BWW BLOG: Everything was Beautiful at the Ballet

Jess here. Singing, acting and dancing; the three fundamental skills required to become a successful "Broadway performer" take years of dedicated training to learn, and even then, must be continuously honed over a lifetime. Of the three, dancing is definitely the skill I find the most challenging, and to say that dancing scares the life out of me is a bit of an understatement. However, since starting dance classes at Oklahoma City University, I have been working towards bettering myself as a performer, as well as a professional. I began my relationship with OCU's Ann Lacy School of Dance last semester when I enrolled in a Beyond Basic Movement (BBM) tap class. This semester, however, I changed gears and decided to face the ultimate pants-wetter: Ballet.

Aside from one disastrous ballet recital that I participated in at the age of three, I had no real training in ballet. I could (badly) fake my way through Jazz if my life depended on it, and tap was a style I actually felt ok about. But Ballet was a dark room looming at the end of the hallway. I had never dared to venture in that direction for fear of dying from embarrassment. However, with just a half-semester of training in basic ballet, I am already seeing results.

I am a lanky, LANKY human. Measuring in at 5'8", I never quite got the gist of "using my appendages properly" or "looking like a dancer." Sure, if I just stand in one spot with no movement then yes, I can look like a dancer, but ask me to move and you'll regret it immediately. But ballet is actually helping me figure out where, and how to place my arms when I'm performing. I'm also learning about how to properly create a line that makes people say, "Wow, she looks like she knows the basics of ballet." It's really liberating to finally be learning about how not be a complete doof when I'm dancing.

I'm also pushing my limits on how fast I can pick up choreography. As a warm-up every day we learn a small combination to get us in the proper mindset for class, and then we are expected to perform it after marking through it twice. Although it's very basic, it's teaching me how to concentrate enough to quickly pick up something that's been thrown at me. This comes in especially handy now in the midst of summer stock theatre auditions with open dance calls being chucked at you with under 40 minutes of prep time.

An unexpected bonus of ballet is that it's teaching me to be aware of the basic way I carry myself in everyday life. As I mentioned before, I am taller than the average lady, so the fundamentals of good posture are skills I've never really excelled at. I'm a sloucher when I sit or stand, just because there's so much of me to hold up. Ballet is showing me how to use muscles that I didn't even know existed, all of which are improving my posture and confidence in real life. I feel as if I stand up much straighter since beginning classes, which in turn helps me to be viewed as an adult (a crazy idea). I walk with more grace now, as opposed to my usual brisk trudge that my friends have come to know and scoff at.

Everything I'm being taught in ballet is helping me so SO much in every aspect of my life. I hope to continue my studies in the coming semesters so I can further build on the skills I've learned thus far. I encourage anyone who shares my fear of ballet to jump in and just do it; chances are you aren't the only newbie in the class and there is probably someone else just as terrified as you are. Bond over your mutual fear!! That's the best way to make friends, I always say.

"Pin my hat on a nice piece of property. Friday nights, for a bit of fun, We'll go dancing. Meanwhile..." -Stephen Sondheim

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