The Classical Girl

Yuja Wang, Wittgenstein and Ravel’s curious Piano Concerto for the Left Hand

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  I suppose it’s not all that curious. If you are a concert pianist and your right arm is a casualty in World War I, afterwards you have two options. One: give up your music career and calling, do something inferior and cry into your soup for the rest of your life. Two: tell yourself, “All … Read more

World Ballet Day 2018

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What a day World Ballet Day was! Did you miss it? Fret not! Archived footage links are below. And to help the celebration continue, enjoy Off Balance  for FREE all week long! The award-winning Outside the Limelight is $2.99 and the brand new, just-released A Dancer’s Guide to Africa is only 99 cents today (tomorrow it will revert to its regular … Read more

Khachaturian’s Sizzling Piano Concerto

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Nothing in the classical music repertoire says “summertime” more to me than Aram Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto. I discovered this Soviet era gem three summers ago and my first thought, (after “WOW!”) was, How did this elude me up to now? Blame it on the fact that it’s rarely performed in concert halls these days. But … Read more

Sibling rivalry – when your sister’s a ballet dancer too

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The story is as familiar as it is painful to many a dancer. A promotion or a lead role, just within reach, is irrevocably lost, given to another dancer. Someone you admire and respect, someone you might have toiled and danced alongside for years. Now you’re hurting, and all you want to do is go … Read more

And the winners are…

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Thank you to all of you who entered my giveaway drawing for Amazon gift cards and advance reader copies of A DANCER’S GUIDE TO AFRICA. I’m happy to announce the following: First prize A  $25 gift card from Amazon and a print copy of A DANCER’S GUIDE TO AFRICA, goes to… Andra! Runners up A … Read more