real.

Health Update (Healthy Eating)

So, I have been sick for 2 1/2 weeks.  It started just before I began my healthy living stuff I mentioned in my previous posts.  It just seemed to get worse and worse with each day.  Finally the doctor gave me antibiotics last week.  I also am getting over laryngitis.  I was too exhausted to do much, but during this time the sprouts grew, Paul and I are eating more salads (with sprouts!), and I also tried a healing drink.

But I am finally on the mend.  I still cannot sing due to the recovering laryngitis.  So I doubt I will be able to sing at all for Easter.  This bums me out more than I can say.  Maybe I'll post on those emotions another time.  Today though, I went to ballet class!  So that was a bright spot. (Separate post on that to come.)

Photos:

Pea Shoot Sprouts Growing Nicely

Healthy Healing Drink:

Coconut milk, Manuka honey, fresh ginger, turmeric

I had peeled the ginger and turmeric that went into the drink pictured

Note: the AC vinegar in the back was not part of the drink!

Vacation Photos (Julie on the Beach at Night)

This is an awesome photo of Julie, taken in the dark of night on the beach.  Jordan was able to adjust the camera to get this interesting shot in spite of the dark.

Julie dancing on the beach at night

Dancing Again

I have finally, finally gone back to ballet.  Illness and flaring up of old injuries have kept me away.  I have started slowly, but am going to a very nice adult class.  I need to build strength, both muscular and cardio-wise, plus I need to be more stretched. The first time I went was very difficult and overwhelming.  I felt so out of my body.  My brain and muscle memory knew what to do, but the body could not respond.  Today it was a little easier, and definitely more enjoyable.  There were times when I was very joyful and smiling and having fun.  If I am going to do this however, I need to get to class at least twice a week, preferably more. Mostly I just need to go to bed earlier so I can get up early enough to get to one of the many morning adult ballet classes.

It is still the most enjoyable way to move one's body and exercise.

1st position - we begin to dance.

English Country Dancing

Last week Paul and I, along with our friend and her daughter (the daughter is in the process of choreographing a Regency dance for her school's production of Pride and Prejudice) went to St. Mark's Church in Evanston for their biweekly English Country Dancing.  I spontaneously decided to dress up.  My recent weight loss enabled me to fit back into my Regency stays, and a gown I made several years back.  I even found enough time to do a Regency hairstyle.

The dancing was fun.  We were all a bit confused, but the more experienced people helped guide us into the proper places.  I would like to do this again soon.  Below are some photos of me in my gown, and my hairstyle.  (Please excuse my wrinkled appearance; although I had ironed my dress prior to dressing, it got very wrinkled in the car ride to pick up our friends and drive to the church.)

 

Loving Ballet Class

I returned to ballet class today, after being off a week.  Thanksgiving occurred and I ate so much.  It is hard to go to ballet, in a leotard, after overindulging the entire weekend.  But it was a very enjoyable class.  Very difficult too.  Every week, slowly, I feel like I am regaining facility in my dancing.  

Ballet is always humbling though.  Today we did a most confusing petit allegro.  We also did a combination that included a turn à la second (turning with one leg extended out to the side).  I was pretty bad!  But I love it anyway.  This studio has old tin ceilings and a live piano player.  It is another dimension to get lost in, easy to forget life's concerns for one and a quarter hours.  

Ballet and Old Friends

Recently I have returned to dancing. It was my passion in my teens and early 20's. But then my life took a different path. I continued taking class over the years, and finally stopped all together, life and ankle injuries taking their toll. It was frustrating because, even though I am in my 50's, I still love ballet; it is still the only form of exercise that I truly enjoy. It is more than exercise to me. It is in its own realm.

About a month ago, I had a vivid dream about one of my old ballet buddies. You see, back in the early 80's in Chicago, I had two best ballet buddies. We danced together, had fun together, and were rather crazy together. We have kept in touch sporadically over the years. So I dreamt about Carmen, and just had to call her. We had seen each other the previous summer, where we compared ankle injuries and talked about going back to ballet. It just so happened that a short while before this phone call, she had return to a nearby ballet studio, and encouraged me to do the same. I felt apprehensive because I am really out of shape; quite tubby, in fact, for a ballerina! But I committed to returning, after getting Carmen to promise she would not watch me in class until I was better! It was so nice to be back in the studio with an old friend - older bodies still remembering the joy of dance, and a nice lunch after one class, where we talked for a long time.

Right around this time, my other ballet buddy, Ruta, found me on Facebook. We began talking and catching up a bit. Then, she came back to Chicago. We went out to dinner last night, and shared what we've been up to during the 20 years or so since we last saw each other. Ruta has also kept up with dance, to a very high level.

The three of us have all been through many changes and trials, some of the trials tremendously worse than others. But three things remained constant: I absolutely love these two friends, we have a blast together, and we all love dance.

Ruta has given me a challenge: to go this summer together to Birute Barodicaite's ballet class (she was one of our teachers back in the day). So, I have a lot of work to do to be in shape for this class! The thought of the three of us dancing and laughing together again is such an inspiring, happy thought.