Tag: Ballet

#529 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Dance, Serendipity1 Comment
A blast from the past.

I’m not sure when I last had an actual ticket for anything. Yesterday was no different. We were off to the ballet with an E ticket but we were directed to the box office to collect an actual ticket.

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/oct/02/peaky-blinders-the-redemption-of-thomas-shelby-rambert-birmingham-hippodrome-review

We were off for an afternoon of Contemporary Ballet. With seats as close to the stage as possible. One of the great pleasures of ballet is seeing fit health bodies working at peak performance. We didn’t bother to read reviews, I am pleased about that, as the review above was hardly glowing. My experience was completely different. Peaky Blinders by the Rambert company on a Saturday afternoon, on the first day of April,was a blast of dark energy that will keep me smiling and thinking for weeks.Something almost Pagan, using up the dark forces of winter to leave a blank canvas for Spring. Link below to video.

I was an avid viewer of the TV series and can perfectly see why someone would think the theme and storyline could be translated into Contemporary Dance. I don’t believe it was at all necessary to have seen TV ‘s Peaky Blinders to enjoy Ramberts Peaky Blinders.

I am beginning to wonder if my enjoyment of Contemporary Ballet has completely trumped Classical Ballet.

Just before the Covid years I went to a classical ballet that was in a modern setting. I had no idea of the storyline and was happy to let the dance tell me the story. I broke all my own rules in the interval. Googling fiercely to try and make sense of what I had just seen. I read a synopsis and reviews and along with my gin and tonic I returned for the second half enlightened and encouraged. Enlightenment did not do the trick, the second half was as bleakly opaque as the first. Enlightenment created tiny chunks of understanding but I came away baffled and bemused. I realised I had not for one moment enjoyed the physicality of the dance, not once appreciated peak of perfection musculature.

As someone who studied ballet for 7 years and decidedly believed, for a while, that a five foot four inches, dumpy girl might one day be the Sugar Plum Fairy. I am a little sad that Classical Ballet is losing its allure for me but there is only so much ballet time in a normal humans life. Contemporary is the way to go for me.

©Rambert Dance

Leap Year

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

What to do with the extra day in 2020.

©Hong Kong Ballet

Obviously after just one Barré lesson we are fizzing to leap around on Leap Day, but this young man does it so much better .

February always needs more red.

Leap Year attracts flimsiness and fun, see my efforts above, or read Guardian flimsiness.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/feb/29/leap-year-day-how-you-could-and-should-celebrate-29-february

But it exists to keep us all ticking along nicely in time. Introduced by Julius Caesar over 2000 years ago.

Leap day recalibrates and corrects time keeping because every year is actually 365 days and 6 hours long (one complete earth orbit of the sun) so once every four years those extra 6 hours are gathered together to make an extra day.

29 pictures in red to fill your extra day.

Red car Plymouth Hoe

Miss VV

Tywardreath rail crossing

Crystal Palace Rail Station

VV and Mum talk Rothko

Posters Devonport Playhouse

Redcurrants Butler’s Cottage

Red vase @theoldmortuary

Poppies @theoldmortuary

Jewel Salad @theoldmortuary

100 Homes Project, Plymouth

Chinese New Year , Hong Kong

Bowls South Korea

Hugo and Lola hit the Red Carpet

Gipsy Hill Brewery at The Lord High Admiral , Plymouth

Nasturtiums

Detail of painting

Street Art Haggerston

Chilli lights and cook books

Welsh Guards

Autumn Leaf Dulwich Picture Gallery

Beach plastic, Portwrinkle

Croxted Road, Dulwich

Detail from painting

Street Art, New York

Dodging the spray, Niagara Falls, Canada

Post Box, Barnes

Brixton Market

Hoi An

Muscle Memory

On By theoldmortuary.designIn FitnessLeave a comment

It’s been a while since attending a ballet based class was a thing for the humans @theoldmortuary.

An exercise class called Barre enticed us in.

My previous ballet experience was in a mirror- less room at the Institute, Braintree so even the word Barre was a little bit exciting. Holding the Dado rail was the Essex way. Plymouth Ballet lessons were a lot posher for Hannah and involved lessons from Wayne Sleep and Bonnie Langford as well as mirrors and Barres.

As it turns out we didn’t touch the Barre.

The movements and language were a revelation. I had completely forgotten that French is the language of ballet.

The strange thing is that our bodies had not forgotten, effortlessly getting into the positions required before our brains had fully processed the command.

‘Effortlessly’ is slightly disengenuous, we didn’t turn into giddy, gauzy, whisps of women seemingly floating across the dance floor in a chiffon of pink. How I wish that were the case; but it was noticeable that none of the moves were unfamiliar to us and we threw in little ‘Jettes’ quite naturally and our ‘arabesques’ felt as beautiful as the word suggests. As with all things exercise there was a punchy soundtrack that encouraged movement and time keeping. The only downside to all this ballet nostalgia was the mirror, in keeping with its well-known cliche. It didn’t lie.