I'm getting increasingly addicted to taking class and would do one every day if I could. That said, I'm really lucky to live where I do, because there are excellent classes within reach that don't mean a trip to the West End. The one to which I go most is taught by Marguerite Porter, who used to be a principal with the Royal Ballet and stopped dancing far too early. She tends to demonstrate absolutely full-out in class and she has a lyric - and even vulnerable - quality which I find intensely moving. Even now, I'm thrilled to watch her performing, so to speak, as she teaches.The class happens three mornings a week in Richmond and I usually manage two sessions.
What I love about ballet teachers - and Marguerite is a case in point - is the amount of personal investment they make in attention; in creating an atmosphere or focus in class which blots out everything else and in which you're content to lose yourself for that hour and a quarter. And of course there's the sense of ballet history, even in the small things, when demonstrating frappés, she'll remember that "Rudolf used to say it was like striking a match..."
I feel very accepted in the class (today, as most days, the token male) and have come to know many of the others in the group. Feeling so accepted gives me the space to fail. In Samuel Beckett's words, "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."
It's a bit of a stretch with a middle-aged body, but I have long left behind the fear of looking ridiculous.
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2 comments:
I love Marguerite too. She is now heading up the YOrkshire Ballet Seminars which I attended 3 years in a row.
I am impressed with your words: "the space to fail" and what about "the space to succeed"?
Ruth, sadly Marguerite doesn't teach her London classes anymore. But I will always be so glad to have have esperienced them. She always taught full-out with great commitment and really pushing her own body. Just to watch her in arabesque at the barre was achingly beautiful.
About "the space to fail". Have you seen the billboard campaign (I've forgotten for what product) that reads: "I'm not afraid to fail, but am determined to succeed"?
The space to succeed means that you have the space to experiment, and to get things wrong originally, but the tolerance to develop.
I imagine Marguerite would be fabulous with professional students. Good luck in your own career!
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