Next Level

So, that's week two gone with our shiny new pointe teacher. We miss our last teacher terribly, but thankfully her replacement is as good - different, but as good.

Her name is Felicity and she's a ballet dancer who is currently out with an injury and has trained with the likes of the Dutch National Ballet, so we're in good hands.

When we first met her and she told us she was a dancer our hearts sank a little. We've been taught by a dancer before and whilst it was inspiring to watch her, it sucked the life out of us because she was getting us to try things far more advanced than our level, so we thought it might end up the same. Mercifully, Felicity gauged our abilities very quickly and seems like she'll be able to take us to the next level.

Felicity has a big focus on dancing rather than technique, which is a little bit of a different experience for us, as previous teachers have focused on technique more.

Dancing the exercises has been a bit of an eye opener for me. I didn't realise how hard it was for me to just let myself go without being weighed down with mortification. Even though I have a class filled with girls I now consider friends, I still found it hard to let go those inhibitions and just relax. I actually had no idea I was so tense until we were doing our courrus across the floor, with arms in third moving up to fifth as we turned, and our teacher told me to relax my shoulders and arms. I thought they were! Turns out they weren't at all and when I made myself drop them further I did feel a weight literally lift.

In other news, I'm trying to squeeze the last remaining life out of my current pointe shoes so I can wait and get fitted for new ones at the Mothership when I go to London - i.e. the Bloch shop in Covent Garden. I'm am so excited about this! Those guys will have seen so many different dancers in there I'm super confident I'll be united with the perfect shoe, especially as Bloch seem to best the best brand for for my foot shape. In particular I want to try the Jetstream model - any ballet dancers reading this who have tried it? It, allegedly, cuts out the need for additional padding. I am sceptical about that, but it might mean they are overall less punishing on my big toe, which is currently taking all the battering. So fingers, and toes, crossed I finally find the perfect shoe.

Queen Michelle