I'm afraid I've been binge-dancing, a dangerous pastime, I knowww.
Took ballet from Dorit Koppel (I'm obsessed with her) and then an amazing jazz class from Jeffrey "Schecky" Schecter (www.jeffreyschecter.com), yesterday at BDC.
Schecky played Mike Costa ("I Can Do That!") in the revival of a Chorus Line (he has so much energy, I'm jealous of his wife!). He was also in the recent revival of Guys & Dolls, and he taught us some of the original revival choreography. I have been taking SO much ballet lately; it was really wonderful to get back into a theatre class and remind myself how much I love dancing. Not to mention how aerobic and taxing it can be!
Jeff Schecter is also one of the focal points for the documentary Every Little Step, which follows several actors auditioning for roles in the Chorus Line 2007 revival. It's actually great film-making, whether you're a dancer or not. Check it out!
Meanwhile, I'll be icing and nursing my grouchy little muscles. Phew!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Love & Proposals, the Dance Edition!
This is a fun week in the world of love. Not only is one of my best dancer friends in the WORLD newly engaged to a wonderful man, but another one of my old dancer friends was so adorably proposed to that the event prompted a CBS news spot!
See here for the CBS video:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504784_162-20098858-10391705.html
See the link below for the tres adorable proposal of one ballerino to his fair lady:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/08/05/fashion/100000000982193/vanessa--davit.html?ref=weddings
Give me your lips for just a moment
And my imagination will build upon that kiss
Ah sweetheart, I ask no more than this:
A kiss to build a dream on!
See here for the CBS video:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504784_162-20098858-10391705.html
See the link below for the tres adorable proposal of one ballerino to his fair lady:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/08/05/fashion/100000000982193/vanessa--davit.html?ref=weddings
Give me your lips for just a moment
And my imagination will build upon that kiss
Ah sweetheart, I ask no more than this:
A kiss to build a dream on!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Calm after the storm
CENTRAL PARK, New York City
(Note the meager flooding in the upper right portion of le photo... we came away pretty unscathed in Manhattan. Prayers and high hopes for outer boroughs still recovering!)
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Healing power of rain
It's been quite the wonky elemental week here in New York.
Tuesday gifted my complacent city brethren with the rare and wonderful wake up call that only a 5.6 earthquake can bring. We certainly had a moment of shock here on the 12th floor at the PR firm where I work; It's not every day one feels one's building sway from side to side with all the fluidity of a Jamaican "wine" (that's a dance that employs a lot of hip undulation, btw).
Wednesday was gorgeous. So gorgeous, so sunny, so perfect, that there was nothing I wanted more than to spend my first afternoon off in many weeks staring out at the remarkably calm waters of the Hudson and watch the sun catch and glimmer in the occasional ripples of waves.
Today, it's raining. I just finished reading Before Night Falls, by Reinaldo Arenas, this morning actually. I was so sad that it was over, that this man's lovely capacity for narrative had been silenced by the AIDS monster, that the light rain on my way to work seemed to compliment my mood. BNF has got to be one of the best novels/autobiographies that I have read in a LONG time. However, I was equally in acquiescence and a bit outraged that Reinaldo should finally get free of Cuba only to find New York to be a city without a soul.
As I walked through the streets contemplating that line in his novel, the city saw fit to remind me along every step of the way that though we might be sucked into the vacuum of energy and intensity that makes New York the metropolis it is, Reinaldo was wrong: the city really does have a soul. First there were the kind cashiers in Jamba Juice who went out of their way to ensure I would like their suggestion of smoothie. Then, there were the two construction workers who put a piece of wood down over this epic puddle so that I could cross the narrow pathway to get to work. Next, there was the incredibly well spoken, persistent, and driven young man who was able to convince me to support Children's International.
It's true we spend perhaps too much time as a city, as a country, in a dialogue about fiscal responsibility that, while important, can induce selfishness and detract from the value of humanity. Regardless, I feel confident that there will always be those with the fortitude to remind us of our priorities.
Despite all of the mistakes I've made that give me pause, the reminiscences of people who I've loved and lost, my own failings, there is today a healing balm in the warm summer rain. We go on. Things do get better. Life is better through the lens of love.
La Vie en Rose - (Colloquially - Life through rose colored glasses)
Edith Piaf's Original
Louis Armstrong's delightful trumpet-enhanced rendition
The French
The English
"Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose.
When you kiss me, Heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose.
When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom
And when you speak
Angels sing from above
Every day words
Seem to turn into love songs
Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose.
I thought that love was just a word
They sang about in songs I heard
It took your kisses to reveal
That I was wrong, and love is real.
Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose.
When you kiss me, Heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose.
When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom
And when you speak
Angels sing from above
Every day words
Seem to turn into love songs
Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose"
Tuesday gifted my complacent city brethren with the rare and wonderful wake up call that only a 5.6 earthquake can bring. We certainly had a moment of shock here on the 12th floor at the PR firm where I work; It's not every day one feels one's building sway from side to side with all the fluidity of a Jamaican "wine" (that's a dance that employs a lot of hip undulation, btw).
Wednesday was gorgeous. So gorgeous, so sunny, so perfect, that there was nothing I wanted more than to spend my first afternoon off in many weeks staring out at the remarkably calm waters of the Hudson and watch the sun catch and glimmer in the occasional ripples of waves.
Today, it's raining. I just finished reading Before Night Falls, by Reinaldo Arenas, this morning actually. I was so sad that it was over, that this man's lovely capacity for narrative had been silenced by the AIDS monster, that the light rain on my way to work seemed to compliment my mood. BNF has got to be one of the best novels/autobiographies that I have read in a LONG time. However, I was equally in acquiescence and a bit outraged that Reinaldo should finally get free of Cuba only to find New York to be a city without a soul.
As I walked through the streets contemplating that line in his novel, the city saw fit to remind me along every step of the way that though we might be sucked into the vacuum of energy and intensity that makes New York the metropolis it is, Reinaldo was wrong: the city really does have a soul. First there were the kind cashiers in Jamba Juice who went out of their way to ensure I would like their suggestion of smoothie. Then, there were the two construction workers who put a piece of wood down over this epic puddle so that I could cross the narrow pathway to get to work. Next, there was the incredibly well spoken, persistent, and driven young man who was able to convince me to support Children's International.
It's true we spend perhaps too much time as a city, as a country, in a dialogue about fiscal responsibility that, while important, can induce selfishness and detract from the value of humanity. Regardless, I feel confident that there will always be those with the fortitude to remind us of our priorities.
Despite all of the mistakes I've made that give me pause, the reminiscences of people who I've loved and lost, my own failings, there is today a healing balm in the warm summer rain. We go on. Things do get better. Life is better through the lens of love.
La Vie en Rose - (Colloquially - Life through rose colored glasses)
Edith Piaf's Original
Louis Armstrong's delightful trumpet-enhanced rendition
The French
The English
"Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose.
When you kiss me, Heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose.
When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom
And when you speak
Angels sing from above
Every day words
Seem to turn into love songs
Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose.
I thought that love was just a word
They sang about in songs I heard
It took your kisses to reveal
That I was wrong, and love is real.
Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose.
When you kiss me, Heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose.
When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom
And when you speak
Angels sing from above
Every day words
Seem to turn into love songs
Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose"
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Audition Issue - Backstage
http://www.backstage.com/bso/news-and-features-spotlights/the-audition-issue-1005319072.story
http://www.backstage.com/bso/news-and-features-spotlights/the-audition-issue-1005319072.story
Monday, August 22, 2011
Don't Cry For Me
The recent Evita Open Call was quite literally a madhouse. That term has been liberally applied by performer friends and never before have I been privy to a circumstance that cannot be accurately described by any other term.
I certainly appreciated the strongly worded call notice, which instructed auditioners not to arrive before 1:30pm, as the call was slated to begin at 2pm. But of course, there were girls waiting outside of Telsey + Co. audition hall at 6am in the morning, happily posting away their determination (or particular brand of crazy, depending on your audience) on audition update.
Oddly, the Telsey people did exactly what the creative team for Evita said they would NOT do, and allowed those women to start a list. Lo and behold, when everyone else arrives around 1pm, there are about 200 names on the list. The production assistant promptly ripped up the list, posted a new list on the board, and -almost gleefully- instigated a free for all that I KID YOU NOT involved hair pulling and pencil stealing of the worst order. At one point, I saw five or six pens on the page at once.
I mean, I know we all want work, but some CIVILITY, people! Needless to say after arriving at 12pm, I was number 356 or so.... I was particularly excited about the audition after realizing that Evita's director is the same director of Don Giovanni at the Met! In my hopeful performer mind I was thinking he might be there somewhere to recognize me. (Ha). Sadly he was not in any of the (FOUR!) audition rooms that the production team ultimately opened. Three of those rooms necessitated an a capella audition - a rare and beautiful thing where you can technically choose your key, tempo, and pitch and the person on the other side of the table won't know any better, as there is no accompanist! That also spells a certain doom for those who may need the piano's assistance to really bang out their song.
Well, I was asked to come back at 3:30pm, and they did not call my name until 5:30pm. Totally acceptable - the norm of the trade is that there is no norm. Saddening though, because by that time I was halfway through my first hour of tutoring for my new client.
During the day, I met this girl Tara, who has a fantastic operetta voice (I first heard her sing at the audition performance class at Broadway Dance Center). She shared that she chose to take four - five months of not working at all in order to pursue auditioning and only auditioning. That plan looks more and more appealing the less open my current part time job is about allowing me back when the Met Opera gig has ended....
There's no future like the present, though, so today I'll be focusing on the things I have control over: making strong lesson plans for my kids, taking voice lessons this afternoon, eating something nutritious before I fall over, and making it to a workout class tonight.
For my fellow performers, a new addition to the Broadway Discourse in the form of video blogging on Youtube. Dance On, thoughts?!
Diary of a Chorus Girl
I certainly appreciated the strongly worded call notice, which instructed auditioners not to arrive before 1:30pm, as the call was slated to begin at 2pm. But of course, there were girls waiting outside of Telsey + Co. audition hall at 6am in the morning, happily posting away their determination (or particular brand of crazy, depending on your audience) on audition update.
Oddly, the Telsey people did exactly what the creative team for Evita said they would NOT do, and allowed those women to start a list. Lo and behold, when everyone else arrives around 1pm, there are about 200 names on the list. The production assistant promptly ripped up the list, posted a new list on the board, and -almost gleefully- instigated a free for all that I KID YOU NOT involved hair pulling and pencil stealing of the worst order. At one point, I saw five or six pens on the page at once.
I mean, I know we all want work, but some CIVILITY, people! Needless to say after arriving at 12pm, I was number 356 or so.... I was particularly excited about the audition after realizing that Evita's director is the same director of Don Giovanni at the Met! In my hopeful performer mind I was thinking he might be there somewhere to recognize me. (Ha). Sadly he was not in any of the (FOUR!) audition rooms that the production team ultimately opened. Three of those rooms necessitated an a capella audition - a rare and beautiful thing where you can technically choose your key, tempo, and pitch and the person on the other side of the table won't know any better, as there is no accompanist! That also spells a certain doom for those who may need the piano's assistance to really bang out their song.
Well, I was asked to come back at 3:30pm, and they did not call my name until 5:30pm. Totally acceptable - the norm of the trade is that there is no norm. Saddening though, because by that time I was halfway through my first hour of tutoring for my new client.
During the day, I met this girl Tara, who has a fantastic operetta voice (I first heard her sing at the audition performance class at Broadway Dance Center). She shared that she chose to take four - five months of not working at all in order to pursue auditioning and only auditioning. That plan looks more and more appealing the less open my current part time job is about allowing me back when the Met Opera gig has ended....
There's no future like the present, though, so today I'll be focusing on the things I have control over: making strong lesson plans for my kids, taking voice lessons this afternoon, eating something nutritious before I fall over, and making it to a workout class tonight.
For my fellow performers, a new addition to the Broadway Discourse in the form of video blogging on Youtube. Dance On, thoughts?!
Diary of a Chorus Girl
Saturday, August 20, 2011
if things aren't going right
go left.
Pearls of wisdom from the Broadway Dance Center dressing room.
Incidentally, I am getting OLD. and HEAVY. My jumps do not have the spring they used to, and my joints grow increasingly more agitated with every passing day. I find myself surprised that I do not get as far off the floor as my body thinks I should.
oh ye woes and wonders of aging...
A nice reminder that acting is quite the intensive craft:
http://more.showfax.com/columns/corner/index.html
And last but not least, recent observations that perhaps I really have become a teacher:
Pearls of wisdom from the Broadway Dance Center dressing room.
Incidentally, I am getting OLD. and HEAVY. My jumps do not have the spring they used to, and my joints grow increasingly more agitated with every passing day. I find myself surprised that I do not get as far off the floor as my body thinks I should.
oh ye woes and wonders of aging...
A nice reminder that acting is quite the intensive craft:
http://more.showfax.com/columns/corner/index.html
And last but not least, recent observations that perhaps I really have become a teacher:
- practice tests spill out of my bag in front of a hottie fireman
- I found I have a permanent dry erase marker stain on my right ring finger and the fleshy side of my palm
- I try to find a place in the lesson plan archive of my brain for every useful or interesting tidbit of information I come across
- my bed fellows on a Saturday night are my prep materials and course outlines
C'est la vie.
Friday, August 19, 2011
down for the night
only in New York could a surfer walk across 5th avenue barefoot, next to a woman wearing 6 inch, $1000, christian louboutin pumps.
Only in New York could I contemplate the fate of the world as I know it in the midst of broad peals of lightening and thunder as they snap, crackle, pop across the sky.
Evita auditions were a mad house today. I ultimately had to leave or risk being late to tutor my new Qatari family. Oh responsibilities.
Somehow the universe conspired to remind me of all the things I love and lust for in this absurdly long day of work, tutoring, auditioning, friending, interviewing, counseling, relaxing, going outing, and finally... sleeping.
Grateful. I am always grateful.
Only in New York could I contemplate the fate of the world as I know it in the midst of broad peals of lightening and thunder as they snap, crackle, pop across the sky.
Evita auditions were a mad house today. I ultimately had to leave or risk being late to tutor my new Qatari family. Oh responsibilities.
Somehow the universe conspired to remind me of all the things I love and lust for in this absurdly long day of work, tutoring, auditioning, friending, interviewing, counseling, relaxing, going outing, and finally... sleeping.
Grateful. I am always grateful.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
And now, A Moment of Reverence
For the gorgeousness that is Marcelo Gomes, principal at American Ballet Theater, owner of possibly the most stunning ballet bottom ever sculpted by decades of technique:
And the accompanying New York Times review, though for the life of me I cannot account for why Alistair Macaulay is so gosh darn difficult to please. At least he leaves my Marcelo alone!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/arts/dance/marcelo-gomes-joins-cisne-negro-at-the-joyce-review.html?nl=nyregion&emc=urb3
And the accompanying New York Times review, though for the life of me I cannot account for why Alistair Macaulay is so gosh darn difficult to please. At least he leaves my Marcelo alone!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/arts/dance/marcelo-gomes-joins-cisne-negro-at-the-joyce-review.html?nl=nyregion&emc=urb3
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Dance love
To all my girls at West Side Story today, kick butt and break legs!
Hugs and love,
A Broadway [Working Girl] Baby
Hugs and love,
A Broadway [Working Girl] Baby
Monday, August 15, 2011
Work Out the Weekend
Spent the weekend kicking (at times, literally) back into gear with floor barre, ballet, spin class, and personal training sessions. Hamstrings are in a constant state of burn. It feels good.
That said, I'm a bit light headed from the proverbial kiss of dance death today: rain-delayed commute and the necessity of going to work instead of auditions. Hence, here I sit in a lofty Manhattan igloo, wrapped in a coworkers black Snuggie (the horror), instead of getting my sass on at the Wicked and Jersey Boys auditions today.
Now that the ides of August are upon us, the impending presence of September (the month when auditions are back in full force, not to mention the month of the Met for me!) calls for a focus back on the nitty gritty of auditioning ettiquette. Along that vein, here's a fun perspective from the other side of the audition table:
The Casting Grouch:
http://more.showfax.com/columns/corner/index.html#
I'd rather be dancing today, it's true. I'd usually rather be dancing than doing almost any other activity. But you know, sometimes you have to sacrifice so that the person you share your job with can go visit her boyfriend in Michigan. Crossing fingers for a bit of balance to the karma scales.
Speaking of Sacrifice, I loved the Warren Buffet op ed article in NY Times today. Hopefully more multi-billionaires will grow communicative consciences and confess that they can and should be taxed as much if not more than their suffering middle class comrades.
Stop Coddling the Super Rich (written by one of the most Super Rich):
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212
That said, I'm a bit light headed from the proverbial kiss of dance death today: rain-delayed commute and the necessity of going to work instead of auditions. Hence, here I sit in a lofty Manhattan igloo, wrapped in a coworkers black Snuggie (the horror), instead of getting my sass on at the Wicked and Jersey Boys auditions today.
Now that the ides of August are upon us, the impending presence of September (the month when auditions are back in full force, not to mention the month of the Met for me!) calls for a focus back on the nitty gritty of auditioning ettiquette. Along that vein, here's a fun perspective from the other side of the audition table:
The Casting Grouch:
http://more.showfax.com/columns/corner/index.html#
I'd rather be dancing today, it's true. I'd usually rather be dancing than doing almost any other activity. But you know, sometimes you have to sacrifice so that the person you share your job with can go visit her boyfriend in Michigan. Crossing fingers for a bit of balance to the karma scales.
Speaking of Sacrifice, I loved the Warren Buffet op ed article in NY Times today. Hopefully more multi-billionaires will grow communicative consciences and confess that they can and should be taxed as much if not more than their suffering middle class comrades.
Stop Coddling the Super Rich (written by one of the most Super Rich):
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212
Friday, August 12, 2011
The Itinerant Dancer
is keen to start moving again. My little cells feel lazy and fear the rust brought on by inaction. To the bouncy ball chair, at once!
Mmmmm
Mmmmm
Thursday, August 11, 2011
On a Serious Note
Given all the economic debate and hardship circulating through the media of late, I take this opportunity to share an article that my father sent. I was profoundly affected, and promptly sought out volunteer opportunities with the New York mayors office to do my part in helping to avert the suffering and adversity of my fellow Americans.
Click here for the UK Guardian article that tells a difficult but important to acknowledge truth about poverty in America.
Click here for a listing of volunteer opportunities in New York.
Click here for the story of one little girl's attempt at restoring our faith in humanity.
Click here for a little sunshine to keep you going through the day.
Apologies for the gravity of this post, but sometimes sincerity and seriousness are unavoidable. It feels a bit odd to be in this state of mind so soon after an amazing afternoon with the Met Opera costuming department, but here I sit.
All my love and optimism,
A Broadway Baby
Click here for the UK Guardian article that tells a difficult but important to acknowledge truth about poverty in America.
Click here for a listing of volunteer opportunities in New York.
Click here for the story of one little girl's attempt at restoring our faith in humanity.
Click here for a little sunshine to keep you going through the day.
Apologies for the gravity of this post, but sometimes sincerity and seriousness are unavoidable. It feels a bit odd to be in this state of mind so soon after an amazing afternoon with the Met Opera costuming department, but here I sit.
All my love and optimism,
A Broadway Baby
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Tee hee hee
According to the Met Opera, my professional title is a "super woman."
That's awesome.
I officially want a cape.
That's awesome.
I officially want a cape.
New Auditioning Trend & Free Gym Memberships!
During my daily jaunt through the Economist, the NY Times, and whatever other news publication I can get my little hands on, I came across this fascinating article about the shift in casting attention to hosting auditions online:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/theater/hopefuls-sing-out-from-afar-as-broadway-scouts-go-online.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23
While I don't agree with the article writer that the excitement and hope and intensity of waiting in audition lines - for hours upon hours with your head shot/resume in your hands and your heart on your sleeve - has worn off, it is interesting to see a new trend in the way casting directors host auditions.
Also, I had a bit of an epic work fail this morning. No total body conditioning class, about which I am quite sad. With my knees so unreliable these days, I've been feeling the need to carefully weigh my priorities (though at times I wish my gym membership wasn't quite so expensive at $79 a month).
Luckily, I've found that New Yorkers can do something fascinating at any Equinox gym in the city. If you go in and ask to be an outreach coordinator, you can come in and work for them about four hours a week and get a free membership!! That's awesome, I have to look into it ASAP. (This little tidbit is also for you, HD).
Anyway old chums, I'm off to soldier through one of the last days in my last month doing desk work for a while. T minus ONE DAY until the Met Opera contract begins!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/theater/hopefuls-sing-out-from-afar-as-broadway-scouts-go-online.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23
While I don't agree with the article writer that the excitement and hope and intensity of waiting in audition lines - for hours upon hours with your head shot/resume in your hands and your heart on your sleeve - has worn off, it is interesting to see a new trend in the way casting directors host auditions.
Also, I had a bit of an epic work fail this morning. No total body conditioning class, about which I am quite sad. With my knees so unreliable these days, I've been feeling the need to carefully weigh my priorities (though at times I wish my gym membership wasn't quite so expensive at $79 a month).
Luckily, I've found that New Yorkers can do something fascinating at any Equinox gym in the city. If you go in and ask to be an outreach coordinator, you can come in and work for them about four hours a week and get a free membership!! That's awesome, I have to look into it ASAP. (This little tidbit is also for you, HD).
Anyway old chums, I'm off to soldier through one of the last days in my last month doing desk work for a while. T minus ONE DAY until the Met Opera contract begins!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Romance in the Dance World!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/fashion/weddings/megan-fairchild-and-andrew-veyette-vows.html?nl=nyregion&emc=urb1
Yay Ballet Marriages!
Anyway, today has been an important reminder of the fact that I actually have some affect on people if I really care about the story that I am telling. I sang "In a Very Unusual Way" at my Vocal Performance class and made the students... even the teacher cry.
I get the sense that most people don't give performers credit for how hard they have to work and how much they have to focus to actually be "good". Honestly, I used to think acting was super easy. How hard can it be to just goof around on stage or on camera? And how wrong I was...
Heck I even thought dancing was pretty easy (well, at least until puberty struck and the hips grew in). Now that I'm older and only a teensy bit wiser, I will happily acknowledge that NOTHING is as easy as it may seem.
I feel a bit off today, more given to melancholy than happy uptempo songs. Not sure why... probably my grouchiness with the whole horrid weather stuff that's been going on in New York. So hot!
Tomorrow's another day. Cannot wait for total body workout early tomorrow morning!
Yay Ballet Marriages!
Anyway, today has been an important reminder of the fact that I actually have some affect on people if I really care about the story that I am telling. I sang "In a Very Unusual Way" at my Vocal Performance class and made the students... even the teacher cry.
I get the sense that most people don't give performers credit for how hard they have to work and how much they have to focus to actually be "good". Honestly, I used to think acting was super easy. How hard can it be to just goof around on stage or on camera? And how wrong I was...
Heck I even thought dancing was pretty easy (well, at least until puberty struck and the hips grew in). Now that I'm older and only a teensy bit wiser, I will happily acknowledge that NOTHING is as easy as it may seem.
I feel a bit off today, more given to melancholy than happy uptempo songs. Not sure why... probably my grouchiness with the whole horrid weather stuff that's been going on in New York. So hot!
Tomorrow's another day. Cannot wait for total body workout early tomorrow morning!
Friday, August 5, 2011
The only thing you can control is your acceptance that you have no control.
My dad (ever the wise man) is suggesting I read some Tao Te Ching. Hmm... must get on that. Avast to Amazon, as soon as I get home.
Also my lunch showed me the meaning of true love: you know it's legit when your best guy friend says he'll happily be in your wedding party (someday) even if that means he'll have to wear a dress, a wig, and shave his legs. Happiness!
It's hot as blazes out here in New York today... or so I'm told. Luckily I'm "safe" inside the igloo that is my office. No matter, I've got tea, a bouncy ball chair, and my recent discovery of Louis Prima to keep me warm.
My dad (ever the wise man) is suggesting I read some Tao Te Ching. Hmm... must get on that. Avast to Amazon, as soon as I get home.
Also my lunch showed me the meaning of true love: you know it's legit when your best guy friend says he'll happily be in your wedding party (someday) even if that means he'll have to wear a dress, a wig, and shave his legs. Happiness!
It's hot as blazes out here in New York today... or so I'm told. Luckily I'm "safe" inside the igloo that is my office. No matter, I've got tea, a bouncy ball chair, and my recent discovery of Louis Prima to keep me warm.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Exactly what I needed to hear in so many ways....
"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."
- Rainer Maria Rilke
Interactives & Chocolate
Up and coming on Broadway:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/07/31/theater/20110731-rehearse.html?WT.mc_id=TH-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M212a-ROS-0811-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click
Dark chocolate is not only good for your heart and soul, but it might actually help you work out!!
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/how-chocolate-can-help-your-workout/
Romance & Weddings
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/fashion/weddings/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/07/31/theater/20110731-rehearse.html?WT.mc_id=TH-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M212a-ROS-0811-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click
Dark chocolate is not only good for your heart and soul, but it might actually help you work out!!
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/how-chocolate-can-help-your-workout/
Romance & Weddings
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/fashion/weddings/index.html
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Spoke too soon
About the trustworthy knee. Why is it that just when my mind and heart are in a place of relative zen, my body decides that it must needs rebel against the overall calm state I'm working towards and instead careen down degenerative alley?
ARGH. Go figure. You can't have everything, as the universe always reminds me. And yet, I still can't help but feel super grateful and lucky for the ease of life that my youth and freedom have afforded me. There are hundreds of thousands of people starving in Somalia because of the worst drought in the horn of Africa in ages and the fact that militant extremists are preventing them from fleeing to get aid...
I will never again worry about such trivial matters as the expense of buying the groceries and other things that I need and want. At least I have the access and ability to even make the purchase!
Today is shaping up to be a day of much work + money making and a little bit of play in the evening... but at the heart of everything I maintain an overwhelming flood of hope against calamity and suffering, love against anger, and peace against the hatred of war.
ARGH. Go figure. You can't have everything, as the universe always reminds me. And yet, I still can't help but feel super grateful and lucky for the ease of life that my youth and freedom have afforded me. There are hundreds of thousands of people starving in Somalia because of the worst drought in the horn of Africa in ages and the fact that militant extremists are preventing them from fleeing to get aid...
I will never again worry about such trivial matters as the expense of buying the groceries and other things that I need and want. At least I have the access and ability to even make the purchase!
Today is shaping up to be a day of much work + money making and a little bit of play in the evening... but at the heart of everything I maintain an overwhelming flood of hope against calamity and suffering, love against anger, and peace against the hatred of war.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Progress
Made it through the first cut of the Rockettes (but was then quickly aware that the one track they were looking for was either much taller or much shorter than my middling height of 5'7 and 1/2).
Importantly, it was the first audition in a long time where I have felt absolute calm and total agency over my body. It was AMAZING. Such a fabulous reminder of how much I enjoy dancing...
Later in the afternoon I followed the lovely Liz to A Christmas Story audition, because I figured, why the hell not? The choreography was super fun and flirty and coquettish, which is apparently right up my alley. The choreographer was staring at me the whole time, which was exciting in of itself.
Of course both of these auditions have contracts that would conflict with the Met Opera scheduling, but I'm glad that I used my first day off in a month to continue honing my auditioning technique... Not to mention these dance calls were the equivalent of a free dance class!
Unfortunately three people in a row said that I am looking quite lean. DARN! And I was working so hard on weight lifting in heavy weights with low reps. Tomorrow I'll have to talk with my total body conditioning teacher and see if we can amend the situation asap. So glad to have a knee that I can trust to participate with me when I work out on it!
Sending lots of love out into the universe,
Importantly, it was the first audition in a long time where I have felt absolute calm and total agency over my body. It was AMAZING. Such a fabulous reminder of how much I enjoy dancing...
Later in the afternoon I followed the lovely Liz to A Christmas Story audition, because I figured, why the hell not? The choreography was super fun and flirty and coquettish, which is apparently right up my alley. The choreographer was staring at me the whole time, which was exciting in of itself.
Of course both of these auditions have contracts that would conflict with the Met Opera scheduling, but I'm glad that I used my first day off in a month to continue honing my auditioning technique... Not to mention these dance calls were the equivalent of a free dance class!
Unfortunately three people in a row said that I am looking quite lean. DARN! And I was working so hard on weight lifting in heavy weights with low reps. Tomorrow I'll have to talk with my total body conditioning teacher and see if we can amend the situation asap. So glad to have a knee that I can trust to participate with me when I work out on it!
Sending lots of love out into the universe,
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Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche,
Voila le portrait sans retouche
De l'homme auquel j'appartiens
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas,
Je vois la vie en rose.
Il me dit des mots d'amour,
Des mots de tous les jours,
Et ca me fait quelque chose.