I also studied with Maggie regularly in the '80's. I was a modern, -excuse me, "post modern" dancer so was in that class except on Saturday's when we were all thrown in together. The class was as much about life for me as for ballet(though she helped me become a very much stronger dancer). I had to take a class for her to look at me and when accepted had to wait several months to be able to attend due to the number of students. The barre was very "square" for us but did emphasize alignment and sending your energy "through the muscle" instead of locking. -A couple of favorite stories. About being real and present with yourself she said several times that I remember, "you know that feeling when your shoulders are behind your hips and you feel in back of yourself, or when your calf muscles cramp in releve? Well, YOU ARE, and THEY ARE!!! So, just fix it, change your alignment, send energy THROUGH the muscle, -now, -TODAY, don't tell yourself you'll do it tomorrow! Sorry so wordy, but this next one always made me laugh and said a lot about how Maggie really cared for us and didn't take herself too seriously. So, one Saturday I was in class with the real ballet dancers and a big tall guy from ABT was taking the barre with us. She clapped her hands to stop the exercise as she often did, came right up to the guy towering over her and emphatically said to him maybe even with her index finger pointing, something like, "how many times have I told you, get your butt UP on your legs, DAMN IT!!! He kind of nodded acceptingly and as I remember flinching a little upward away from her. She turned and stalked about 3 steps away from him and burst out laughing, I assumed as she just pictured the scene in her head, -the whole class roared whit her. She really seamed to care about her students, even minor one's like me, you felt that. I am now a physical therapist and I use/tell the first story, and another that involved me personally, several times every year(now 20 years). She was my very best teacher of anything, ever and I still love her for it. BY THE WAY, does anyone have a recording or two of her barre's that that they would share? I have lost mine a number of years ago and would still use it as best I could to keep my wife and I strong.
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