Has anyone ever had trouble going through combinations in class? I seem to come across the same problem over and over again, I know the steps that the teacher is explaining b4 we do it ourselves, but when the music comes on i get all confused trying to remember the routine and arms, thus i tend to be a couple beats off. I'm not sure how to perfect this through practice because i'm afraid i'd be practcing wrong.<P>One more thing....when doing leaps across the floor.....for some reason i can't seem to get my back leg straight. I'm not sure if this is based off the splits on the floor because even then my back leg is a bit bent. I'm not sure what i'm doing wrong..and ideas??

salimaC - combinations are hard but try and relax and enjoy them - if you can do the steps right when the combination is set then there is no reason why you cannot do them with the music, exceot for the fact that the music can be seen as a form of pressure to get it right.<P>Try not to see it like that, try and relax and enjoy the music - if you make a mistake, it really is not the end of the world. If you are "dancing" the combination well it will hardly be noticed.<P>I try and get my students to be constantly thinking ahaed with combinations. As soon as they have started one move I ask them to think what the next move is, then if they do momentarily forget it they have time to to remember it. If you leave thinking about the next step until you have to do it both brain and body freezes with panic.<P>I hope that helps you.

SalimaC - here is a thread that we had that I think will give you some ideas to think about:<P><A HREF=../../../ubb/Forum7/HTML/000501.html><B>MEMORY LOSS</B></A><P>I have also found it a very good idea to never follow anyone else in class. If you do - you will always be a beat or two behind. There is a difference is being aware of what everyone is doing - and copying. Awareness is necessary - copying will put you behind and keep you dependent on others. In my opinion.<P>As for straightening your back leg in a leap - at some point in a leap you are pushing off with that back leg - at that moment of the push off feel the energy of the push off go through your entire leg, passing through the knee - and out the toe.

I understand COMPLETELY, cuz my problem is when the teacher gives out a lot of steps, and then gives them quickly. I can't figure out how I've improved sinced I started, it doesn't seems logical- but the repition sets in. But it does get weird when you break that routine and get a totally different style of ballet class and stuff. It helps me to actually DO the arms, but just look at the feet. It seems to me that when the feet get faster, the arms get more uniform for the steps, so in those cases I do focus more on the feet, and only wave through the arms if I do them at all, but do them if the teacher goes through it again. But in the center, I'm still lost! I hope I stayed in context!