the lazy ballerina

 

There is NOTHING I have started and stopped more times in my life than ballet. There is also nothing at which I'd rather excel. So you see the quandary inherent here. 

Above is a photo of me about 10 years ago, when I starred in the Royal Ballet's production of Prince of the Pagodas. Oh wait, maybe that's actually Darcey Bussell, my favorite (and fairly recently retired) ballerina. I always get us mixed up.

If I combined all the skills I may or may not have picked up over my years of quitting ballet, I'd probably have amassed some actual talent by now. Unfortunately, it doesn't really work that way. Pretty much all I've amassed is a lot of dancewear, and joints that aren't very flexible. But I can get up on pointe like a sonofabitch. So like, there's that.

You may have guessed where I'm heading with this. Or not. I've once again been taking ballet, as I do every couple years...and in keeping with the theme of this blog, I've vowed not to quit! You can get en pointe as an adult, even an adult in her late 30s - and I intend to do just that. But I'm not going to lie. Every single Monday night, I come up with a list of things I'd rather do than head to class at 8:30. Now, I know 8:30 isn't LATE. But in the fall and winter, in Buffalo? It ain't early. It's cold, usually rainy, and completely dark. And I thoroughly enjoy activities than can be done while avoiding all of those things - I enjoy activities that can be done at home, such as sitting on my couch with a book or, more likely, a Sabres game...and takeout. That's an activity behind which I can throw my full support, for example. You feel me?

So motivation to leave the house when it's cold and dark is my enormous challenge here. There are going to be some Mondays when this class will have to survive in my absence. I'm telling you that right now, lest you claim in the future that I've lied to you or let you down. I didn't. You knew who I was when you got into this relationship. It's your own fault, if you think about it. 

BUT...I am going to try my absolute hardest not to quit ballet this (478th) time around. There are women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and maybe even 60s in my class - some of them having just started in their 50s. I figure if they can do it - and some of these women are GOOD - then my lazy ass can, too...