TutuMaker

Yes, Ms. Cojacaru was in every performance in O.C.

I will continue with my mantra...West Coast, West Coast, West Coast...

Suzanne Farrell Ballet Performance Noticed this today while making plans to visit D.C. in the near future. Not only Balanchine but Bejart too!

Thank you rkoretzky for such a heartfelt post. Your descriptions made me cry!

I was so saddened to read this news. Not only is Mr. Fayette a wonderful dancer, but a true genleman. I was blessed to have met him and his dear wife a number of years ago, and was impressed by what down to earth people they both are. I am sure he will do a wonderful job as the New York Area Dance Executive for AGMA.

I loved this book! I frequently found my self laughing out loud. My kids always wanted to know what was so funny. Unlike the other posters here, I had a difficult time putting it down. I loved the characters and especially how the female members reacted to the male member of the book club. vagansmom---did you ever read it? What were your thoughts?

What about Allegra Kent? She didn't dance as frequently, sometimes only once a year, but she did perform for a long time. Maybe her longevity is due to the fact that she did not perform more often. It is indeed painful for me to watch a dancer when they are obviously in pain!

Mashinka, Take a look at the sister board "BalletTalk for Dancers." On that board is an entire forum strictly about pointe shoes. There are many requests every day from dancers and parents asking for assistance in the quest for the "perfect" shoe. Feet come in a variety of shapes, structure and strength; just as the rest of the human body. Pointe shoes also come in a variety of shapes, structure and strength. Some dancers feet are amenable to many different shoes, others search for years and end up "making do;" choosing the shoe with the fewest negatives. In my daughter's experience, she was only able to wear Grishkos (stronger boxes), when she developed enough strength in her feet to handle them. Additionally, different shoes are used for different styles of ballet. My daughter will only wear Grishkos when taking class from a Russian instructor; and she will only wear Freeds when taking class from Ms. Farrell. For any other instuctors, she will wear what ever shoes she has sewn that aren't "dead." That said, if she is going to wear Griskos, she takes them outside and bangs a portion of the box against the cement to soften it so it won't be noisy. When she dances in her "banged" Grishkos they are just as quiet as her Freeds!

Here is the current listing for the same auction. The listing company has raised the starting bid by $5000 and added a "buy it now" option. Current Listing of Auction It is an interesring proposition. The article states that the same company has sold a marching band, twice

I read Lukayev's thread about the transformation of Odile's tutu over the years, and I was curious if anyone here knew of similar transformations in the costumes for Paquita. One of the most exquisite tutus I've seen is the gold wedding tutu designed by Luisa Spinatelli for POB. Are there any other designs that are extraordiarily different or breathtaking? If so I am very interested in hearing about them!

I still have my tickets from Ms. Farrell's cancelled west coast tour for 2004. (My purchase price was refunded, but I kept the tickets for sentimental reasons.) I would love to see her company perform, but it is barely feasible to send my daughter to D.C. one time for Ms Farrell's August classes, going twice to the east coast would leave me in the poor house! I would be very interested if a west coast tour is possibly in the works, maybe for 2006? Hope springs eternal!

carbro, I too struggled with this book at first, but I read it all the way through and liked it. I would not say it is one of the best books I've read, but I did enjoy it. Keeping the characters straight gets easier as you go through. I will say I probably would have put it down, but I was on doctor's ordered bed rest for 8 weeks (in and out of the hospital, mostly in) and I had read all of my other reading material at hand. I only continued because I HAVE to read. In the end I am glad I finished the book, but I don't think I will read any more books by Marquez.

Vagansmom, Yes and no. To a certain extent, I think Nafisi did change the way she explored James and Austen, but I think that also has to do with the content of those authors books. Don't get me wrong I too love Austen, but Austen's novels seem somewhat frivolous when one is living in a society where one can be executed for showing to much skin. Nabokov is much grittier and Lolita's experiences are closer to what the women in Iran were living. It would seem to me they would have a better handle on torture of the mind and body than the niceties of tea parties. I also don't think the men in her classes would even consider important what a woman author had to say, especially when making comments about men, as Jane Austen does. I too, want to hear what her husband has to say. I want to know if they are even still married, if he is still in the U.S. I would also like to hear from her children. Do they remember the bombings? Too bad books aren't interactive, so you can get all the questions you have answered, but then I wouldn't stay up nights pondering these same questions and how they relate to me and my life. On thThis book is far deeper than it seems at first glance. Even months after reading it I still think about the authors words and her reactions to events and people in her world. It seemed so dangerous to have the ongoing liasion with her "magic" friend. I kept wanting to ask her, why? I hope she writes a sequel, or at least an update on her own family in additon to the women in her reading group. But if wishes were horses.....

:yes: Oh yea! Somebody else loves this book! My take on the parts that frustrate you, vagansmom, is that she many times was unclear in her own mind how she felt. I believe she was very torn about being an Iranian, and proud of that fact, but very much disliking what was going on in her country. I also read between the lines that, she was very unhappy, and her unhappiness could be attributed in part with disagreements with her husband about living in Iran. In addition to protecting those still living in Iran, I believe she was protecting her own marriage. That is my take on it anyway.

Yes, BW! Ooops!

Unless is next on my list of books to read. I am going to look at it in more of a self-centered way, how my life and transitions effect my mom. In the past year my father died, and I have filed for divorce of my husband of 14 years. My mom has never been so supportive in my life, even when I was going through the acceptable transitions, college, career, marriage, children etc. I believe she knew my marriage was very unhealthy, but did not want to say anything to alienate me from my spouse. The older I get, now approaching 50 rather rapidly, the more my mother has given me emotional support. Hopefully this book will help me examine my mother's feelings, so I can be ready for my own emotional roller coaster with my own two daughters.

Somewhat off topic but...what about movies? I can only recall one movie that I walked out of, but several more I wished I had---Master of Disguise comes quickly to mind, of course my daughter loved it!

My favorite book thus far this winter has been Reading Lolita in Tehran. :yes: It took me a long time to read because I needed to put it down every so often and completely digest what I had read! It is non-fiction written by an Iranian woman, educated in the United States, who now lives here again. She is a professor in literature and is very insightful, not only about literature, but also the issues of the way women are treated and viewed and how they view themselves in Iran. As for southern writers, one of my favorites is Pat Conroy!

I have recently read The Eyre Affair and Lost in a Good Book. Since I am in the middle of a divorce, I thought I should read Revenge of the Middle Aged Woman. I greatly enjoyed all three, and my 14 year old daughter wanted to read Revenge. We have never discussed the reasons for the divorce, but since she wasnts to read this book, I get the impression that she knows why! Next I am going to read two of the latest in the Sharpe's Rifles Series. Has anyone ever read those? I saw an episode on Masterpiece Theater many years ago and got hooked. All these books are quick, mostly mindless reads, which is just what I need right now! :rolleyes:

:yes: Thank you for the wonderful review! I have been tempted to read this book, but wanted to hear a review from someone other than a critic. I am now more than temped to get this book, but alas it will have to go into the "stack to be read," which numbers about 20 at this time.

Hi, Actually the instructor at UCI is named David Allan not Allen, is this who you mean? And that Mr. Allan was born in the U.S., in Boston I believe, and danced with the National Ballet of Canada.

I thought the first part of the article was contradictory; first the author states that no one who knew Ms. Kistler would ever think she would become a professional dancer, and then further down in the article Ms. Kistler states that she knew when she was 8 that dancing was very important to her. Aside from that one criticism, I thought the article was good. It showed what a true professional Ms. Kistler is! She has only good things to say about everyone. I think that was the most important thing I got out of the interview.

I've read the Secret Life of Bees, Bel Canto, Harry Potter #5, and am now in the middle of the book that I can't name. I really enjoyed The Secret Life of Bees and highly recommend it. Bel Canto was OK, a very quick read, but the plot did not hold any surprises for me. I thought that this Harry Potter was not as well written as her others although I may just be jaded. I also read a book by Dave Gunderson (I think), I did not enjoy it as much as the first book of his I read, Snow Falls on Cedars(?).