Jellicle Cats Love to Dance

Costumes were optional at ballet yesterday (Halloween). I took my ears, tail, and mitts. Then Mike showed up in full Cats costume!

"Which cat are you," asked Brenna, our teacher that day.

"Mr. Mistopheles," replied Mike.

"Oh no, I never--was there ever a cat so clever as magical Mr. Mistopheles?" I sang.

I was glad Mike came--he's not crazy about Brenna's teaching style. I like it.

Brenna's about 20-something, and trained in ballet and modern dance at a "college of the arts" out on the west coast. As a high schooler, she studied at Interlochen, and taught dance there later.

She really makes us work, in a different way from Suki. "Get up on top of your legs!" she says when we're doing tendus at the barre and sinking into our standing legs. And, when we're doing petit allegro, "You're jumping down! You need to jump up!" And "You need to pull up before you cambre back!"

By the end of class, I know that I have core muscles (abs, back muscles, etc.) because they're tired!