Carolyn Poston. |
Carolyn Poston grew up dancing. By the time she was in Junior
High, she was taking ballet, tap, modern dance and jazz. After
graduation, she headed to Pittsburgh’s Point Park College as
a dance major with a focus on jazz. Carolyn says she danced in productions,
taking jazz and ballet classes each day and other dance classes in
between. “But, ultimately, I decided that isn’t
what I wanted to do the rest of my life.”
Part of her training had included kinesiology, the study of movement.
“I was good at it and I was interested in it, too.”
It became an important topic when she changed the direction of her
life. After a couple of small accidents while she was still
in dance, she experienced a change in her mobility, “It wasn’t
serious, but I went to a physical therapist. He worked for an
hour and I could move again. I was intrigued. I thought it was amazing.”
Carolyn decided that was what she wanted to do. She changed
her major, changed schools, started over, joining the Charleston office
of HPT as a physical therapist right out of school.
“I loved it. But, I kept having dreams about practicing dance.”
She discovered the adult classes of the Charleston Ballet. Now she
performs and takes classes again. “Charleston Ballet has an
adult beginner class, so anyone who wants to take class can attend.
The benefit is developing strength and flexibility. And, it’s
a wonderful outlet.”
She says the ballet classes are technique classes. “Ballet
is traditional, it’s repetitive. There are certain things done
certain ways. Standing at the bar, one goes through a number
of movements in a particular order, starting with the traditional
ballerina’s stance, and the distinctive plies, slowly bending
of the knees. Then it’s on to the footwork, progressively moving,
stretching muscles. There are arm movements as well, that must
be coordinated with the head and upper body positions.”
“What makes ballet so different from a sport or exercise routine,”
Carolyn says, “is the expression and emotion that the dancer
adds. Like other sports, ballet develops flexibility, power, coordination
and strength. But, it also promotes an expressive ability. In
ballet, you build a vocabulary of movement. The dancer puts various
activities together, drawing from an infinite number of possibilities.”
The classes are ninety minutes. “The first half is at
the bar and the second, on the floor, where turning, jumping and leaping
are added after finding one’s center.” Carolyn says
the most common injury for dancers is at the ankle, “usually
from improper technique.”
This year, Carolyn danced in The Nutcracker with the Charleston Ballet,
a ballet she has performed since she was eight. She helps others
with flexibility and mobility as a therapist with HPT during her days.
And, she’s quit practicing ballet in her sleep, since her dreams
have quite literally come true. PL
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