The Classical Girl

Be my Lupercalia Valentine

by

So, a hunt for the origins of Valentine’s Day produces a variety of conflicting stories. Allow me to share my findings. Everyone seems to agree that centuries before Valentine was ever born, a festival called Lupercalia was celebrated annually. Back in the 700’s BC, Rome was but a shepherd settlement and hungry packs of wolves prowling … Read more

High Drama: Frank Almond and the Lipinski Strad

by

One doesn’t think of the career of a professional violinist as being fraught with peril and high drama, but on the night of January 27th,  violinist Frank Almond, concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and founder of the popular “Frankly Music” series, was leaving a chamber music performance in Wisconsin when a stranger approached him … Read more

Embracing the Dark

by

We are not having winter in California this year, although it’s very clear the rest of you are. In regards to that, we’re sorry. Really, we are. The high-pressure system locked into place over our state is pushing the weather north and east of us and dumping it all over you. This is not our … Read more

5 other things I learned from ballet

by

This week at The Ajennda (www.theajennda.com) , a dance-related blog run by Jenn Romano, I was invited to contribute to the site’s “What I Learned From Ballet” section. I wrote a ruminative little piece about discovering beauty, grace, within ballet, during my adolescent years in Kansas that seemed otherwise devoid of those things. I also … Read more

10 ways to eat like a ballet dancer

by

Celebrating World Ballet Day 2023 all month long! Enjoy A Dancer’s Guide to Africa for FREE by clicking HERE. Enjoy the first book of the Ballet Theatre Chronicles, Off Balance, for only 99 cents HERE. And check out your favorite ballet company’s YouTube channel to find archived live-streamed class, rehearsals and interviews from the big day! Over at Q&A, someone asked … Read more