This morning I looked at foot strengthening exercises. I've always had sort of flat feet and I tend to walk on the sides of my feet. I'm hoping I can correct with the stretches and training. Today I had to stoop to pick something up and I focused on my feet and not my legs as I went down for it. It made a world of difference.

Been way too long

Stress and Dance

These past few weeks have been really stressful. I finally got my application for Graduate School in, my apartment is back in order, and I've been worried about finances. But it struck me last Wednesday that all I did was worry, worry, worry. I wasn't having fun. So after a road trip with my brother, and a much needed session of Bollywood dancing, I am ready to go.

I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was back in the class. I love belly dancing, but there's not a lot of jumping around, and Bollywood has LOTS of jumping.  My teacher is amazing. She knows how to make these crazy things we do with our hands look graceful and beautiful. She has a great love of what she does, that's one of the most important things a person can have about anything they do. Love begets talent and talent begets greatness.

Ballet, Another B.

Interestingly enough, I've recently become enamored of Ballet. I saw a production of Swan Lake with Gillian Murphy and Angel Corella and my heart was lost! I've even bought a ticket to go see the Barcelona Ballet company perform in April in New York City, I'm so excited! See the interview with Angel Corella at the link here! He's made it a personal quest to rekindle ballet in Spain and now owns (or runs, not sure) the Barcelona Ballet.

What is it about this dance that I love? It's evolving every day, but I think it's the admiration for the skill of the dancers and the marriage they make between the movement of the human body and the music they choose. Even if it's not classical, but something more edgy, showing the grace of the human form in all mediums inspires me to work harder and reach for a better me.

If you want to read a great book about Ballet and how it's fast becoming a lost art try "Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet" I started listening to it on tape and am so impressed. Dancing used to be a way that Man tried to become closer to God, believing that moving the body to music, which music brought the mind closer to God, the soul was then brought in closer communion with the divine. That makes sense to me. Many times I have felt spiritually and emotionally cleansed after I dance and I feel like I want to keep going.