lunch and a sunday dance performance

greg and i had lunch at west 11th street cafe and then i met my neighbor for a walk downtown to see the dance performance (which i thought was yesterday).

i didn't film much of it as it was a small crowd and since i was sitting directly in front it felt distracting to be holding the camera up, so i just enjoyed the show. two dance companies performed: time lapse dance (above is their american elm) and sokolow theatre/dance ensemble celebrating frida kahlo (whose birthday was july 6th) by performing anna sokolow's frida and magritte magritte. it was especially nice as i was able to say hello to two friends there (homeschooling friend sam performed in magritte which was a pleasant surprise). the piece above was beautiful with the wind whipping the dancer's costume, the pigeons flying about, curious people strolling by, helicopters overhead and the beautiful music they used (which you can't hear because of the wind distorting the sound on the camera). it all added to the experience of being outside with the warm sun and the trees and the cool ocean air blowing off the river . .

toni and i walked back home past penny park and said hello to the tom otterness statues . . 

(here's penny park in 2008.)

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chanda back at home with pluto. she had stopped by after work for some leftover salads i had for her and for meds that greg had picked up for her from grove.

after the green market . .

at 2 pm the sokolow theatre dance ensemble gave an interview with daniel lewis, who reminisced with other members of the company about their days with anna sokolow. the company is now compiling papers, videos and interviews for the library of congress, and this interview was conducted for that purpose. it was wonderful to hear their stories about their first meetings with anna, rehearsing and traveling together, and personal special moments. since all three offspring have worked with the company, (samantha, the creative director, periodically sets two particular works of anna's on ellen's students), i had a strong interest.

i caught a snippet of the introductions . . 

 

during the zoom interview, i heard a crowd outside which i thought was a demonstration. it ended up being a cyclist event . . 

 

i guess they were doing wheelies over a ramp . . they weren't very socially distanced, but perhaps they were wearing masks at least.

pluto was intrigued also.

 

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my sister is at the house with my brother-in-law and nephew. they went on several walks today. the first one was in amagansett by the marine museum where they saw a seal; the second was at napeague state park where they walked through a pine grove to the beach; and the third was the walking dunes.
 

in the pine grove . . 

gluing the rungs into the chair legs so they don't fall apart while we're eating . . !

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at 4 pm i went to be mother's helper so kendall could pack for her and aurélien's trip to the country house. afterwards, it felt good to sit back and talk awhile over some crackers and cheese and a little glass of wine.

in the morning a friend will come and help with loading the car and driving upstate.

 

walking home:

the night life is starting to pick up . . 

like old times . .

 

pre-covid . .

laundry and a dance symposium

 

the anna sokolow theatre dance ensemble celebrated sixty-five years of her dance piece "rooms." because of covid, the event was held online. i enjoyed watching and listening as i finished folding laundry, and everyone had interesting and fun stories to tell of working with anna.

 

dinner tonight was lentil soup with sautéed zucchini (leftover from last week's green market visit).

breakfast, dinner and a dance performance.

 breakfast with chanda . . 

 and . . dinner with chanda and greg. i made a kale soup with leftover chicken. granted, it was a bit hot to be making soup, but i was tired of having kale salad.

 after dinner we watched the sokolow theatre company's latest performance, which was supposed to be in a theatre in brooklyn, but which moved online due to covid-19.

i thought it was a wonderful production with beautiful dancing and good tech work: the filming and editing was smooth and also interesting.

i don't think we watched in a very reverent manner . . as my feet were propped on the desk, and chanda and i kept up a commentary wondering what our dancing friends were up to in their lives. however, we certainly had fun together and enjoyed the performance, which is available on the sokolow theatre/dance ensemble's website for another week.

muddling through a busy week . .

this week is a very busy and crazy week for us, and of course greg is away for it! chanda is at the theatre everyday for patrelle nutcracker rehearsal (all day on wednesday), and morgana has rehearsals and tech for her sokolow dance performance and her modern dance teacher's family matters performance at the new york live arts theatre on 19th street . . . . AND korrina has tech and dress all this week and opening night on thursday for the show she's stage managing at the herbert berghof theatre.

even though we have been getting home so late, and getting to sleep later than usual, morgana, chanda and i managed to get out of the house this morning for a special student showing of the sokolow dance theatre ensemble's anna sokolow way. this is the show morgana will be performing with wednesday, friday and saturday nights. her modern dance class is performing anna's unanswered question with the company. morgana says it's very special to be working with them, and the energy they have is inspiring.

we met our friends there for a nychea representation at the morning school performance. the company director and several of the company members talked about what is was like to work with anna, and how her dances reflected her life and the times she lived in. it began with a dance piece about immigrants arriving to nyc through ellis island, then jumped to a ragtime dance piece, followed by a solo reflecting the nightmare dreams she would have about the holocaust, then several theatre dance pieces inspired by kafka, mondrian, magritte and kurt wiel. it was a walk through time which showed us how she contributed to modern dance and how she was inspired by the lives of artists around her. she was a fascinating person, and i could feel the love and respect the dancers have for her. she died in 2000 at the age of 90, choreographing all the way (i think the last piece she did was when she was 89). she grew up on the lower east side and attended the emanuel sisterhood settlement house and the neighborhood playhouse where she began dance classes with martha graham.

 we came home to have lunch and then actually managed to do some schoolwork. i cut out hearts for my craft fair project. 

 chanda did a little italian and latin and violin and fit in a nap. morgana worked on her guitar and finished a suetonius quote in her roman history lesson book. i think her book looks beautiful and is a good reflection of the work she's done so i took a few pictures:

 hannibal crossing the alps. . 

 structure of the roman government . . 

my hearts . . sitting on the piano and waiting for thursday.

sokolow dance rehearsal

korrina's dance class has been working on two anna sokolow dance pieces with samantha geracht, a member of the sokolow theatre dance ensemble. samantha is really wonderful and loves the girls. today i saw the piece in rehearsal and they are doing an incredible job. samantha says they have such focus and intensity for the second piece called "the unanswered question." i also love the fun they have with the first piece called "halloween." jim may, the artistic director, was at rehearsal today to see the work and speak with the lighting designer.