Everyone has a teacher that they cherish and whom was a great influence. For me, that person is my childhood ballet teacher. She is still a huge influence on my life, dancing and teaching. Every time I return “home” for a visit, I try to take a ballet class or two with that teacher who is still one of the most amazing teachers (and women) I’ve ever known. I really enjoy being back in the environment and rhythm that made me fall in love with ballet to begin with and have been fortunate to feel well enough to have made it back into the studio multiple times this visit.
The first class, belly baby and I ventured into the studio amongst chipper little high schoolers. I took “my” place at the barre (after checking that I wasn’t taking someone else’s usual place…dancers are fickle about where they like to stand in the room). Amazingly, my body felt good and I was actually very well balanced. But this weird phenomenon still occurs: every time my teacher walks by I get a little nervous and make sure I’m doing everything the best I can. Even though I know she’s probably not going to give me a lot of corrections right now seeing as everything is a little out of whack, I still get that tiny bit of panic in my entire body.
The second class I intended to take I actually ended up teaching for her instead. I subbed for the same teacher once when I was pregnant with Honeybun and this time was so much easier. Last time I remember being terribly sore and out of shape. Having taken class as often as I could throughout this pregnancy has definitely helped.
The last class I took, this weird thing happened: I did my first port de bras forward at the barre (bending forward at the waist) and my belly hit my legs before I get a stretch. Weird. I had noticed the day before that my coat that easily buttoned when we arrived in the cold would no longer button around my belly but I didn’t think about how the bump growth would affect dancing. I guess I’ll just have to accept that until the baby is here, each time I dance I’ll be capable of a little bit less.
Nice story, I had the same problem with the port de bras Too! My Belly Was Huge! Did you still wear a Leotard and Tights? I Did.