Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
The Classical Girl You don’t take a trip to an unknown place, hoping to stay in some rat-trap motel that will be “an adventure,” but oddly enough, it was that attitude that cured me of my yearnings for The Perfect Trip. Ever since I was a teen, I’d chased this impossible dream. It started one night during a … Read more
Summer is the time for travel, even if it’s just armchair travel. And how’s this for a bargain: A DANCER’S GUIDE TO AFRICA is available through the summer for only 99 cents! Just click HERE. And, okay, so, yeah. I lived in Africa for two years, but, honest, this isn’t an autobiographical work. Although the … Read more
There is something about going to the symphony in the summer that makes it feel like such a different experience from its wintertime counterpart. How strange to enter Davies Symphony Hall while it’s still light outside. Inside, you stand at any of the building’s floor-to-ceiling windows—in truth, one entire side of the building is almost … Read more
The long-held dream has finally actualized, and you now own your first pair of pointe shoes. At last! The thrill of calling those expensive, pink/peach, satiny, torpedo-shaped shoes your own. The pride. The satisfaction. The—yikes!—pain. Yup. The pain. Why? you might be crying, even after weeks into the ordeal. Even after having done all the … Read more
Nocturne: (noun) In music, a composition inspired by, or evocative of, the night, and cultivated in the 19th century primarily as a character piece for piano. Falling in love with French composer Gabriel Fauré’s Nocturne No. 4 wasn’t one of those thunderclap experiences. It crept up on me, gradually. I’d been listening to this Fauré Nocturne CD … Read more