Today was the first day of my 4 day weekend - which, of course, would be a holiday, but for dance practice. Unfortunately, my mind and body both think it should be holiday time, so focusing on practice today was like pulling teeth.
First, I memorized the demo for my varnam. A demo is the description of a Bharatanatyam piece that the performer gives before the piece, including gestures from the abhinaya. This is particularly useful to audience members who aren't familiar with Bharatanatyam since it explains what the miming gestures in the piece mean. At any rate, as of this morning I hadn't memorized any demos, so I have some work to do. Now, I've got 1/4!
After that, it was time to straighten out the tattimittu for my varnam. These are the final rhythmic steps before the end of the varnam that accompany the miming gestures that tell the last part of the varnam story. Performing them is a bit like patting your head while rubbing your tummy - you need to divorce what your feet are doing from what you're hands are doing. For me, the divorce has yet to be finalized.
On the upside, my physical therapy is going really well. My clamshells got upgraded to crab walks and my heel taps are elevated to the height of a full step. Also, my IT band has loosened substantially. When I started foam rolling them (see below), I was on the verge of tears with the weight of only one leg on the roller. Today was the first day I did full two-leg rolls with totally bearable pain. Success!
First, I memorized the demo for my varnam. A demo is the description of a Bharatanatyam piece that the performer gives before the piece, including gestures from the abhinaya. This is particularly useful to audience members who aren't familiar with Bharatanatyam since it explains what the miming gestures in the piece mean. At any rate, as of this morning I hadn't memorized any demos, so I have some work to do. Now, I've got 1/4!
After that, it was time to straighten out the tattimittu for my varnam. These are the final rhythmic steps before the end of the varnam that accompany the miming gestures that tell the last part of the varnam story. Performing them is a bit like patting your head while rubbing your tummy - you need to divorce what your feet are doing from what you're hands are doing. For me, the divorce has yet to be finalized.
On the upside, my physical therapy is going really well. My clamshells got upgraded to crab walks and my heel taps are elevated to the height of a full step. Also, my IT band has loosened substantially. When I started foam rolling them (see below), I was on the verge of tears with the weight of only one leg on the roller. Today was the first day I did full two-leg rolls with totally bearable pain. Success!
What's up IT band!
So things were looking up, until the last 5 minutes of practice and the skin on my left big toe split.
WTF??
This is definitely a mode of failure I hadn't anticipated. Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt that much, and can be easily covered with a bandaid. Hopefully it won't impede the last week of practice.
T minus 7 days!
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