Your other left

Class notes

Not much to report on the class front: so far, so good. My July 10 class was my tenth consecutive class, yay.

So it’s funny (but probably not surprising) how sometimes steps that you can do with no problem in one direction are another story in the other direction. Last class (July 17), my teacher combined two steps we’ve been doing (polonaise, I think that’s what it’s called but I still haven’t confirmed, and balancé). Going to the right (diagonally downstage right), no problem. Going to the left–even though these are basically the same steps, just in reverse order–I was all awkward limbs everywhere. Kind of amusing. Ah well, something to work on.

Around town

Universal Ballet, based in Seoul, is on tour in San Francisco right now, and I went to see them last night at the Opera House. (I hadn’t heard any buzz about it beforehand, but $30 center orchestra seats from Goldstar made it hard to pass up.) The program was Shim Chung: The Blindman’s Daughter, a three-act story set in ancient Korea. For some reason going in I was afraid it might be a bit heavy-handed or cheesy, but overall it really is enchanting. (I will try to forgive the improbable, deliriously happy ending. Improbable, even given the already fantasy-laden story.) The dancing is entertaining, and the sets and costumes are impressive, especially in the underwater kingdom scene.

Shim Chung plays again in San Francisco on Sunday afternoon, July 24, then the tour continues in Vancouver.

2 Replies to “Your other left”

  1. Hi Jeff!

    Funny, but we just talked about the right side – left side dilemma… A friend of mine who has just started this year is having the same problem switching sides. I told her not to think about having to change everything to the left — panic button — but to think only about the stage, the audience (the mirror) and your body´s relation to it.

    When you start, which foot is closer to the mirror — the inside or outside foot? When there are arabesques, is yours open (1st) or closed (2nd / 4th) to the audience? Are you moving upstage or downstage, and on which diagonal? You see what I´m getting at? It won´t matter from which direction you are coming! 🙂

    1. Exactly! This week I think I did much better. I tried not to think of moving left vs. right… in fact I tried not to overthink it at all, since the steps really were the same in both diagonals, just in reverse order (basically: step-2-3, step-2-3, balancé, balancé…).

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