5 on Friday -- Set 281

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.

Well...

I'm trying to process the results of a Cognitive Function Evaluation which I just received today when I went to the clinic for my weekly sauna detox treatment. I don't know why I was a little more hopeful about those results, when my Physical Function Evaluation in June turned out to be equally as jarring.

To put it plainly, I'm a wreck.

I have multiple chemical sensitivities and chronic 24/7 pain issues, and although quite obviously they have been taking their toll on me, it's a weird feeling to see black-and-white results staring me in the face.

Luckily, I'm currently in treatment for both of these conditions. It helps that my physiotherapist and my nurse both experienced similar situations and have made successful returns to stronger health.

This week, I need to cheer myself up. Ballet to the rescue! 

1 - Compilation of scenes from Spartacus - Bolshoi Ballet Orchestra - composed by Aram Khachaturian

Featuring the crazy jumping of Ivan Vasiliev.

Here's a little reason why I love Ivan so much: "Ballets without a story are always a little bit difficult," he says in an interview with The Telegraph's Mark Monahan. "When I don't understand what I must say to the audience, it's a problem, because I must just dance -- but for what? I can dance 'just to dance' when I'm drunk."

2 - A section of the Raymonda Grand Pas Classique - Paris Opera Ballet Orchestra - composed by Alexander Glazunov

The section I'm featuring here in particular is the female variation that begins at the 3:40 mark, featuring Marie-Agnes Gillot. This piece of music has really captured me lately, and her version of this variation is truly the best I've seen.

3 - Romeo Learns of Juliet's 'Death' from Romeo and Juliet - Mariinsky Ballet Orchestra - composed by Sergei Prokofiev

The section I'm featuring here begins at the 35:45 mark and ends at the 40:00 mark. My very favorite male dancer, Vladimir Shklyarov. As always with Vladimir, I just wish he would put some effort into it. 

4 - Dulcinea dream sequence from Don Quixote - La Scala Ballet Orchestra - composed by Ludwig Minkus

Featuring the deceptive strength and balance of Natalia Osipova. Male dancers always showcase their strength moves, while this choreography is typical of the female dancer disguising her strength as delicacy. This is an aspect of dance of which all fans are well aware, almost like a secret language between performer and audience. We know that the more fragile and ethereal the movements appear, the harder it was to pull it off.

5 - Final pas de deux from Onegin - Bolshoi Ballet Orchestra - composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arranged from various sources by Kurt-Heinz Stolze

Nothing makes the hair rise all over my body or my gut wrench with emotion quite like this pas de deux from Onegin. Not only for the exquisitely tragic music -- my favorite kind -- but for the typically challenging partnering choreographed by John Cranko.

The roles of Onegin and Tatiana are danced here by the hunky and talented principal Vladislav Lantratov, whose dancing I've really enjoyed during last year's ballet series through Cineplex Front Row Centre Events, and leading soloist Olga Smirnova who debuted in this role in the opening premiere rather than the reigning principal.

5 on Friday -- Set 233

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.

I'm blogging at the Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada this Friday about a former day job -- or in my case, mainly an evenings-and-weekends job -- that reflects on romance writing in so many ways.

Of course, as a former usher of a performing arts theater, I was the observer of the ballet world and not a participant. However, there are popular misconceptions about both ballerinas and romance writers, and in my post I explore those as well as how both art forms mirror one another.

So what better set to post this week than a ballet set? Here are five of my favorite variations, or solo dance pieces.

1 - Dulcinea variation from Don Quixote -- Nina Ananiashvili

She dances this deceptively difficult piece with the grace and lightness that can only be achieved by strength and endurance.

2 - Philippe's variation from Flames of Paris -- Ivan Vasiliev

His strength and the height he achieves in his jumps are allowed to be on full display as a male dancer.

3 - Act I Pas de Deux (dance for two) from The Nutcracker -- Vladimir Shklyarov and Ksenia Zhiganshina

Okay -- not a variation, but a duet. This male dancer is one of my favorites -- ballet is essentially a moving sequence of geometric patterns created by bodies, and his body has exquisite line. He's also a consummate partner, anticipating her every move.

4 - The Death of Hilarion from Giselle -- Kazuo Kimura and the corps of the Tokyo Ballet

I'm always about dramatic power over technique, so this scene from Giselle has always been one of my favorite parts. The villager Hilarion must show exhaustion with his upper body while continuing to use strength during his jumps with his lower body. It's not an easy thing to let the audience in on how tiring it is to dance, when a dancer's entire career is focused on hiding the effort.

5 - Black Swan Coda, Act III variation from Swan Lake -- Viktoria Tereshkina and the Mariinsky Ballet

This is one of the most famous female pyrotechnic roles, culminating in 32 fouettees (the pirouettes with a kick.) This is one of the few against-type female roles that showcase the more aggressive side of female dancing. Odile, the Black Swan is an evil-twin character to the elegant, giving Odette, the White Swan. Here Odile tricks Prince Siegfried into declaring true love for her, when he thinks Odile is Odette, thereby cursing Odette to remain a swan forever.

Not only do I get all the tragic drama in this section of the ballet, but who can resist the thrill of those 32 fouettees?