darn it

The base of toe/ball of foot pain I'd been experiencing throughout the fall, along with some back of the knee pain, had disappeared about 80 percent during the holidays and was improving right up until last night.  Then I went to Amira Jamal's class where we dance on a carpeted floor, first class of the semester, and by the time the class was over I was in significant foot and knee pain again.  Guess I know what's causing it.  I am hoping that maybe a change in footwear will help; I've been wearing my low-heeled ballroom dance shoes, but maybe the heel edges are catching a little and adding to the carpet's torquing effect.  The shoes also feel loose now, so maybe my foot is sliding around too much inside them.  Next week I'll try ballet slippers, even though I hate them, maybe with a bandage type arch support.  Any type of half-soles won't work on that carpeting because of its drag, they just get twisted around one's foot.  This really sucks because I don't want to stop taking the class just because of the floor, but it really is pretty intolerable :-(

Good class though.  I was all excited about being able to travel around a big room, but we were instructed to keep ourselves in a little spot until our last run through at the end.  Still, it was good.  I will never get Leylet Hob out of my head.

Pretty exciting Heroes last night, it's good to see storylines coming together.  Would totally not have recognized Christopher Eccleston with all that hair if I didn't know it was him (well, at least not until he spoke).  I'm also not that into the Nikki/Jessica story line, but I really like Micah and his dad.  The producers keep promising/threatening to kill off a major character, but I suppose it won't be the hot blonde of legal age.

Random aside, speaking of Christopher Eccleston--at New Years some of us were wondering where we had previously seen the voudou priestess in Pirates of the Caribbean:  Dead Man's Chest.  She was the machete-wielding zombie hunter in 28 Days Later.  If I were that actress, I would love my job.

Najmat's class tonight--it's only been two weeks since I was last there, but I've missed it!

I love my chiropractor

By happy chance, I had a chiropractor appointment scheduled for today, so I talked to her about the toe and knee issues mentioned in my last post.  My tibia was twisted!  Well, not quite twisted, that's more alliterative than accurate, but it was in fact out of place and laterally rotated, which explains the pains just past either end of that bone as all the muscles that attach to it get stretched out of shape.  She did some adjusting and easily half the pain left my toes, and when I put my foot down I could feel my weight much more evenly distributed across the front of my foot.  She agreed with me re carpet being bad and thinks ballet slippers will work better, and also gave me exercises to strengthen the outer calf muscles so that they won't allow the tibia to slump back inwards.  So hopefully I can get this problem under control and stay in Amira Jamal's class.  Yay!

huh

Not that I'm remotely thinking of auditioning, but I was heartened to see this note in the most recent Bellydance SuperStars call for auditions.  The age range used to be 18-28, I believe--it's good to see an acknowledgment that a dancer might well be in her prime well into her 30s:

A NOTE FROM MILES COPELAND:
The criteria is simply this: this is a professional dance troupe with physical demands in stamina and availability. Being able to be away from home for 3-4 months at a time is a must. Performing as many as 7 shows a week is also a must. Ability to learn choreography quickly is very helpful. Having a specialty (something unique) is always a plus. As a rule, ages 18-40, UNLESS you have something special to offer and can take the rigors of touring.

Contrary to some misinformed popular opinion, we do NOT look for one body type, but being fit is essential in a professional touring troupe. Above all, we look for talent, good attitude, and pleasing persona on stage. Then again, it’s more true to say I don’t know what I’m looking for until I see it. So come on down!