March 28, 2004
Ballet
Skimming along the top of sleep at 4:30 AM, decided to get up and blog.
Ballet last night. Again? Yes. The company is saving money by mounting a "small production" between two weeks of larger productions. A potato chip sandwich for subscribers, in my estimation. (As in, too much of a good thing, too close together.)
I was a lovely evening, though: a Mark Morris, with floppy costumes that badly distorted the line of the dancers; a Balanchine, precise and yummy. Finnish choreographer, Jorma Elo premiered an extraordinary piece called "Plan to B". Dancers did things in this dance, that I have never seen before. Most remarkable was this position achieved by two balladondos. Imagine two archangels in tights leaping up to the position of lying head to head, on their sides, up in the clouds, looking down. Now, take away the clouds, and have the guys, holding that postion, point their toes and flutter their feet continuously for thirty seconds, then land with a bounce. That's what they did. Impressive. There were also some body jokes; the lasso gesture, the slow motion run by the ballerina carried aloft across the stage by a balladondo, and some corn on the cob nibbling of arm.
You will be pleased to know my neck snapped but once, and my lips, not at all , as I remained conscious for almost the entire performance. I am convinced that the sugar in the Mike and Ike's (that I had not the discipline to refuse, when they were offered to me), caused the severe sweats of the last performance . The sweats began again after my tenth Mike N' Ike this evening, and, feeling the discomfort, I was able to stop putting them in my mouth. Ah..h..h, a signal that worked. Be careful what you wish for.
Photo note: This is a piece of a New York City Bouquet, Bird of Paradise (I do so love a website with dramatic sound) against a black, mirrored wall in the hotel lobby, at night. It's as close as I could get to ballet, since it is forbidden to take pictures in the auditorium during a performance. The flash might distract the dancers. This is always part of the "turn off your beepers" announcement.
Posted by Dakota at March 28, 2004 05:55 AM