ballet

when my mom was a little girl she began taking dance lessons.  she fell in love with ballet, and she danced for years.  she was a dancer in ballet companies at different dance schools, she taught dance, and after she graduated from college she created her own dance show which she took on the road and performed at different venues.  when my mom was pregnant with me, she didn't stop dancing.  in fact she danced until she was eight months pregnant with me and stopped only a couple of weeks before i was born.

needless to say, ballet is in my blood and it runs deep through my veins.  as soon as i could walk, my mom enrolled me in ballet lessons.  i danced straight through elementary school, high school, and college.  i even minored in dance in college, and at one point in college i was taking five dance classes per week.  i loved it.  however, after i graduated from college i got busy with grad school and didn't have the time or the money to continue taking lessons.

for the last few years, i have been thinking about getting back into dance, but i kept finding excuses not to do it.  last year, my mom started taking dance classes again after many years of not dancing.  i was so inspired by her that this past september i dug my ballet clothes and shoes out of storage at my parents' house and i enrolled myself in a ballet class at a local studio.

after taking ballet lessons twice each week for the past two months, i am more in love with it than ever before.  i was surprised how everything came right back to me after not dancing for nearly a decade.  that muscle memory was still there and i didn't forget any of it (just like riding a bike).  i absolutely love it and i feel revitalized.  i'm a whole new me!  ballet is so good for the soul.  i don't know why i waited so long to get back into it.

i've had a one-track mind for the past couple of months: ballet.  i am in my glory taking ballet lessons again, and ryan keeps finding me dancing all around our house.  leko is my dance partner.  he is a wonderful ballerina! :-)

recently i stumbled across an online documentary series called city ballet and i'm hooked on it.  it's narrated by sarah jessica parker, and and it gives a behind-the-scenes look at the iconic new york city ballet company which was founded by george balanchine in 1948.  each episode is only about 6 minutes long.  i watched all 12 episodes of season 1 in one sitting, and i just started watching season 2.  if you are a dancer or if you enjoy watching dance, this series is a must see!

love, laurie

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{pictures from the new york city ballet}