DANCE ENTRY

Saturday, 1st of March.

I only practised pointe today after a grueling 2 hours of Pilates class before rushing off for ** what else, my life only consists of dance,family, work,church, volunteer duties,friends**

And I only did like maybe 15 mins in all ! I was just so..unmotivated ! And I took too long a break ! Cannot Steph Lee, CANNOT. Just go put on your pointies after you finish Pilates class. Just get it done. Pull yourself together and PRACTISE ! You love pirrouttes remember ? The clean, swipe, whoosh, lift in the air as you effortlessly spin, strong and growing leaner and leaner on one leg, in a perfect position and balance, and the beautiful, tight, neat, tidy finish of a good, held, musical Pirroutte..

Yes Stephie, you love pirrouttes ! They are actually spelled with just one letter 'R' but because everyone I know seems to emphasis on the purr, so it has always sounded like a PIRR-outte to me...

( and actually, come to think of it, they DO make that sort of sound when you excute them perfectly and flawlessly ) I

Did

• Pirroutte en dedan - slightly better, but I need to " HUG my muscles - core, arms, legs,- to the MIDLINE ". I need that sensation of stability, and drilling supporting leg right into the floor, core lifting me out of my hips and seperating my waist, whipping the head " ONE TWO " and perfect sandwiched 5th finish. Must stay up and drill down stronger! MUST GET THE DOUBLE ! DON"T LET GO OF THE WORKING LEG, KEEP IT TURNOUT AND PLACE IT PROPERLY TO FINISH !!!

• Pose pirrouttes - COORDINATION ! For the left side, think of bringing shoulder ONTO hip while opening the first arm, so the points on the straight line are TOE-HIP-SHOULDER, then bring the 2nd arm quickly to close/hug and the shoulder to push( MOMENTUM ) to give you a better double pose pirr ! On the left side, the FIRST arm has to open wider k ? Think of turning the belly button to face the direction that you're going, to give you a better sense/line of direction. Arms aren't too high for the left side - bottom rib level will do. DON"T USE TOO MUCH FORCE..AND DON"T USE TOO LITTLE EITHER !!! Chaines are the same concept, just have to think of the shoulders and arms opening, the legs stay hugging the midline tight in first position ! Turn like a TORNEDO !

Pilates was better...I need to think about

1. MUSCULAR ENERGY
2. NOT JAMMING MY BACK, but USING MY OBLIQUES TO TILT THE PELVIC BONE UP TO MY HIPS
3. RIBCAGE TO BACK CONNECTION
4. The POWERHOUSE. Pelvic floor - Zip up and lift, Transversus - In and Down, like a corset. Obliques - Shortening and lenghtening to connect with rib cage. BREAK THE RIB CAGE to STRETCH THE BACK !!!
5. The Elephant exercise and push up variation
6. Spine roll down..sigh...high C curve..

Friday, 29th of February

Practised Jazz today with Tilla.

• Jumps : Split leaps on the left side need to be FRONTWARDS, don't leave the back leg hanging out in seconde (like a dog pissing, Celeste's infamous words ). Scissors can be better and more spilt-ish...POINT THE BACK LEG !!!
• Yen Shan's routine : NEEDS WORK.
• Samantha's routine : Needs energy at the RIGHT places. Needs more PRACTICE. Needs BETTER HIP HOP STYLE AND SLIGHT ENERGY FOR THE 'SHARPNESS', the hip hop quality.. Needs bigger jumps ( Think of yourself as an athlete while preparing for this routine, says Celeste ) This is really turning out to be my favourite routine !
• Wendy's routine : Remember that step cha cha forward ? Think of hips move back and front, really 'soft' and ' loose' feeling in the hips, kinda like a belly dancer. And remember, BE SEDUCTIVE, not sweety pie pie...Gosh, I need the maturity to carry this piece off..and flawless turns...

Thursday, 28th of February

Went for PDC and Ms Adeline's class.

PDC was good, I was slightly better, ALMOST DID THE TRIPLE !!! WHY ??? IT CAME BEFORE...IT CAN AND MUST COME AGAIN !!! But I did a gorgeous double attitude pirroutte en dedan ! I looked at myself in the mirror while doing it and it seemed..perfect..the thigh was at 90degrees..the arms were held..body was upright..leg was strong, drilled, and pulled up...ASTONISHMENT...if only Zhou Lao Shi saw it..

I didn't prac Ms Adeline's work..patutla agak teruk today in class - in my opinion.

She was STRESSING on

1. Turnout discipline and foot line during the barre exercises
2. My horrible SICKLED retire position. Steph Lee, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET IT RIGHT ?
3. A high demi pointe and controlled fouette turn at the barre
4. GLISSES - especially en cloche and in 2nd
5. Grand Battements - picke ( this was in PDC..)
6. My arm position.........adoi......kena marah teruk......is it my back ???
7. Drilling pirrouttes for the Centre Port De Bra and the Pirr. Ex ....yes yes yes
8. The balance for the first Pose Arabesque
9. Jumps - Glissade derriere, jete derriere temps leve with arm gestures TWICE, jete ecarte, jete devant croix, pas de bourree, entrechat...I think...
10. Jumps must be quicker, absorb them FASTER !!! And do them well the FIRST TIME !!! MARK IT PROPERLY AND COUNT !!!

I think this is all I can type for now......stomach growlling la......and i've Church in .......7 hours.....sleep come envelope me in your arms.....................

I"M GOING TO PRAC DANCE ON SUNDAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know I sound as if I've no life except dance, work, and classes...but really, I really have no so-called life apart from it.

And as taxing as it is, I LOVE IT.

* DISCLAIMER : this writer is not an expert on anatomy.she is just describing to herself how the dance step should feel. this description should NOT, in any circumstances, be taken literally.