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Justdoit

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Everything posted by Justdoit

  1. I am in complete agreement with Diane as she mirrored my thinking exactly!
  2. I hope that someone from MCB will answer more directly what the show was like last year, as I did not attend. I can give you some particulars, as we have a dancer with this company. "Our Show" was a fundraising idea for the ballet developed by the dancers themselves. All proceeds go directly to MCB, though, the dancers are paid their regular salaries for time spent in rehearsals and performances. Last year was the first year for the project and it was very successful. All performances were held at the MCB studios since they have a bleacher seating area in their very large main studio which seats approximately 200. Some of the choreography is original, giving many MCB dancers (or their dancer/choreographer friends) the opportunity to choreograph pieces for themselves or others in the company to perform. From reports these pieces were well worth seeing. Also on the program are excerpts from a variety of ballets, Swan Lake; Union Jack; Stars & Stripes, etc., which some of the dancers have selected and prepared specifically for these performances. According to the reports I received, there was so much planned, that two programs had to be developed which were presented over two weekends, 8 performances.
  3. I have been waiting to hear. Does anyone know about where Tara Hench is going or has gone?
  4. I've definitely been a fan since he and his brother and father were the act, "Hines, Hines And Dad." I've long admired his smooth dancing style, similiar to Astaire's. He was a first-rate actor as well. His movie "White Nights," was memorable to me for both the dancing and the acting. I learned to tap as an adult, partially inspired by him. He will be long remembered and missed.
  5. I don't know about this. Here are just some thoughts to ponder, no answers. I remember an interview with the late George Harrison where he stated that his parents only allowed opera and classical music in their home. Their thinking? The popular music would be taken care of by friends and the media. And, look what George grew up to be. As a preschool teacher, I feel obligated to extend the art experiences of my students each year. While also providing something for everyones tastes, as well. As part of this effort, we listen to a vast variety of music each day while we work in class. Classical and opera head the list, but musicals, country, pop and music from around the globe balance it off, in greater moderation. Even with this, I have children each year that come in already with musical tastes--nature/nurture? Who knows. I've had 3 year olds arrive loving Italian opera--and their parents have no idea where the interest came from. I've had 4 year olds knowing all the words from several musicals. It is often because of these children that their parents go to the theater for the first time. Not the other way around. As parents of dancers, how many of us have been brought into this because our children led us here? Many, I believe. The arts are languages unto themselves. To the child or person who understands the unique language each art form speaks, it is at the point of discovery that the communication begins and a journey ensues. Now who or what helps to establish the discovery point is not so important. What is important is that adults often fail to recognize the early interest or accept that such young children could have seemingly more sophisticated interests in addition to Powder-Puff Girls and Pokemon. I think if we all think back as far as we can remember, we will find inklings to our artistic interests (for others, non-interest), in our childhood memories. Could it be that it all starts at conception with the gene pool even determining the audiences of the future? Too simplistic, perhaps, but as I said, no answers just some personal observations and thoughts.
  6. This is why I come to BA--to continue my education! Worldwide experiences to draw from each day. Anyway, I remember growing up in Chicago only being aware of the national companies, Joffrey and ABT, due to the fact that they toured through "our town" each year. Though I had heard of Balanchine and SFB and Suzanne Farrell, etc., I hadn't quite made the connections and it all didn't pertain to me anyway. Who is this NYCB anyway--never saw them! Of course, I was too young to take myself to Ravinia back then. I found out differently when we moved to the east coast and that question was finally answered. Evenso, I very much remember the first ballet I attended at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago. It was a Joffrey mixed bill which included, "The Green Table." I still remember thinking, "this is ballet?" and, liked it immensely.
  7. Opps, sorry, I see my earlier post was posted in this forum instead of the forum about childhood/teen reading experiences. I was planning to post in both this and the other forum and obviously got confused where I was. Hey, it was late! Please, move my previous post to the appropriate forum. Sorry, again. As for my summer reading, I ordered the biography of "Karen Kain, Movement Never Lies." This after reading a brief thread on BA. I had never heard of her and am finding it a good read. Also reading "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser, "Stupid White Men" by Michael Moore and my usual, at least one summer retreat book, to rejuvenate me for the next school year, "Understanding the Human Being" by Silvana Quattrocchi Montanaro.
  8. My brother and I were and still are insatiable readers. I remember when we were between the ages of 8 - 13 and summer would arrive. With our parents working each day, we were both totally happy holed-up in our rooms for hours at a time reading. Because we were only able to take 2 books out of the library (a bookmobile) each week, we had to buy books in great numbers to meet the demand. To this day among some of my favorite things to do is browse bookstores and purchase books. I remember when I got hooked on Nancy Drew and he was a Tom Swift/Hardy Boys fan. Every Friday, when our mother went to grocery store for the weeks groceries, we couldn't wait. Next door to the market was a small book store and each week we saved our allowance money ($1) to purchase another book in our respective series. Thanks to this thread, I was reminded of the first novel, (Rebecca) I read as a 10 or 11 year old. Of course, Louisa May Alcott fit in their somewhere too. Not too long after that, I remember getting hooked on books which would have excerpts printed monthly in Ladies Home Journel. It was there that I read the "Six Wives of Henry the Eighth." This led to my seeking out and reading a multitude of biographies and autobiographies. One of my favorites is the 4 or 5 volume set by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Told exclusively through personal diary entries and letters, it is a uniquely personal and, at the same time, historical account of her life and times. Poetry has always interested me too, with Carl Sandburg, Emily Dickinson and Shel Silverstein (I like his illustrations, too)being some of my favorites. Today, I rarely ever seem to want to read fiction and find myself still drawn to non-fiction reading of all types. I do, however, have a wonderful memory of reading Anne of Green Gables to my daughter when she was 9. Having never been interested in the Anne series when I was younger, I remember my daughter and I reading many of Mauve Montgomery's passages over and over again--as the images she created with words were pure prose. I realized then all the wonderful writing I had missed, but was still there waiting to be discovered. Thanks for this thread. I've really enjoyed reading everyone's accounts of their early reading experiences.
  9. Justdoit

    CPYB alumni

    Don't forget Darla Hoover, now Associate Artisitic Director of CPYB under Marcia. She was with NYCB for many years.
  10. Thanks, after5, I've been wondering about this ballet. MCB will perform the Fox Trot act at the NJPAC in Newark next week. Looking forward to seeing it now, after reading your review.
  11. I didn't know anything like this existed. It certainly didn't when my daughter began dancing in 1986 at age 5. When she became a serious ballet student around 1995 it would have been great to have a forum like this to swap info and offer support for all those questions that come up regarding SIs, injuries, styles, and just in general learning about what others in the same position are doing around the world! A good friend and, of course, a former ballet mom, like me, turned me onto the site. Since joining about 8 months ago, I have really enjoyed reading the multitude of topics and the wonderful variety of posts. Every once in awhile I find a topic I know something about and feel compelled to post. Other times I can get absolutely lost in a topic which is so intelligently disected I find myself compelled to reread it many times. I love the daily links!!! It was actually through this thread that I finally decided to subscribe to the two publications. Thank you BA for keeping us all in "the loop."
  12. Let us not forget that many children brought to the ballet today are the dancers or audience members of tomorrow. I agree that there is an unwritten ettiquette which we all have to learn in order to be a member of the audience, and this includes children. I, too have gone to the theater with young children hoping for a glorious afternoon together and had to leave when it turned into something else. I have also left grocery carts full of groceries at the store when my children did not heed my warning about behavior expectations. I had to follow through, but secretly hoped the cart would still be there when I returned hours later to finish shopping -- it never was. I have to say, and I think many of you would agree, I have experienced more well-behaved than ill-behaved children, of all ages, in the theater. It's that old squeaky-wheel thing, you know. In fact, the whispered comments of children, which I have overheard, during performances has actually added to my appreciation of a performance with the addition of the child's perspective. Some of these comments are embedded in my memory, even years later. Like the one 3 year-old who towards the end of a Nut, Act 1, turned to his mother and asked, "Why don't they talk?" Mom answered, "they are talking, but they're talking with their bodies." Or, the 4 year-old who turned to her mother while watching Snow corps and with great concern asked, "Where are their mommys?" Her mother replied, "their mothers are probably sitting in this audience watching them dance, just like we are watching them dance." Both of the children continued to ask questions during the performances. I never felt this detracted from the performance. Instead, I was particularly glad the children were there having the experience. Certainly boorish people come in all sizes and ages. Just as they are being removed from airplanes before they even leave the gate today, so should the boorish be removed from the theater, if they lack the common sense or audience ettiquette to know when to do it themselves.
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