Ballet Journal - Spring 2026
Week 1
Tuesday
Feeling my body v looking at my body
how to aspire to something as a group, a collective body?
How to balance pleasure and “serious practice”
Thursday
Working on spatial awareness on the barre
Collision as the site of acknowledgement / working on seeing others during the practice. The gaze as an extension of the body
Week 2
Tuesday
Moving my body as one unit - grand plie
Thorough awareness, “eyes” throughout the body & tending to my limbs
Having fun !!!
Thursday
Pre-class preparations - listening to yin playlist
Making sure I fuel well enough to maintain my energy levels
Balance and counterbalance when moving, doing kicks
Keep awareness of shoulders when doing turns
Week 3
Tuesday
Lunar new year, entering with stress
Feeling Frustration, how to conceive of progress when a baseline is itself a range
Metaphors to understand technique or corrections / diagnosis doesn’t have to be literal
Thursday
Rest
Week 4
Tuesday
Pas de bouree help!!!!!!!!!
Each day I arrive at the practice feeling slightly different
Trying not to let negative feelings dominate
noticing where to draw my attention, zooming in and out
What is the purpose of technique?
Thursday
Feeling my HEELS on the ground, making a movement complete and total
Commitment to movement even when I’m unsure
Need to do some review of turns & other vocab..
Week 5
Tuesday
Intention: relaxed movement
This is how we watch people. We watch them the way we watch flowers grow.
Plie from the hips … the bud of the bud
Striking a match on the floor, sweeping my feet around like bread soaking up sauce
Promenade like an accordion, lifting the leg from my hamstring and not the top of the leg
Thursday
Feeling slightly icky - foggy
Remembering commitment to depth of movement
Feeling spring inch closer
Second attempt at the frappe movements to varying elements of success
Replaying the successes in your mind - affirmative technique development
Week 6
Tuesday
choreography retention was a struggle today
learning movement is learning where to be
Thursday
stepping in and out of a sanctuary cocoon
Stepping in with rain and emerging with snow
modifying movement as needed, giving love to each part
keeping Awareness of body in space, especially in relation to the “audience” and not the barre
Other practice: reviewed some ballet vocab, watched afternoon of a faun
SPRING BREAK
Week 7
Tuesday - sick :(
Thursday
Getting back into it, brain & body feeling warm and foggy
Shifting focus vs staying with something the whole class
Week 8
Tuesday
Maybe it’s the spring or some other unexplained recovery but my mind felt clearer/less inflamed
Partnered w/ Kate Q. for some center work and her comments were so helpful - I think i have been tripped up by the transition from doing things slowly and more “full-out”/focusing on good technique/form to doing things quicker. Jumps felt better when I thought about going UP instead of traveling far. But taking care to apply that to foot articulation, which was better when I was doing the jumps full out vs just stepping in place. hurrah for little mental tweaks!
Just need to get the jumps vocab down..
Thursday
So fun to groove, reminded of the one off dance classes I used to take.
Choreography retention improvement?
Strutted to my next class after
already mourning no longer having this class (Kendra if you are reading this how do I stay in dance class for next year)
Week 9
Tuesday
Feeling support under arms in second position, keep awareness of upper body and not just in the feet
Unsure of hip position in rond de jamb/tendu to the back, how much/little to open the hip?
The drama of spring - awareness of the face AND facing corners
Thursday
Progression in a barre exercise, keeping bigger picture in mind - awareness of corners
Settling at the end of a progression, setting it down/being done
W/ violin, sometimes bringing awareness to my right hand would allow my left hand to free up and not be so tense. Perhaps i can apply this to upper/lower body - bringing my attention to my arms can free up mental space currently devoted to my feet
Week 10
Tuesday
Getting familiar with reversing choreo - the malleability of things, which can be applied to technique too - not just to consider the goal of a movement but the utility of its reversal…! Pointed toe flexed toe. Brush out AND brush in. “vitamins” - medicine - CARE
Thursday
Dancing while moody, pushing energy around - a different heart rate for a difficult movement. I could be asking myself what I need to do this movement? What do I lose when I don’t encourage myself and others?
Doing pirouettes in a really confused haze, just spinning whichever way, la la la la
Week 11
Tuesday
Sick :c
Thursday
Feeling weak !! constant recovery…
Advised to do moxa on the full moon
Listening to the music to guide movement decisions instead of watching others and copying movement
Even within technical restraints, I can make decisions
Week 12
Tuesday
An end is on the horizon, just keeping my wits about me today
Looking forward to acupuncture in the evening
Thursday
Meeting with Kendra before - remembering the affirmation that comes with talking with artists
Spleen deficiency illness post acupuncture
Center Phrase STARTING to make sense
Making music for barre exercises
Beautiful day
Week 13
Tuesday
Thinking about beauty and strength and courage, trusting my eyes
Gratitude!!!! Reciprocity from reaching out
Thursday
A corps de ballet as a net undulating on the water
SEEING about dancing well
After seeing the video, need to try to move bigger/”commit”