I've been home for a month - now what? Teacher Edition!

Beautiful dancers, we are moving into our fifth week of being locked down in our homes and it's definitely been taxing (tax deadline extended, by the way, yay!) on all of us, on our physical health and mental well-being.

I understand not everyone is able to work from home and as many people have noted, it is indeed a privilege to be able to work from your home. My gratitude and appreciation go out to the health care workers, grocery store employees, delivery people, and everyone else involved in a service industry deemed essential to the running of our country.

Dance teachers like me and many of my friends have had to scramble to put our businesses online in some form or another. We look at each other and try to follow the best path, cobbling together something that resembles our classes without being anything at all like them. How could they be? Each of us teaches in a different way and our personalities, our pet peeves and our quirks distinguish us from one another. We are not one-size-fits-all in real life; yet we can't truly be ourselves in the virtual world.

Blossom is my at-home assistant

We want our businesses to thrive, of course, but we also want our students to thrive. We are teachers because we love our students, we live for our students! We worry about them alone at home, not having someone to correct their errors or not taking class at all. I want my students to build on their technique with my guidance but how can I do that when I can't see them or gently prod them? One student emailed me that she missed my "stern gaze" but she also missed her fellow students' gazes. We all want to do well for our teachers but we want to perform well for our friends and fellow dancers.

Teaching virtually has been trial-and-error and sometimes fraught with anxiety! Had we all had time to prepare for online instruction, we would have invested in home studio equipment, microphones and cameras, a powerful internet connection. We would have researched the various platforms, tested them alone and with our students. We would have asked our students which platform suited them, which was easiest to use, what times to teach, and so on.

I know it's hard for you to train at home; it's lonely and hard to stay motivated! It's hard for us too. I miss seeing you dance across the floor to a combination I put together. I miss seeing you apply a correction I give you and the look of "Aha!" on your face.

Blossom loves ronds de jambes

Teaching from home, I've discovered, is not at all the same as teaching in a studio. For one thing, I have to watch my pace more. The usual benchmarks of a clock or simply seeing students' faces or fatigue would let me know when to move on, when to give more instruction, when to answer a question that hasn't been asked. I have to anticipate questions and problems. I have to do the exercises so I know where the problems could be since I can't see them on students' bodies.

However, I have to watch when I'm giving too much instruction and talking too much between exercises. Why? We're at home with a million distractions! There's my dog, Blossom, who barks at unusual times and sometimes wanders in when I'm doing ronds de jambe. There's my phone and my social media feeds; my kitchen which has coffee and snacks; and sometimes there's the pandemic itself which will consume my every waking thought until I can't focus on anything but the doom and gloom.

Whereas in the studio I might have another class coming in or a rehearsal to get to, at home I try to limit class to just an hour in order to keep it moving and engaging. I don't want you distracted either! And I certainly don't want you to feel the doom and gloom - for at least an hour!

Forget doom and gloom when Blossom's in the room!

And technology? Well, when it works, it's fantastic and a true gift to teachers and students alike. When it doesn't? Yeah...I'm a dancer not an IT expert. I get frustrated and upset and I just keep "turning it off and turning it back on" - over and over and over.

The fact is, like our current situation, teaching and taking ballet class online are fluid. We don't know what will happen tomorrow or the next day so have to take it as it comes and respond accordingly.

We dance now because we can.

We teach now because we can.

We fill our lives with joy when we can.

Stay safe and healthy! Happy dancing~

Friday Fun Links! Interviews & More!

Hello beautiful dancers and Happy Friday!

If you're not on Facebook, you probably haven't seen the interview links I posted on my Leigh Purtill Ballet page. I was so honored and thrilled to be interviewed on 2 different sites, one an e-zine called Voyage LA as one of their "Inspiring Stories" (what?!!) and the other a dancewear site called BDancewear. I love BDancewear's blog because they offer all kinds of super cool DIY costume hacks and tricks. Check them out!

Here is the link to the Voyage LA article (feel free to comment and please re-post if you like! Thank you!).

And the link to the BDancewear interview (again, a comment is always awesome and it's nice to get retweets/posts/likes! Thank you!).

In both interviews, I try to let people know about my personal teaching philosophy as well as all the wonderful students who dance with me. They are the reason I do what I do! (Yes, YOU!)

So those were the interview links....what about the MORE?

How about a link to a gorgeous new t-shirt, designed by my student and soon-to-be Romeo in SWEET SORROW, A ZOMBIE BALLET? That's right, Bill Reiss - an incredibly talented artist - has designed another amazing shirt. You will probably want one in black and maybe another one in white and possibly one as a gift for a friend. Great quality shirts, as usual from Galloree, with organic cotton that holds its shape and colors really well. Best of all, the profits on the shirts go to the new ballet company, Leigh Purtill Ballet Company. It's a great deal for you because you get a really super cool new shirt for an excellent price and a deal for us because we, well, we need the cash to get our company up and running. (And we have a production in October!)

Want one? Check out the shirts here!

 And one last self-serving link: my website has been redesigned by student and company member Celia Green. It's got info for both my classes and the nonprofit ballet company. Pictures, blogs, social media links and much more. Take a look!

Okay, that's a lot of links. Enjoy the weekend! Happy dancing~

Teacher Awareness Syndrome

It's estimated 8 out of every 10 students suffer in silence.* 

It's not new. It's been around for years but it's just now getting the recognition it needs to be addressed.**

It's called Teacher Awareness Syndrome and it may have affected you when you were younger and you didn't even realize it. I will confess to being affected even now - occasionally, and not often, but yes it even happens to teachers and experienced dancers.

Not sure if you have it? Let's look at the symptoms:

1. Sudden inability to do even a demi-plie in first position at the barre when the teacher walks past you.

2. Perfect petit allegro dissolves into bumbling shuffles when called upon to demonstrate.

3. Leg and arm coordination evaporate when the teacher stops to ask your name or how you're doing.

Look, it happens to all of us, or at least most of us. You're doing perfectly fine. You've memorized the tendu combination and then the teacher swings by and you immediately forget all of it, resulting in the teacher thinking you either weren't paying attention or don't belong in the class.

The lucky few who shine when a teacher walks past are the innate performers. They are the ones who love the spotlight and standing in front of the room. They want to be the leaders of the first group across the floor. They want to be the ones the teacher holds up as examples for others.  

Those students are not the norm. Seriously, after years of teaching, I can tell you that even the best dancers falter under the scrutiny of a teacher. You can't help it: you want to do well. You want the teacher to notice you and give you feedback. It's helpful when it's corrective but it's also nice to get a comment like, "Nice job!"

My advice? 

Students: Relax. The teacher knows you're (probably) not screwing up her choreography on purpose. She knows that when you feel her eyes on you, you get nervous. If she pauses to watch you at the barre, just keep doing the exercise and don't engage in eye contact. If she calls to you during the center, let the comment wash over you and take it in after the exercise is over. It takes practice to do this but you'll get it.

Teachers: One method I use is to glance into the mirror when I'm watching a group, especially during adagio when people often falter. This lets me see everyone and scrutinize them but they don't feel my eyes on them individually.

Happy dancing~
---------
* Estimated by yours truly
** Recognized pretty much just by me

Breakthroughs for student and teacher

Eureka!

One of the greatest joys a teacher can experience is when her student finally gets a concept, whether it's a theme in a Mark Twain novel, a geometry equation or a dance step. We see the light in the student's eyes - the aha! moment when they finally - finally! - get it. It's wonderful to witness. And you hope that they will carry that moment with them into the next class and the next week and next month, etc.

In those instances, it's usually a case of a teacher having a certain number of ways to describe a concept and eventually hitting upon the one that works with that student. For example, when I am trying to get a student to understand how to pull up the front of her hips, I may emphasize lengthening her back or connecting her hips to her ribs or lifting her abdominal muscles or any number of other ways.  Eventually (I hope) I will get the one way that works for her.

But then there are the (admittedly rarer) instances when I have a breakthrough too. I might have a student who has a physical limitation that prevents her from applying corrections I am giving her. Or she might be applying them but the result is still not what I want, what is correct.  Because my classes are relatively small, I have the opportunity to give personal feedback and individual corrections, which allows me to really dig into ongoing issues with my regular students.

Recently, I had a student who was technically advanced and diligent about applying corrections.  She is intelligent and understands her body and how it moves but no matter how many different ways I would give her a correction, we could not get the right result! It was frustrating for her because she was struggling to get the right outcome and hearing me shouting about it all the time. And it was also frustrating for me because I had not gotten it.  I had not figured out what the problem was exactly in order to fix it.

And then finally - finally! - I got it! I was watching her during a private lesson and I saw something that I thought I could fix. When I suggested she try something (in this case it was moving her heel across her knee during an en dedans pirouette), it worked.  I was so excited about it that I asked her to apply it to a petit allegro step called brise vole - and that worked too! I cheered! I had been working with this student for months and eventually I got it.

In this instance, the correction was one I would never give to a class in general. It was so very specific to this student that it couldn't really be applied in the broader sense. But the wonderful thing for me was to know that my instinct was right. Even though it was not a traditional correction, it worked for her. I was so happy for her too because it was something I knew she could get into her head, into her body, and make it work for other steps.

Never ever say never. Never say you can't do something. Never say your body won't move that way. Never say a student is unteachable. If you take the time, trust your gut, try new things, eventually something will click. And when you both get it, cheer!

Happy dancing~

"Why do you ask me so many questions, Leigh?"

You're new to my class. Perhaps new to the studio. I introduce myself to you.

"Hi, I'm Leigh. What's your name?"

"Um, Nancy Newbie."

"Hi, Nancy! What's your experience?"

At this point, most people respond with a variation of:

"I've been dancing for X number of years." Or "I danced as a kid and am just getting back into ballet."

"Great, great! Are you new to the area, new to LA?"

"Yes." or "No." (Duh.)

If you're brand new to dance, I'll probably put you between 2 students who know my class well. If you're not new, I'll probably introduce you to the students right near you and mention something about them.

Why do I want to know all these things about you? I mean, you're just there to take a class, not become BFF's with everyone. What do I care anyway whether you've been dancing a while or are new to the area, etc.?

The answers to these questions give me insight into the way you will take the class.  If you're super new, I'll be super supportive and make sure you're picking everything up.  If you look lost, I want to help you. If you're new to the area, I might step back a bit and give you some space, since you're probably looking around for classes and teachers and I don't want to overwhelm you. If you tell me you danced a long, long time ago, I'll observe for class placement -this might not be the best class for you. If you say you had an injury, I won't push you. If you mention you take classes all over or otherwise seem like you're very interested in dance and improving your technique, I'll give you corrections.

I want you to have a good experience in my classes, no matter what level you are. While I can't tailor a class to a specific individual, I can direct it so the majority of the students are satisfied. I know not everyone does this, not every teacher bothers, and I get why: it's time-consuming and can feel like pandering. If the student doesn't come back, you wonder why, especially if you felt like it was a good fit for them.

Honestly, I do get disappointed sometimes when a good student doesn't return and I often vow to not bother to get to know someone in the future. But my classes are small and the students are tight. Every student who "sticks" fits in nicely with the group. That makes it more pleasant for all: you attend and see friendly faces and they like seeing you. I become ridiculously happy when my students socialize outside of class. That is success.

Happy dancing~

PS - a couple of housekeeping notes: There will be no Stretch class this Friday, 5:30. Also, I realized my calendar listed my Tues/Thurs classes as Adv/Beg. I changed that to Adv Beg - it is an Advanced Beginner class. I expect students to have the basics down and are looking for a challenge. ~ LP

Is it Nutcracker time again?

Doesn't it seem like we just danced to Waltz of the Flowers?  No?  Seems like it to me!  A year has passed so swiftly....!

As lots of studios and schools tackle the annual winter show, whether it's Nutcracker or something else entirely, both dancers and choreographers struggle with the steps.  Teachers and choreographers usually have little time to teach the material to dancers, who in turn must be able to process and memorize in an instant.  More follows from week to week.  In the case of smaller schools with smaller bodies of dancers, there is the added pressure of multiple roles within a show.  Most dancers do not have the luxury of spending several months learning one piece and most choreographers do not have the luxury of a full-time cast.

It can be frustrating on both sides but I want to offer some tips to students and teachers at this time of the year, just to ease the tension that inevitably builds as you get closer to performance.

Dancers:
1. Attend technique classes regularly.  Stay on top of your pointe work, your pirouettes, your allegro.  This is not the time to skimp on classes.  Confidence comes from knowing you are technically in control.  Also, consistent class attendance gives you the opportunity to practice picking up choreography and learning spatial awareness for the stage.

2. Be focused during rehearsals.  When a section is being taught to another group, do not check your iPhone.  Do not chat with your friends.  Do not rest.  Pay attention to what is being taught because you may be asked to do it, repeat it, reverse it, etc.

3. Let go of the ego.  Some of the dancers in your group will be better than you, faster than you, pick things up more quickly than you.  Get over it.  You were chosen for the piece too.  You all have a reason for being there. But if you get yourself worked up over your skills or whatever, you will lose the thread of the choreography.  Instead, GET TO CLASS!

4. Be prepared. This means get your shoes and tights ordered in advance, homework done, schedule cleared.  If you know you cannot make a rehearsal, tell the choreographer well in advance!  Do not rely on a friend to tell him or her you won't be there.  Better yet: don't miss rehearsal.

5. Don't talk back in rehearsal.  Having a problem picking up a step? Work on it at home or in class.  Talk to the choreographer outside of rehearsal only when you absolutely cannot do something.  DO NOT challenge the choreographer during rehearsal.  It is rude and disrespectful- and time-consuming.  And it will guarantee you will be replaced.

Choreographers:
1. Manage your expectations.  You will rarely, if ever, see your work performed exactly the way you imagine it in your head.  Get over it.  Do the best with what you have and understand that the essence of the piece, its meaning and subtext, can still be achieved even if the steps are not what you had in mind.

2. Simplify whenever possible.  While it's tempting to give dancers challenging material, if they are not pros, they may freeze up when they get on stage.

3. Encourage your dancers. Let them know when they are doing something well so they will not always hear negativity from you.  You want them to enjoy themselves in rehearsal so they will learn to project it on stage.

4. Videotape rehearsals and send to the dancers for between-rehearsal practice.  Not only does it give you a record of what you did from week to week, but it also can help them remember what they need to work on. Also, since they are in the middle of the piece, they may not understand how it all fits together. Looking at it on video gives them a wider perspective.

On Nichelle's Dance Advantage website, David Alonzo Jones writes about how he helps his students pick up choreography in class.  I think both dancers and teachers can benefit from reading this.  Thanks, Nichelle!

Happy dancing!  Happy Nutcracker~

I teach the class I want to take

There are so many different styles of teaching, from the hardcore discipline where every girl has her hair in a bun so tight she gets an inadvertent facelift to ballet-jazzish classes where students wear booty shorts and plie to Justin Bieber (or whoever is popular at the moment - I know nothing of contemporary music!). Vaganova, Cecchetti, Balanchine, RAD, French...so many styles of schools across the globe.

So what do you teach, Leigh?

I teach what I would want to take. I teach the way I like to move and what feels comfortable for my body. Conventional wisdom has always been that you take class with a teacher whose body type is similar to yours so you can accomplish what they are showing you more easily. Conversely, to challenge yourself, you take a class with a teacher who is nothing like you at all!  I can remember classes with teachers who were tiny little things who could do petit allegro faster than a hummingbird flaps its wings and dash across the floor in milliseconds.  Meanwhile I would lumber through the space feeling like a giant in the land of the littles.

But the experience definitely challenged me and it taught me to move my body in a different way.  Even though my body type is best suited for adagio, I learned to like (nay, love!) petit allegro and to actually perform it in a half-decent way. 

But I digress...about my classes...whether it's Basic or Intermediate, pointe or flat, I construct a class that makes sense to me and that I would feel comfortable in. Each class is structured in what I consider to be a logical fashion, based on YEARS of classes and personal research.  This is not to say I don't incorporate the academic research I did as a student in college but I base a lot of my combinations and corrections on my gut instinct.  I know what to do (and what you should do) because I have done it myself and have applied it to my own body.

Pasadena Dance Festival!

Hello friends in the LA and Pasadena area! Here's a teaser of the upcoming Pasadena Dance Festival, which will be here before you know it.  Lots of fantastic dance: many local companies and dancers and choreographers plus master classes in all different dance styles. 

I'll be teaching at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Saturday, April 27, from 4:15-5PM.  It's a short open level ballet class for adults.  If you buy a Festival Pass ($65 in advance and $70 day-of), please use my referral code: teacherpurtill2013.  Thanks so much!

What do you think about during plies?

This post was inspired by the class I taught this morning, an Intermediate Ballet class for adults.  It was a small class so I could interrupt their plies after the first side to discuss them.

What should we think about during the opening plie combination?

Most of the time, frankly, we're scouting the scene during plies.  It's usually the first combination we do, aside from a warm-up, and it's typically the same from class to class. As much as I believe in shaking things up at the barre and inverting and reversing combinations, I like to do at least 1 or 2 things the same all the time so people have a familiar guidepost for the class.  In most classes, like mine, that familiar guidepost is plies.

So...we don't think about anything.  We might be easing ourselves into class, making the transition from work to post-work, or from sleepiness to wakefulness.  We might be planning dinner or the rest of our days.  Some of us in larger classes might be looking around for friends, seeing who has a tan after her last vacation, whether that cute guy is there again. Who knows the thoughts that run through our heads?

But I can guarantee you it's not your inner thighs you're thinking about. It's not your rotation and it's not your abdominals or your upper back. And those are the 4 things you need to engage right away.  Get started during plies and you'll have them all warmed up and ready to go by the time you hit center, if not sooner.

1. Inner thighs - from the demi-plie, think about closing with the tops of the legs, not the buttocks.  Don't clench your large derriere muscles but use the smaller, longer, inner thigh muscles.

2. Rotation - not just the standing leg but both legs need to have their rotators engaged.  These are small muscles, the ones that move the thigh bone in the hip joint.  Get these warmed up right away when you recover from demi-plie.

3. Abdominals - concentrate on closing the rib cage every time you return from a cambre or a circular port de bras and you will automatically start to lift up the abdominal muscles and center your core.

4. Upper back - when you port de bras forward, be sure to keep the weight over the balls of the feet and not sunk back in your knees and heels. Keep the arm straight out to the side and move as a single unit to engage the back muscles instead of the shoulders.

It's easy to be lazy during plies - we do them all the time and in the same way - but it's also the easiest exercise of the class to start working.  Happy dancing!

An interview with me at 4dancers!

To celebrate a month of Adult Ballet, the owner of the very awesome website, 4dancers, Catherine Tully has posted interviews with many adult ballet dancers.  All of them have terrific stories about how they started in dance, what their backgrounds are, and the joy they get from studying ballet.  In a previous post, I mentioned a couple of my favorite stories.

And now, here is mine!  From the perspective of being a teacher of these amazing students, of course. 

Enjoy the wonderful articles and be sure to bookmark Catherine's site to get updates when she posts. 

Happy dancing, beautiful dance peeps~

Spotlight on Adult Ballet at 4Dancers blog!

You know I'm always looking for good stuff and one of my favorite places for good stuff is 4Dancers.  This month, the awesome blog has a series of really terrific interviews with adults who began ballet later in life, as well as its regular pro dance features.  I especially loved reading this one about Acacia Warwick, who began dancing after her chemo treatments for breast cancer. I love her upbeat attitude and her no-nonsense advice to dance if you want to dance.  That's exactly right!  My new motto for all of my students, regardless of age:

You have one life to live; dance if you want to.

There are so many other wonderful interviews on the blog.  Do yourself a favor and get inspired by others.  And next week, look for an interview with me!  I answered Catherine's questions about teaching adults.

Happy dancing~

Taking corrections

Face it, you can't always take corrections when they're given. Sometimes you're not experienced enough or in touch with your body enough to understand how to apply them. A good teacher will realize this and not attempt to force a correction on you that you aren't prepared to accept. When you attend class consistently with a teacher, she will get to know you and watch how you grow. She will know when you are ready to take a correction and apply it properly.

As teachers we all want that "aha!" moment in our students' lives. We want to see their eyes light up in understanding. And more importantly, we want to see our corrections used so our students will grow as dancers. As frustrating as it is for you to not "get" the correction, it's frustrating for us as well when we try very hard to give a student information he or she isn't ready to input.

Emotionally, too, some students are not prepared to accept corrections. They need to arrive at a point where they trust that the teacher is helping them, not merely throwing things at them and expecting miracles. Again, a good teacher wants YOU to do better for your growth as a dancer. Giving you a complex correction or one that is so esoteric as to be un-applyable (is that a word?) is merely self-serving for a teacher, an ego boost that makes her appear more "professional" or "expert" than she may be. As a student, I don't care about my teacher's experience - only as it applies to me. Can she give me corrections that enhance my skills as a dancer?

A good teacher wants you to trust her. She wants you to believe she is there to help you, not glorify herself. Consistency of attendance in her class will give you an idea if she has your best interests in mind.

Don't think so much!

Teaching adults has its own challenges, both physical and mental. Lately, I've been finding myself saying, "Don't think, just do!" a lot. And this goes for all levels of students, not just the beginners.

Watch the teeny tinies in your local studio when you have a chance. Of course you'll squee with joy when you see them in their little tutus running around like puppies but notice how easily they follow each other. The teacher will often put the best students in the front of the room so the others can watch and follow - key word there: follow. Little kids simply do what they see others doing. If a couple of girls are running in a circle, they join in too.

They don't do what adults do which is to intellectualize. Adults question everything - which is fine but often they want to know the answer before they even try the movement. Sometimes the step or combination reveals itself when you do it and you can't know how it will work until you try it with the music, which is why it's so important to mark combinations accurately.

Believe me, I love answering questions. After all, that's why I'm in the front of the room - LOL!! Seriously, though, I welcome questions from students because their issues are often on-going and give me insight to the way they learn. Everyone learns in a different way and the best teachers offer a multitude of ways in.

But - big BUT here - sometimes you just have to let go and do it. Try the step, try the combination, watch how others do it, watch how I do it - and imitate it. Stand in the back and act like a kid would: move your arms they way I do, move your legs and hips and head the way another student does it- and just get the movement into your own body. Do it a few times and then if you have problems, we'll tackle them. But don't anticipate issues before they arise.

Don't think so much!

I am the dancer I always wanted to be...

Can I do as many pirouettes as I used to when I was younger? No.

Can I jump as high as I used to? No.

Can I beat or do allegro as fast as I used to? No. Of course not. All of these things diminish with age. But other things improve: my adagio has more expression, my extension is higher, my stamina is just as strong. I have learned where to cheat! I have learned when to stop, or pause, or let my body rest.

I have learned the most important lesson of all: I appreciate my body and what it can do - at this moment. To mourn the loss of speed and height and power is a waste of time. Better to understand and appreciate what I can do and keep doing it. As we age, our bodies change - our centers of gravity change, our ability to point and plie lessen - but we can still dance.

Plus I have an advantage over younger dancers - and my younger self: I have no ego, no need to compete with others. I dance for myself. Yes, certainly, I am vain to a degree, as all of us are. I want to look good, long and lean. But to worry about others, about what they can do better than I, is - again - a waste of time. I know so many dancers my age who are crazy about the "other" in class. They attempt to compete with teens who fly through the air. This is futile. Those teens don't even know my friends exist.

I also know my body better than younger dancers. After all, my body and I have been around a lot longer; I've had a lot more time to get to know it, to experience what it can do and can't, what looks good on it and what doesn't.

And for this reason, I am the teacher I always wanted to be. I feel like I can finally see in others what they can't see in themselves. I can see what their bodies can do before they can. And I want them to be the best dancers they can be. I don't compete with them - I have no need. A teacher who competes with her students has very low self-esteem.

A good teacher wants her dancers to be better than she is. A great teacher makes them better than she is. I am good; I want to be great.

From the mailbag...

In the comments section below, Kelly asked the question, "Canvas or leather? Which do you prefer?"

Personally, I love canvas slippers because they're A) washable and B) cheaper. They work well on both marley and wood floors and for the price of a single pair of leather shoes, I can own 2 pairs of canvas. I like Sansha Pro 1C. Capezio Juliet II are also nice but they tend to grow holes too fast. I usually alternate between the pairs, so I always have a clean pair. If you go barefoot in your slippers, instead of wearing tights over your feet, canvas is great because when they get smelly (the shoes, not your feet!), you just throw them in the wash and hang to dry.

Now, those are the pro's. There are some cons to canvas:
--they wear out faster, often getting holes or tears in the toes within a couple months of daily wear (but you can sew them up to get a little extra life out of them)
--the effect of rosin on the shoes. Leather takes the build-up of rosin well but rosin on canvas gets hard and clumpy (but you can scrape it off and wash them so that's some compensation)
--canvas doesn't fit as closely to the foot as leather. You can get a nice tight fit from leather while canvas tends to stretch out (but canvas does get snug again when you wash it)

In the end, it's a matter of what you prefer, what fits you best, and what surface you dance on most often. Thanks for asking, Kelly!

And now, to prove I do indeed teach, here are some photos of a recent Level 4 class that the parent of one of my students took. Thanks to Claire Vorhis! That's her daughter, Sarah Jo, the lovely redhead I'm instructing on the ecarte line: