This was supposed to be posted four weeks ago, but got saved as a draft on my blog. Go figure.
“Believe it or not, someone is looking up to you. Be a good example.”
I think this quote relates to my indepth project perfectly. There aren’t a lot of people who do contortion, and the industry is a hard one to break into. So, what do people do to draw attention to themselves? Like countless celebrities, they release really scandalous tapes. You can’t even begin to imagine how many questionable sites I’ve ended up on while doing research. I find this really upsetting, because I see contortion as an art form, not something to be used in the bedroom. This helped me decide what to do for indepth when I was faced with the challenge of adding a new element to contortion. I could have used boxes/tables to add more difficulty to the routine, but instead I decided on pointe. Ballet is one of the most innocent forms of dance in the world, and I thought it would help counter all of the crap there is on the internet. I want contortion to always be seen as art, and will be a positive role model for anyone who ends up watching my routines on youtube or my blog.
I’ve been working hard on my routine, and it’s slowly getting better. The pointe component of the routine is looking much cleaner, but I’ve lost a lot of flexibility since I’ve been focusing mainly on ballet and neglecting to practice contortion as well. The next couple weeks will be spent getting my back as flexible as possible, and working on some tricks I’ve been trying to get since this project started. My aerials (no handed cartwheel) is the big one I really want to get for indepth night. I’ve been working on it since the summer, and it’s slowly coming along. I can get it sometimes, but other times it just doesn’t work. I would really like to have it consistently before indepth night, so that I am confident I can land it in my routine! My handstands are also getting better. They are also pretty inconsistent, but there are days that I’m able to stay up for minutes at a time. Although those days are a rarity, it still feels good to know I’m doing something right!
…..
Indepth night is less that two weeks away now, and I’m starting to freak out a big. Actually that’s a lie… I’m in total panic mode right now. I feel like my routine isn’t coming together and there’s so much I still have to do, and I just don’t have time to get it up to the quality I would like it to be. Not to mention, I am faced with yet another ankle injury, which means I can’t even practice pointe. There are some things you can get away with not doing for weeks, like riding a bike, and not be faced with any challenges or setbacks, and unfortunately pointe (or contortion for that matter) is not one of those things. I’m afraid that my ankle won’t be strong enough to support my weight, and I will not be performing my pointe routine. In that case, I have another routine as a backup, but it would be insanely disappointing not to do my pointe routine because I’ve worked so hard on it. My ankle is getting stronger though, so hopefully that won’t be the case.
So, my learning center for indepth night will still be a stage performance. I will be warming up somewhere hidden this year while people go around and look at the other indepth centers, to ensure I get a proper warm-up so reduce the chance of injury because I will be preforming the hardest routine I’ve ever done, without a doubt. I feel that the stage performance is the perfect way to display all that I have learned, especially since I have been looking for more performance opportunities. The biggest difference from last year is that I won’t be using mats this time. I’m excited that I have the chance to preform in front of all the TALONS and their families, since I’ve improved so much and you will definitely be able to see the increased difficulty. And TALONS kids are much easier to gross out than dancers, since we’re all pretty flexible already.
Like I said in my last post, I spent the past two weeks working on flexibility. I put together a little video to show you what I’ve been working on. The first move I did was a basic back walkover. Mine weren’t the best, because I spent half the time worrying about crashing into my house, so I didn’t thing about my technique as much as I would have liked. Ideally, both legs should be straight from the second the are in the air, and the leading leg should come off the ground before the hands even touch the ground. The next move I did was also a walkover, except instead of going down onto your hands, you place your elbows on the ground and roll over onto your stomach. This is definitely my favourite move because it’s so much fun to do. Next, I did a variety of back bend and elbow bend stretches. After that, I did some different leg stretches. I have been working on trying to extend my leg in my scorpion (first), and ended up kind of falling out of it, but I was proud that I managed to do it. Turning in scorpion (second) is also something I have been working on, since it’s in two of my dance routines. I can do much better, but since the grass was uneven, I had a bit of a hard time with it. My extensions (third) are getting much better, and I get get my leg up right to my body. I have also spent a lot of time working on crossing my arm over, and letting go with one hand, which is what you see in the video. Next, I moved onto handstands. I wasn’t having the best balancing day in the world, but I got enough to make it work. First, I just did a basic stag handstand. After than, I did a half turn, which is extremely hard for me. You can tell by the grin on my face as I come out of it, that I was quite proud of myself. Next, I did some walking on my hands, which is also extremely hard. It’s very difficult to keep the exact balance needed to pull off a handstand while moving around. Next, are elbow stands. I did a bunch of different poses, but I’d like to draw your attention to one particular one. It happens at 2:28 in the video, and is when both legs are extended out in front of my body. This is probably one of the hardest elbow stand positions to hold for any amount of time, and I was pretty excited that I managed to get it on film. After that, I did my chest stand, which has improved from last year by so much. My butt is closer to my head, which is always a good thing for a contortionist! After that, I did an chin stand, which is basically a chest stand, but more of your weight is balanced on your chin, and your legs stay balanced in the air. I removed my hands as well, which is even harder to keep balanced. Last but certainly not least, were my aerials. I did one normally, then had the second one in slow motion. I would like to have less (or even none) of a leadup, but that will take a lot more practice. So for indepth night, hopefully I will have an aerial in my routine!
I’m amazed at how quickly this project seemed to fly by. I’m really sad that this project is coming to an end, because is provided me with the perfect way to stay motivated. I will definitely be continuing with contortion for as long as I can, and maybe will even become a professional! Hopefully one day you’ll see me in Cirque Du Soleil!
