Friday, May 3, 2013

Getting Back To My (Dancing) Roots

I've been dancing ever since I could remember...of course, little girls start out with ballet and yes, I fell in love with ballet. I was in awe with the way the dancers would carry themselves in pointes and they look so beautiful in their tutu costumes! I just stared at them and smiled...imagining that I would be, one day, dancing and looking as graceful as they do. I remember this one conversation I had with one of the dancers in pointes...

"Hi..." I said shyly behind the curtain.
"Hi...ganda naman ng ballet shoes mo." the girl said and smiled at me.
"Thank you po." I replied and looked at her retying her pointes and I couldn't help myself, I touched her tutu skirt, "Nice, so pretty."
"Thank you too. Don't worry, you will wear this one soon." she said as she motioned me to come closer to her, "It's okay, it's actually heavy." she said and jumped lightly as I saw the tutu skirt closer.
"Really? But you look so great...I can't even split yet." I said (yes, I was that desperate to do the split at 3 1/2 years old!)
"You will..." she said and winked at me.

True enough, three weeks later...I was able to do my first split! Whoa...it doesn't feel comfortable at all! And trust me, I felt like the stick that my teacher kept on pounding on the wooden dance floor is right between my legs! Ugh! But I felt so happy and felt like I made my first accomplishment...the split!

After that...I never looked back and continued on to dancing. Ballet has always been my foundation and boy, did I fall in love with it. I memorized The Swan Lake music even before I learned the multiplication table!

Having been born different, I was able to make the stage my home. I loved the lights and no, I wasn't born with stage fright...instead, I felt happy. I was just being myself and it was the best feeling in the world.

When I found out I was pregnant, I knew that I wasn't at my best in terms of body strength so in order to prep me for the possible long hours of labor...I got back to my belly dancing days mixed with a little bit of Polynesian movements. I love the hip movements of belly since it soothed my backaches during my third trimester...and it also strengthened my core muscles because of the isolation movements. The Polynesian mix was just to help me relax and feel okay while dealing with Braxton Hicks'.

True enough, D loves to listen to different types of music and sounds. This time...we're practicing our routine for a session and he's swaying his arms and kicking his legs like crazy! I hope he gets my passion for dance and movement as well.

Going back to my roots has taught me that even though it's been awhile since I've put on my dancing shoes...when I do put it back on, it's like being a kid all over again, on the stage...just me and the music.

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