Category Archives: Be happy–dance

Finding Your Balance and Letting Go

19 Sunday Mar 2017

Posted by in Ballet, Ballet Class, Be happy--dance, Believe you can dance, Better body control, Breathing to release tension, Encouragement, Holding on to Tension, how to balance in ballet, How to improve at ballet, Inspiration for ballet, Keep Dancing, life balance, Uncategorized, Unnecessary Tension

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Catching my balance for a moment has the easy satisfaction of catching a ball. It’s a suspension, a momentary win, an opportunity taken. It stems from a lengthened, fluid, effortful lift. It takes a quiet internal strength, but without tension or gripping. It also takes trust, letting go of control, and letting go of the barre! When my balance is on, it feels weightless, like a rising breath of air, and when it is off, it feels wobbly, uncertain, and totally frustrating.

I fight to maintain balance in the studio as well as in my busy New York life. Recently, I came home to Hawaii to visit a friend and help her welcome her new baby into the world. Letting go here is less about releasing my hand from the crutch of the barre, and more about melting into the landscape, life with a baby, and her milk-drunk cuddles. Yet in ballet class, I found my balance here in Hawaii was better than it has been. Maybe it was my friend Annie’s class, or maybe it helped to let go a little.
1. Set yourself up to succeed. While you are holding on to the barre, line everything up. Put your feet in sous-sus, in fifth position, in relevé, and start from the bottom up:
relax and lengthen your toes along the floor;

  • lift your heels in relevé as high as they will go;
  • make sure your legs are straight and long;
  • turn your legs out from deep in your hips, with your heels yearning forward,
  • pull your legs together like a baby snuggling, with no spaces between, or like a ziplock bag, zipping up all the way together with no holes;
  • relax your tailbone towards the floor, as you lift your lower belly up;
  • press your belly button to your spine as if wearing your skinny jeans;
  • calm your frontal ribcage, knit it together towards your hip bones and make space in your back ribs;
  • relax your shoulders down away from your ears and widen your collar bones;
  • lengthen your head toward the ceiling;
  • reach your arms up into fifth position – notice I didn’t say “place” – your arms also have a dynamic lifted energy. In a balance everything reaches up and out!

2. Before you let go of the barre lift more out of your hips by pushing down, reaching up and thinking happy thoughts of seeing friends, eating delicious pineapple or ahi poke, and Hawaiian trade winds. A balance is not total stillness, it has energy. Happy thoughts!

3. About wobbling – sometimes in letting go of the barre, there is some wobbling. A little wobbling is okay, focus on lifting and breathing. If I am wobbling badly, either I’m not fully lined up properly, not lifting in my core, or I’m hardening and gripping somewhere. I breathe and try again. Sometimes wobbling can be because of lack of sleep lack of food, or emotional distress. I refocus on pushing down, lifting up, and try again.

4. Breathing is not holding your breath-don’t forget to exhale too!

5. Your mind can play tricks on you with respect to other dancers in the room. Don’t be fooled. You are just as glorious and wonderful and have all the capacity they have. Yes, you can balance. Fight for it! Yes it is possible. Believing anything else is a cop out. Let others challenge and motivate you, and make you work harder, that is what dance friends are for! But your ultimate competition is you, your body and perhaps more importantly, your mind. Don’t give up on yourself, and don’t let yourself off the hook either. Go for it!

Now that I’m back in New York, mornings are no longer about burping the baby and her falling asleep on me to the music of mourning doves, a rustling brook, and the neighbors chickens. Letting go is about saying goodby to dear friends even as new exciting projects lure me back to the big city. But then again, it’s all about balance.

~Sarah
One of my projects is a fundraiser to raise money for Liberated Movement, the studio where I teach. You should come! It is going to be held on April 22, 5-8pm at Blender, located at 27 West 31st street at Madison Ave. Get your tickets here! 

Coming to New York? Come to my class! Tuesdays 7-8pm and Saturdays 12-1:30! 380 Broadway two blocks south of Canal street, buzzer #5. Only $10, yo!

Believe in the Possibilities

31 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by in Ballet, Ballet Adagio, Ballet choreography, Ballet Class, Ballet to pop music, Be happy--dance, Believe, Believe you can dance, Believing in your dreams, Believing in yourself, Dance, Dancing to remember lost loved ones, Dare to believe in your dreams, Encouragement, Going to ballet class, How to get better, How to improve at ballet, Inspiration for ballet, Motivation for Ballet

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Every dancer has an angel hovering overhead whispering ‘believe’!

Here we are at that magical time of year when gifts are exchanged with wishes of peace on earth and the hope of a better new year to come. What a difficult year it’s been and not just politically. I have geared too many ballet classes around the music of singers who have passed on – an adagio to Prince’s Sometimes in Snows in April stands out, one among several great musicians who are gone (David Bowie, George Michael). We’ve lost several amazing actors too – just on Monday I was watching Singing in the Rain with my mother and marveling at the lovely Debbie Reynolds. This year has also been a very difficult year for many of us personally as well.

Then recently at a friend’s suggestion, I read an amazing book called Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl in which he talks about his experiences surviving brutal Nazi concentration camps, how he survived, and why others did not. He explains how the torturous conditions became bearable only when one found meaning outside of oneself – when he could focus on his love for his wife, or work to recreate his manuscript that had been confiscated. Only then, by focusing on and reaching for something beyond himself, could he bear his own suffering. If you have never read this book, give yourself this gift! 

I found great solace and hope in his book, not just for my life, but for ballet as well. (Dance is life after all). As much as Ballet is about the body and the physical, and can be very difficult, it is also very much about the mind – what we perceive to be our limitations, versus what we imagine is possible. 

What I wish for us all in the new year is that we Believe. That we leave in 2016 the doubts, the “I’ll never get my leg high”, the “I’m not a jumper”, the “I’ll never be flexible”, letting all of that go. Instead, I wish for us to take hold of our dreams, like grasping the string of a giant magic red balloon. At first dangling, then embracing, and finally steering our dreams like we own them, and that they may be realized. That we greet each pirouette or pas de chat with a deep knowing that we are fully capable of the execution always focusing on the bigger picture even while we hone our skills more finely one at a time. It scares me to do this too – it feels safer to hang on to the familiar crutches of self-deprecation. But the adventures of 2017 are as yet unchartered territory. Dare yourself to believe it is all possible, and have a very Happy New Year. 

~Sarah

Feel free to ‘like’ or comment or share this post if you liked it. Join me for ballet on Tuesday, 7-8 pm. 380 Broadway, buzzer #5. $10. 

Asking How to Get Better at Ballet (or anything) vs. Asking Why 

13 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by in Ballet, Ballet Class, Ballet teacher, Be happy--dance, Correction from ballet teacher, Correction in ballet class, Dance, Encouragement, Going to ballet class, Holding on to Tension, How do I concentrate in ballet?, How to get better, How to improve at ballet, Inspiration, Keep Dancing, Letting Go of Tension, Motivation, Motivation for Ballet, Motivation to go to ballet, Releasing tension, Showing up for class, Uncategorized

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Comic genius Lucille Ball at the barre

When I’m not doing well at something in life or dance, I inevitably ask myself ‘why’. Why am I not getting this?, Why does everyone seem to get this but me? Or in ballet: Why can’t I get my leg higher?, Why do I always fall out of my pirouettes?, What is wrong with me? It feels so frustrating and self-defeating. 

In a gym class the other day at Mark Fisher Fitness, Michael Littig, Fitness expert, encouraged us to instead ask ourselves ‘how’. We went around the room, each saying how we wanted to feel – accomplished, motivated, energized, successful, strong. Each of our desired outcomes could be ours, he said, if we asked ourselves how do I get there instead of why can’t I get there. Asking “why” keeps you stuck, spinning your wheels and not moving forward, while asking “how” allows you to see the possibilities, encourages you to problem solve, and allows your mind (and body) to start changing. I told a friend about ‘how vs. why’, and we applied the concept to an idea she had, and pretty soon we had talked out an exciting plan to make her idea a reality! 

With this concept in mind, I decided to apply it to ballet. How can I get better at ballet? Let’s make it more manageable. How can I get 1% better at ballet? (We’re not talking ABT, just 1% better!)*

1. First it might help if I show up regularly to ballet class. I can work on that by looking ahead at my calendar, and blocking off the time. I can help myself stay on course by letting friends know I have a previous engagement at that time but I’d be available afterwards or on another night. I don’t have to tell them what the commitment is! Don’t feel bad for your friend, like that person is less important than ballet. No, you are doing this for you, and aren’t you just as important as your friend? Yes you are! 

This also applies to work. If you had tickets to a show for which you already paid money, and your boss asked you to stay late, you’d say, “I won’t be able to stay late tonight, I have plans.” Why should ballet be any less important than Hamilton tickets? 🙂  You don’t have to explain your personal commitments. 

2. Next I make sure I have something clean to wear and I pack my bag the night before so in the morning rush I don’t forget my shoes or pants or something. 

3. During class, I stay present, and focused, continually bringing my mind back into the room and not worrying about work or something outside  of class. 

4. I listen to all of the corrections given in class, and apply them to myself even if they aren’t specifically given to me. Any correction in ballet class can potentially help, so I pay attention.

5. I scan my body during class. Is my head held high, extending the back of my neck? Is my chin parallel to the floor? Are my shoulders down and back and is my back wide? Are my elbows lefted and my fingers reaching out as if they had LED lights radiating from my fingertips? Is my tailbone lengthening toward the floor as my belly lifts in and up? Can I maintain this tall, wide, expanded posture with grace and without tension? Are my legs extending out and away from my body, are my feet reaching long with all the toes reaching and stretching long when I point my feet instead of scrunching up my toes? 

6. I watch the other dancers in class. Everyone has their gifts and abilities, no matter what their level and watching the other dancers can allow me to learn more than if I only focus on myself. There is also some research that suggests watching others dance creates a kinesthetic response. It’s as if neurologically you are doing the movement when you watch others do a movement, particularly one with which you are familiar. Pretty cool!

7. Finally, after ballet class is over and while you’re still warm, commit to doing 5 minutes of simple stretching to take care of your  body before changing your clothes. 

8. What about homework?  Dancers ask me this all the time. The thing is, you can’t cram for ballet class. If you overstretch, you risk injury. Ballet is something at which you will improve slowly over time. When you are first learning, it’s better not to practice at home anyway because you don’t want to practice it wrong. The good news is that means you don’t need to do anything extra! You went to class, so give yourself a hug. No guilt for today! 

Keep asking yourself ‘how’. I’m going to see what other areas of my life I can improve using ‘how’. Until then, I’ll see you at the barre. 
~Sarah
Looking for a ballet class? Come join mine! Tuesdays 7-8, and Saturdays 12-1:30. 380 Broadway, Buzzer #5, two blocks south of Canal street. Classes are only $10.

*Getting 1% better at anything is also a Mark Fisher Fitness ism. 

Joy: Superpower for Spring

09 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by in Across the floor in Ballet, Ballet, Ballet Blues, Ballet Class, Ballet combinations, Be happy--dance, Encouragement, How to improve at ballet, How to remember steps in ballet, I can never remember combinations, I can't concentrate in ballet class, Inspiration, Keep Dancing, Learning dance combinations, Messing up in Ballet, Motivation for Ballet, Uncategorized

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Daffodils in Bryant Park

I grew up in Hawaii where we don’t have extreme seasons – not like in New York. We have whale season when humpback whales come to the islands, but that’s different. 

Winter used to be really hard for me with its short dark days. I couldn’t take the cold – anytime it fell below 20 degrees I would get sick. I’ve slowly learned about boots and warm clothes over the last thirteen years, and now I find spring the most difficult season.

Spring is tricky. The weather is changing faster than we can change our coats. It’s hot, cold, warm, wet, windy, and weird! The light looks like it will be warm out but it fools us. We’re impatient for summer to come and isn’t that similar to growth? We’re impatient to be better dancers – for the summer of our dancing to be in full swing. The growth period of learning is painful. It comes in fits and starts, just like spring. One moment is a  feeling of getting the steps, feeling the music just right, and then there’s the awkward uncomfortable gangliness when you can’t find the beat or recognize a step you once knew and you’re totally discombobulated. It’s tempting to be cruel…”Well I was never going to be any good anyway.” It’s tempting to lie to oneself -“I never liked that kind of dance to begin with,” (when you know you love it!) …It’s tempting to quit.

It’s easy to get caught up in our minds about the perceived judgement of others or the very real judgement we inflict on ourselves. Try to ease your mind of these kinds of thoughts, the worst of all suffering, and imagine instead we are all flowers in a garden, different, and unique, but no less beautiful than any other. Does the elegant tulip look down on the trumpet-nosed daffodils, those happy-yellow beacons of spring?  

It’s tempting to buy into one’s ego – “I’ve been dancing this long, I should know this by now”. How long has spring been around, how many millions and billions of years? Growth is not a smooth process, it’s up and down in fits and starts, three steps forward, two steps back. Instead of focusing on the goal, focus on the joy that dancing brings you. Your summer will come. For now, celebrate the imperfect moment of uncertainty when you aren’t sure exactly what the step is and you choose to dance anyway. As you move, you may start to figure out the movement. Bravo! Bask in the goodness of learning, the luxury of being a beginner without the pressure of having to perform. Relish the elation of simply moving to music. Instead of anticipating the summer, enjoy the daffodils.

My favorite moment in ballet class Tuesday night was when everyone was skipping in big glorious circles around the room to the Happy song, – “because I’m happy…” Everyone was jumping really high, lifting their knees, and pointing their feet: a room full of adults, all of us emphatically and gleefully skipping! Is there anything more joyful than that?

~ Sarah

In my open level ballet classes, sometimes beginners get left behind. I’m teaching a basic beginner workshop the first four Sundays of May–May 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd from 2:30-4pm at 380 Broadway.  For more information, email me at liberatedmovement@gmail.com

Open level classes are 7-8pm on Tuesdays, suggested donation $10.  For Ballet workshop 12-1:30pm on Saturdays, we request a minimum donation of $10.