RIP Violette Verdy
Last night I got the urge to see a clip of the ballet “Dances at a Gathering,” which is on the short list of my favorite ballets of all time. It was choreographed by the musical theater and dance genius … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Arts
Post-debate thoughts on the debate I mostly didn’t watch
I watched about one-third of this evening’s debate. After that I turned it on intermittently, but what I saw convinced me to finally call it quits, and to eat my (very late) dinner in blessed silence. Maybe this really wasn’t … Continue reading →
Dance teachers I have known: Stanley Holden, revisited
A while back I wrote a tribute to a ballet teacher of mine, Stanley Holden. A little recap is in order: One doesn’t ordinarily think of comedy in connection with ballet dancers, but Holden was a master of it, best … Continue reading →
You will not regret watching this
…An aged man is but a paltry thing, A tattered coat upon a stick, unless Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing For every tatter in its mortal dress… O sages standing in God’s holy fire As in … Continue reading →
The most extreme weight-loss TV show of all
It’s called “Fit to Fat to Fit,” and I happened across it by chance when channel-surfing the other evening. The show is scary, but I was riveted. It features a fitness trainer—a new one each week—who contracts to gain an … Continue reading →
RIP David Bowie
Most people seem to be reacting to the news of the death of David Bowie at 69 with shock. I had the same feeling, too. I think it was because he had just put out a new album to great … Continue reading →
I just found this extraordinary dancer: Evgenia Obraztsova
I haven’t really kept up with the Bolshoi and other Russian dancers during the last decade or so, but YouTube has allowed me to start remedying that condition. In the past, I’ve often talked about how the quality of balletic … Continue reading →
The Dying Swans
I’ve never much cared for the ballet “The Dying Swan.” It’s not really a ballet; more like a short vignette. It was choreographed by Mikhail Fokine near the turn of the century (19th-20th) as a vehicle for international star Anna … Continue reading →
Transformations: queen into swan
[NOTE: This is a repeat of a previous post. It highlights one of my favorites moments in the ballet repertory.] Ballet specializes in transformations. After all, it changes the human body from a lumbering earthbound thing into an ethereal yet … Continue reading →
And all through the house…
…a creature was stirring. Last night was Christmas Eve. I was expecting a visit from my son, who was flying in as a rare treat. I had tidied up, and was putting on the finishing touches while waiting for him … Continue reading →
Hansel and Gretel: losing their religion
[NOTE: This is a repeat of a previous post.] I love the opera “Hansel and Gretel,” by Engelbert Humperdinck (no, not that Humperdinck or this one; this one). His name may be a yuk, but the music he composed is … Continue reading →
Everything she says is a lie, including “and” and “the”
That Hillary Clinton might lie is no surprise at all, even to her supporters, who shrug it off or rationalize it. And on the topic of lies and the lying liars who tell them, there was mention in the comments … Continue reading →