New Orleans, Gulf Coast friends

[Natalia]

I wasn't quite sure where to put this. Administrators - feel free to cut-and-paste it into a more appropriate forum, if such exists.

JUST THINKING about our fellow members in the "ballet community" whose home &/or businesses may be affected by Hurricane Katrina. I hope that everyone in the New Orleans community & elsewhere, along the Gulf of Mexico (LA, ALA, MISS) is OK.

One 'old friend' comes to mind - Olga Guardia de Smoak, whose lovely home is in New Orleans. If anyone knows of her whereabouts & situation, please drop me a line (a PM will do). Olga is a huge supporter of the Jackson IBC and other festivals/competitions, worldwide. She was at the recent Royal Danish Ballet Bournonville Festival. I don't have her private e-mail address or would do so myself.

Speaking of Jackson...Katrina is headed their way, too. Here's wishing that Jackson, Mississippi, not suffer too much damage. The next IBC is less than a year away.

Natalia

[Pamela Moberg]

Having seen on Swedish TV the incredible weather in South East US, I do hope that all BA posters (others of course too) are OK. Bart, you are from there, arent you? Everything OK?

Indeed, I have great sympathies - last beginning of January we had a hurricane here. I was not badly hit, amongst other trees, I had one pear tree - rather big one - totally uprooted like a giant hand had done it, or the way you pull out a weed by the roots. Very scary indeed. The forces of nature...

Still, I do wish you luck and hope that all are fine and property undamaged.

[Renata]

Although it will probably be days before power is restored and our friends in this devastating storm area can let us know how they are, we are thinking of you. Our hearts are with you.

Renata

[Mel Johnson]

I'd give it three days, starting today, for recovery teams to get the communications nets back into some kind of working order. Then the utilities will get worked on, but it will take quite some time for electrical power, say, to be back to near-functional order. Also, the evacuees have been warned, "Stay away" by authorities in order to give recovery a chance to work.

[Gina Ness]

I keep thinking of all the art and culture that has been devastated in this disaster of epic proportions. New Orleans is a hub of art, culture, music...I am thinking of my former colleague and incredibly wonderful dancer and ballet master Kirk Peterson...he hails from New Orleans...my thoughts and prayers are with the families of this stricken city. My dear neighbor's parents and siblings live in the city...This tragedy affects all of us, no matter where we live...

[Paul Parish]

My mother was from New orleans, and I've still got lots of family down there -- some of whom we haven't heard from yet.

I can still see, like it was yesterday, joseph Giacobbe's ballet company (Delta Festival Ballet) performing outdoors at Simonne Stern's garden party at the edge of Metairie, by a canal. This was thirty years ago, they had a very good boy, Jerel Hilding (sp?) who went on to be a star in the Joffrey, years later I saw him dance Billy the kid in San Francisco really well.

The names most on my mind are the Giacobbes and Harvey Hysell, who also had a good school.... I think Grace Madduell was a student of Hysell's, Gina.

......

Thanks, Gina -- I loved the way Grace danced. She must have overlapped with you at SFB, huh? She seemed a truly nice person, as well, though I never knew her except to say hello.....

Edited September 4, 2005 by Paul Parish

[Gina Ness]

Hi Paul...I will say a special prayer for you and your family tonight. I know Grace! I haven't seen her for years...Lovely dancer...I will say a prayer for her tonight, as well... Much love, Gina