Double Turns
Hey! ... Guess what? Ballet is HARD. Ballet is HARD. BALLET IS HAAAAARD! ... Okay I'll stop. But, ... On Monday, we started working on double turns. A double turn is two full (360) rotations of any dance turn. The most common double turns are pirouettes.
From a Single to a Double
If you can do a single pirouette, you can do a double. So, although I can only make it to the right diagonal corner of the room, (in a sighted dance studio, it would be the mirror facing right front diagonal) I must be proud of that. In order to execute a clean single or double turn, the posture must be incredibly strong. "If you can stay lifted up in that releve the entire time without collapsing, you can make it two times across the room."
Visualization
Visualizing the head already at the completion of the turn helps, too. It sounds like it rushes the nervous system into jumping ahead, but actually, because blind dancers have heightened proprioception, we are able to intuitively know what it feels like to be at that exact corner.
The Vestibular System
In the inner ear, there is what is called the Vestibular System, which allows us to "hear" where we are in space. Fun fact about me - I have what is called Echolocation, which allows me to use this inner ear to "hear" my surroundings since I can't see them. Fascinating, right? This is something not many people know about in understanding the way blind people process information about the world around them.
Where I am Now
The most valuable lesson I took away from my coaching on Monday? "Appreciate where you are right now and build off of that." No, I can't do a double turn, but, I can make it twice past the right corner of the room. So, if that's the case, then I just have to keep practicing. Maybe do an extra rotation a day until I get all the way around... And, I can do a pretty awesome single pirouette!
Until tomorrow, friends!