Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
The Classical Girl Earlier in the month, the first bit of news reached my ears: principal dancers Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg were leaving the Royal Ballet at the end of the season. Noooo! I am such a huge fan of this couple, partners onstage and off, even though living in California, I harbor little chance of seeing … Read more
Remember the movie Snakes on a Plane? Yeah, me neither. But let’s call this Strings on a Plane. It’s a warm afternoon in Beijing and a plane full of people are buckled in, awaiting departure that the crew can’t seem to get permission for. The plane has been grounded on the tarmac for not one, not two, … Read more
Friday night, just before 6:00pm, I was driving my son to the middle school he will be graduating from in a matter of days. Eighth grade dance night. He’s developing that closeness with his classmates, male and female alike, that I remember doing at the end of my own eighth grade year. In some ways, … Read more
A pas de chat, for those of my readers who aren’t dance people, is a ballet term that translates as “step of the cat.” It’s a subtle little leap under yourself, one foot up, the other instantly following. You come down, maybe six-to-twelve inches away, landing in the same soft, one-foot-then-the-other movement. Like a cat. … Read more
Dear parents of April Jones, I read the news today that Mark Bridger was found guilty of abducting and murdering your five-year-old daughter, April. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22687971 I read on and on, riveted and horrified that this atrocity could have happened. I saw the picture of your daughter, bent my head, and wept. Every parent throughout the world, upon … Read more