Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
Musings of a former ballet dancer who’s returned, years later, to the studio as a student.
Summer is the time for travel, even if it’s just armchair travel. And how’s this for a bargain: A DANCER’S GUIDE TO AFRICA is available through the summer for only 99 cents! Just click HERE. And, okay, so, yeah. I lived in Africa for two years, but, honest, this isn’t an autobiographical work. Although the … Read more
There is something about going to the symphony in the summer that makes it feel like such a different experience from its wintertime counterpart. How strange to enter Davies Symphony Hall while it’s still light outside. Inside, you stand at any of the building’s floor-to-ceiling windows—in truth, one entire side of the building is almost … Read more
The long-held dream has finally actualized, and you now own your first pair of pointe shoes. At last! The thrill of calling those expensive, pink/peach, satiny, torpedo-shaped shoes your own. The pride. The satisfaction. The—yikes!—pain. Yup. The pain. Why? you might be crying, even after weeks into the ordeal. Even after having done all the … Read more
Diablo Ballet turns 25 this season, and that’s something worth celebrating. And celebrate, they did, with a world premiere of a full-length ballet, Once Upon a Time, on March 22 and 23 at the Lesher Center for the Performing Arts. Choreographer Julia Adam has woven a host of fairytale characters—Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and her stepsisters, Alice in … Read more
With The Sleeping Beauty all wrapped up at the War Memorial Opera House, it’s officially the halfway point for San Francisco Ballet’s 2019 repertory season. Last season’s Unbound: A Festival of New Works (which I blogged about HERE) gave the company twelve world premieres, several of which are being repeated this season. But 2019 brings its … Read more