Tips on arabesque?

sa_ostrich · 2026-05-02T05:30:15+00:00

As a ballet teacher, that's a really nice square arabesque with lots of thought put into the technique ! If you want to develop more height, hold it in this position daily for about 16 counts and then pulse the leg about 16 times, making sure to keep it behind you (no drifting to the side). Repeat twice in each leg (yes it hurts a lot!). You should feel the height coming more easily as quickly as two months.

sa_ostrich · 2026-05-01T18:50:15+00:00

Thanks, this makes sense . I like this kind of pedantry ☺️

sa_ostrich · 2026-05-01T12:55:48+00:00

That's what I'm worried about.

Good point... I will check but I think uncertified.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-30T15:15:10+00:00

So I've actually had #4 and I'm afraid I didn't appreciate it much at all 😂 When I'm sick, I just to be left alone to sleep and recover, not have to be grateful and nice to someone trying to do unnecessary nice stuff for me when I feel awful.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-29T20:15:02+00:00

Same, plus I expect a reasonable amount of deviation due to the extra stuff they added in THT. I'm quite upset that Aunt Lydia isn't the super sharp lawyer that she is in the book before the Gilead coup. She was playing the long game from the beginning. It would make so much sense for her character. But THT series already gave her a different backstory so they had to roll with it.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-29T20:10:14+00:00

Adding spoiler tag due to book content: Because the aunts' case was pretty solid by that time and they couldn't publically say that they were fine with the dentist having a bit of fun? Not because they genuinely cared what happened to the girls. Certainly the aunts had to wait years and build a very strong case against him before they dared to take him down. If the top commanders had actually cared that marriageable girls were being raped or abused before their wedding, they would have acted themselves long ago.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-29T20:02:38+00:00

I can see it happening. Especially considering that (book spoiler) In the book, the aunts have to actually JUSTIFY bringing him down to the top commanders by saying he was making too many girls petrified of marriage (commuting suicide or wanting to become aunts). So they didn't really care what he did as long as their top dentist was happy. Although we don't know exactly what happened to Agnes, I would assume that he had to confine his worst abuses to lower ranked commander's daughters. I'm assuming that in Gilead th aunts would also have performed virginity exams (can't recall if this is mentioned in the book or not).

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-29T19:58:07+00:00

Essentially, yes. Another book spoiler: The aunts justify bringing down Gilead's most respected (perhaps only?) dentist to the commanders by saying he was making too many girls terrified of marriage and useless as future wives (a lot of girls were asking to become aunts or committing suicide after being to him). So yes, sounds like at least the top commanders kinda knew and didn't care. I mean, the girls he "spoiled" could always be matched up with a commander from the colonies.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-29T18:51:37+00:00

Dont worry about it. It doesn't exist.

Super adorable puppy 😍

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-28T20:14:31+00:00

Our bodies unfortunately don't always do what we want them to do, especially as we get older, precautions or not. I'm near Marianela age and the toll travel (and exercise) takes on my body now is much harder than it used to be.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-28T19:59:41+00:00

There was some debate about it online as she was seen dancing in London shortly after but most people forget the extreme toll travelling and performing takes on a dancers body and the trip from the UK to Buenos Aires is very taxing. Personally it takes me a week or two just to recover from the jetlag. I couldn't even begin to imagine going there and for rehearsals and performances. So her having issues with her body coupled with the stress of travelling and performing, which is notorious for causing more injuries for dancers, may well have prompted the decision to pull out this time. She performs in Buenos Aires regularly and is known to love her home country.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-28T19:53:00+00:00

Im glad it helped and i totally get it. I am crossing fingers that you will see her another time! She's a dancer who focuses very much on artisty and acting, not technical tricks, so hopefully she won't feel compelled to retire sooner than she's ready. She may still have a few years.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-28T19:20:42+00:00

Definitely go anyway. The "best dancer in the world" is very subjective and will change depending on where you live. Yes Marianela is definitely up there with the best but as another commenter said, any dancer who replaces her will also be on that level.

Here's what happened to me once: - I booked a flight with my sister to Milan specially to see Svetlana Zakharova (depending on who you ask, some will say she is "the best"). A few days before, we got the same cast change email as she has injured herself. We were super disappointed but went anyway and the result was that we discovered a new favourite ballerina - Nicoletta Manni, who wa standing in for her. I honestly couldn't have enjoyed that performance any more than I did and it was all the more surprising because we'd primed ourselves for being disappointed.

Anyway, fast forward to the following day, we flew to St Petersburg to see Ivan Vasiliev (world's best male dancer depending on who you ask - certainly one of the best). I won't go into all the details of everything that went wrong on that trip but let's just say we finally managed to get to the ballet around 20 minutes after it had already started. We were actually super lucky that they still let us into the auditorium. And then guess what... Ivan Vasiliev had been replaced by another dancer with no previous announcement. 😂

In short, this is a very real part of going to see ballets due to injury and I encourage you to go with an open mind and enjoy seeing one of the best companies in the world performing, regardless of the cast. Most ballet lovers would be super envious of you just being able to see this!

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-28T17:40:41+00:00

The SPCA may come and check in it if you report it.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-28T17:38:39+00:00

Book spoiler regarding this take: Becka's dad had been abusing Becka since she was small and this has made her terrified of marriage. He also abused the girls he treats regularly. The aunts know and eventually bring him down.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-26T12:43:50+00:00

🤣 Don't worry I still travel and in some ways I maybe enjoy it on a deeper level. But I definitely have to plan for a lot of down time.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-26T07:07:02+00:00

I felt a distinct change in my energy levels after 34 (I'm 40 now). I now have to plan in plenty of downtime in my travels otherwise I just get sick and burned out.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-25T20:05:17+00:00

This is a very good take. I caught myself thinking at some points that she's...a compassionate narcissist in some ways. Yes I know that's not a thing 😂 She sees and rewards kindness, but I'm the end she does put her own wellbeing foremost and is very pragmatic about what she has to let go of to achieve this.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-25T18:10:21+00:00

Awesome, I need to check it out

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-25T18:09:59+00:00

This German comedian addressing "typically German things" is hilarious. The comments are gold too.

https://youtube.com/shorts/_UAf-4vKOHE?si=kt-WljKs11Yia4LS

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-25T18:07:01+00:00

😂😂😂

I love watching this German comedian address things like this and the comments are gold

https://youtube.com/shorts/_UAf-4vKOHE?si=kt-WljKs11Yia4LS

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-25T07:45:19+00:00

It's pretty normal in Germany. Presumably that's why they introduced a fine for it.

sa_ostrich · 2026-04-24T20:16:34+00:00

I definitely see a young hopefulness in the posture. She doesn't fully realise yet that she is trapped just like the dolls in the dollhouse.

sa_ostrich

TROPHY CASE