Me:  “Aren’t I leaning over?”

DBT: “Yes. You’re supposed to be leaning over.”

Me: “Aren’t I supposed to be standing straight.”

DBT: “Yes, maintain perfect posture.”

Me: “I’m supposed to be leaning over perfectly straight?”

DBT: “Exactly.”

Me: “Seriously???”

It’s probably just me but I get attached to ideas that seem to make sense to me, like balance is struck when a perfect perpendicular position is achieved. It took me a minute to get into the groove of shifting my weight over my supporting leg because that makes you lean over the supporting leg and I found that aesthetically unpleasing in the mirror. Obviously it has to be done otherwise falling down will occur! But the leaning over struck me as not really being balanced, I mean, in a definitive sort of way.

What is really interesting about balance is that it’s a very personal thing, in ballet and in life. I, for instance, have to adjust for having uh… more, uh… yeah well more sports bras on than some people, other dancers have to adjust for height or if their legs aren’t straight. Balance is all about who you are as an individual. What keeps me balanced in my life – Carboy, my pets, my work, my past times – may or may not make sense to you but it keeps me from toppling over. And surprisingly, being balanced doesn’t necessarily mean being ramrod perpentidicularly straight! Sometimes you need to be a leaning over a bit in order to be plumb. Even more astounding, with some practice, shifting the weight becomes natural and part of the movement… and so too in life, I suppose, when I accept that things don’t necessarily follow a pattern or have to be a certain way but has to come as a reflection of who I am, then it becomes natural and flowing. It’s amazing to me how things can fall into place once you get it into your brain that its possible to move beyond what you think is correct and find out what really works.