cubanmiamiboy

Ok....so I guess no NYC for me for a while. This is not the best time to return anyhow.... I'll wait.

It is very nice hearing back from you, dear Drew! I really hope to meet you again in the future, for the Mariinsky DC performances or in NYC once something really good comes up. Please...read the book. It goes really fast and has s very engaging structure. Be well, dear!

Confessing my total inability to "get" this. Same with the Trocks or any other related "funny" takes at ballet. Oh well.....

Its been a hell of a time. Horrible in so many ways to even attempt to recount it. But we all know all of it quite well I'm afraid. And I haven't seen any live ballet. Nobody has, or course. I can't stand online viewing. For anything, particularly for book reading, ballet performances or even films-(I'm a hardcore cinema fan, and even that has been greatly diminished lately). Anyhow...if there's any consolation to my lack of traveling and live performances viewing, it is that I reverted to literally eating books. Devouring them at light speed. And some ballet books have made it into my bookathon. "The Legat Legacy" is one of them. The book is comprised of Nikolai Gustavovitch Legat's own memoires translated for the first time from Russian to English in 1936 by Sir Paul Dukes, and here subsequently re edited by Mindy Aloff with the wonderful addition of the words of our own RG, Mr Robert Greskovic, which in his great Introduction gives us a masterly summarization of the life and immense influence on the art of teaching of the late ballet pedagogue, along with corrections on some mistakes from both the original Russian text and Dukes' translation. Legat's thinking is basically that of his immense respect and utterly admiration to his own teachers, Johannsen and Cecchetti, but particularly Johannsen, whom he considered the base and center of everything the world knows today as the Russian ballet school. Then there's also a wonderful account on Legat's own father-(a great dancer himself)- and a few, sad words on his prematurely departed brother...although he doesn't dwell on the issue of his suicide. We are given spicy, colorful descriptions of celebrated classmates. The famous/infamous ballerinas of the Imperial stage are all in there...with special warm words to two opposites: Kshessinskaya and Pavlova. the former one for her unparalleled technique-(only matched by her Italian rivals)- and mutual onstage empathy, and the second one for her uniqueness, warmth and purity in which she conducted their loved artform. Both of them cherished by Legat as true friends. Later on there are accounts from some of his most distinguished pupils, telling us about the uniqueness of his method. The way some of them refer to the mystique and mystery of his communication codes-(not understood by many, but like a wonderful Pandora's box wide open once someone was able to grasp it)- quite reminded me at how some Balanchine's alumni speak similarly about his classes. If anything...everyone seems to agree on the fact that his classes were not for everyone, but rather to perfect the finesse of the already accomplished dancer. Hence the name..."Class of Perfection", which he initiated in Petersburg and continued in London. I enjoyed tremendously the book. The words of those who "got" his teaching speak of an unmatched, witty class genius, and one that England didn't really know how to handle-(Dame deValois wasn't too kind of the man, although she admitted he was s genius). If you haven't read it...do so. Highly recommended.

Welcome back!!🥰💪

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Perhaps. Down here in Miami where is ultra competitive, the struggle is real.

I saw Vikharev's recon once. If I'm not mistaken I believe I remember seeing them.

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It is not a secret than certain chains of hospitals, like the one I work now, don't hire new grads. There are others than do...but not that many. Usually a nurse starts in a nursing home or home health setting to eventually jump to a hospital. With a couple of years on one's back, at least management can guess the nurse has been at least in one code blue. All this, of course, if you depend only on your resume...and you don't have someone who gets you in-( as it was my case many years ago). In other words, and to link this with the ballet discussion. I hope that, if a quota starts in SF ballet, that they somehow can pair said quota with real talent. Otherwise the whole thing will be a sad travesty.

Got a little lost here. Sorry, Helene.😆 Nursing is a black and white thing. Hospitals don't hire new grads. They don't want newbies in a code blue. So that's why I wonder if things are getting more....relaxed, now that there's pressure from all types of new diversity boards or diversity managers. As per ballet, well.... Swan Lake is not a code blue, and nobody's gonna die after seeing Misty and her 12 traveling fouettes. But hey....they definitely opened a whole Pandora's box.

And.... I'm both Latin and gay. And boy...would I hate if I would know that I'm part of that hiring quota and not because of my long nursing resume....🤨 But I guess I'll never know. How does the hiring part approaches that on your workplace...? After you tell the hired party that they are hired....do you tell them that they're part of a quota...?

I wonder if they would pull another Misty Copeland number. (And no...no need to get into a discussion about her....again. We all know all very well all the "in favor" or "against" theories that her controversial appointment as Principal generated) I am a nurse, and in my hospital there is a hiring quota for nurses. Certain amount of LGBT and certain amount of certain minorities are to be hired. I wonder if they can start doing that in ballet as well....

What a disgrace. Nothing was proved and still he was cancelled and vilified. And now he killed himself. This is horrid. Bring on the acussers. Publicly. Ask them to publicly prove their case. Yes. Publicly because the vilifying and destruction of their lives and careers was public. So if there's no prove, that needs to be seen in public too.

It's Sunday. Get out there to brunch. 😉