Currently, I serve as a Ballet Coach for competitive ice skaters. So contact me if you need private ballet lessons. 🙂
This has been an interesting transition from my world of competitive gymnastics – I remember when I had my optional floor routine choreographed for me years ago that I almost immediately wanted to create choreographies for other gymnasts. It seemed like the perfect blend of the artistry of dance choreography and the puzzle pieces of fitting a level-appropriate routine together.
Right now I’m teaching ballet; not choreographing programs. But it’s been a trip learning the differences of names from ballet and skating. I grew up calling certain steps one thing in the gym and another at ballet (“split leap” vs. “grande jete”), so it hasn’t been too difficult to learn the skating terminology for steps I’ve been calling something else my entire life. Like, what I would call an “arabesque” or a ponche arabesque, they call a “spiral.” And the ballet “second position” is very close to a “spread eagle.” So in a way, I’ve been learning a new language. Not new skills, just a new vocabulary to reference those skills. (And the vocabulary to let the girls know WHY something I’ve asked them to work on is important to THEIR specific work). I’m still asking questions about the differences of their “inside edge” vs. “outside edge” spins to “en dehors” and “en dedans” ballet pirouettes.
Ballet was a huge part of my life for a very, very long time. I may not be a part of a ballet company at the moment (although I did incorporate one back in 2009), but the language and muscle memory doesn’t go away. So to be able to marry this hard-ingrained knowledge that is so much a part of me with the uncharted world of a new-to-me sport has been a stimulating and engaging experience.
Within a year, I’ll be far more familiar with the nuances and subtleties of the ice; maybe then I’ll get to start developing ice programs in the way I imagined I wanted to set gymnastics floor routines so many years ago.
Erika Diane 