Gotta Dance!

So I've taken about 4 ballet classes so far. The first class, my feet started cramping up after a few minutes of basic barre exercises. I almost threw up after a sequence of chaine turns.

The good news is, I could do pretty much everything and all the terminology and basic moves came back to me very naturally. I have a perma-grin on my face throughout the whole class, and I even rocked a triple pirouette on Saturday. I've also run into a bunch of people I used to dance with when I was actually really good. I got to see a woman who was in her early twenties when I was a pre-teen dancing way back when. Great to see her still dancing and looking great. Other ladies who "knew me when" have said such sweet things to me about how they love watching me dance, and how great it is to see me again. Does wonders for the ego, and let's face it, whose ego can't use a little boost every once in awhile?

One side effect of all this ballet is now that I'm in a leotard and tights at least once a week in front of a very large mirror with lots of other people, most of whom are smaller than me, the diet is going pretty well. Talk about motivation to look your best!

Here are my beefs (because let's face it, no matter how good things are, I always think they could be better!)

1. Classes are only an hour long. I'm just getting warmed up around the 45 minute mark - wish they were 90 minutes long. I did find out that another school has a 90 minute class on Tuesday nights - I may check it out.
2. Classes are only 3x a week, and realistically, I can only make 1 or 2 at best. Wish I could take one every day. It's hard to make progress while taking class just once a week.
3. I want to be on stage! One of the reasons I love ballet so much is because I crave the performance. So I have to figure out how to get back on stage. Let's take the Nutcracker for instance. The only parts I'm going to get are in the party scene and dammit, I want to be at least a snowflake!! Have to figure this one out. Suggestions are welcomed.

I'm filling in some of my ballet-less nights with yoga, trying to increase my flexibility and get those feet stronger for the pointe shoes!

Sugar Plum Fairy - Here I come!