dancing in the dark

ballet is going well. got my new leotard, tights and ballet shoes in the mail a couple months ago. my instructor said i actually look like a ballerina/ice skater to which i said not to let the clothes fool you.

our classes are a lot of work but at the same time are surprisingly relaxing. something like what i imagine Yoga does for people. love the music....excerpts from The Nutcracker or Sleeping Beauty. they bring out the dancer in me.

my legs are getting stronger. i flexed my calf muscle for a few friends and they said it sticks out like a little shelf. is that a good thing? i guess it was a compliment. in any case, i'm proud of my little deformity.

last night Shaphan and I were walking though the darkness of the empty Factory building and the wide open, emtpy factory floor called to me as if saying, "dance on me!" i was so inspired that I ran and spontaneously did a jump/splits in the air - twice. only the street lamps and the moon shining through the vast windows lit this display of liberation. it was so exhilerating. had i only known my ballet instructor was behind us, mind you, i would've never exposed my embarrassing lack of skill and elegance. the chances of her being there were next to none, but of course, it had to happen to me. well, she did say she didn't have her glasses on and couldn't really see, so that was a bit of reassurance.

i do have to say, this place is full of temptation. there's so much open area and it taunts me repeatedly, calling to me all the time to do hand stands, the splits, jumps, scream, yell, laugh, twirl, kick. it's a pain having to watch whose around all the time. you'd think at 9 pm at night i'd be safe. they're everywhere!

ok, so my ballet slippers are pink, getting dirty fast. my pink tights, well, i just have to make sure my legs are shaved. the black leotard. very cute. spaghetti straps and has a little skirt on it, a tiny one, that twirls a little when i attempt a Piroutette (to which my instructor says I'm catching on fast).

we've been doing Adagios at the end of our classes, a mixture of ballet moves formed into a dance. feels so good when i keep up with the other girls. some of them danced before they were in the truth, or at Bethel. so i'm one of the inexperienced ones, but I love dancing with them anyway, I see what I want my body to do.

only thing that ruined our last class was the brothers doing some drilling on the floor below us. Sleeping Beauty just didn't drown out the drilling. the floor we dance on is somewhat like a loft, it opens up to the floor below. it's complete though, with hardwood floors and floor to ceiling mirrors. the only bad thing about it, the occassional pillar, which i dance into at least once every class. ouch.

well, i guess next time i decide to dance in the factory when its wide open and dark, i'll have to take a better look behind me.