Are some nightmares universal? You know, those bad dreams that you show up to school only to find that its test day and you are completely unaware or you show up to work naked?

I don’t actually have ballet nightmares but I did have a paranoia about forgetting my shoes! Its happened to other people in class quite often. I always carry socks in my dance bag and I’ve handed out more than a few pairs! But it’s never happened to me… until last night.

I spent a ridiculous amount of money on a Repetto dance bag. I LOVE my bag but honestly, it was stupid money to spend on a bag that really should be mostly utilitarian over style. Because I love it so much and because it was so heinously expensive, I’m kind of OCD about taking care of it. Smelly, sweaty things come out of it the minute I get home. After class my flatties are always damp little filthy sort-of-pink clumps of canvas. Here’s a ballerina to ballerina tip** Arm & Hammer make these little discs called Munchkins. They are actually for diaper pails but I put one in each shoe and it helps them dry out and keeps my shoes from smelling. I find them in packs of 5 and they last at least 3 months. Anyway, I pull my shoes out and let them air dry with a Munchkin in each one. They sit near but not in my dance bag.

Yesterday I sent Carboy off to a big car show for the weekend so I spent the day cleaning up the house and running a bunch of errands. I completely lost track of time and when I looked up it was 6pm, the time I should be leaving if I want to be in the Westside with a little time to spare to warmup for my 7pm class! So I threw on a leotard and tights, threw together some G2, grabbed my dance bag, and ran out of the house. I hate being late to ballet class.

I got there just in time and rummaged around my bag only to find, much to my horror, NO SHOES!!! I put on socks and got on with it. But I have to tell you that it sort of shook me for a bit. The bright white cotton kept catching my eye and they were running socks so they had a bunch of graphic thingys and that was very distracting. It just didn’t feel right. Socks are slippery but in a strange not ballet shoes kind of way. I just kept trying to recall a photo that I’d seen of Aurelie Dupont doing barre in socks. Of course, she was probably warming up and not in class. But whats a girl to do! I wasn’t going to miss class over a pair of shoes and my teacher didn’t even blink, I’m sure he knew right off what happened. So I just got my head into it as best I could and kept going. I had a second coronary when it came to center not sure how socks were going to work going across the floor and we had lots of time for center so I knew across the floor was going to happen. It wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad and I have a new found respect for those little flatties, that’s for sure! I was definitely more cautious that usual and being overly cautious can be a problem for me anyway. In the end, it was a great class despite the socks. One of my big fears and I survived. That’s pretty awesome too.

So, your turn… ballet nightmares? Lets hear them!