"im bout to go twinkletoes on yall hoes!!!"

if you would of told me several years ago that i would say that (read the title), i would of loudly refused, rebuked, + declined the notion of that possibility. why? because as much as i love dance + enjoy all of its different styles, i swore up + down that i would never- wait. i need all caps for this... NEVER BY MY OWN FREE WILL would i take ballet. why not? because, it never seem like something for me. i always was a wild + loose spirit + it reflected greatly when i would do hip hop or step during elementary + high school. i looked at ballet as beautiful + elegant, but so structured, stiff, anal, +... those tights... ohGod. lets not get on the tights...

come on now. a life size brown toothpick on stage with stockings. yeah, that will be me.

that was not whats up on so many levels in the mind of a insecure, skinty (yeah, not skinny. skin-ty.), little black dude. i just didnt want to do it because i thought it was the opposite of how i express myself when i dance.

as i grew up + got more deeper into loving dance + appreciating all its forms (i soften up a lil after seeing alvin aliey in the 10th grade... beyond words, inspiring to this very day...) i started wanting to learn modern + jazz (which i still of yet to learn. damn ya, lack of income!) + picking up different moves + techniques from people i met. i still didnt want to be nowhere close to those damn tights through, but i was warming up to the idea of me doin demi-pointe + hittin awe-provoking pirorettes + leaps....

well, recently i was told by this guy that i could take 1 free class each friday this month at gotta dance studios in atlanta. they were offering 3 different hip hop classes + 1 beginner ballet class. since i already took a few hip hop classes + danced hip hop for so long i decide to go out of the box + try out ballet. people were telling me that i would be great for ballet + that it would help me out with hip hop + other styles. the control, balance, + strength i would get from taking it up would greatly benefit all of my dancing skills. plus it would make me a more versatile dancer overall. all these pros basically won me over, but of course i had 1 condition: "i dont got to wear tights, right?"

so last friday i arrived to the studio + lined up with everyone else along the barres that were laid out in the middle of the floor. standing there a little nervous with my loose cargo pants rolled up + socks on, i looked around the room to see im the only guy. ohyay. so rikki, the instructor which was a tall slender dude, comes in + quickly gets us started with a warm up on the barre. ohhGod i felt so out of freaking place. i was struggling to get my body to do what he said, remember the positions, follow along, + be relaxed + graceful at first. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, back to 1st. point, flex, tendo, pile, cupo, passe, relve, front, side, back. ohjeez, + i had to squeeze the shit outta my thieghs + butt the whole while. i thought i wouldnt be able to freaking boo boo for days after this.

i was pushed in that class for real. at one point, we had to point + extend our leg straight foward at a 90degree angle, then lower it + extend it straight to the side 90 degrees, the lower it again, extend to the back 90 degrees, hold it, swing it around slowly to the front then back to the back, then do the reverse... umm, yeah. so i was kind of getting it pretty decent. (thank God for all those times at band camp where we were drilled on marching with pointed toes + 90degree angles. shoutout to columbia high marching eagles band!) rikki is walking around + helping everyone. how about when he gets to me, he takes my left leg (a.k.a. the crappy leg) + raises that bitch up from 85degrees to 132DEGREES, THEN SWINGS MY LEG AROUND FROM THE FRONT TO THE BACK + BACK TO THE FRONT!!! if you are a guy reading this, clearly you can understand when i say sincerely "please pray for my lefty."

even with my legs feeling insanely stretched out, my arms throbbing from holding them up for what seem hours, + my theighs + buttcheeks tight as hell from having to hold a small flyer between then while rising + lowering on my toes as an exercise, i still ended up enjoying the class. i loved the challenge of me bettering myself + gaining control of my movements. i was already starting to see myself more aware of how my body moves + work when i would do certain things. plus i noticed that i was improving a little. by the end, rikki told me that i did really great for my 1st time doing ballet. oh+ he did gave me a nice little comment on how high my leg went. lol he wants me to come back for his class again + continue to work on the excerises we did in class. i told i will + i will be back next friday. i really was feeling excellent afterwards (of course, the great accomplishment feeling in my mind was overriding the wearyness feeling on body).

so near an hour later as i was laying chin deep in my bathtub at home soaking the aches away, i closed my eyes + visioned myself on my toes dancing across a dance floor, holding a perfect effortless passe into a relve. i was loving it. + it didnt even phase me that i was wearing some black tinted tights in my own little daydream. well, just a little. but i was too exhausted + exhilarated to care. ohhyeah, im about to go twinkletoes on all yall. get ready. oh + pray for my feet + nuts too. ohyeah, that would help much...

soulfully yours, peace+luv 4eva, the 3rd tWin