Journaling: Feedback on Juries

Journaling is to relive a positive experience. Today, a positive experience was the feedback after the juries. I started with my ballet solo, and the teachers actually smiled at me when I started. (If they did last time, I didn't notice. I was nervous!) The variation felt easy, and so did the modern solo. I felt like I was actually spotting the audience members. Afterwards, Leslie Woodies, the teacher who, a semester ago, had asked, "Why do you dance?" with the subtext, "Because I don't know if you should", started the conversation by asking me what I had done since then. I said "I've been focusing on being more external, more aware of what's around me, both physically in space as well as in the context of the dance." She said, whatever it is, keep it up because it's really working. "You're such a different dancer." Donna, a ballet teacher whose class I don't exactly like, said that she was so proud of me. She informed the other faculty that on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I have her class, I would still until her next class came in, working on my technique. One of the modern teachers, Sandy, replied, "it shows!" Jonathan Riedel, a Limón teacher I know very little about, but whose choreography I want to see more of, said something about really improving from the last time, and that in modern, one of my strengths is my incredible torso. He likes how flexible my torso work looks and hopes that I can translate it into my legs. Also, now that I'm finally getting the form, he wants to see me use my imagination, which I think he means being even more expressive. Diane, a modern teacher whose class I dislike and basically got out of for this semester, said that my legs are very strong when I'm airborne and when I'm running, so I should think about keeping the same energy when I'm not moving in space so that I don't feel trapped. (She was never that perceptive in class! Maybe that means we're getting somewhere in our teacher-student relationship.) Leslie Koval, my favorite modern teacher who coached me on the modern solo, said that it's clear how diligent I've been with working on my solo. She saw where it was just a week ago, after all. One of my strengths, she explained, is the power of understatement. But the flip side of that, is that I also need to find the athleticism in the movement. (One of the comments she gave me last week was that the same energy I gave my ballet needs to be translated into the modern.) She commended my work and my attitude toward the juries, and the faculty gave a collective nod and "mmm". Lastly, Gino, the ballet teacher that has helped me tremendously, working with me every weekday after classes, during his lunch break, etc. said that I've done very good work and something following up on the comment about my attitude. He also mentioned that I challenge him as a teacher, but that forces him to learn to be a better teacher. He's never worked with someone like me--he described me as being a very internal person--as opposed to just being very physical about it. But that it's been good for him. He thanked me for it, and naturally made a modest comment, "And hopefully you learn from me too." He KNOWS I've learned from him. Side note: I love almost every aspect of going through juries. 1) I get to perform, and we know how rare that is. 2) I have solos, which, okay, I had this past show at BoCo, but these are much more substantial and not a pity casting. 3) The teachers give you personalized feedback, which is hard to do when you train by taking class with 15 other people. (The one part that I don't like is that classes often get cut short for the coaching. But I guess we can't have it all.) During lunch, Gino and I were talking about summer plans, and he said that my entrechat sixes actually impressed him, and then Donna came and just gave me a big hug. Then Polo (the other male ballet teacher, though he teaches a women's class), said that I was doing well (he was the one that last semester wrote, "I don't know? Basic training?") and that my arms need more expression from my chest. In conclusion: I did much better than last time. There's still lots of work to be done, but the faculty are pleased. On my part, I feel like I've earned all of the comments. They were fair, helpful, and encouraging.