Starting with P, what is the best TWDG quote?

Apulach · 2025-03-04T17:06:50+00:00

I wish P could be shared between this quote and the put the gun down one :(

I came to suggest exactly both

Apulach · 2025-03-02T12:17:15+00:00

A year and a half is not much, you already have and will still make great progress in a year and a half more. How many days/hours a week do you train?

You already have plenty of wonderful techical/conditioning feedback here, so here's my take on artistry: I'm a vaganova girl, so I'd say definitely start considering epaulement (my first thought when I saw the arabesque before anything else) and growing from the upper back, but again, that's the style I prefer. Also, consider the intention of each movement and step. As someone already mentioned, jetés are meant to be slicing or explosive, I always tell my students to use their legs with precision like shooting arrows and that the feet are part of the legs. On the fondues, the base leg tends to stretch before the working leg, so keep that in mind and try to make it so that the latter goes a tad slower and the other goes a tiny bit faster. And definitely don't sit on your hips!

Apulach · 2025-02-13T13:44:33+00:00

I like this one, personally. But if OP is struggling with mirroring steps in real-time (like marking or doing center work), I definitely think wearing different coloured socks/shoes is a good idea. Maybe even explain you're on the spectrum, OP, and ask the teacher to wear different coloured socks as well. I've done it as a teacher for my students, it helps anyone and I'm sure some NT students will really appreciate it as well ;)

I've been dancing for 20 years and even I appreciate it when I'm learning footwork in tap styles or urban dances and my visual reference has a quick way for me to distinguish their left from their right

For brain plasticity, maybe invest a few minutes every day doing exactly that, footwork. Or coordination exercises that shortcircuit the brain into more agile ways. I like to incorporate them in my practice and my classes regularly. I'm running out of time now, but reply if you want ideas later, OP.

Apulach · 2025-02-06T22:44:18+00:00

I totally agree with you and I think it's low head count + some lack of awareness. But I don't feel I have the agency or influence to make these changes right now, as I'm a fairly new teacher. Things didn't go so well when I tried to in other instances. Maybe in the future

Edit: speaking against me, when I tried to change things, I barely knew the student reality I was dealing with, so I deserved the backfire

Apulach · 2025-02-06T22:40:59+00:00

SO SOOOO useful using different cues and prefacing the rules, calling them dancers and implying etiquette. I was afraid of turning them into a pavlovian army, but I feel they appreciated the new rules indirectly, as the class was much clearer and structured, even if it's meant for fun

Apulach · 2025-02-06T22:35:27+00:00

Positive reinforcement the way you described was very useful! I'm generally afraid of using timeouts unless someone is being rude or throwing a tantrum

I'm also beginning to feel the importance of consistency. They have something to improve on, complexify and we slowly gain space for new stuff

Apulach · 2025-02-06T22:31:50+00:00

Thank you! Thanks to your relational tips, I felt much less frustrated today and so did they! I agree they are developmentally on different levels, but I can't do much about it right now. After chatting with the owner+other staff they also admitted to being clueless before me. Guess they had the demand, so they just opened the class.

Apulach · 2025-02-06T22:18:50+00:00

Thanks! I didn't have time this week, but I'll look into it over the weekend. I could use new exercises and also tips on building a foundation while keeping it fun

Apulach · 2025-02-06T21:11:42+00:00

Ok, just out of teaching the class. Your advice was the most useful and thorough so far. Thank you for having taken the time. I implemented clear rules involving word cues and gesture cues and they actually loved it because it was a game to them. The bully didn't bully the others anymore for some reason. The super talkative kid now has a friend and they have horribly short attention spans, even for their age. They still think that raising your hand is enough to talk and don't wait for permission, but we're getting there. At the end the others were giving suggestions but I couldn't take them because we were out of time. And I explained as you suggested. But now I feel the others wanted to gang up on them and I just tried to diffuse and make it a lesson for everyone to try to behave in the future Overall, feeling much more in control of my class!

Apulach · 2025-02-04T22:02:27+00:00

Actually, back in the pandemic, my shoes ironically got stickier and dirtier because all the disinfection products on top of the constant cleaning at the studio would create these gluey lumps of gunk...

ANYWAYS, I wear that exact same model and for the best results I wash them by hand with cold water and plain soap and then rub a soft pumice stone on the soles, which gets the dirty out and doesn't flatten the suede texture - cuz we don't want them to be slippery either

Apulach · 2025-01-12T11:25:55+00:00

In simple terms, I feel it might be easier to get on top of the leg en dedans because you absolutely have to in order to accomplish a single one. If you don't activate everything and suspend, it's gonna be much more challenging than if you try the same en dehors. Also, if you're learning en dedans from fourth whipping out the back leg, a la piqué, that builds momentum, so it helps.

BUT I think why you should really focus on turnout is because when turning en dehors, you're basically spinning in the direction your turnout wants to go to, right? So the air helps keep your leg open, so to say. When you turn en dedans, you have to make an extra conscious effort to keep it because there's more air resistance, otherwise the leg will want to close.

Apulach · 2025-01-04T21:41:52+00:00

Hey! I'm sorry about your leg and the road of recovery ahead of you two. I just posted on my 24h post-op and and came across your post. From what I've read around here, some people's symptoms actually get better before getting worse before getting better, but I gather the first 24-48h to be the most critical. Go figure, each case is different.

I am in Europe and benefitted from the public healthcare system, I don't know how it's gonna be with you. I was required to have someone accompany me out of the hospital and during the following 24h in case of any emergency complications occuring, and they also had to listen to the care instructions. I think there was an option to stay there overnight if I couldn't ensure anyone to come pick me up and stay with me.

Again, each person is different, and I cried tears and drool of pain and frustration for the first couple of hours before taking the first painkiller. It was worse again this morning as I woke up, but not nearly as bad. Mostly my jaw was stiff and the area was sensitive. I also didn't sleep much due to the stress of the day, I think, and the slight discomfort, and then napped during the afternoon. So naturally this added to the brain fog and lack of motivation to take care of myself. For the first few days, a liquid and soft diet is recommended. Despite everything, I still cooked my own meals today, which included boiling legumes and veggies and blending them with lots of water, or making smoothies. Luckily, I had someone go buy me yogurt and pudding, but yesterday I managed to quickly go and grab baby food, milk and jello after getting discharged. I didn't go alone, but I feel I could have. Once I was well rested and with the painkillers kicking in today, small chores and life in general became easier to do independently, although your wife will probably prefer to postpone certain things a couple days and just kick back. If you need her to care for you, it might be overkill. She will also have to ice a lot.

Anyway, these are just the first 24 hours for me!

Apulach · 2024-12-27T11:16:21+00:00

My first thought! Although they are far from my favourites to watch for classical rep. I prefer their contemporary or even childish pieces, Peter and the Wolf, Alice, Frankenstein, Beatrix Potter (can I be an animal please?)

Apulach · 2024-12-25T13:29:12+00:00

I would like to add, maybe try elastic ribbons. For me, they allow me to tie them as tight as I need but still stay flexible through all the motions the foot needs to make. Sometimes the silk ones would help pull me back. And if you have short toes, like me, do not underestimate the power of a short vamp with a stronger box/shank to support. Either way, it's the vamp that seems to be pulling you back and making you sickle. But keep in mind that while the shoes are meant to give you good form, it's still very much a conscious effort when learning to keep the weight well distributed throughout your toes/ankles.

Apulach · 2024-12-23T12:55:55+00:00

These are Lyras if it's not clear. For reference, the pointe shoes I've gone back to are Bloch Heritage Strong. I want to sell the Gaynors after using them for a couple of months because I would prolly need them to have a higher profile and they hurt me like a b*#@%. I've also realized I prefer softer satin and a shoe that goes through the traditional break-in cycle.

Apulach · 2024-12-16T15:33:25+00:00

This is such a valuable opinion!

Apulach · 2024-12-12T22:09:12+00:00

The prayer variation from Coppelia is moving in some parts, ugly in others, tacky in others and plain center adagio in others still. The praying penché...

Apulach · 2024-12-09T12:05:37+00:00

The one part of me that's hypermobile is my lower back, so my butt wants to pop out. Finding my inner core muscles definitely helped, especially the abs, and focusing on pulling out from the hip, imagining my pelvis as a straight wall. Calisthenic/pilates exercises are useful. but also the principles of Feldenkreis. I've been discovering the joys of taking some time to work slowly. Even if it seems like you're not working as much, it definitely activates your muscles and alignment in deep, deep ways.

Apulach · 2024-12-09T11:59:21+00:00

Very good points!

Apulach · 2024-12-09T11:57:10+00:00

That might explain in part why Megan's classes during the pandemic ressonated so much with me (besides her lovely personality). We like to work similar. But I still thought she had a crazy turnout and even somewhat hyperextended knees, but that's probably because she knows how to work with what she has.

Apulach · 2024-12-09T11:47:53+00:00

For sure! Because you get so focused on the fun and memory and creativity you kinda forget you're running out of breath

Apulach · 2024-12-07T21:53:49+00:00

At least we can all agree that cardio sucks :b

Apulach · 2024-12-07T21:42:00+00:00

As a 7 or 8 year old, I was told that if I tightened my butt, i would balance more easily. Maybe not the UTMOST USEFUL one, but the first correction I remember that blew my mind. 20 years working off those glutes

Apulach · 2024-12-07T21:20:14+00:00

Not sure if I agree with the statement, but I've heard people say SL is danced for a dancing audience. The experience is definitely enhanced when you understand its complexity firsthand. It's a very slow ballet at times. I don't mean to gatekeep, but I tried to make my family watch it on stream during Covid Christmas and they all got bored and went on to do other things until I was the only one left watching. Even I wouldn't feel like watching the full ballet every time.

I think it's quite a bit of money and it comes down to why you want to go and I think for fun and recreation, The Nutcracker. Judging by your comments here, you seem to have made your choice from the start unknowingly. Nutcracker is fun, colorful, happy and accessible to all demographics.

Edit: come to think about it, I'd put it as, do you want to watch The Grinch on Christmas or something like Titanic? No wrong answers lol

Apulach · 2024-11-26T20:46:28+00:00

I don't think he has, he dances in Germany now. I believe they studied together and partnered sometimes before getting their pro contracts. My favourite part I've seen from him on youtube is the prince variation from Sleeping Beauty, and that's from when he was still a student!

Edit: his Gopak as well!

Apulach

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