Whiny Post

Hey,

I'm not sure whether or not I posted anything about this, but back in December I popped my knee out at a dance (I wasn't doing anything weird, I was just walking) and now, 5 months later, it still hasn't fully healed.

I've been exercising it regularly, walking and dancing and just generally bending it to try and regain strength. I've more or less alleviated the limp, there's still a little bit of limp present on a daily basis, but the weakness is enduring. This seriously bothers me because it hinders my ability to use my right hip properly when I'm belly dancing. I can't do a proper hip lift because the left knee won't twist the few millimetres I need it to in order to execute the move.

As much as I hate to admit it, I am crying a little bit right now because after 5 months with this it's not getting any better. I've been back dancing for about 4 months now, and it's still not working right. It's seriously frustrating. Especially since the talent show auditions are coming up on May 2nd-5th and I was really hoping to put out a stellar performance this year.

Before the accident I managed to nearly perfect a move that I'd worked really hard on coordinating myself to do, and now I look like a pirate with a peg leg trying to do it. Basically it's a pelvic tilt repeating while I walk forward. It was kind of difficult, I had to coordinate my feet with my tilts which is not as easy as it sounds. The move requires even balance on both legs while one is in the air, and now I can't do that. I need to figure out how to fix that portion of the choreography quickly either by figuring out how to get around the knee problem or by replacing the move with something else.

I've been practicing since the summer for this performance specifically and I can't express how heart broken I am that I can't do it to the best of my ability. I even had to switch the dominant side for the beginning because I can't do it right anymore. On the off chance that anyone reading this before my audition dates can help me in any way I would be eternally grateful. This is potentially my last chance at an actual belly dance performance ever, because it doesn't look like I'll have many chances to get involved with an actual community for belly dance in the near future. If that raises an obvious question: "If you're not in a belly dance community, how are you doing it?" I learned everything I know off of YouTube. I taught myself.

Thank you to anyone who bothered to read through this entire post of me whining about my problems I really appreciate it. Again, if you have any suggestions at all I would be very grateful.

On another note, Happy Easter!
~Alexandra