During my time in Paris, I took several ballet classes in Marais Dance center. The word ballet is originated from France and all of the technical ballet terms are in French. It is really interesting to take a ballet class in another country, where don’t even understand the language. However, I was really amazed that I could understand the French ballet class and one of the dance teacher thought I could understand French. It could be related to the language processing in brain, which associate specific French terms with physical ballet movements. The French teaching of ballet is definitely different from the American way of teaching. Sometimes, I found myself to have longer reaction time when trying to dance certain combinations. Maybe some of my neuronal pathways of familiar combinations are already enhanced. Therefore, it will certainly take me longer to learn new combinations and strengthen some new synapses.
The Ballet Classroom