Why is it so hard to be musical???

Auror's Wedding Variation.

Why, in the name of all that's holy, is it so hard to be on the music???

I have many pet peeves about many variations, but I think this one pisses me off more than any other. The music!!! It's so beautiful, and not complicated, so why are SOOOOOO many dancers off the music, and why does it seem SOOOOO many teachers just ignore musicality????

Let's take three places in the variation.

First, the sissones. OMG, this infuriates me. Try this: Plié 1, sissone 2-3-4, soussus on "and", repeat. IT'S SO SIMPLE!!! I'll pat myself on the back here, and say that one of the painfully few times I've seen it done consistently, is when I coached it. I'm talking students and pros. It's insane that I seem to be the only one that can figure this out. Yes, you can do, sissone 1-2-3, soussus 4. In fact, there are a few ways to do it, but DO IT ON THE *^%'+",€< MUSIC!!!

Next, the steps going back to the corner with the little pas de cheval (which comes right after the sissones). 1-2-3-4-5, sountenou, 1-2-3-4-5 pas de bourrée (or a few steps en pointe) 2 6's. SIMPLE! Accent out, both times, otherwise it looks wrong.

When you do something twice in a variation, it must either be the exact same way, or right and left, or the second time is bigger/better/more. You can't do it two different ways because it looks like you blew it. If you do something three times, you can do each one slightly differently, making the move progressively harder/bigger/more/faster.

Third pet peeve section, the pas de cheval plié-piqué. The plié is on the odd notes, the piqué on the evens, and DO NOT IGNORE THE CHANGE IN THE MUSIC! On the second 8, there are high notes that tell you to do something different, like piqués with a half turn and different arms, and a pas de bourrée to finish the phrase. Then you repeat with THE SAME MUSICALITY!!

Dammit, this makes me mad.

See you in class.