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April 23, 2021:

BRAVO BALANCHINE AND MENTORING

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I’ve just finished watching the most marvelously marvelous DVD that has made me very happy – the New York City Ballet in Paris, filmed in 2016, an all-Balanchine program consisting of four ballets of varying lengths. The genius on display from Mr. Balanchine is breathtaking. And the 2016 company of dancers, which include Maegan Fairchild, Joaquin De Luz, Sterling Hylton, Amar Ramasar, Tiler Peck and more, are fantastic. The curtain raiser is Gounod’s ballet music from Faust and it’s a perfect opener and appetite wetter. Then we move on to the brief Sonatine by Ravel, played on piano by an onstage pianist. It’s simple and wonderful. Then comes what was, for me, the main course, La Valse, which incorporates Ravel’s Valses Nobles et Sentimentales and La Valse. This is one of the most gorgeous things I’ve ever seen. It’s a stunner of such beauty I can’t even begin to describe it. It doesn’t hurt that the music of Valses Nobles et Sentimentales may well be my favorite Ravel of all, especially as performed by Munch (although the Paul Paray Living Presence album is excellent, too). I was enthralled by it and I am enthralled by little these days. And for dessert we get Symphony in C by Bizet, and what a closer it is. The patterns, the staging, the choreography, lighting, all of it, just perfection. And there’s more good news. Unlike Mr. Kirk “never put the camera where it should be” Browning or Mr. Ross MacGibbons, the go-to guy now for ballet and opera, who has ruined more Royal Ballet videos than I can count due to his ineptitude (as well as other companies), and that’s all you can call it when he doesn’t understand how to film these things. Well, hallelujah, here we have a video director who understands what he’s shooting and has perhaps even watched a rehearsal or two. The camera is ALWAYS in the right place at the right time, he knows when to stay wide, it’s not overcut, it’s everything dance on film should be. His name is Vincent Bataillon, and he deserves many, many kudos. No, we don’t need him to take a “a film by” credit, because it’s not a film and he’s the video director shooting a pre-determined program by the NYCB. I wish this one were on Blu and Ray, but it’s DVD only as far as I can tell. Highly recommended by the likes of me and worth every centime you might pay. Ooh, it IS on Blup-ray – how could I have missed it? The Blu-ray will be here on Saturday and I shall watch it all over again. If anyone would like the DVD pretty cheap, PM me.

Otherwise, I’ve been listening to the Vaughan Williams symphonies, which I always enjoy revisiting. Have already heard the second, third, and am now on fourth. I don’t love his first symphony, which is choral, so I rarely listen to it, but all the others are great, and a couple are really different from his usual style, the fourth and sixth being the prime examples. What a composer he was.

Yesterday was, I suppose, a day. I got eight hours of sleep, answered a lot of e-mails, picked up a package, and then had my tuna salad on one lettuce leaf, with onions and a bit of celery. I didn’t use as much mayonnaise as I usually do and it was really excellent and light, very low in calories, of course, and zero carbs. Then it was time to do the Zoom mentor thing. It was supposed to be with two high schoolers, one male, one female, but the male couldn’t be there because he works part time to help out his family and couldn’t get his boss to let him off today, a shame. But the young lady was delightful – very self-assured and smart, who’s writing her first play. She told me about it, I was very positive and encouraging about it, and then she had several questions for me, which I answered as best I could. I told her some plays to read, I told her rules are fine to break as long as you know them, I explained the differences between one, two, and three-act plays and how each form has to build differently. I told her about some of my work, I told her that the most important thing is to learn and assimilate, be a sponge, and make sure you’re always engaging your audience in some way, even if it’s in an uncomfortable way. She was very interested in my process and I explained to her that it really isn’t like anyone else’s and that while it works for me, it isn’t necessarily right for others. She was very appreciative and I think most appreciative to the positivity message, how to avoid hitting a wall, writing-wise, all that junk. She asked if she could send me her play when she’s done and I of course said yes. The trick with high schoolers or even first timers, is to make them feel empowered. I told her whether the play is good or not is almost irrelevant – it’s the doing, the finishing, that’s relevant. I explained what directors and actors would be doing once she handed it over and that you have to be receptive to new ideas or thoughts – not that you’d necessarily do them if you don’t believe in them, but to always at least give it some thought, unless it’s the stupidest idea ever, in which you just say hit the road, Jack. She asked if I’d send her something I’d written, preferably a play, and since she’s writing something that’s sort of a mystery play, I decided to send her the script of Revenge. It’s short and sweet and does everything it sets out to do. I also sent her a link to watch it after she read it. I told her that I’d made several changes to it as I heard it being read for the first time – reassigning some lines, adding some lines, which I did specifically because of what the actor was doing with the part – I love when that happens, because you just want to give that actor more stuff, and most importantly cutting all the dialogue I’d written to be spoken during the murder scene. Sometimes less is more. Anyway, I had fun doing it.

After that, I made a little salad with bleu cheese dressing and some celery and ate that – very good, no carbs, and I only used two tablespoons of dressing. I had a back-and-forth e-mail volley for an upcoming project, booked a guest for the Kritzerland show in May – this will be the first online show that Kerry O’Mally isn’t in – she’s too busy with TV gigs and just can’t do it, which is a shame, but in this world better to be busy and making money. So, I’m still casting away. I have to finish that in order to finalize songs, but I’ve started choosing. Then I watched the ballets.

After that, I made another little salad, this time with a few onions and oil and vinegar dressing and that was good. I ate an Atkins bar for a sweet. All in all, I have to believe I’m under 10 grams of carbs and maybe I had 1200 calories all in, although I feel like I’ve eaten a huge amount of food. Perhaps my stomach is shrinking a bit. The rest you know and you know the rest, not necessarily in that order.

Today, I’ll try to be up by ten because I’ll take the motor car in for its smog check and the part I had to order for the trunk – something got knocked off and it’s so ugly without it that I had to replace it. And then soon I’m going to give the motor car a proper washing at the car wash – it’s only been a year since I’ve done that, maybe even more. While they’re putting the part on and doing the smog check, I’ll walk down to Ventura Boulevard and perhaps go to the California Pizza Kitchen for their wood plank salmon, which I like, and which has little calories or carbs. I have two gift cards that I don’t believe I’ve ever used – must be two or three years old by now – I found them in the glove box of my motor car when I was cleaning it out. Then I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, then come home and buckle down, Winsocki and do that Indiegogo stuff. I still haven’t heard about the move date, which is making me very nervous. I have to call U-Haul tomorrow if we’re going to push, otherwise I have to pay for the three units right now. I wish people would communicate better because old people need good communication, or they have heart palpitations. Then at some point, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.

Tomorrow, she of the Evil Eye comes, so I’ll go somewhere and have a bacon and cheese omelet with some tomatoes on the side. Then it’s more of the same, and then I’m having an early dinner with an old friend, to catch up. She’s a nice sort, and she’s a real ballet maven – she’s danced since she was a kid, so it will be fun to yak about that. I’ll probably have a salad of some sort, or maybe even their roast chicken, but I’m not sure about that. I could also conceivably have their excellent burger without the bun, but I’m not sure about that. They don’t have much on the menu that’s completely Keto friendly, I’m afraid. Or I could have a steak, I suppose. That’s totally friendly. Sunday is more of the same and then next week is very busy.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by ten, get a smog check and have a part put on the motor car, eat while that’s being done, hopefully pick up packages, do Indiegogo stuff, hopefully hear about the move, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start: CD, nothing at the moment. Blu-ray, a ballet of Anastasia by the Royal Ballet, and also the Royal Ballet’s non-Balanchine production of The Nutcracker, which I’m interested to see. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have seen four wonderful Balanchine ballets and happy to have mentored and hopefully been of some little help

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