Secrets of a Balletomane 芭蕾舞迷

As I approach the age of 50 (I’ll get there in 1.5 years), I am starting to realize how my body repairs itself in a much slower pace than before. The practice of ballet makes this realization more acute.

Sore muscles or strained tendons take what seems like ages to recover. Stiffness seems to be a faithful friend.

My knees took a beating without me even realizing it when the injury happened, and…

But even before the pandemic, my life—along with my ballet life—tumbled a few times and became almost unrecognizably different from before. Because of the constant search for jobs to make ends meet after I migrated back to the United States, I was unable to pursue my ballet interest. It was extremely frustrating.

During 2018, I was still able to attend class in New York City from time to time, mostly at Ballet Arts Studio in the City Center, and sometimes at Broadway Dance Center. But my ballet practice became sporadic. Starting that summer, I spent a great deal of time running around working on TV and film sets—as a background actor (a.k.a. “extra”). The experience was fun, exciting but really grueling.

In 2019, I mostly stopped attending ballet class due to the instability of my work situation and a shortage of funds. My body started to turn stiff due to the lack of practice and exercise in general. I felt like I was giving up on ballet completely. But I wasn’t too concerned. I found a new love, and my life was full and happy.

Last Christmas, I suddenly had the desire to start practicing again and bought myself a portable ballet barre. It is a beautiful one, very light and made with unvarnished wood. I love the feel of the wood—warmer than aluminum or steel. I set it up on one end of the dining room, and started doing some stretching. I dusted off some old DVDs of Vaganova classes—for beginners (7-year-olds!), and practiced. Oh boy! What a wrong choice! It was a super-challenging class, and I almost died before the class ended. I over-estimated my ability.

Came 2020, I made a resolution to be more active. My joints were extremely stiff and crying to be moved. Somehow, because of that “failed” practice, I was apprehensive about going back to the barre. So I did other exercises instead.

It wasn’t until the COVID19 crisis started, that I found my way back to the barre again. Thanks to Finis Jhung—with whom I studied at Alvin Ailey more than a decade ago—I became motivated to stretch and practice ballet again. He started a series of live daily classes on Instagram. It was so good and inspiring to see my old maestro.  At his age—85, he is still quite nimble. He told us that his hip replacement surgery two years ago turned his health around.

Finis’ class took place at 11 every morning, and since my new at-home job wouldn’t start until 1pm, it was perfect timing for me.

So this was how I started with my ballet practice again. His classes were fun, and his advice and tips sounded so familiar, like having a dialog with an old friend. It was a great refresher. Because of his live instructions, I was motivated to get back into a routine. Even though it was only half an hour, the class felt just long enough for me to get back into my ballet body while not exhausting myself. Baby steps!

I especially enjoyed listening to Finis’ advice at the end of each lesson. He would tell his students to be cautious and listen to scientists rather than politicians when it came to the Coronavirus. “You only have one life. Protect yourself. I don’t want you to die!” He would say. Somehow, it was really reassuring to hear these words. They restored my sense of sanity in the midst of our insane and toxic political leadership.

I also enjoyed listening to Finis’ weekly storytelling. He would read stories from his memoir and recount additional details in a vivid manner. The stories were captivating and revealed so much about the ballet world in the past few decades.

A month later, Finis started to teach through Zoom, and I switched to take class using his online streaming classes, which I purchased a while ago.  I am very happy for him that he can gather students virtually and teach from the safety of his home. He is lucky to have his son, Jason, set up all the equipment and film him. I also think he deserves to be paid for his tremendous efforts. If I could afford it, I wouldn’t hesitate to take his live class regularly. They are more affordable than his in-person classes after all. For now, due to my financial situation, I will continue to practice with his recorded videos. Sometimes, I would do 3-4 classes a week—a big improvement from before the pandemic! So the quarantine is a blessing in that sense.

I also took the time during the quarantine to wrap up the study for my barre fitness certificate. I have passed the written exam and just need to complete my practical. Once that’s done, I want to teach barre fitness virtually. Barre fitness is very different from classical ballet’s barre exercises. It targets different parts of the body and attempts to sculpt the muscles through repetitive motions. Some of the exercises are done in the center, on the mat and about 1/3 are done using the barre as a support. It can be a good supplement to regular ballet class. Because of the fast pace of the exercises, your heart rate will go up during class and it’s a nice form of workout. You’re definitely going to feel the sore muscles afterwards! If you are interested, let me know and I will inform you when I am ready to teach.

Natalia Osipova and David Hallberg in ‘Giselle’: A Magical Partnership and Historic Performance

It is a challenge to fall asleep after a hyper emotional and deeply touching ballet performance, let alone feeling unaffected. Last night, having witnessed the historic and much-awaited performance of “Giselle” by Natalia Osipova and David Hallberg with the American Ballet Theatre, I had a huge difficulty falling asleep. And when I…

“Jewels” at Lincoln Center Festival : A Joyous and Innovative Celebration of Balanchine’s Ingenuity

It took me two days to calm down from the excitement of having watched the opening performance of “Jewels” at this year’s Lincoln Center Festival in New York. In celebration of the ballet’s 50th anniversary, three of the world’s top ballet companies—Paris Opera Ballet, New York City Ballet and Bolshoi Ballet—shared the same stage in an unprecedented collaboration and danced the three parts of…

ABT’s ‘Onegin’: A Feast for the Eyes and the Heart

Last week I treated myself to two performances of “Onegin” by the American Ballet Theatre. Never have I seen the same ballet back to back like this, and I wouldn’t have done so if it wasn’t for the super stellar casts lined up for this week. (Luckily I was blessed with a membership with the Theater Development Fund, which allows me to buy tickets with very little money as I wouldn’t have been…

Eifman Ballet’s ‘Tchaikovsky: The Mystery of Life and Death’

Courtesy of Eifman Ballet/New York City Center What a wonderful performance of “Tchaikovsky: The Mystery of Life and Death” by Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg! The company has just concluded its tour in New York at the City Center as part of its North American tour to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Never having seen Eifman Ballet before, I was blown away by the originality of the production, the…

Restless Creature: A Review of the Documentary and Q&A with Wendy Whelan

This past Saturday, I went to see a documentary about former New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Wendy Whelan, the acclaimed ballerina known for being the greatest American ballet dancer of our time. I remember seeing her perform in “Dances at a Gathering” on the stage of the Hong Kong Cultural Center during the Hong Kong Arts Festival back in 2011. She was dancing the green girl. Her unique…

Q&A with ABT Principal Dancer Alban Lendorf

Two days ago I had a fun evening with fellow ballet lover Jia to see the wonderful American Ballet Theater Principal Dancer Alban Lendorf in a Q&A session. It was quite enlightening as he explained to the audience how the Bournonville style, in which he was trained back home in Denmark, differs from other styles of ballet. Jia has seen him perform and holds a high regard for his dancing. I…

Last weekend I went for an audition for extras for the upcoming performances of “Le Corsaire” with ABT. For the female roles, they were looking for people of slender built under the age of 30 but I wanted to challenge them. Didn’t get kicked out right away, which means I passed for being under 30–but I’m actually 45, ha! Unfortunately, I didn’t get selected. When I heard that one group of extras…

Another Class at Steps and My Renewed Attempt at Front Split

Ballet is addictive. No doubt about it. Last week I went to class three times after being on hiatus for the longest time… Two days following a Rommett Floor Barre class, I went back to Steps on Broadway to take the adult beginners class with Dawn Hillen. I still remember taking a class with her eight years ago when I visited New York. How glad I was to be back in her class again! I still remember…

‘Seated Ballerina’ Sculpture

Recently I spotted a giant inflatable nylon sculpture in the middle of Rockefeller Center, New York, where the giant Christmas tree usually stands in the winter season. This 45-foot-high sculpture is named “Seated Ballerina” and is the work of Jeff Koon. Serving as a contemporary interpretation of the mythological goddess Venus, this sculpture seeks to raise awareness of the National Missing…

ABT’s Whipped Cream and David Hallberg’s Comeback on the New York Stage

“Whipped Cream” by American Ballet Theatre, curtain call, Metropolitan Opera, May 22, 2017. Sorry for the blurry image… I was sitting in the “Family Circle”–the farthest rung from the stage. Inside Metropolitan Opera New York: Waiting for the performance to begin What a festive evening at the Metropolitan Opera! The American Ballet Theatre opened its Spring season with Alexei Ratmansky’s “Whipped…

A Happy Week in My New Dance Life

I love it when things fall into place without too much strain in the planning department and it feels as if the Universe is conjuring magic using the tiny rockets of desire that you send out while daydreaming. Last week was one such week when I felt this kind of magic in my dance life. I didn’t actually think I would go back to class so soon, because I still suffered from joint pain that had been…

‘Inside NYCB’: Q&A with Peck and Ratmansky

Last week I went to watch “Inside NYCB”–a regular feature organized by the New York City Ballet for its members and supporters. Since I moved to New York, I am lucky to have gotten a free, one-year membership at the “Friends” level via the IDNYC system. Each of the “Inside NYCB” event features a peak into the work behind the scene of new performances by the company. In anticipation of the…

Back to the Studio with NYCB Adult Class

Guess what? I finally went back to the ballet studio last Saturday. It was a workshop called “NYCB Ballet Essentials” hosted by the New York City Ballet in the building where the School of American Ballet is (Samuel B the  & David Rose Building at Lincoln Center). I bought a ticket to this event a while back and made a commitment to myself to improve my physical conditions by then so I could…

YAGP 2017 Gala Reignites My Passion for Ballet

It’s been a whole year since I last blogged. Life has turned upside down with my divorce and migration to New York last year. Just before I moved, I also sustained a serious ankle injury—not from ballet, ironically, despite the fact that I rehearsed frequently for a group dance competition during the most difficult period of my life. The injury happened right after the competition, at home.…