Yesterday I took my first (and maybe only?) real class here in Japan from Yurino’s former teacher. I was surprised how much the language barrier didn’t really affect my ability to understand combinations or corrections. The “sign language” we use for ballet steps and corrections seems to be pretty universal. Here is a picture of… Read More
Greetings from Japan!
Back in October my friend Yurino, who owns a ballet school in Japan, contacted me and asked if I wanted to dance with her in her studio’s annual spring performance. The date happened to be right at the beginning of my 7 week layoff, and so I (of course) accepted. I’ve been wanting to go… Read More
Reflections from the Four Temperaments
Revisiting the Balanchine’s Four Temperaments this past two weekends has been wonderful, and I wanted to share some internal thoughts that I’ve had as well as from friends that have attended the ballet. The role of Phlegmatic in The Four Temperaments was the first principal role I danced with OBT back in 2006. I could… Read More
Dress Rehearsal
We just finished dress rehearsal, and welcomed back our beautiful orchestra! Here’s Neil working with them on a few sections of Midsummer: Children-bugs took a rest amongst the trees while notes and corrections were being given after the rehearsal: And our hair expert, Sarah, tinkered with Alison’s (Titania) hairdo. She does gorgeous work on the… Read More
No End to Listening
I read David Stabler’s beautifully thought-provoking and insightful column in The Oregonian on Thursday, “A Year of Playing Bach”. He describes his resolution to re-dedicate himself to daily practice of Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier” after many years away from not just that particular piece, but piano practice in general. Although, of course, the specifics of piano… Read More
