Pointe Shoe Haiku

Young girl live for dance Teacher say “now pointe shoe time” Finally dream come true   Torture instrument Blame Marie Taglioni Romantic Era   Pink, peach, all hand-made Burlap, glue, many layers Bring lots of money   Freed, Gaynor Minden Feet on fire, toes squished and numb Soon blisters will form   Shoe hard like … Read more

My 100th Post! (Plus a Table of Contents)

Today I bid farewell to the double digits, as 99 posts shifts over to 100. An exciting moment for me – I think I need to celebrate the occasion with cake and champagne. Care to join me? But before that, care to join me in a look back on the last 100 posts? In fact, … Read more

The Classical Girl turns one year old!

  The Classical Girl was a concept I’d created on the eve of 2013, a New Year’s resolution of sorts. My ballet novels were long completed, out being shopped, and I missed researching and living inside the dance world far more than I’d anticipated. Further, I knew, as a writer, that it was good to … Read more

More Black Ivory Soul

Today The Classical Girl has once again put on her fiction writing cap. Now, if you read this August blog post of mine (https://www.theclassicalgirl.com/classical-girls-black-ivory-soul/), you’ll know what this is about. If you haven’t read that post, well, please go do that. Because that’s chapter one of A Dancer’s Guide to Africa, formerly titled Black Ivory Soul, my … Read more

Haunted by St. Saens’ Organ Symphony

Being haunted by music sounds like something I should be blogging about in late October, but with the sunlight growing autumnal, here in September, and nights growing longer, cooler, I think it will still work. And there’s no better way to describe the hold that Saint-Saens’ Symphony no. 3 has on me right now. Perhaps … Read more