Tip Toe to the Trifecta

I was dripping with perspiration, my heart beating in my chest, my thighs on fire, and my muscles shivering as they were being pushed to their limits.  My shoulders felt like two bowls of lava balanced beside each ear.  As I held a position or moved into the next, my breath came hard, all stabilizer muscles working in tandem to keep me in balance.  I looked out at the end of my fingers as they started to shake.  My body that had known the benefits of cardio for almost twenty years felt after 15 minutes like I had never run a day in my life and was in shock at the onslaught of new demands I was putting on it now.  Although every move was a challenge, I was smiling most of the time because I was secretly pleased when the teacher said, “If you are not suffering, I’m not working you hard enough.”  I laughed under my breath as I turned to grip the bar with my other hand.  I was pushing my limits once again and loved the thrill of it.

I had just completed the warm-up for the Introductory to Ballet class (the class you take BEFORE the beginner class) at Koresh School of Dance.  As my hand rested on the bar to begin another combination, I stole a glance at the clock above the mirror.  I had another harsh but enlightening 60 minutes to go.

For the last couple of months, I had been working my mind-blowing way through the Koresh punch card that allotting 10 classes of my choosing to be used by a certain time.  The ballet class has introduced me to muscle groups that I didn’t know existed and that were, obviously, dormant since birth.  It has also taught me that grace and power are synonymous.  Tap has shown me the power of rhythm and how the more you give in and relax, the easier it is to be accurate.  The modern jazz class, my absolute favorite of the three, has tapped in to my sensual side, moving my body in powerful turns around an axis of sorts, all to an insistent internal rhythm.

One of the advantages of the In Between Times, coupled with being downsized, is that I’ve been able to focus on a string of very encouraging auditions, take some great acting coaching sessions, and finally get the dance training I needed.  I knew early on that dance was not only essential for the technical skills but for the profound body awareness it instills.  A powerful translation for the stage.

Slowly but surely, in small methodical steps, I’m building my trifecta of skills as I learn this new way my body moves through space.  I’ll know I’m on to something when my voice, my emotional choices behind it, and the motion of my body will no longer be seen as three moving parts but will meld together as one impactful experience that people in the audition room will be left with (and remember) long after I have left the room.

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