To be flying through the air.

Firstly, I'm really not sure about arms, though. In competitive, solo-based Irish dance, we don't use our arms at all. They remain pinned to our sides, and are not to move. By contrast, in ballet, use of the arms is extensive. I spent most of the lesson forgetting the positioning and location of my arms in the air.

Secondly, and perhaps just as importantly, ballet requires visual attention on the part of the dancer - this is needed in a way that is unfamiliar to most Irish dancers. For example, in Irish, we don't spot, because spotting makes our already ridiculous spins look even more ridiculous. Yet, in ballet, you do spot; you look to a certain spot in the room, and after your movement you whip your head back around to stare at that same spot. It's ... mind-boggling. As another example, in ballet, you often look to the audience or to the direction in which your arm(s) is/are moving; this seems to be for dramatic effect (?). In Irish, this doesn't happen. As Irish dancers, we look in the same direction in which our body is facing.

It's all a learning curve. Most challenging of all is the feeling of being a beginner again. I have easily spent 10 years or more being an Irish dancer with ability and skill at an advanced level. To come to ballet, and to be challenged by its norms, its expectations, its values, and its principles, is difficult. But I feel like it will worth it in the end (so long as I can bloody afford the classes in addition to Irish).

I went to see my physiotherapist again today, and he pummelled the shit out of my hips. He also massaged (with considerable force) my quadriceps and glutes, and then stretched my hip flexors.

After having not seen a physiotherapist for a while, I consulted with a new one this afternoon. He's fantastic. After wincing as he kept pummelling the muscles around my hip joints, I'm now walking around feeling looser. Such looseness.

It makes me wonder how people overcome the hesitation to seek healthcare support, even when they know something's wrong. I discovered today that my hips are as stiff as a board. This is not a new concept to me; I've known it for a while. For a long time, I'd avoided seeking physiotherapeutic support to help loosen up. Having overcome that barrier today, it feels good. Really good. It also makes me wonder why I was hesitant for so long.

Importantly, I also learned today that it pays to be well-versed in the health sciences. To distract myself from the pain of having my hips massaged, I chatted with my new physiotherapist about the importance of considering individual and social factors in health. We talked about emerging research findings in the health sciences (especially about the nature and experience of pain), and about the application of those findings to health professional practice. I could tell that he's a good healthcare practitioner - he's patient with people, he's knowledgeable and talkative, and he's a professional driven by evidence. That last one is particularly crucial to me. As a health educator, I teach my students about the importance of evidence-based practice. It was nice to see that in reality today.

So, what's next?

Next week, I'll be starting exercises for increased strength and flexibility in my hips. I'll also be starting ballet classes. I'm still a bit uncertain about ballet; it looks very controlled and deliberate, and as an Irish dancer I'm sort of used to throwing my legs around and trying to balance flashy dancing with good technique. I heard somewhere in the dance community a few years ago that ballet is important, irrespective of which dance style you undertake. Let's hope that holds true ...