Day 3: Movement-- in my body and in the city

I woke up feeling like I danced well yesterday- ahh, bucket bruises on my bum and a little whiplash from La Zous. I think of that as meaning I worked hard. :)

Before rehearsal we went to a donation-based yoga class called Yoga To The People. We used a nifty trip planner called Hop Stop to find our way! Even though we had to re-plan our route and had a delay because of train construction, we arrived early, so we circled the block looking at the many open-air shops and tall buildings. That part of Manhattan is a much cuter part of the city, in my opinion. We buzzed into the second floor of our building. Over 50 people fit into the tiny room, and we did some nice stretches and poses for an hour. I especially liked the explanations and instruction. For example, I learned that we press our thumbs into the mat in poses like Downward Dog because it's the only finger that acts on the bicep!

After that class, we had an hour to get from Manhattan back to our Brooklyn rehearsal space by 4pm. Navigating this was where I finally figured out how to read the subway map I got my first day here. Now I've got it! We arrived just in time with a couple quick train switches, and rehearsal began with about a half hour of individual warm-up. It's a nice opportunity to continue what I've worked on in the morning and to give my body special attention where it needs it. Personally, I always tend to my back and hip flexors- and lately my quads and neck/shoulder area are wanting too, so I take advantage of that. ...Though yesterday's ballet warmup was wonderful too and I'd be glad to have that again soon! (Neta leads a great barre that blends in some nice modern stretches- and she sings the instructions, so it's that much more fun, lol.)

We spent most of today's rehearsal resetting the Michael Jackson piece to new music. I think having the Austin Powers theme song stuck in my head is worth it- the new version is great! I wasn't originally part of that piece, so I learned a section of it today as we reworked it, and it was fun! We also ran everything we did yesterday, and I continue to recall and relearn details. For the second day of rehearsals, I feel like we're pretty productive! The show is even more fun to be part of the second time around!

Back home, it's time to relax now :) Rehearsal starts much earlier tomorrow, at 10am!