5 on Friday - Set 108

Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

I'm in a ballet frame of mind this week, so here are five rather dreamy pieces I've always loved.


1 - Dulcinea variation - Don Quixote, composed by Ludwig Minkus


Danced by Svetlana Zakharova



2 - Peasant pas de deux - Giselle, composed by Adolphe Adam


Danced by Natalia Osipova and Vyacheslav Lopatin

The main piece of music I'm showcasing here ends at the 2:50 mark.




3 - Kingdom of the Shades - La Bayadere, composed by Ludwig Minkus


Danced by Paris Opera Ballet

I just get the shivers when this piece starts. This piece, once begun, is somewhat of an ordeal for the first line of dancers. Once it begins, we're watching something incredibly special.



4 - Entrees des fees (Fairies entrance) - Sleeping Beauty, composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky


Danced by Paris Opera Ballet

I especially love the way this scene announces with fanfare that we're about to be treated to a cherished piece of dance history. Not only are the fairies arriving at court accompanied by courtiers in the story, but they carry the history of this piece from the 19th century to us now, in a chain of performances that has been passed down and down across time.

The music I'm showcasing begins at the 5:07 mark.



5 -Morning Dance - Romeo and Juliet, composed by Sergei Prokofiev


The piece I'm showcasing here ends at the 1:41 mark.  Of course, longtime readers of this blog will know that the tragic music soon following is what I listened to while writing my vampire novel.

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!

Through the Opera Glasses - 18 - Romeo and Juliet

Imagine my joy on Sunday morning when I sat down to coffee and breakfast with my mom - and she pulled out the TV listings and told me Romeo and Juliet would be on PBS that afternoon!

It's been three weeks since I went to see La Bayadere at Empire Theatre's ballet-in-HD series. Long enough to long for another ballet.

When you are a ballet freak like me, you'll take whatever you can get. Even when it's a super-charged emotional story like Romeo and Juliet, performed by a company like the New York City Ballet, known for its non-story ballets, its crisp purity - essentially, not for emoting.













Mom and I sat down in her living room at 3:30 for the whole tragic tale. I was very impressed by Juliet, played by Sterling Hyltin. She had me in tears when she awoke from Friar Lawrence's potion to find Romeo dead.

You can check out some rehearsal footage and part of an interview with Ms. Hyltin here:

Clip from Romeo and Juliet rehearsal












Mom and I were both knocked out by Daniel Ulbricht's performance as Mercutio. He's the dancer in purple clashing swords with Tybalt, in yellow. Mr. Ulbricht gave a solid dramatic performance alongside his superb dance technique and brilliant height with his jumps.

You can check out some weapons rehearsal footage for the sword fights here:

Clip from sword fight rehearsal

The production which aired Sunday is a new work choreographed by Peter Martins. It's always interesting for me to see a new interpretation of something. Whatever form the story takes, I'm willing to go where the director or choreographer, composer or poet points me.

I've seen five different full-length versions of the Romeo and Juliet ballet:

The National Ballet of Canada's version by John Cranko

The Bolshoi Ballet's version by Leonid Lavrovsky

The Northern Ballet's version by Massimo Moricone

The Royal Ballet's version by Sir Kenneth MacMillan

The New York City Ballet's version by Peter Martins

I've enjoyed each one of them.

But nothing moves me as much as Cranko's version. He captured everything there is to say about falling madly, irrevocably in love. Below you'll find the original dancers on whom Cranko set his ballet, Marcia Haydee and Richard Cragun in the balcony pas de deux, filmed for German television in the 1970's:




And because the weapons rehearsal footage got me psyched for more sword fighting, here is a compilation clip from one of my favorite shows, Legend of the Seeker:



Nikki says Great Post!! I know so much more about Ballet now.

Deeptesh says Oh...best post I've ever read Julia.

Shelley Munro says I especially enjoyed the weapons training video.

Poetry Train Monday - 50 - Romeo and Juliet

I was so happy to have a day all to myself on Saturday. I headed across the bridge to Halifax to catch the HD broadcast of the Royal Ballet's Romeo and Juliet, and it was total bliss.







Photo by Tristram Kenton






I'd heard of Tamara Rojo before (Juliet) but had never seen her dance until today. She's a Spaniard dancing for the English Royal Ballet company. She brought me to tears about four times, just her, her performance. Her technique is flawless and her acting is so true and passionate. Total bliss.






Photo by Bernardo Doral




But wait - it gets better. Her Romeo was Carlos Acosta, a Cuban dancing with the Royal Ballet. If you'd ever wondered to yourself whether male ballet dancers could be straight - and I assure you a great many are - one look at this panther/shapeshifter/man will cure you of that cliche. I heard quite a few women in the lobby saying, "Wasn't he something?" And he was. Strength, control, musicality, very passionate acting. He was something, all right.

So my post for the Poetry Train is the section of Shakespeare's play that closes the balcony scene. I've included a link to a segment of the performance I watched, along with the dancers talking about their roles as Romeo and Juliet. Enjoy!


From the Balcony Scene of Romeo and Juliet


JULIET
This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,
May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.
Good night, good night! as sweet repose and rest
Come to thy heart as that within my breast!

ROMEO
O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?

JULIET
What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?

ROMEO
The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.

JULIET
I gave thee mine before thou didst request it:
And yet I would it were to give again.

ROMEO
Wouldst thou withdraw it? for what purpose, love?

JULIET
But to be frank, and give it thee again.
And yet I wish but for the thing I have:
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.

Nurse calls within

I hear some noise within; dear love, adieu!
Anon, good nurse! Sweet Montague, be true.
Stay but a little, I will come again.

Exit, above

ROMEO
O blessed, blessed night! I am afeard.
Being in night, all this is but a dream,
Too flattering-sweet to be substantial.

- William Shakespeare, 1595



Click here to view video clip of Romeo and Juliet ballet

Six Things Meme

Leah Braemel tagged me for the Six Things Meme.

These are the rules:
Post them at the beginning. At the end of the post, tag 6 people and post their names, go to their blogs and leave a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

Onward, Ho...

This is somewhat similarish to the Five Things Meme I did last June. But I know there's at least six more things I can blog about.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

In 1998 I was one year away from moving back home to Nova Scotia but didn't know it yet. Many, many Maritimers move to Toronto, miss Nova Scotia like mad and move home. It's just a thing Maritimers do. Nowadays we also head out to the oilfields of Alberta - probably more so than Toronto these days.

I was quite convinced I would not be among the home-agains. I loved my life in Toronto, and was used to my constant homesickness for the east coast by then. I had a whole new family (my in-laws) to love, a wonderful group of tried-and-true friends, the Big City vibe I love so much, subways to ride, people to watch, culture coming out my ears. I was in heaven.


But then we lost Brad's Grandma Smith.


This is a Christmas Day at the Smith's photo taken in the early 1990's in Toronto.


Back row L to R: my husband Brad, sister-in-law Anna (the painter), Brad's brother and Anna's husband Ken, Brad's mom Joan, his dad David, and David's sister Auntie Pat
Front row L to R: me, my sister Michelle (then also living in Toronto but now returned to Nova Scotia), Brad's brother Jeff (the guest poet), and Grandma Smith

Three Smiths from this photo have now passed on: Brad's dad, Auntie Pat and Grandma Smith. Missed every day and always in our hearts.

And the woman for whose daughter I'd been the nanny discovered her mother had cancer. Quite suddenly the call to go home couldn't be stilled. Brad and I moved in with my gram so we could help my mom take care of her.


And we had eight irreplaceable years together.



This is Brad, Mom, me and Gram at her final birthday, Nov. 1st, 2007.



Love you, Gram.


2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today?

- Try to gauge how I did on my interview yesterday by how the three managers on the interview panel behaved toward me today. No avoiding eye contact from anyone. That's got to be a good sign.

- Ask my co-worker whether or not we should ditch the empty bankers' boxes stashed under my desk. They make my manager squirrely. I was quite certain the answer would be 'no.'

The answer was 'no.'




- Boot it over to the theatre after work to buy a ticket for the ballet tomorrow. Hope they're not sold out...














- Watch episode 11 of BBC's Robin Hood, season 2. Ooo, can't wait, can't wait, can't wait.

- Post this meme.


3. Snacks I enjoy.

- Rolled Gold pretzels


- plain yogurt mixed with raspberries, blueberries and blackberries (super yum)





- Fig Newtons

- molasses cookies

- chocolate fudgsicles


4. Places I’ve lived, in no particular order.

- on a US Army base in Texas - born there, but my dad finished his active duty 3 months later.

- in Michigan, USA - my parents loaded up the white Volkswagen beetle they'd brought back from Germany and headed back to our families in Michigan, outside the Detroit area.

- in Nova Scotia, Canada - my parents decided to move back to Canada in 1971, where both families were actually from. Both sets of grandparents moved to Michigan in the 50's for work. But most of our family is Canadian. Returning to Nova Scotia actually returned me to the land of my Acadian ancestors.


- in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - my first grown-up apartment in my brand-new, grown-up life. It was over a scuba diving shop, because my dad used to sell diving equipment to the owner, and when he dropped in to say hi, he found out they were renting the apartment upstairs. Talk about great timing.

This is a picture taken in 1986, my first year on my own, in my over-the-scuba-shop apartment. My cousin Julianne MacLean flew out to see me before I flew home for Christmas.

- in Toronto, Ontario, Canada - I moved in with the family I worked for as a nanny, and so began 13 fascinating and totally fulfilling years living in the Big City. Oh, how I loved it. Oh, how I miss it.

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.

- I already indulged my family in the Five Things Meme. So I would make sure my dream house had a dream home theatre, with squishy leather recliners in stadium seating.

- I would order every boxed DVD set I ever desired off the internet with my platinum credit card. Brad and I are currently a cash-only couple. Keeping life simple and interest-free - especially when there is no hope in heck that we could afford to keep a balance of over $20.00. Actually, this would be a dream-come-true for Brad, He Who Tracks Down Obscure Films. He could find them for me and I could kiss him when they arrived in the mail.

- I could attend the Cannes Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival and Toronto's own International Film Festival. Oh and don't forget the Atlantic Film Festival here in Halifax. As an all-inclusive delegate, of course.


- I would buy my dream car. A black Jag XJ6.




- I could get my engagement and wedding rings redone, at long, long last.


6. Peeps I want to know more about.

Akelamalu
Dorothy
Miss Sniz
Robin
Sandy
Shelley Munro