The first ballet related thing I've decided to complain about is pain. But not good pain or the kind of pain you might get from an injury or stretching. I mean our old enemy blisters. Some may consider complaining about blisters a weakness, but to be honest, they hurt. They're painful, just like any other injury. And please don't tell me I've never experienced proper injury pain, I've broken a toe (which unfortunately means I'll never be able to bend it again), fractured my ankle, fractured my elbow (yep, that was a pretty admirable feat) and the most recent injury was a torn hamstring. Which, according to a delightful AFL player on the Giants team, is one of the worst injuries you can get in sport. I have to agree with him. My torn hamstring didn't affect my everyday life much but when it came to dancing, I couldn't do a thing. It's been 8 weeks since I tore it and while it still pains me, I've decided to start stretching again to regain my flexibility. Before the tear I could do the splits easily, now I'm at the most 20 centimetres away from the ground. I'm also having difficulty with putting my head on my knees when stretching, something I used to be pro at. I seem to have rambled on a bit with this post but I needed to get it out. Back to blisters. They cause pain and I truly hope my trusty Pawpaw Ointment will sort them out.
Dessus et dehors,
Caroline.
P.S. I do love small ballet classes, when the teacher can concentrate a bit more on all the students. Today I received some good feedback on my grand batement. Yes! One of my favourite barre exercises.