Personal Narrative: My Ballet As A Dance Technique

As a child I've always loved ballet from afar; there was just a grace about ballerinas that I too wanted to have. It took me a while to understand that dancing makes me feel amazing. Dancing would prove to be my pinnacle form of expression and the ultimate way to embrace freedom with all of me. Thus, taking this ballet class seemed like the smartest way to pleasantly incorporate dance into my busy economics ruled schedule. I thought I would be nervous on the first day, but I would find myself excited and eager.
Ballet is very different in technique compared to salsa and hip-hop, but I have a generic appreciation for any form of dance technique. Furthermore, it has been great learning pique, tendu, releve and even chasse temps leve which is a tough step for me. Yet, some moves just seemed to come naturally.
I found that cou-de-pied was a little easier for me than most steps. Cou-de-pied meaning

"neck of the foot" begins in 5th position followed by a demi-plie, where you must fully straighten your legs making sure to keep the thighs engaged before cou-de-pied starts. You then soften the ankle and bring your leg up making sure to maintain the heel of the foot in the front of your ankle. As your leg rises slowly, you let your toes wrap around your ankle as much as possible. You have to use you core and breathing to maintain balance, alongside maintaining energy in every direction. I like that cou-de-pied requires you to take your time to perfect the technique as opposed to just hitting your mark. Some moves, on the other hand, aren't as easy to complete.
I often struggle with is croise devant and croise derriere specifically because I don't always think what move comes ahead and the technique necessary to complete the move.

With both moves, I always forget to use the opposite arm for the corresponding foot. For example, in croise devant you're supposed to tendu with the right leg and raise your left arm in the air, but I always happen to raise my right arm instead. I'm even worse when I do croise devant with the left leg in tendu. Either way, I've been practicing so I'm hoping such efforts will show when it comes exam time. Like salsa, hip-hop, and economics, the only way to get better is to diligently practice technique and execution.
In conclusion, I'm not surprised that taking this class has awakened a need in me to continue dancing ballet just for my own personal use. I'm thankful that I've had the opportunity to dance ballet as well because I was a little worried about my weight being a problem. Despite such I feel a strengthening in my core, my calves, and arms, and most importantly my need to continue

dancing.