Today, I decided to take a seat above in the balcony. I am relieved that I did not walk into the room where the professional class was taking place because it seems a lot more “formal” than the rehearsal of just two couples. Barres were placed at various spots around the large room with dancers on either side and a pianist was playing live music for the rehearsal. What a lovely treat for me to be at my first class although I wish I was at the barre myself.

The instructor this morning was Qi, pronounced chi, who comes over as a full time instructor with CCM to occasionally teach classes. Ms. Marlow and I discussed having him direct the class versus the regular instructor. Qi does things differently than the other instructors and places moves in different order. I think that this would keep things interesting and fresh, allowing the dancers the opportunity to learn new things or use their muscles in new ways, which she agrees.

Once the barre work is finished, which is their warm-up, the floor work begins and is broken up into groups. Two to five dancers repeat instructions that are shown to them by Qi at a time. As each group finishes, the next takes a turn and then the dancers are given a new set of moves to try. The last part of the class is a final set of dance moves that each dancer performs more than once and adds something to if they like each time they pass. What was nice for me to see is that even the most experienced dancers were not perfect in every step. I wonder if this is because, and thanks to, the fact that they are not used to the way that Qi interperets the steps. He keeps them on their feet!

As they were reaching the end of the class, some of the dancers were adding their own special touches to the move, such as an extra spin or leap. Very exciting and a great way to bring one of my all time favorite movies to life! Thanks guys for the opportunity.