A to Z Blog Challenge - S

Welcome to Day 19 of the  A to Z Blog Challenge. Today:

S

is for

Swan Lake

Anyone who knows me is aware of my ballet obsession.

Like many little girls, I took dance class which included tap and ballet, but the ballet part was always my favorite--we got to take on roles and tell a little story.

As I grew older, my reverence for all things ballet only increased. I continued to take ballet class but not in the serious dancer stream. My desire to tell stories, and to dip my feet in many different forms of creative expression, meant that I wasn't fated to become a professional dancer. That decision is made at such a young age by the people who pursue this art form.

As I attended film school in Toronto, I got the dreamiest job of my life so far--working as an usher at the O'Keefe Centre, which then became the Hummingbird Centre (and is now the Sony Centre.) I was able to indulge my ballet obsession for eight seasons of National Ballet of Canada performances. Yay, me!

When I moved back to the Maritimes, my professional dance company withdrawal was pretty hard to take. For awhile there, Empire Theatres--the cinema chain--offered special in-theatre broadcasts of ballets from companies around the world, which I never missed. But those stopped after a few years.

Aside from touring companies appearing in Halifax, my only ballet fix comes from You Tube. Thank God for all the ballet posted there. It stops my dance-lover soul from shriveling up into a dried-out husk and blowing away.

Which brings us to today's joyous post--last Thursday's performance of Swan Lake by Ballet Jorgen, and the community outreach program I attended at my local library branch on the Saturday before that.

Ballet Jorgen is one of those touring rays of sunlight that beams into my life like a heavenly smile. A Toronto-based company, they tour Canada intensively, bringing professional dance to communities that would not normally have access to this art form. 

Here company dancer Taylor Gill explains what sorts of things would be in a dancer's bag.

Sarah Koekkoek demonstrates the movements used in the swan's role during Swan Lake.

Gabriel Ritzmann and the other dancers giving the outreach program take the audience through the basics of ballet positions for arms and feet.

Sarah Koekkoek, Gabriel Ritzmann and Mallory Belzile take the participants through a section of choreography, to show how individual steps act like words to be joined together in choreography like sentences. 

The actual performance couldn't come quickly enough for me. It was like Christmas Eve--Swan Lake Eve! Yet finally there we were, heading through the doors at the Dalhousie Arts Centre in Halifax to settle into our seats to await the curtain.

My thanks to the company for all of their tireless outreach work, since I know that if I was still living in the smaller town of Yarmouth as I did for two years, I would be over the moon to have Ballet Jorgen at the library there, where they are scheduled to appear.

Here's a tiny taste of the wonderful performance we saw last Thursday.

Thursday Thirteen - 216 - 13 Things I Love About Going to See the Ballet

One of the things on my Bucket List is attending performances of the great ballet companies of the world in all of their home venues.

As a spectacular early birthday surprise - since my birthday is five months away - my cousin and my sister, who will be my roomies at the writers' conference in New York next week, presented me with tickets to the ballet while we're in the City That Never Sleeps.

And not only tickets to any ballet company, but tickets to American Ballet Theatre, which is second on my descending list of companies to see after the Mariinsky Ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

And not only tickets to see American Ballet Theatre, but tickets to see Swan Lake, which needs no explanation as to why that is so incredibly dreamy for me.

So here are thirteen things I'll be enjoying during our trip to the Metropolitan Opera House:

1 - Entering the lobby with the other theatre-goers. How I love that first buzz of excitement.

2 - Entering the house (the inner auditorium) to find our seats. The thrill grows.

3 - Receiving the program from the usher and looking through it at my seat.

4 - The crowd conversation humming as the theatre fills and the warning bells ring.

5 - Houselights dimming and the crowd hushing. Anticipation trembles in the air.

6 - Houselights go dark. The spotlight hits the conductor. Opening applause to start the performance - how I love all the clapping. Audience participation!

7 - First notes from the orchestra. I'll probably burst out crying with joy. Don't worry, people-sitting-next-to-me - I'll be quiet.



8 - Curtain opening or rising. The 'ooo/ah' of seeing the set design.

9 - Clapping for the principal dancers as they make their entrances. Yes, I love the clapping!

10 - The rhythmic rustling sounds of the costumes as the company moves through its choreography, the tapping of the pointe shoes on the stage, and all of the sounds emanating up from the orchestra pit.

11 - Watching the conductor's floppy hair as he feels the music.

12 - Feeling connected to Tchaikovsky himself as certain unexpected and perfect moments appear in front of me, shining a light on his work in a new way for me. Trust me - it always happens.

13 - Cheering jaw-dropping or tear-inducing performances by the dancers. Shouting Bravo! or Brava!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT -

My very own dot com web site will be going live on Saturday, June 25th - drop by A Piece of My Mind for the link and the world premiere of my book trailer!

Through the Opera Glasses - 71 - Black Swan

Black Swan opened in theatres over a month ago, yet I only saw it this past weekend due to scheduling challenges - because I simply had to see it with my co-ballet-freak sister.









I adored this film on multiple levels - but really, there's no other way to experience Black Swan.

The story in a nutshell: Soloist Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) takes on the notorious ballet roles of Odette, the White Swan and Odile, the Black Swan - a cavernous dramatic stretch for the same dancer to pull off both roles convincingly. Nina attempts to find the darker, seductive side to herself in a make-or-break grasp at the principal role brass ring. In a career that is brutally short, Nina has to fend off the expectations of her mother, the competition of her company members, and the unrelenting efforts of the artistic director who senses her untapped greatness. Can fragile Nina handle the considerable pressure?














In an inspired casting move, Barbara Hershey plays Natalie Portman's mom, a former dancer who now appears to devote herself to her daughter's career. They have a strong storyline centered on a delayed detachment between mother and daughter.














Vincent Cassel is a perfect choice for the artistic director of the New York ballet company staging a fresh version of Swan Lake. He's all slash-and-burn business when it comes to retiring the prima ballerina and courting funds for his company. He resorts to mind games without blinking if it will give him the performances he not only wants but needs, in order to woo new audiences to a rarified art form.











Another soloist in the company with just as much to win or lose as Nina, Lily (Mila Kunis) has the passion and easy seduction of the Black Swan but none of the purity of technique required of the White Swan. She's also one of the only company members willing to remain friends with Nina after her promotion, yet her casting as the alternate for Nina's role puts a strain on their relationship.











For obsessive perfectionists like dancers, the prospect of deconstructing their painstakingly-crafted signature dance styles in order to transform into something uncontrolled like the Black Swan character is a recipe for psychological disaster.

There are many, many real dancers in companies all over the world who possess all of the aspects of Odette and none of the untidy brilliance of Odile. To take on the challenge really does require these women to confront and wrestle with their Ballerina Princess identities. I'm certain there is a long history of mental anguish associated with dancing the Black Swan.

That is also why the role is not handed over lightly.







For me personally, as a lifelong devotee of dance, the sequences of transformation from dancer into Black Swan gave me incredible chills. It's a private moment that happens for every dancer as she stands in the wings, whether she is Odette or whether she's in the corps.

And the sequences where the steadicam brings us directly into the rehearsal movements and onstage during the performance bring me as close to the dancer's POV as I will ever get.







However, this film - often billed as a psychological thriller or even an art house horror film - also takes us along the disturbing descent into mental illness. Aronofsky's use of fractured mirror imagery, through-the-rabbit-hole mirror-upon-mirror imagery, and the donning and removal of identities via ballet roles makes the realization that we may be in the point of view of an unwell narrator sneak up on us.

Read clinical psychologist Dr. Villarreal's review of Black Swan as a journey through a mental health crisis HERE.

I have to say that Natalie Portman's courage in taking on a role where it was clearly herself dancing a difficult role for a professional dancer - let alone an actor portraying one - is nothing short of mindblowing.

*insert my standing ovation here*

She executes really impressive lifts, displays very respectable arms, and does honest-to-God fouettés. She's been a huge favorite of mine for years, but now...

Wow.

Check her out:

5 on Friday - Set 1

My blog friend Travis began a new feature at his blog, Trav's Thoughts. He's already on his third set, but this is my premiere for 5 on Friday.

I'm not good with techie stuff, so rather than figure out the cool player he's got on his blog, I'm going to stick to You Tube clips.

Travis invites anyone to play - just let him know over at his blog, so he can come and visit.

5 on Friday showcases five songs or pieces of music which express a theme of your choosing. With Valentine's Day about to unfold, how could I turn to anything else but the music that beats along with every pulse inside my veins?

Here are five of my favorite pas de deux, or dance duet, which embody the reverence, symmetry, passions, awestruck recognition and depth of emotion so raw it hurts which love brings to those lucky enough to be so blessed.

1 - Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia

Spartacus - music by Aram Khachaturian - danced by Ludmila Semenyaka and Irek Mukhamentov





2 - Bedroom pas de deux, Manon and des Grieux

Manon - music by Jules Massenet - danced by Sylvie Guillem and Zoltan Solymosi

Zoltan is so dreamy!



3 - Pas de deux, Carmen and Don José

Carmen - music by Georges Bizet - danced by Alessandra Ferri and Laurent Hilaire

The music at the 2:37 mark is a huge favorite of mine.



4 - Balcony pas de deux, Juliet and Romeo

Romeo and Juliet - music by Sergei Prokofiev - danced by Marcia Haydee and Richard Cragun

I listened to this music compulsively while writing my first draft of my NaNo vampire story. The kiss and Juliet's reaction at the 7:50 mark is one of my favorite ballet moments.



5 - Pas d'action, Odette and Sigfried

Swan Lake - music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - danced by Alla Mikhalchenko and Yuri Vasyuchenko



Akelamalu says Well done with the meme Julia!

Janet says Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

Travis says I absolutely love your choices!! Cheers!