Happy dancer

I feel very proud of myself today. I've done exactly what I said I was going to do yesterday - I've practised, And I've practised a lot, for me. Around 11am I began a steady warm-up, working through various exercises and warming up each part of my feet that gives me trouble, particularly the achilles. I had a nice little routine going there which would be ideal for a champ class, something they could do at home and at a feis too. I stretched, I bounced, I did some weights as well to ensure my upper body wasn't woefully neglected.

I ran Blue Eyed time after time. It's not perfect, but it's progress. I need faster feet at the end. But I know the choreography works and I like the steps.

I ran my one jig step a few times. God it was woeful on the left foot. I did a little shuffle at one point and shouted out loud "WHAT was that?!" But then I started dancing it stronger, really dancing it, and it was beginning to work and I was beginning to get it on time.

Rub the Bag - I thought, just blast it. I read over my steps to review and thought I'd just give it a go. I LOVE this set. I feel foolish for disliking it, I feel a bit sorry for it. I'm really pleased with the steps and fixed the ending so it fits. I end up on a different foot each time at the very end but they (the examiners) won't know that. It's 100% my own work, no input from a single soul, and I'm really really proud of it. I'm not dancing it perfectly but I'm not overly concerned with that, my TCRG exam is not tomorrow.

I won't pretend I danced flat out for hours on end. I've been dancing on and off, mostly off, for about three hours. I was breathing heavily after one step, I'm out of shape. I knew that. It will all help though won't it? Each time I will get a little closer because I vow to not let myself stop until at least something, at least ONE thing, is better. If you make a small improvement every single practice, then over time they will add up to a big improvement. This is elementary stuff, why did I not realise this earlier, when I was - you know - a DANCER?!

It's only half past two at the moment. I don't want to call it a day. I want to keep getting up and doing a bit more here and there. But I want to be able to dance tomorrow, and currently the balls of my feet are burning.

The day is young. I could throw in another past paper and a music quiz, I can finish reading the autobiography, I can watch clips on Youtube for inspiration, I could do some work with my Jean Butler dvd...and still have time to cook my dinner and have a relaxing evening :)

Yes, a happy dancer indeed. A happy candidate indeed. Cheers, MF. Worked a small miracle there, so you did.

Jean Day Two

This is the main menu for the Jean Butler Masterclass. As you can see it's mainly light shoe on the left and hard shoe on the right, so I'm mainly on the left side to begin with. I admit I didn't bother with the warm up although I did do my physio exercises instead, then did everything but jump work as I'm upstairs. The balancing toe work had my arches really sore which I'm hoping is a good thing. Leg work is working my quads as well, might do a few squats after I've signed off just to reinforce. In fact yes, I will.

A month with Jean

I bought this dvd when it first came out but it's been languishing on the shelf. I recently saw a link to it on YouTube and thought I might just as well give it a watch, and then I learned that some of the exercises are the same as my physio has me doing, so I thought I might just as well give it a go. For a month, not everyday, but alongside my other physio exercises to see how it helps. I've got two weeks before my next dance class so hopefully when I go back I will see a difference already.

I'm limited on space due to home improvements at the moment so I'm just focusing on the light shoe stuff that I can do on the spot. Yesterday, the first day of the month, I did the balance work plus my physio's arch and ankle exercises. Today I worked through more of Jean's - from memory; balance work, point work, point pull back etc, hop and kick out, and leg work. I forget some of the correct names, I'll try and do a screen grab tomorrow.

I definitely "felt it" in my arches both days, and in my legs today during the leg work. If you can't feel it it's not doing you any good, so I'm hopeful.

Other things I've done recently: review the first figure of the Four Hand Reel, and quiz myself a few times on music. I keep getting the Piper wrong even though, when I know I'm listening to the Piper, I really like the music! Often I'll write something else first and then realise it's the Piper so it's not all bad, but I would really like full marks in this section and who knows what nerves will do so I need to get it first time. It's short enough to put on my dance list so I will do. I've got 100% a couple of times, a few 98%s. Quite happy.