Back to school season

In Canada, back to school starts after Labour Day, the first Monday in September. In past years I don't know that I would have given it much thought, but this year it's a little different.

So, all of last year I did Adult Beginner Ballet (Level 1) and finished it off with a week of ballet beginner intensives at the beginning of August. That was, quite simply, the most physical week I have had since my days in the Army back in the late 80s. It was also one of the most fun ones.

Each day was 3 hours broken into an hour of conditioning (oof), ballet, and then repertoire. What made this so much fun was that it felt like I was engaged in a professional dance program for the first time. The work we did in repertoire was aimed at dancing a presentation on the final day of the program and so we had a goal that we were working towards.

The goal itself was to perform the wedding waltz from Sleeping Beauty and that was so much fun. I did not, to be honest, perform flawlessly, but I still had an amazing experience and I can't wait to do it again next year. In the meanwhile, one of the things that really made it special is that my Mom came to see me perform. Imagine, seeing her 56 year old trans daughter perform dance for the very first time! She brought me red roses and, of course, I cried.

So, back to school? Well, I simply love ballet and I decided that I wanted more time at the barre, so I signed up for twice a week classes this time around. I am so excited to getting back at dance, it's been almost a month already!

In unrelated news, I had promised myself that I would get a nose piercing to celebrate my 1 year GCS anniversary. I didn't get a chance back in February because I was planning a breast augmentation in March, but I finally got it done yesterday and I am so happy with it.