Sunday, June 01, 2008
Life, Health + Fitness
On pointe
Will training with ballerinas leave you long, lean and graceful—or just kind of confused?
Svemir
Ballet stretches make for a nice physique, but keeping up with pros is harder than it seems.
WHAT: Weighted Barre Class at Dance 101
WHERE: 2480 Briarcliff Road, Suite 11
HOW MUCH? $20 per drop-in class; visit Web site for package specials.
CONTACT INFO: 404-542-3887. www.dance101.org.
FITNESS FACTOR: 3 stars
FUN FACTOR: 4 stars
By Colleen Oakley
There are many fitness activities that I would consider myself to perform at an intermediate level. Ballet is not one of them. So when I signed up for the beginner weight barre class at Dance 101 (a conditioning class for ballerinas), I was excited to potentially learn something called “grace”—a characteristic I severely lack.
Unfortunately my reading skills also need a brush-up, because the class that I actually signed up for was the intermediate class. I did not know this as I walked into the studio, my head held high, ready for my first ballet class ever.
It quickly became apparent, however, when the teacher stepped up to the barre and ran through a series of technical ballet movements in a matter of seconds. It sounded something like 1st position-plie-arabesque-tendu-tendu-5th-relevé-tendu- tendu-back-grand-plie-2nd-relevé-1st-tendu-back-forward-arabesque- plie-plie-port-de-bras.
I don’t speak ballet.
“Any questions?” she asked, as she walked over to the stereo. Um … yes. Could you show that to me about 20 more times?
“Great. Let’s go.” She pressed play, Amy Winehouse blared on the speakers, and the entire class perfectly executed the 15-move combination. Well, everyone except for me. I was the strange kid in the back flapping my arms and not looking anyone directly in the eye.
“Wonderful!” she exclaimed and proceeded on to combination No. 2. She clearly had not seen my performance, or she would have used a different adjective. It’s also possible—but unlikely—that my silent wish to disappear from the class entirely had come true.
“Remember,” she said, before she started up the music again for Humiliation, Round Two, “hold your stomach in and chest out.” Finally. Something I was good at.
Over the next hour we ran through about seven or eight of these complicated combinations and ended the class by practicing pirouettes. I, again, having never done one before, just practiced trying not to get dizzy.
I’ve always had respect for ballerinas—anyone that can walk around on their toes for that long and keep a smile on their face deserves respect, but I have a newfound admiration for them after my class. I imagine it takes a lot of time to remember all of those terms and what they mean (note to self: buy ballet flashcards).
If I had known the terms and the movements, this class would have been a very intense workout. As it was, I stood there with a bewildered look on my face, and made a few robotic attempts at movement—the calorie burn was not quite what I had hoped.
But my ballet days are not over. I will go back and start where I should have in the first place—at the beginning. And maybe one day, I’ll graduate to intermediate. SP
Colleen Oakley is a freelance writer in Atlanta and the former editor of Women’s Health & Fitness magazine. Got a fitness challenge for her? E-mail her at colleen@sundaypaper.com.