Our first few days

Three days after arriving, our bodies have all adjusted to the time change. After a good night's rest, we woke up early and were met by Renata Sabongui, who has been coordinating the exchange between Tisch and AMU. She walked us across the Charles Bridge, one of the most well-known sights in Prague. It was built by King Charles IV in 1357, and connects the Prague Castle area to the Old Town. Along the bridge are 30-odd baroque-style statues that dominate. They are mostly religious figures, and if not religious, at least mythically historical. My personal favorite is the statue of St. John of Nepomuk, a controversial confessor of the queen of Bohemia who was drowned at the orders of Wenceslaus IV. The peasants who pulled his body out of the river apparently knew him to be someone special when they saw seven stars around his head. As Renata said, "It's strange. They through him off the bridge, and now people on the bridge touch him for good luck." Well said.

We all agree that the walk in the mornings is far superior with many fewer people and no merchants selling kitch (or is that avant-garde?). Every morning for the next two weeks, we'll get to walk over the bridge at least twice a day. Due the end of the year examinations, we'll only be able to take classes at the Academy (AMU) for the next two weeks. The program at AMU is focused on choreography and pedagogy, and the students receive a degree in one or the other. A few of our classes have been taught by professors, but most of them have been taught by the students in preparation for their teaching exam class. These classes have been challenging, on the whole.

We had a contemporary class taught by a woman named Adela. She performs in musicals in Prague, and though she's getting a degree in pedagogy, we all think she should go on to create work. Her movement style is flowing, with a Limon-like sense of catch and release. We learned a small section of a solo she'd choreographed, which had a lot of floor work but moved quite a lot. She taught almost exclusively in Czech, and I was forced to watch her body intently to pick up the movement. It was only after class that I realized I hadn't needed to rely on verbal language to understand what she was communicating. I found that I didn't become frusturated with myself when I couldn't exactly replicate her movement. Maybe I should try plugging my ears when I take class at home!

After our brief stint at the Academy, we'll be taking all of our classes at the National Ballet Conservatory. The name says it all. It is a conservatory and focused exclusively on ballet training. Students there range from ages 10-18 and many who graduate go on to join ballet companies in Central Europe and around the world. Today I had my first experience at the Conservatory. I took Men's Technique class (at 8am!) and despite my nerves, felt relatively comfortable. The teacher was a very manly, very strict-looking former dancer. The students are preparing for their end of term examinations also, and so the boys knew all of the combinations already. Two of the older boys spoke English and helped me learn the combinations, which were challenging and endurance building.

Christine and Erika were not so fortunate. Kindly, their teacher encouraged them to sit down instead of trying to learn the combinations on the go. Thankfully, the two examination periods will coincide, and when we finish at the Academy, the new term at the Conservatory will begin. Next, more on our adventures in Prague!