Graduated translator and jinxed dancer!

Hello, nice reader!

It's been a while! Let me explain you why! Lots of things have happened since that post in June. For real: LOTS of exciting things, so this is going to be quite a long text –consider yourself warned!

First of all, I spent the whole semester and, in particular, the whole of June working on my Bachelor's Degree Thesis, which was a didactic translation of Maurice Béjart's memoirs. As you can imagine, I had to work a lot, but still it was so much fun. I learned a lot, both about translation and about dance. It was a great experience. Then, the examining board seemed to like it a lot, which means that... I just graduated from university! I am now an official translator and interpreter, even though I am still not working. The good news is that I am going to Paris in October, to work as a Spanish Language Assistant at two high schools, which are located next to the Opéra Garnier. Isn't it exciting? Obviously, I have already registered myself in the POB website, because I'm planning a few trips to see them live. Duh!

Also, now I'm trying to find a flat in Paris, which is not an easy job, but I really hope I'll find something interesting and affordable before September!

My Thesis right after I finished it. It was time to celebrate!

In other news, I left my ballet studio a month ago, since I'm no longer going to live in Salamanca. It was really hard, nice reader.

We'd just done a beautiful performance for charity, for which we spent hours and hours at rehearsals. My life in June consisted basically on working on my Thesis, going to rehearsals, drinking water, eating food and sleeping (not much sleep, though). The day of the performance was brilliant. I had planned with my ballet classmates that we were going to make the most of it and enjoy it as if it was our last show, which we did. The rehearsals at the theatre were exciting, our group lunch was lots of fun and the performances were all fantastic. I took part on two dances from La Bayadère; the first one being the Fire Dance from the first act, and the second one, the D'Jampe with the ribbons (here's the video to the second one. Try to find me!). Also, my teacher choreographed a piece for us in, like, two weeks, with Vivaldi's Andante, Concert for two mandolins. And the last piece I danced in was the Fire Dance by Manuel de Falla, the same choreo we did in February. And I also had promised to my classmates I would try not to cry at the end... but I did, ok? But come on, it was my last day ever dancing with them! So I hugged my teacher while crying a LOT and then she told me that we could have a last class next Monday. So I stopped crying. Kind of.

And then I went to class on Monday and she had prepared the most amazingest class ever. EVER. Because she's adorable! She taught us Kitri's variation from the last act of Don Quixote. Which is, like, one of my favourite variations ever. It was also very strange, because we usually don't learn variations in class, the only exception being an excerpt of a variation from Paquita, which we didn't master at all. Sure, we didn't really learn the whole Kitri variation properly (we only had 45 minutes and we were wearing flats), but it was amazing! And also very exhausting. So that was my last class at the studio in Salamanca. I said goodbye to everyone, crying twice as much as I had cried the day before, and I also got the opportunity to write a page in the book the teachers have there for everyone that has ever been a student at that academy and then has left. Emotions! Weirdness!

And then... I came back to my hometown. And something kind of incredible happened! I have a friend who is a fashion designer. He's actually well known in Spain; he's good and has been invited to show his designs all around the world. So he was preparing a super big catwalk to celebrate his 25th anniversary as a fashion professional... and he asked me if I would like to dance during the spectacle, with one of his costumes and a fan. A FAN, you guys. You do know what came to my mind, right? KITRI. I'd just learned the variation and I had the chance to dance it en pointe, in front of thousands of people and wearing a gorgeous dress. So I said yes. The problem? Where could I rehearse? I had only done it once or twice and the show was one month away. So I talked to the mayor and he gave me permission to go to the local theatre to rehearse as many hours as I wanted, as many days as I needed. A theatre, nice reader. Not a really big theatre, but it's got a floor made of linoleum, just for me and my pointe shoes. Greatest thing ever. And this is the result of one of the afternoons I spent there:

And that's pretty much it. The day of the performance was actually not fun AT ALL. I woke up early because my father phoned me. He was at the place where the show was going to be held that night. Even though the non-permanent structure was designed for a catwalk, there was also a really big stage for me to dance on and for the models to stay at. The problem now? The organiser hadn't thought of a little person EN POINTE, who could not dance on a wooden and absolutely irregular floor. So I got dressed really quickly and went there almost running, to check it out. Exactly. It was absolutely impossible to dance on that surface. I put my pointe shoes on and tried to do it, but I was so afraid of falling off the shoes that I immediately had to say I wouldn't dance that night. Then I saw the long and narrow stage that was prepared for the catwalk. Its floor was so much better! I decided I could change a few things of the choreo, in order to adapt it to the super narrow stage and to the public, looking at me from both sides.

Myself trying to adapt the choreo to the tiny stage. The show was to be held that night.

I spent there like half an hour and then stopped because all the pedestrians had decided that it was more fun to look at me, desperated, marking and doing weird moves, than to continue with their walk. So I went to the theatre. And even though I didn't have any tights, I spent an hour or so rehearsing. BIG MISTAKE, nice reader. I wasn't feeling confident, I couldn't remember the dance or the new positions and my feet were hurting like hell. Like, I'd never, ever had so much pain on my toes. Maybe it was because of the stress. Maybe. The thing is, after that hour, I took off my pointe shoes and I had blisters. Some super painful ones. So I decided it was time to stop and have lunch.

In the afternoon I had to go to the hairdresser, who put on my head the biggest bun I've ever seen (I still don't know where all that hair came from). And then I tried to rehearse on the catwalk thing again. Worst rehearsal of my life. I almost fell down a hundred times (the floor was slippery), I couldn't remember anything, my toes were hurting and I wasn't able to avoid grimacing with pain. Literally. Horrible. Only two hours to go. I decided to stop for good.

Then the show started. I put my pointe shoes on and I waited for my turn. The spectacle was divided in four sections: the beach, the opera, the wedding and China. I was going to dance in the opera section. So when that part started, I was very nervous. Even more nervous when I saw that they were putting some enormous flowerpots on my stage. For decoration. Like, as if I hadn't struggled enough with the little space I had before. Seriously, what else could go wrong?!

And then it was my turn. Of course, the flowerpots were still there, so I improvised. I started doing my variation and I had to decide how to do the next step while I was dancing in front of a thousand people. I didn't dance well. I forgot about the technique, I didn't listen to the music as I should have and I didn't do things that I knew I could do. The weird thing is... it felt really well. I was happy to have been given that opportunity, so I didn't stop smiling at any point. I forgot that my toes were hurting. And I had fun. Ballet is incredible. The feeling of being on a stage is something you can't really explain with words. But after that experience I can really say that it is worth the effort. In my hometown nobody knows anything about ballet. I know I didn't dance well at all, but they loved it. They loved it so much that now I am "The Girl Who Danced". For real, nice reader. They've been talking about it for two weeks. I feel privileged! Next time, on a bigger stage, they'll see!

When I started writing this post I decided I was not going to show you the video of the actual performance, because, if you know something about ballet, you will not like it. I am not proud of it. I'm just proud of my feelings during the dance and after it. Now I've decided you can watch it because you know my story. Here you are: you can compare it to the rehearsal, if you like.

And well, that's it.
I have more plans for the future, but for now, I'll just try and find a flat in Paris... and then let the fun begin!

Nerea.

I am such a Sylphide!

I know I haven’t written anything here for long, but I actually did it on purpose because I wanted to be able to tell you the full story!

You know what? Two weeks ago, we had a ballet class with another teacher. We didn’t really understand why we had this change, because our regular teacher was also at the studio. So not that she was ill or anything! And class was hard. So, so hard. Our new teacher kept taking notes while looking at us doing some terrible attempts to dance gracefully. You know, it was one of those days when you leave class thinking you’re the worst dancer in the whole world. Fun times, yay!

Ok, no.

So during our next class (pointe) my regular ballet teacher (Mrs. M) told us she needed to have a talk with us. She was very serious, so we thought that whatever she was going to say was going to be very bad. Something like: “the other day you sucked so much that we don’t want you here. Leave this place and never come back!” Nervousness everywhere!

But instead she said: “This studio is participating in an important performance in January; we’re representing an association of dance. Mrs. A was here the other day to take notes about you, and we believe that some of you are ready to dance with us. But there are some important things that you need to take into consideration. First of all, it is not compulsory. Second of all, since the moment you say yes, you have to accept anything we say. This means that you may be dancing something you don’t like with people you don’t know or with a teacher you can’t stand. You might not be dancing with your regular classmates! Oh, and you have to be able to come on Saturdays and Sundays if we call you. Understood?”.

So I was among the ones who were picked, and of course I said yes. I want to dance in January and I am really happy to be a part of this! These past two weeks must have been for the teachers to prepare everything; to create the choreographies and all the stuff. Actually I’m having a week off from university and I’m in Salamanca instead of home with my family because I wanted to be here in case we had our first rehearsals. And guess what?! I had them today! Almost two hours of class which were AMAZING! “What are you dancing?” –you may ask. I’m dancing “Les Sylphides” with a neo-classical choreography, with soft slippers (most of the time), with Mrs. A and with some girls from the advanced and intermediary levels. It’s hard to work with a choreographer, because it’s not like a regular class. Mrs. A marked loads of steps and I just couldn’t remember anything at the beginning, but I got used! Oh, and we’re doing something extremely cool that was so MUCH FUN. We are partnering!!! Yes, like when there are boys on the stage and they do these really cool pas de deux with the ballerinas. Only we’re all girls. But it’s super awesome anyway! Oh, and HARD. It looks easy, but it is not! Anyways… really, dudes, come on! Come to class, please. I want to do a partnering class like… everyday. Thank you.

So that’s all! I’m such a sylphide, nice reader!

I’ll keep you up to date!

I look nice, huh...? Ok, ok, that's Tamara, not me! And he is Rupert Pennefather!

Nerea.

Big Ballet Dilemma

I have been faced with this dilemma for more than two weeks, I still don’t know what to do and I have to find a solution like NOW. I know that the decision should be mine, but I’m in desperate need of advice.

As you know, I’m studying in Salamanca. This is my last year of university, and therefore it is also my last year of ballet in this studio with this Amazingly Awesome Ballet Teacher. I had a ballet class for beginners today. I felt so much ahead the rest of the class. I’m not swaggering; it is a fact. We did a new barre and I could remember all the steps and I performed them pretty well. I didn’t get any corrections from the teacher. Only things like “very well, Nerea! You’re doing fine!”

Well, it seems that I have a pretty much pretty and amazingly cool life. What is the problem, then? The Problem is this:

Class finished and Amazingly Awesome Ballet Teacher told me that she didn’t know why I still was in that class with the beginners. She had spoken with intermediate ballet teacher (with whom I have had an intermediate class and two hours of pointe. That equals three hours), and this second person had told her that I could totally get enrolled in intermediate class. She said I was doing well; I just needed to have a little more agility at the centre.

So I told Amazingly Awesome Ballet Teacher that I didn’t feel really confident in intermediate level. She answered that she was sure I was ready and intermediate ballet teacher thought the very same. I hesitated for a second and Amazingly Awesome Ballet Teacher shouted: “come on!!! It’s always me! I always have to push you guys to do new things! Come on, Nerea! Go to intermediate level!!! You can do it!!! I know you can!!”

So, these are my options:

• Stay in ballet class with the beginners, with Amazingly Awesome Ballet Teacher, 2 hours a week + 1 hour of flamenco, also with Amazingly Awesome and Adorable Ballet Teacher.

• Go to intermediate level with Not-So-Awesome-Ballet-Teacher. This means 2 hours a week + 1 hour of pointe shoes with her… And not flamenco at all, because, you know, my budget has its limits.

The first option means that I will focus on the basics again; on very easy things that I can already do, which can be nice… or not so nice, and of course, staying with lovely teacher. Second option means, of course, something like: “bye, bye, Amazingly Awesome and Adorable Ballet Teacher, forever and ever, and hello, stressful ballet classes in which I learn so much and I can actually dance like a ballerina, but where I don't really know if I'm performing correctly!”

There are other options, but certainly less advisable, like giving up flamenco, staying with the beginners in ballet class and going to intermediate pointe class. Or going to intermediate ballet classes, giving up pointe and going to flamenco with Amazingly Awesome Ballet Teacher.

Should I repeat that Amazingly Awesome Ballet Teacher absolutely wants me to go to intermediate level, because she thinks I have some kind of potential?

My head is a total mess. Any experienced advice?

Oh, and if I choose option 2, I will dance like Tamara in a few years. Yeah, sure... ;)
Look at that super AWESOME winged foot!!!

Nerea.

Back to normal life… or almost

I'm back in Salamanca after three months of holidays.

Even though this is meant to be just “my student life”, it is also “my normal life”, as I live here for nine months a year.

So everything is back to normal. I’m living again in an apartment full of dictionaries, interpretation notebooks, German books, dancing clothes and ballet posters (if I ever buy a house, the decoration will absolutely be based on this), full of precooked food and technologic devices… and wild animals. Eh… what? Yes, wild animals are back! Right now, I’m living with a huge moth, which decided to come inside my flat on Saturday evening and we are becoming friends. Anyway, I hope it leaves soon, or I will have to start with “aggressive negotiations”.

Getting to the “pointe”, I’m officially enrolled in the Translation Itinerary, which is full of hours related to translating specialized documents FR>ES, ES>FR and ES>EN… (I liked the teacher I met yesterday; she was so French, and had such a lovely accent!) And I’m also going to some hours of Interpreting a week (two, I think). By doing this, I’ll enjoy interpreting (no matter what, I keep saying that this is what I like most), but I will not be so much stressed. I really have to find a solution for that. I can’t be an interpreter if I’m not able to cope with my own mistakes or with my shyness.

Also, I’m preparing a planning for the semester related to my free time at home. I will probably use it for reading or for interpretation, focusing mostly on English to Spanish speeches and I will also do some stretching (both things at the same time… why not?).

As regards my dancing, yesterday I went to my studio twice. The first time I just asked when classes started and if I needed to enrol myself again. The answer to first question is next week (ZOMFG, YAY!), and to the second, nope. Also, I liked that everybody in there remembered my name and everything about my dancing studies.

The second time I went to my studio was five minutes later, because on my way back home I remembered that I had bought some pictures of the festival in June, and I hadn’t picked them up yet. So I’m back to the studio, right when a class is finishing… and I see my teacher (I missed her so much, for realz! She’s so lovely, you guys. So lovely!) And she asks me about my summer and if I am going to do flamenco this year too (obviously she doesn’t ask about ballet, because she already knows I will.) I tell her I won’t, because there’s been a change on the timetables. She looks at me and says that it’s not true; that for me, it’s the same as last year. So I show her the timetable and say: “look, flamenco for beginners! See? It’s one hour later!” And she says: “my dear, you are not longer a beginner! You have to be on intermediate level this year!” And I’m all open-mouthed and say something like “OMGWHAT!”, which I don’t really remember now. So I get enrolled right away and leave the studios happily happy.

Get that, y’all!! I’m a flamenco intermediate dancer!!! Did you read that!?! I am a freakin’ flamenco intermediate dancer! In just one year! HA!

I just wish I can ask her: “hey, lovely Mrs. C! Can we have a talk about pointe shoes?! Las puntas, pa’ cuando las dejamos?” Because I so want to be on pointe again.

Still, I am freaking excited about the new subjects that I will discover during this week, and so, so happy about next week, when I will start ballet again after three months.

It’s a happy week in Salamanca. Everything is back to normal… or almost everything!

The city where I study is lovely, innit!?

Nerea.

Such a great time!

Last week I had some really busy days with the rehearsals and the show, but it was so worth it! I had such an amazing weekend! I can't wait to repeat it...

The only problem is that my academy only organizes this kind of show every two years, so I probably won't be able to dance in front of a crowd in Salamanca again, since by this time next year I'll be a graduate. However, as soon as I live in León again I will look for a dance studio, because now that I have restarted, I will not stop, even though I'm going to miss my current academy, and teacher, and classmates.

I still have one year left before having to change my school, but before that I have a LONG summer without ballet lessons, which will not be fun at all. What can I do? Try to work on my own stuff, using the things I've learnt during the whole year. It won't be as cool as real lessons, but at least I will not forget what I learnt; I will improve my flexibility and I will come back to Salamanca with clean single pirouettes en dehors. I hope.

So... back to the show... it was very stressful, because there were more than 100 dancers prepared to do their performances, and many of them were little children, so you can imagine the chaos at the backstage. But anyway we had FUN. And I loved dancing before all these people. And it was amazing when, after Saturday's show, I went to the stalls all dressed up and many random people congratulated me. It was simply awesome.

I haven't made this entry before because I had some trouble uploading the video to YouTube, but as I said I would put it in this blog, here it is. I warn you that it is the result of ONLY 25 hours of flamenco lessons, knowing nothing before. Enjoy!

 

Keep dancing!

Nerea.

How did you know you loved ballet?

The other day I was asked this question and I didn't really know what to answer. Ballet has been with me during a really long period of time in my life and I think there is not a "real" moment in which I said: "oh my, this is what I like best!" (even though I think of that everyday; you know what I mean!).

So I have been reading some other adult dancers' blogs, such as DaveTriesBallet, PointeTilYouDrop or AdultBeginner, and I have seen that some of them have written this "why I started Ballet" blogpost, so I thought this was my turn to tell you my story. I warn you: it's a very long story. Here it is, from the VERY beginning:

Believe it or not, this tale starts when my mother was 16 years old and she went to school. There, she had a friend that went to ballet lessons since she was a child. This girl was probably the only person in that school that took those lessons. One day, she asked her teacher at school if she could perform "The Dying Swan" at the end of the year party. Of course, she was told a big YES. My mother saw the performance and was absolutely amazed (or at least, that's what she told me).

More than 20 years after that, in 1996, I was at school at the age of six, when suddenly my mother told me that there was a new activity organized by my school: BALLET. I guess you all understand that at that point I had no idea what "ballet" was. But my mother insisted, so she asked the ballet teacher (let's call her Mrs. R) if my sister and I could attend her lessons even though the term had started a month ago or so. Of course we could. But I have to admit that I was not happy with it. My first class was a complete mess. I was a very shy person (I still am) and I didn't know how to interact with my older classmates (some of them were 12); they already knew the positions, so I felt kind of stupid when Mrs. R said "à la seconde" and things like that in French.

Anyway, I managed to finish my first year of ballet and got prepared for the final show. I recently found this really old picture of the performance (June 1997). I am the little girl down, and my sister is right behind me:

And that's how I spent the following seven years of my life. I ended up enjoying ballet lessons a lot. I started pointe when I was 11 and my teacher, Mrs. R, kept saying that classical ballet was "my thing" and my feet were amazing. Yeah, I felt really proud because the first day I put my pointe shoes on I could walk normally en pointe, while my classmates kept saying it was too painful.

When I was 13 we did our first "on pointe" performance. It didn't look really awesome (I've seen the video now and it's a little ridiculous), but it felt so good back then! And some months after that I had my first solo in front of an enormous crowd during a fashion show. My dancing lasted about thirty seconds or so, but I felt so HAPPY I can't even explain!

And then... STOP.

Why? Because another dance teacher came to teach ballroom dancing at my school and her prices were a whole lot CHEAPER. As a result, Mrs. R had to stop coming, since she had no students to work with. My sister and I wanted her back, but it's normal she didn't come. It didn't make sense financially to go all that way. But she did suggest us to go to the county town everyday and finish our training. What did we say? "No", of course. We were little girls studying at a little school and we couldn't make a half-an-hour trip with our parents to go to a real dance studio everyday. Impossible. And guess what. I've regretted my decision EVER SINCE.

As a young little girl... you don't know what you want. You don't know what you have until you lose it. I wanted to keep dancing with my whole heart, but I started to have difficult exams at the High School and knew that it would be impossible for me to go to town everyday and "waste" my time while I should be studying. Between 2003 and 2007 I started to forget the idea of ballet, but I still remembered those lovely lessons and performances.

Now I'm watching my wall of stuff and I can see my ticket of "Sleeping Beauty", by Saint-Petersburg Ballet in May 2008. That was probably the first whole and real performance of classical ballet I saw. Yes, I guess that's possibly the first day I thought "I LOVE THIS; I want to take lessons again to be able to do THAT". What was the problem, then? Again, my studies. I was still in High School. It was my last year and I had to study a lot. So I thought I could wait until I started university.

I did wait. I came to Salamanca, which is a county town with many ballet studios. But I wasn't outgoing enough to take the initiative. I was shy and I didn't feel confident to go to a ballet school and asked if there was a place for me in there. I didn't want to be in the same class as little girls that would surely be far more talented than me. So I kept going to ballet performances and quietly wanting to be one of those ballerinas. Until December 2009, when I watched "Swan Lake" by Moscow Ballet and was absolutely overwhelmed. It was amazing. It became my favourite ballet ever (I wrote a whole blog entry in Spanish about it... here). And I made the decision: after my Erasmus in London, the following year I WOULD GO to a ballet school and learn how to dance.

My Erasmus experience also helped a lot. I lived in London, so I could go to Covent Garden everyday if I wanted. I found the Royal Opera House spectacular, though I didn't go inside until a few days before coming back to Spain. In May 2010 I saw "Electric Counterpoint / Asphodel Meadows / Carmen" in there and it was wonderful. I could finally see my idol Tamara Rojo performing in real life and I can't explain how much I loved that day.

Well yes, I can explain it: when the following academic year started, I went to a ballet school and had the courage to ask for information. The recepcionist was so nice with me! She asked me if I had danced before. I told her that even if I had danced for seven years, I felt like an absolute beginner, so she invited me to go to an adult beginner's class.

And that's where I have been ever since. At the beginning I didn't feel very confident. Mrs. lovely C doesn't teach the same way as Mrs. R did, but I have to say that I'm learning a lot more with her. I'm learning to know my body, my muscles and my position. And after eight months of lessons I'm starting to actually feel like dancing again.

That's why I love ballet.

Because nothing feels better than that.

Nerea.