Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
The Classical GirlI love visualizing the 25-year-old Edvard Grieg in 1868, married just one year and already the father of a newborn daughter, right as his composing career was taking off. I can’t decide if it was artistic zeal or the exhaustion of jugging so many roles that made him seek retreat that summer at a secluded … Read more
Celebrating World Ballet Day 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! On Wednesday, November 1, 2023 (in … Read more
Oh, the many moods and stories Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg conjures in my mind, my heart. There’s the transcendent “Morning Mood” from his Peer Gynt Suite, the haunting yet hopeful “Last Spring.” I’ve sat in my car and wept to the wintry longing in his “Nocturne.” There’s the “March of the Dwarves” that evokes a … Read more
Diablo Ballet closes out its 2022-23 season this weekend, May 26 and 27, with a winner: a brand-new, charming comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Choreographed by Julia Adam, it features Mendelssohn’s iconic music, and costumes designed and constructed by Christopher Dunn, with assistance from Amanda Farris. It’s a world premiere that, Diablo Ballet promises, “will … Read more
Question: what makes choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s stunning ballet, Cinderella, come so magically alive onstage? Answer: it’s everything. The scrim that gives the prologue a dreamy, cinematic feel. The four benevolent Fates who blend into the shadows. Prokofiev’s affecting music. Wheeldon’s choreography. The really, really good dancers. The tree that sprouts from Cinderella’s tears at her … Read more