Letter from Boston Too Much Too Soon By MASAKO YAMADA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
張り切りすぎて バレエレッスンを始めて1ヵ月以上がたちました。初心者向けのコースに参加している雅子さんは、以前ダンスの経験もあり、コース内容についていくのに何の問題もありませんでした。ところが先日、いつものと違う先生が指導したクラスで張り切りすぎて、転倒。数日たった今でも、足には大きな青あざが残っています。

I have been taking ballet lessons with a friend for a little over a month now. Last week, we went to our lesson a day after we watched a new ballet by the Boston Ballet. We were both inspired by their performance of "Cleopatra" and we were extra eager to take the class.

The woman teaching the class was not our usual teacher. She told us that she would be substituting because our regular teacher had just had an operation. This was fine with me. The new teacher was an attractive woman who had obviously done a lot of teaching and performing. Her feet looked gorgeous whenever she pointed her toes or turned out her legs, even when she demonstrated the most mundane steps.

Although it was clear that she'd had serious ballet training from the time she was small, she told us that she'd also taken a lot of adult ballet classes and that she understood the needs of adult students.

But I got the impression that her expectations for beginning adult students was rather lofty. I say this because the whole ballet class proceeded at a tempo much faster than our usual ballet class. She made us do moves that many of us found very challenging.

Granted, she always made sure that we all understood what was going on by asking us whether we were familiar with the step. However, the actual execution often proved much harder than we thought. Even some of the students who usually do very well seemed to be lost without the familiar steps.

A new student who was very clearly some kind of professional ballerina (she had walked into the wrong studio) told us that she didn't realize that it was a beginner's class until the end. She was probably the only one who followed the teacher completely. I found myself bumbling through the class.

The combination of having an unfamiliar teacher, having a surplus of enthusiasm after having watched a new ballet and not having enough time to stretch was probably not very good for me. I'm a beginning dancer, after all. These factors led to my losing my balance during one of the routines. I twisted my ankle when I landed and fell to the ground.

The teacher ran over to me and asked me whether I needed help, but she told the others to continue dancing (yes, the show must go on). I crawled to the side of the studio and spent the remainder of the class watching the others. Although I found even the simplest stretches too painful to do, I didn't feel that I needed any special attention. I was even able to walk back to the subway station by myself.

The next day, my foot felt far worse. I couldn't put any weight on it. I couldn't even bear to have my foot touch the floor while I was sitting, much less stand on it. I knew I wouldn't be able to get to work, so I contacted the people in my lab and told them that I'd be taking the day off. I spent most of the day in bed and hopped to the kitchen and bathroom on one foot when I needed to.

Thanks to the long rest, ice packs and hot baths, I was able to go back to school the following day. Many of my lab mates found it hilarious that I had fallen in my ballet class. They probably envisioned me stumbling about like an elephant in a class full of snooty, elegant nymphs. I didn't blame them, since I thought it was funny too. My attempts at dancing like the queenlike Cleopatraliterally brought me to my knees.

A few days have passed since, and my foot feels a lot better now. However, there is still a large purple bruise on my foot, and this bruise apparently looks scary to others. It's a reminder that I still must be careful when I walk, since my foot has not healed completely. I still don't know whether it would be a good idea to go to my ballet lesson this week. I know that at the very least, I should be conservative in my attempts to do unfamiliar steps.

I was walking near my apartment building recently when I saw a pair of crutches in front of an adjacent apartment building. There was a sign saying "FREE" nearby. Apparently, the owner of the crutches didn't need them anymore and wanted somebody to take them. Unfortunately, it was a couple of days too late for me.

Shukan ST: June 2, 2000

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