Back in Richmond!

It's the end of the first day of dance camp. Familiar faces are back again-the two school teachers from Connecticut, little Rachel, Theresa, Jenn, Todd, Tracey, Ann the physician. Lots of new faces are joining us, including a small contingent from Detroit. This time, my aunt (Gugu) is with me. I'm sticking with the 3A group. It's a good pace for me, it lets me focus on the technical things I need to work on but isn't so challenging that I can't also focus on being more present in the moment, and not so much in my head. Danile taught technique and that's just the perfect way to start. She gave a great class-I felt warmed up. Heidi taught pointe, and she was really good at focusing on correct positioning in the shoes and rolling up. Every year, the kinesthesiology lecture is one of the most informative and this year was no exception. The instructor is a former dancer and physical therapist and taught us quite a bit about how our bodies are (or are not) properly aligned. I learned that my knees are hyperflexed (which is why I can't get the backs of them on the floor like the ballet teachers always want). I also learned I have some curvature in my spine and I need to stretch my right side and strengthen my left. She also told us that despite what teachers say, it's not possible to penche with your supporting leg turned out! We were all feeling vindicated by that! The final class was modern. The teacher is the same dancer who taught us jazz last year, and as last year, he gave us a bajillion ab exercises. He ran us through a lot of releases and taught us some Horton and Graham techniques. The thing that's great about him is he really tries to get us to focus on being present, connecting with the imaginary audience. After class and cleaning ourselves up, we went for dinner and met up with Kitty Felde. She is a reporter for Pasadena station KPCC now based in DC. She used to take class with Joyce, Ronnie and Kelly and she was a fun addition to the dinner company.