Ballet

I wish I had a photo for this post.  But I don't. 
I started taking ballet a little over a month ago and also started teaching ballet.  I love my ballet class at Ballet West!  The level of dancers in the class is a range from intermediate dancers to professional.  I am surprised that I can keep up well after not taking a ballet class in about 8 years.  It was very flattering when during my first class back in so long, the teacher said to me after a combination that I obviously have been training frequently.  She seemed to not believe me when I told her how long it had been.  My flexibility is totally gone and I get really nervous with my knee, but the strength is there and I am able to pick up the combinations pretty well.  My knee does better with running than it does with ballet though.  It's the twisting that hurts it.  Anyhow, I have tried to be careful, but I definitely will never be able to dance like I use to.  It's still fun.
My ballet teaching job is at a studio in our neighborhood, which is so nice because I just walk over there in a matter of 3 minutes.  I haven't taught in about 4 years.  I thought I was probably done teaching and dancing.  But this Summer I just started missing it again.  I also figured that if I went any longer without teaching or dancing, I would likely be too far removed from it to have the option to go back to it again.  So I texted the lady who owns the studio this Summer and casually asked her if she needed a ballet teacher.  And I ended up getting a job there.  What's even better than having it so close, is she lets Hana take my ballet class for free and I love all my students.  She has also given me an assistant who is a teenage girl who use to be one of my young women in our last ward.  She's great and makes the job even easier.  I have three classes on Thursday nights.  First is Hana's class.  We just walk over together and it's close enough from home that she just walks home afterwards.  She's really enjoying it.  That class is girls about Hana's age who are beginners.  The next two classes are dance teams that are mostly jazz dancers who must take ballet.  But they learn quickly and are good students.  Every week when I leave from teaching my classes I feel so happy and can't believe I just got paid as much as I did for doing something that was so fun, for students who are the best.  It really is a sweet gig.