at the ballet and a recital

this is the coat check at lincoln center. i was waiting along with twenty other people to be ushered into the first ring for a rehearsal of a midsummer night's dream with the new york city ballet. my friend is a member and wasn't able to attend so she offered me her ticket. it was fun watching the dancers mark their places on the stage and run particular sections of their pieces repeatedly. the artistic director and ballet masters and mistresses stood along the edge of the stage watching and commenting and the stage hands adjusted the set pieces. the conductor was there but not the full orchestra. a rehearsal pianist played all the music. 

i met greg afterwards at the flame diner as we had a friend's daughter's recital to attend (after getting a bite to eat) at the school for strings. he's looking very happy as the verdict was just announced. it was the talk of the street as i walked downtown to meet him . . everyone was feeling a little bit chipper and there were many conversations about what it might mean and how the punishment might work out.

getting all the latest tweets . . 

at the recital . . a few of the songs that were sung were:

wer hat dies liedlein erdacht (gustav mahler), five melodies populaires grecques (maurice ravel), bei mir bist du shein (sholom secunda) and the light in the piazza (adam guettel).

walking home afterwards we passed a mounted police officer. we had just been talking the other week about how we rarely saw them these days. you can read an interesting article about the full new york city police department mounted unit here on the noelle floyd website.

the sky was beautiful this evening.

a little bit about wednesday

the day began very grey but the sky steadily cleared and it grew very humid and warm. tomorrow is supposed to be much cooler.

i had the most delicious lunch . . avocado and a sunnyside up egg on einkorn toast.

cricket's toy mouse looks very real . . 

he's either looking for crumbs or a bug . . 

chanda had a fun time seeing the ballet tonight.

the best laid plans . .

morgan and i were supposed to see the new york city ballet's nutcracker this afternoon at 2 pm. we arrived only to find that all shows are cancelled through december 27th. i was so disappointed . . just really disappointed!

we used the bathroom at the performing arts library before heading downtown to rockefeller center. they had a photo display of the limon dance company from the 1960's and 1970's. morgana enjoyed seeing their dance teacher, betty jones, in the company photos.

betty is the smiling face in the center of this pic. they were visiting columbia in 1961 and meeting columbian president alberto camargo.

the company arriving in santiago chili . . 

betty is in the center with a scarf around her shoulders.

heading out to walk downtown to see the christmas tree . .

this year's tree is from elkton, maryland and is a 79 foot long norway spruce.

fortitude at the 42nd street library . . 

we then caught the fifth avenue bus downtown and i rode it to 10th street and made some shopping stops as i walked home (bigelow, the florist for paper white bulbs, pink olive and grove drug store). the walk home was incredibly windy and cold!

dinner was einkorn pasta with greens and shitake mushrooms.

another farewell performance

 

 i rode the citibike up to lincoln center again this afternoon, for the three pm new york city ballet performance of maria kowroski's farewell. she's retiring from the company and accepting a position as artistic director of the new jersey ballet.

 

it was a full house for the matinee. she performed two excerpts from the ballet chaconne, choreographed by george balanchine (music by christoph willibald von gluck), and danse á grande vitesse, choreographed by christopher wheeldon (music by michael nyman), and danced fully the piece amaria (scarlatti) by choreographer mauro bigonzetti and slaughter on tenth avenue by jerome robbins. the last one i actually don't think i've seen before. it was a fun, comedic 1940's gangster piece which the audience loved, with a score by richard rodgers and re-orchestrated by hershy kay specifically for the ballet.

 

there was an intermission this time.

 

taking her bows at the end of slaughter on tenth avenue.

 

maria kowroski danced the sugar plum fairy often when korrina was an angel and soldier for the nutcracker in 2003. i saw her do many pieces the two years korrina was at the ballet school. we used to get free tickets for the evening shows after ballet class, which we really enjoyed seeing, though we were always a bit tired (the children remember greg falling asleep through some of them - i probably did too).

 

it was another beautiful night at the ballet (and i rode the bicycle home again along columbus/ninth avenue, which is always a very rickety challenge as there's so much construction!)

at the ballet

i bought my thirty five dollar ticket to see the new york city ballet in july. at that time october ninth seemed so far away, and then all of a sudden it was here.

after a year and a half of no live performances, i couldn't believe i was on my way to see the ballet again. i rode up on a citibike (uphill and against the wind (i really didn't think i was going to make that last block) and arrived at 1:20 for a 2 pm show. there were two lines: one for those with the new york excelsior pass - id and vaccination added to a special database - and one for those without the pass. neither line had people waiting on it. i walked right in and showed the guard my vaccination card and driver's license, and then showed my ticket to the usher (wearing my mask, of course, as everyone else was). before going to my seat i walked out on the balcony and took these photos. two concession windows were open with wine, champagne and sparkling water. i found out when i sat down and looked at the program that there wouldn't be an intermission. clever!

 

i was there on this particular night to see lauren lovette's farewell performance. she decided to leave to pursue other dance and choreographic opportunities. she had been with the school and the company since she was fourteen years old (she's currently thirty).

taking a bow after dancing jerome robbins' opus 19/the dreamer, danced to prokofiev's violin concerto no. 1 in d major.

company bows after performing balanchine's serenade (tschaikovsky's serenade for strings).

saying good-bye to her colleagues . . .

it was such a wonderful day at the ballet, such a beautiful and heartfelt event. i'm so glad i went.

it felt so freeing to be at lincoln center again.

and now i feel exhausted. i had a good hour of cleaning up after the kittens when i got back, and then i made a ratatouille as i had so many vegetables in the refrigerator and i didn't want them to go bad . . and then i sat with the kittens again, hoping to help them go in the kitty litter and not to walk in their loose poops. i've been having trouble getting them not to be so loose. it's such a mess. i think i'll try boiled chicken and plain white rice tomorrow as suggested by a fellow foster volunteer.

and on that lovely note i'll say good night!

meals and lectures

 

i made a pear apple compote yesterday, from the apples and pears marisa brought from her trees in vermont. i added cinnamon, cloves and a vanilla bean. it was very easy to make (i don't know why that surprised me) and it came out very good. the vanilla bean made it especially delicious. this morning i had it with oatmeal.

 

this evening, i listened to a podcast by nycb dancer megan fairchild while cooking dinner. she and fellow company member wendy whalen shared stories about albert evans, a beloved colleague of theirs who passed away a few years ago from cancer. 

 

 

 

 

 we had the sausage and peppers with an italian bread . . another meal my mom would often make.

 

after dinner, i also listened to a talk from wnyc radio's the greene space, which is featuring a week dedicated to first peoples. this evenings discussion was with lenape center director joe baker who spoke about the history of the lenape nation in relation to manhattan island, chief tamanend of the turtle clan, and the building at 44 union square and 17th street, tammany hall, which ceased belonging to the infamously corrupt tammany society in 1943. the international ladies garment society bought the building at that time, but it's latest tenants have been the new york film academy, the union square theatre, and several retail stores. it was landmarked in 2013 and began a complete renovation in 2016. in tonight's discussion, it's lead architect speaks about the renovation's homage to the turtle clan of the lenape tribe. you can see a picture of the new building here. i find the acknowledgement of the lenape people and the relationship they have to our city heartening.

trying to stay hopeful . .

the situation for businesses and out of work new yorkers feels more hopeful today. news organizations, public radio hosts, congresspeople, state and federal representatives, are all talking about measures that can be taken to try and hold the economy together. korrina thinks her online application got through correctly to unemployment, though there was some glitch about being eligible next week and not this week . . she'll just have to see.

it's been a busy day of talking on the phone with friends and family. my nephew called and i found out that my sister and brother-in-law are only four hours from home (they've been in florida). i'm so glad.

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here's some more of the workers behind the scenes at the new york city ballet:

the drawing in the center is of christine redpath, ballet master:
 "i was a dancer with the company beginning in 1969. when we were on tour in 1972, we went to russia--kiev, leningrad, tbilisi, moscow--and to poland, to lodz, and warsaw. we went to the mariinsky school in leningrad. as we got off the bus, balanchine was really tense. there was a press conference and the russians wanted to claim him as their own. they were toasting with vodka and saying, oh, he's ours and how great that he's come back! he said, 'oh, no. i'm american.'
"when balanchine would choreograph, his eyes would get very black. the pupils were huge. he would have the pianist play a few bars. he'd think about it, take one person and say, 'okay, try this.' if it didn't seem to fit the dancer, he would give something else. even though we would be saying, 'wait! i can do this!'
"today, when i'm in a studio with the dancers, and i'm working on one of jerry robbins' ballets, or mr. b's ballets, i'm filled with joy. my whole life, i've been happiest in the studio."

on the right is suzy alvarez, hair and wigs:
"everybody's face is different. some people have round faces, some  people have long faces. obviously, if someone has a long face, i will not give them a middle part.
"you change according to the show. for midsummer night's dream you use a lot of glitter. glitter on their eyes, glitter in their hair. it's a fairytale. for romeo and juliet, you are in 15th century verona. i give the girls braids that they can wear in different ways. in the cage, by jerome robbins, everybody wears crazy hair. they're like cave people.
"sometimes in the middle of a show, a dancer has to take her hair down on stage while she's dancing, so i preset it. i use products. i use a curling iron and a flat iron. i put in two huge pins. then, when she's doing a turn, she pulls the pins and the hair comes tumbling down."

on the left is hank lavaia, stage carpentry:
"i was in vietnam for two years, 1968 to 1970. in 1970, right out of the army, i went to broadway for two months. worked at the majestic. then i came up here, and i stayed.
"george balanchine was a sweetheart of a guy. he was big on the crew. very efficient. he wanted no big scenery,  no big sets. towards the end of his life he had a problem with his equilibrium. i fixed a railing in his apartment and we did some work on his steps.
"i'm a blessed man. i love my job. i was born to this. my grandfather and my father were stagehands. i fell right into the groove. stagehands work in the morning and then at night. it's two full jobs. same with dancers. they rehearse all morning, and they're on stage at night. days and nights, days and nights."

veggies, minerva and swan lake

i was out early this morning . .

to take care of minerva . . 

 and to visit the green market . . and then . .

home again . . morgana made this sign years ago . . 

 i love the little shoes . . 

 and boots . . 

 pluto is always at the door, ready to greet me.

 the green market haul . . 

 shitake mushrooms, fingerling potatoes and turnips (and eggs . . ) . .

after breakfast i took the train uptown to lincoln center and the new york city ballet to see tiler peck dance in swan lake.

i was also looking forward to giving more attention to the art exhibit by lauren redniss, which i find so interesting that i wish they had published a book with her drawings and interviews.

 i first wrote about this exhibit on february 8th. the artist drew and interviewed over one hundred behind the scenes people associated with the ballet: engineers, lighting designers, ballet masters, porters, dress makers, make-up artists, call center operators . . etc.

i took some photos of the few interviews they included along the wall on the mezzanine level:

(drawing on left) jean-pierre frohlich, ballet master

"i've been in this building since it was built. 1964. there are images in my head of balanchine and robbins rehearsing. images of my childhood. running the hallways in between the matinee and evening performance. images of when balanchine choreographed a small section of don quixote on me. i was ten years old. he was extremely gentle, extremely kind to children. i have memories of working with jerry robbins on watermill. i was 16, at school of american ballet. robbins wanted to use me, but he didn't know if it was possible because i was at the school. so he asked balanchine, 'is it okay if i use jean-pierre for this production?' balanchine said, 'of course, he's family.'

"when you teach the ballets, you have to make sure they don't become a museum piece -- that they evolve with the times we are living in and how dancers dance today. balanchine did that and so did robbins. robbins said to me many times, 'j.p. don't look at too many videos, because you start making dancers look like the person who's on the video.' in other words, the dancer won't find their own voice in the role. when robbins entrusted me with his ballets, i felt at ease. i felt prepared, because robbins prepared me. balanchine prepared me."

(drawing on the right) norma attride, wardrobe

"there are about 4,000 costumes in the storage area downstairs at the theatre. there are another, say, 10,000 costumes at a great big warehouse up in new jersey.

"i maintain and elongate the life of a costume. we change elastics in trunks, shoulders, waistbands. it's a lot of laundry, a lot of woolite. we are constantly cleaning, especially if dancers are sharing the costume and it has to be worn in the afternoon and again in the evening or the next day. you're wiping it down and getting little make-up stains off.

"tutus are easy to maintain. but after awhile, because a lot of partnering, the oil from the partner's hands will get on the tutu bodice, so you're constantly trying to get the oil, or the rosin, off. the dancers put rosin on their side seams to help their partner have a grip, and rosin stains really badly. if that's what the partner has to do in order to keep steady, you can't say no. you want the dancers to be safe on stage. you just have to do your best to clean it."

ms diaz, box office

"it all started with my grandfather, rafael diaz. he worked for the company many years ago, in the 1950's, before lincoln center was build. he worked here all his life. when i was born,  he brought in my father, virgilio diaz. they were porters. they made sure everything was in order--the garbage was picked up, the brass polished, all that stuff.

"one time, my father invited me and a cousin of mine. we were about eight or nine years old. it was winter. we got up real early, about 3:30 in the morning. my father had to be at work at 5:30 am. there's almost nobody here that early. we went into the ballerina's dressing rooms, into the theatre, sat in the seats. we went on stage. you know what? when i walk into the theatre now, it's the same smell. the wood. the velvet. it takes me back.

"when i was 18, my father said to me, 'there's an opening in the box office.' i started off as a mail clerk. i did customer service on the phone. i grew up here. i started off with braces. i bought my house. i had my kids. i have a grandchild. i couldn't see myself anywhere else. imagine! i've been here all my life."

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i have two more photos with drawings and interviews which i will try and post another day. it takes awhile to copy the text!

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warming up . . 

 on the balcony at intermission . .

 i enjoyed seeing the audience mix with the portraits . . 

it was a beautiful show. tiler peck danced exquisitely, and joseph gordon was wonderful as her prince siegfried. since ms peck just recently recovered from a herniated disc, the audience was doubly supportive of her and extremely enthusiastic about her performance this afternoon. there was a very good article in the new york times about her injury and subsequent recovery which can be read here. another incredibly beautiful performance this afternoon was from kurt nikkanen, the violin soloist. you can see  him all the way on the left in the above photo, with the conductor, andrew litton.

 i'm so glad i bought my ticket early for such a great seat!

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my exhausting afternoon of re-caulking and re-grouting the shower tiles is here, and my afternoon clearing out a bookshelf with korrina is here.