The Simple Woman's Daybook--April 5, 2010

Outside my window:

Bright and sunny--upper 70s!

I am wearing: 

coral t-shirt dress, a string of peals, brown BR heels

I am thankful for:

my siblings

I am reading:

God and the World . But have also read: House Rules, Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian, The Hour I First Believed. (Bookshelves coming later, I promise)

From the kitchen:

Not sure. Going to the parents' for dinner. I need to make out my menu tonight.

I am thinking:

That I do not want it to snow on my birthday! (Friday. And yes, it's a possibility.)

I am creating:

A clean apartment.

On my iPod:

Oliver!

Toward rhythm and beauty: 

Vaccuming. Possible window cleaning. 

To Live the Liturgy: 

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!!!

I am hoping and praying:

for my grandfather.

Around the House:

The vaccuming, dishes, dusting. Stuff like that.

One of my favorite things:

Spring; Holy Week

A few plans for the week:

Th: Voice

Friday: My birthday!!!!!

Sunday: LOTS of LOOP stuff. More on that later.

A picture I'm sharing: 

M

Mel and I at brunch yesterday.

Seven Quick Takes Friday--Vol. XVIII

 

I . 

It's March, and the snow is melting! It's supposed to be almost 50 this weekend. I am very excited about that. 

II. 

Today is my best friend Branden's birthday. We've known each other since we were in pre-school! Happy birthday, Sir!

 

Christmas 2009--I'm next to Branden. 

III.

OK, yes I have a lot of best friends. But Branden is my best male friend. And Andrea's birthday is tomorrow (she's in the gray and white sweater in the pic above). So two birthdays back to back. Then Tiff's fiance's birthday later this month, and then mine.

IV.

A thing with me is love of birthdays. I love them, everything about them--the cards, the cake, the presents. Birthdays rock my world. 

V.

What does not rock my world? My third cold this winter (and I've gotten every one from the same person, who shall remain nameless.). I might have nipped this one in the bud, since I don't feel too horrible today, just sleepy. But with immuno-compromised me, colds (anything, almost) should be Handled With Care.

VI.

I want to feel better by tonight, since tonight is opening night of BalletMet's Carmina Burana! I am really looking forward to this show. Tickets are still avaiable  at the Riffe Center box office prior to the show, or I bet you could get them for later in the run from the online box office (link above). This should be a great performance. 

VII.

And we'll wrap with some books of 2010: The Covenant, The Betrayal, The Sacrifice, The Prodigal, The Revelation, Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I want to finish Master and Margarita today, too. 

Oh, and did you hear? I finished a story! A real story, with a beginning, middle, and end! I think I might revise it a bit today too. Once I've got it (pretty much) to my satisfaction, I'll post some. Maybe.;-) 

For more quick takes, go to Jen's!

Culture Cat: BalletMet's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Tonight I saw BalletMet's Valentine-themed program at the Riffe's Center's Capitol Theater. The double bill featured former Artistic Director David Nixon's one act adaptation of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", as well as a premiere by choreographer Ma Cong, entitled "Temporal." As usual, the program was technically brilliant and artistically superb, which is what I have come to expect from BalletMet. 

"Temporal" featured 10 dancers--five pairs of men and women. Choreographer Cong, named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch", notes that the piece was inspired by Mediterranean life and culture, and is a "study of love and spirituality and speaks sensually about he human condition." Set to vocals and electric jazz, the piece showcases the both the athletic and sensitive sides of dance.

Adrienne Benz (also one of Dance's "25 to watch") and David Tlaiye were the number's featured couple--their elegant pas de deux formed the center of the piece, which was made up of five segments. Since Benz's beautiful performance as Juliet two seasons ago, I have greatly enjoyed watching her dance. She brings a rare combination of strength, athleticism and sensitivity to her dancing, which was showcased to great effect here. Benz seems to have a spotlight on her whenever she's onstage. Tlaiye partnered her perfectly, showing her off to her best advantage. As a partner and a soloist, he shines. (In fact, all of BalletMet's male dancers are uncommonly good. We're spoiled.) The two of them seemed very comfortable dancing together, which made their duets a pleasure to watch. 

Other notable dancers in "Temporal" were Jackson Sarver and Adam Hundt, who partnered Annie Mallonee and Courtney Muscroft, respectively.

Bottom and Titania in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" 

The second act was Nixon's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", a streamlined version of Shakespeare's play that focuses on Oberon and Titania and the two pairs of crossed human lovers, Demetrius and Helena and Lysander and Hermia. Hermia's father is forcing her to marry Demetrius, but she's in love with Lysander. Helena is in love with Demetrius, who only has eyes for Hermia. When Oberon sends his sprite servant Puck into the woods with the nectar of love, hilarity ensues.  Puck also puts the spell on Titania, Oberon's wife and Queen of the Fairies, so she falls in love with the first person she sees upon awakening--in this case, the actor Bottom, who has been transformed into a donkey. 

Emily Gotschall was a radiant Titania; petulant and teasing in the beginning, when she refuses to share her changeling child with her husband, she falls head over heels in love with Bottom midway through the piece. After Oberon poitns out her mistake, she apologizes, presents the changeling to her husband, and all is well again. I had not seen Gotschall in a major role before, and she danced Titania wonderfully, with grace and spirit.  Her husband was danced by Bryan Jenkins, whose commanding presence and scheming ways are a delight to watch. He doesn't have much to do after the beginning--he mostly watches the antics of the lovers from a suspended swing--but his final pas with Gotschall were technically sound and artistically sensitive. Both of them are fine actors, as well as excellent dancers. 

Dustin James, as Puck, provided a lot of laughs with his athletic and comedic dancing. You could tell he loved getting to play this part. With elf-like ears and glitter in his hair, he was truly spritely as he pranced about the stage wreaking havoc. 

Most of the havoc is felt by poor Helena, danced by Emily Ramirez. A brilliant actress and comedienne, she plays the love lorn Helena to perfection. At first, all she wants is Demetrius to pay attention to her (David Tlaiye, in his second major role of the night), but he continually (and hysterically) rebuffs her. She goes from having no suitors, to having two, when Puck accidentally puts the nectar on Lysander's (Adam Hundt's) and Demetrius' eyes--now she has two suitors, who literally toss and pull her back and forth as if she's a rope in a tug of war. 

Her more refined counterpart, Hermia (Annie Mallonee), wants nothing but Lysander's love, and early on, she seems to have it. In fact, she has to rebuff his too amorous advances during their pas de deux. But after a brief sleep, she awakens to find that both men are in love with her best friend, making her furious. An amusing, hair-puling fight between the two women ensues as the men look for weapons with which to duel. 

In the midst of all this, Titania and her fairies (Peaseblossom [Jessica Brown], Mustarseed [Carrie West], Cobweb  [Emma Misner] and Moth [Olivia Clark]) are doting on Bottom (Andrew Notarile). When Titania announces her new love to her fairies, their expressions range from pure shock (Brown's hysterical Peaseblossom) to shrugs of acceptance (West's Mustarseed). Soon they are bedecking him with flowers, and placing him in Titania's bower. 

Oberon finally straightens out the mismatched lovers, and all is well. With Titania and Oberon reunited, the Royal Couple heads to Titania's bower, as Puck brings down the curtain.

The dancing is not just technically involved (as is usual with Nixon's ballets), but requires superb acting ability from every dancer. This challenge is well met with this cast. The facial expressions and choreography convey the comedy splendidly. 

"Midsummer" also featured the company's trainees as Titania's Fairies. Monica Giragosian, Kerri Riccardi and Emily Loscocco were in tonight's cast (they were joined by Company member Courtney Muscroft), and all performed admirably. You couldn't tell the seasoned members from the trainees in this case. The Academy was also represented, with student Connie Yuan playing Titania's Changeling Child. Bottom's theatrical comrades were well danced by Austin Finley and Emilio Lugo (also a trainee). It's great to see so much comedic talent in the company. Technically sound dancers are great to have, and provide the strong foundation. But artistry, timing, interpretation and comedy are skills that cannot be taught. These intangibles BalletMet has in abundance. Passion, laughter and love make this a Valentine's Day program to remember. 

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" runs through Sunday at the Capitol Theater in the Riffe Center. The next two programs for BalletMet are "Carmina Burana", opening March 5, and "American Legends", which opens in late April. Go to www.balletmet.org for ticket information. 

All photos: Will Shively 

And a random neat note: This program didn't require all the Company dancers to be involved. But I still saw dancer Andres Estevez and his wife, dancer Zoica Tovar, in attendance. Unfortunately I forgot to ask them to sign my program!

Happy birthday, Susie! (part II)

Dear Suze,
I cannot believe that you are a year old today! You are an adorable little girl, full of fun and cuddliness (if we can catch you!). I wish I could be with you to celebrate, especially since you're walking now!
Have a wonderful birthday, and many, many more.
Love,
Your Cousin, Emily

I made that blanket for Susie! The other side has girl and boy rubber duckies. 

Susie's first trip to Galveston--and a beach, period

Susie and her parents. Aren't they a good looking family? 

Me and Suze at the Houston Museum of Natural Science's butterfly exhibit. 

In Pittsburgh over Christmas. 

A Clouded Constellation

The Corner has this to say about the Obama Administration's proposed canceling of the Constellation space shuttle program. This is one of the things in the budget I'm a little disappointed about. 

 For one thing, space is cool. I loved studying space and astronomy as a kid, and really, it's one of the few places where I could see clear (and AWESOME) applications for higher math. I'm an Ohioan, so flight and space are big--we have the Wright Brothers, Neil Armstrong, and NASA Glenn research center in Cleveland. 

Over the summer, I visited the Johnson Space Center in Houston. It was a world-class museum, offering something for everyone at rock-bottom ticket prices. I got to touch a moon rock, visit Historic Mission Control, see the Saturn V rocket, and learn that we've figured out how humans could survive on the Moon. It was so neat. If I was a kid, this might have motivated me to work harder in math and science!

Growing plants on the Moon

Space is part of the national consciousness. Star Wars, Star Trek, Apollo 13, and the Challenger explosion are easy examples of space-themed things in our culture. My Tempurpedic bed is (supposedly) based on NASA science. 

Sure, it's a government agency, so it's bloated and inefficient. But it does need consistent funding if we're going to reach the Moon again, or Mars. I've been reading Man and the Moon, by Andrew Chakin, about the space program. These moon trips were complicated research missions-- a lot of science was involved, as was the taking of samples and other experiments. It wasn't just, "hey, let's beat the Russians to the Moon." 

I don't think exploration can come with set standards. Christopher Columbus wanted to find China; he found Hispanola instead. Alexander the Great wept when he saw there was no more to conquer. Magellean found the way through the treacherous strait that bears his name. Every terrestrial has added to our knowledge about this planet, her people, and her life. (Let's save the arguments about why it wasn't so great for another time.) Why can't extraterrestrial exploration do the same thing? Astronauts are today's Columbuses and Magelleans. They give us license to dream. 

KIds, con't...

More from the Pittsburgh trip:

Suze studies the world of rabbits.

Brothers. Aren't they adorable?

Me with Paige, the big sister of the boys above.

Family

Photos from the Pittsburgh Trip:

Di and the Adorable Suze. Isn't she HUGE?! Last time we saw her, she looked like this....

(July '09 in Houston)

babies, stop growing! Stop it I say!

I got to share a room with Cindy Lou Who (I mean...um...Suze) and Di. We had lots of fun, and Suze was wonderful.

For a Texas girl, she is well prepared for snow. She had mittens, a hat, and a big fluffy parka on top of this. She didn't really like the hat. It snowed 1-2" yesterday in the 'Burg.

At the family dinner--(L-R), Kelly, me and Carrie. Kelly is a sophomore at UM, and Carrie is a freshman at IUPUI. Carrie is studying graphic design and Kelly is a flute performance/music ed major.

I really, really love these guys.

My favorite, the Angel Baby, AKA Justin. Still has wonderfully curly hair, and a penchant for photography. He loves having his picture taken...

but...

Is not real great about opening his eyes...

(above, Cousin Matt, almost 17; directly above with Big Brother Brendan, who is a total cutie.)

More pics to come...

Baby Shower

For my friend Leah, who's expecting her first little one (a boy) in January.

The girls from Cap: Richelle, me, Leah, Sarah and Melissa (CRs all)

Me and Sarah

The proud mom.

The buffet--isn't it pretty? Melissa made the cupcakes. Everything was fantastic! (And great motivation to get up early on Sat. morning.)

Showering Mom with gifts.

Culture Cat: BalletMet's "Nightmoves"

Last night was the opening performance of BalletMet's "Nightmoves", a series of six contemporary pieces featuring six different choreographers. BalletMet always sprinkles their season with events like this, that showcase modern dance and a variety of choreographic styles. "Nightmoves" is this year's selection. While one of the pieces had been performed previously by the company (Twyla Tharpe's "Sinatra Suite"), all of the others were either company or world premieres.

The show kicked off with Gerald Charles' "Maestro", set to Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to Orchestra. The whimsical piece explored the relationship the four different orchestral sections have with the Maestro (danced last night by Jimmy Orrante). Four dancers represented the "section leaders" for the woodwinds (Emily Ramirez), strings (Carrie West), Brass (Jackson Sarver), and percussion (Dustin James). Three addition dancers, in slightly different costumes than that of the section leader, fleshed out each instrumental family.

BalletMet dancers David Tlaiye and Jessica Brown in "Maestro"

This costumes for this piece, designed by Frank Quadflieg, exactly matched the piece's whimsical tone and used unique elements such as hats, orange tights for the men in the brass section, and black pointe shoes for the women of the string section.

Tharp's "Sinatra Suite", danced by Adrienne Benz and Jon Drake, was next. I love this piece and was glad to see it again, although the male solo at the end was cut from this production. Benz, especially, did a lovely job in this piece. You can tell she greatly enjoys dancing it.

The Act I finale was a real highlight--Laurie Eisenhower's "Night Music", set to Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. All six dancers were asleep! I think I saw eyes open once (and I was in the front row), which made their contortions, movements and facial expressions even more amazing. Using a couch as a prop, the dancers slid over it, around it, and jammed onto it, all "asleep" as the piece progressed. It's laugh-out-loud funny, and it alone is worth the ticket price.

After a twenty-minute intermission, the second half kicked off with a world premier--"Relevant", by Maria Glimcher. In a video clip before the dance, Glimcher explained that the piece is about time--how we are affected by it, and how we experience it. The piece is set for four female dancers and features two long strips of fabric that initially divide the stage into four quadrants, like a clock.

I liked this piece, especially the second part, which was a bit softer. The dancers did a wonderful job with the choreography, and the use of the fabric was innovative and appropriate. I did find Glimcher's choreography to be a bit out of sync with the music, especially in the second half, when the accompaniment was a gentle piano melody. The harsh movements of the dancers seemed dissonant to me.

"In g major", a pas de deux by choreography Michael Uthoff, was next. Danced by Zoica Tovar and Andres Estevez (whom we saw last as Odile and Prince Siegfried, respectively, in Swan Lake), this was an achingly beautiful expression of love. Uthoff had choreographed this as a wedding gift for two Ballet Arizona dancers who were getting married, and it perfectly captures that sentiment. Tovar and Estevez express all the expressions of new love--wonder, joy, tenderness--in this piece. It ends with a small kiss.

Finally on the program was company dancer Adam Hundt's "dwell," which used video as well as music. Set for six dancers (three pairs of men and women) performed the evening's most modern piece. The dancing was demanding--the women often had to do lighting-fast changes from technique shoes to pointe shoes--and extremely innovative, as were the costumes (shredded black leotards, tights, and tank tops). I think the first half of the program (before the video) was better than the first, and I wasn't quite sure about the use of props (rope, and long tulle skirts for the women). But the dancers' athleticism and vigor made this an exciting piece to watch.

"Nightmoves" is an exciting peek into the future of dance, and a fine bridge between two Classical staples--Swan Lake and The Nutcracker (which opens December 11). Do yourself a favor and see it.

"Nightmoves" will run through November 20 at the BalletMet Performance Space. Tickets can be purchased here. 

Glory

Go team 

Fun with photo booth

Essie

Me and Liz (Lucille) before Act I.

Total Run Through

During "Intermission: Abby (Iola), me, and Rachel (Mary)

The first run through wasn't really a total run through, since around 10:00 we stopped (so people could clean!), which meant we were just short of the hanging and Finale. But until then, we had done well. No stopping (yay!), and everything went very smoothly. Frank had notes, of course, and the only one he had for me was my line in the funeral sequence--apparently it sounded off. I'm going to count this up as a fluke because I've never had trouble with the line before. And we were missing some people so the harmony wasn't all there, either. I have, however, asked Kristin if she thought it was something we should go over prior to our second run-through on Sunday.

Long weekend, huzzah! Tiff, Bill (her boyfriend) and Branden just came over, where we talked about the show, Branden's new job, and watched 90 minutes of The Dark Knight.
A very quality Friday.

And happy birthday to Anne, my first Best Friend! 27!

The Simple Woman's Daybook--January 19, 2009

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For MONDAY, January 19, 2009

Outside my window...

It's clear and sunny. Snow on the ground and some icicles dangling from my eaves. 

I am thinking...

that there's a lot to do today, but that's OK.

I am thankful for...

days off and Steelers victory!

From the kitchen...

Brioche Day two--rising and baking

To live the liturgy...

Magnificat, daily Bible reading, rosary

I am wearing...

gray yoga pants and a cranberry camisole (my jammies, in other words)

I am creating...

bread, a clean apartment, a theatrical character 

I am going to breathe deeply ...

and enjoy my day off. 

Bringing beauty to my home ...

Weekly Home Blessing Hour

I am going...

to read and practice, and do some writing. 

I am reading...

The Iliad; Bleak House (yup, it's back)

I am hoping...

for a productive week in rehearsal

I am hearing...

The Elton John/ Tim Rice "Aida" soundtrack

Around the house...

vacuuming, cleaning, etc. 

One of my favorite things...

The Steelers :) 

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Monday: Rehearsal

Tuesday: back to work, rehearsal

Wednesday: Rehearsal

Thursday: Rehearsal

Sunday: lots of birthdays! Matt, Alex and Sarah

A picture thought I am sharing: 

L-R: My aunts Patty and Mary with me at our reunion. Yes, Aunt Parry and I are wearing the same cardigan. :) 

Love in Rochester Part I

Justin and Lisa at the altar

So...more pictures!