Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
Musings of a former ballet dancer who’s returned, years later, to the studio as a student.
Night three of Nutcracker performances when I danced Sugar Plum Fairy, back in the day. Ow. Must confess to more than one bout of crying and “I’m not sure I can go up on pointe – it hurts too much!” rant. But of course I did. With a smile. Oh, my. I do not miss … Read more
Watching “Within the Golden Hour, ” the second ballet of the San Francisco Ballet’s Program 4 was, to me, as satisfying as it gets. “I may as well go home now,” I joked afterward, amid the applause, to the woman next to me. “It can’t get better than this.” But, surprise. The third ballet was another … Read more
The corps de ballet dancers of the San Francisco Ballet are so darned good, with their clean lines, lyricism and strength, that sometimes it seems unfair to assign them that lesser title, corps de ballet, particularly as artistic director Helgi Tomasson often uses them in soloist and even lead role capacities. All the more power … Read more
San Francisco Ballet has this nifty little subscription package option wherein I go up to the city for the weekend and attend two performances, one on Saturday night, the other on Sunday afternoon. In the past, I’ve tacked a visit to the ballet on to my more frequent symphony jaunts, making it a stay-in-the-city weekend. … Read more
It shouldn’t matter but it does. In my 40’s my hair thinned and split and didn’t regrow so plentifully. Vitamins, special shampoos and conditioners, special creams have yielded few changes. Genetics speaks louder, in the end. So. Each year the hair gets shorter, shorter, thinner. This last cut, I couldn’t even pretend to corral my … Read more