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Anjuli_Bai

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Everything posted by Anjuli_Bai

  1. Multinational corporations come from many countries - including the UK - and they buy out the small local shops here, too. Nativity scenes are under assault here, too. Political correctness is striking out against religion and other customs and traditions here, too. Whatever country is in the ascendent at any given time often swamps the local people in far away places. From Persia to Greece, from Rome to when the UK controlled an empire upon which the sun never set. This thread - the anger I read - has been an eye opener for me. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Very Happy New Year.
  2. There is this old fashioned concept called....hmm....er....let me see if I can recall it....oh yes! - disciipline. It's an important concept in dance class, too. When my son was about 12 yrs old there was a line of clothing that was "in" - i forget the name, but it had a particular logo. It was all the rage. It was also twice as expensive as other clothing of the same type and very shoddily made. I bought him one shirt of this "in" brand and after having all the buttons falll off (and a few seams come apart) in the first wash - I bought no more. He was devastated. I told him he could have as many of these "in" shirts as he wanted - but he would have to pay for them himself. I, of course, saw to it he was well clothed but not in those shoddy shirts ("in" though they may be). He soon found it wasn't worth his while having to devote many hours mowing and weeding neighbor's lawns (at 12 that was his way of earning money) just for one shirt which soon fell apart. No international corporation - no matter how vigorous their advertising - could overcome that fact. And neither could peer pressure. What started out as a parental decision quickly became self-discipline. You want a car? Great! Yes, of course you can have one - now go buy one - pay for it - including taxes, insurance, fuel, and upkeep. You want a fancy limo for the prom - yes! of course you can have one....pay for it. A limo is not intrinsically necessary to your happiness. I once read that it is difficult and time consuming to work at being a good, caring and instructive parent. It takes no effort at all to just give the child all he/she desires. As for those ghastly pageants for children. A child of that young age is not capable of making good desicions. I lay the blame entirely on the parents. I've known a few of those little girls (they took ballet lessons) and they are often very unpleasant children. I came to the conclusion that the parents - mostly the mothers - were living vicariously through their daughters. To go back to the concept of "discipline" - it also applies to Black Friday. No one is dragged from their home to stand in a line to buy something like a TV. If one can't resist advertising hoopla - there is something else missing in that person's life. On the other hand, if someone does want to stand in such a line on a particular day of the year - go to it. As for "apling" other countries/cultures - there is very little in any culture which is "pristine." Almost everything came from somewhere else. Such as: Santa Claus, Christmas trees, holiday foods, caroling, gift giving, music, literature, poetry -- and yes, ballet - and The Nutcracker. I say we are enriched by it all.
  3. Well, we could turn this all around and look at all of the many customs, holidays, parliamentary form of government, language, dress, drama, music, literature, architecture, civic activities, social norms, etc., which other countries (including the USA) have imported from the UK - and mostly to positive effect. From California to Texas, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated - imported from Mexico. As well as a huge presence of Mexican food, art, dance and other customs. Downtown LA looks like Southeast Asia - with imported holidays celebrated, restaurants, arts and crafts, New Orleans still has a heavy influence of its French history - which is what makes the city interesting. Pennsylvania has a background of German and Dutch history and influence along with the British influence. Many of the older neighborhoods in Philadelphia look very much like those in the UK. In San Diego there is "Little Italy" and in Philadelphia there is the "Italian Market" - surrounded by neighborhoods with people either descended from those countries - or newly arrived. In other areas of San Diego - there is a large population of people from Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Japan, China, Iran (especially Chaldeans).......and on and on. I don't see this as a threat - I find it rather interesting and certainly colorful. I certainly enjoy the varied restaurants! The only thing that I would ask of all these various people is that when they come here - they come to join in - add their bit to the melting pot - not demand that we become what they left behind. As for proms - who's in control? the parents? the children?
  4. I agree this kind of behavior occurs in the USA as well as the UK - definitely. What I meant - and I should have made it clearer - it is not the fault of the event - be it a sale or a sports event - it is the fault of the people involved. Importing a holiday or an event is not the cause. The supposition that minus the event the behavior would not occur doesn't really take us to the problem. At one time there was an annual parade in San Diego celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday (it's also a national holiday), but the parade turned into an excuse to rampage through the stores and a mall in the downtown area. So, after a few years of this the parade was permanently cancelled. Yes, that did take care of the rampaging, but the propensity is still there. It also robbed those who wanted to celebrate by peacefully attending or being part of a parade. And - that's what is so troubling. If the answer was to cancel holidays, sports, parades, etc., other excuses would be found for those looking for license to rampage, loot, etc - such as a judicial decision with which they don't agree. I well remember the looting which took place In New Orleans after the hurricane Katrina. I can understand desperate people taking bottles of clean water, or food - but stealing televisons? And laughing while doing it? And not caring that it is being filmed by a news channel for the entire country/world to see? Those aren't desperate people trying to survive a storm - those are criminals. We can't cancel hurricanes, unfortunately. And if we cancel or "not import" a holiday or a sale, etc., are we not then relinquishing our freedoms and choices to the thugs?
  5. I always had thick hair that was long enough to sit on. I always wore it in a bun. I made the bun in two parts by twisting the upper part around the lower part. That made the bun not only very secure but spread the weight out. If this sounds iike something you might be interested in....I'll explain it in more detail.
  6. I avoid the stores anytime I think it will be busy. . However, I've never personally seen this kind of behavior - know it exists but have never seen it. And, I don't recall it ever being reported in San Diego. While Black Friday may be imported - behavior is not.
  7. It seems to me that there is something - as Melody notes above - which has changed. Many of the newer dvd's my husband and I watch don't follow the dramatic structure used by tellers of stories for a couple of thousand years. I remember being taught that a story has a beginning (characters and plot are introduced), a middle (characters and plot interact and there is some action/change), and an ending (a resolution). But all too often in "modern" story telling while there is a beginning and a middle - there is an end but no ending. It all just sort of stops - no resolution. At least - none that I can detect. I put this down to the inability of the author to bring the story to resolution - that takes planning and thought. I admit that I could be wrong to ascribe this to a lack of ability/imagination on the part of the writer - maybe it is acceptable. Maybe it's modern and sophisticated. Since I am neither modern nor sophisticated, I am not impressed. I want to have a resoltuion. The lack of a resolution - for me - wipes out the entire impact of the story and empties it of "reason." An ending doesn't have to be cataclysmic. I'm not looking for whiz-bang "gotcha" surprise endings. Just a resolution to the plot. I'm open to the possibility of several resolutions. But when, seemingly in the midst of the story - suddenly the credits come up and then the screen goes blank - I feel cheated. What does all this mean? Well, whether it is a play, movie, opera or story ballet it will fail to register - fail, as Melody says above "to draw me in" - and I surely won't go see it again. As for Eifman's ballets (mentioned in a post above)- while the dancers are superb - the story lines and choreography are all so very frantic - little to no change of pace - and after a while the observer craves a moment of rest, a moment to reflect. I can't imagine any other company taking on his work - so it is not transportable and will probably cease to be when Eifman retires. For a story ballet to be successful - among other things - it must be able to live beyond the span of its original cast. And - beyond it's time of origin. And reach beyond the cultural outlook of it's original audience. the plot and characters must appeal to nearly universal human experience. Every culture - and generation - can understand loneliness, unrequited love, illness, betrayal, domination, death, birth, fear, happiness, hope, etc- No wonder success is so rare.
  8. Have a safe and wonderful trip!
  9. I thtink the key line in Jennings' piece is "caring about the characters." Do we care about what happens to Odette or Gisellle or Nikiya or Romeo/Juliet? I think so, yes. Their lives are on the line. Do we care as much about what happens to Cinderella? For me - no - not as much. She's a sympathetic character but her actual life is not in danger. Alice never comes across as real (for me). The lighter story lines such as in Coppelia or La Fille - I care - but I know the story line is a "fun" one. The more the character is at risk the more deeply it touches us - or should. I also find (for me) that no matter the story line, no matter the wonderful choreography, if the music is not memorable - doesn't move me - nothing will help.
  10. If there's food involved - I'm celebrating.
  11. I think this is more and more of a problem since the current dressing craze is toward less is better. I see this happening more amongst the girls than boys. If one thinks about it even when it comes to formal wear - women uncloth whilst men cover up more. Strange. In other spheres it happens too. In a New Year's Day parade the drum major is well covered - the majorette has bear legs. Ouch. Coming to class in sufficiently warm clothes and leaving the same way is good advice. Sometimes young students think that when class is over keeping warm is not necessary. This includes a head covering since we lose a great deal of body heat through the head.
  12. Well, then you can give thanks that Thanksgiving remains on my side of the ocean.
  13. There is no such thing as a simple plié or tendu. Both are very important, difficult to do well, and basic to the structure of ballet. The dancer will study these elements every day he/she dances and will still be learning to do them well on the last day they dance. Balanchine often said tendu was the most difficult and important of all the ballet vocabulary.
  14. I would echo the advice above - no barre at home. Ballet trainiing is done under the supervision of a teacher. Even knowledgable/professional dancers take a class with a teacher. This includes stretching and trying to duplicate at home what he did in class.. It is not possible for us to see ourselves in three dimensions and it is not possible for us to know without being constantly shown and corrected how to "place" and align the body within those dimensions. The body easily learns incorrectly and then one is faced with the more arduous task of unlearning what is not correct. Part of the learning process for the dancer - is patiently working on the building blocks which eventually come together as a whole. That doesn't mean he/she can't enjoy putting on some music and simply moving around to it - freely - having fun. At 9 yrs old, it is important that he learn these building blocks which constitute the structure of dance - but also continue to simply enjoy moving.
  15. Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday. I look forward to being with the family, sitting around a table with the people I love and realizing how fortunate I am to be with them. And, oh yes, eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I like to think that since it is time and food we are sharing - it tends not to be as commercialized as other holidays.
  16. All the advice you are getting about allowing this to fully heal is important to listen to. The problem can become chronic if you don't allow it to heal fully. This means even after the pain is gone. I went through this and quickly learned the healing process cannot be rushed. But if you do it correctly it won't give you trouble in the future. Which is a good thing!
  17. Since my training was not syllabus based - except for three years of Cecchetti - I learned three different ways to hold the working foot: flexed, wrapped and fully pointed. I found that in knowing all three that each had its uses as a teaching tool. While the flexed foot is not used in performance (I've never seen it), it does make the beginner aware of the movement/placement of the heel in its front/back-back/front movement.. A wrapped foot is very useful for illustrating to the student that "shaping" the foot takes place immediately as the foot is peeled off the floor and maintains this wrapped shape through the petit battements and on into the next pas - which might be - for instance - elevated into arabesque. Shaping the foot into the wrapped position readies the foot for any eventuality. However the wrapped foot will have some bend in the ankle when placed (or worked) at the supporting ankle.. The fully pointed working foot elminates any bend in the working ankle and almost of necessity is only useful when one is on demi or full pointe. I found it useful to know and teach all three methods, if only, to make the student aware of the differences. As for the serré battu - I suppose it depends upon what is choreographed. Odette's version does not - it stays at the side - at least in the Swan Lakes I've observed over the years.
  18. Love it! Would make beautiful tree ornaments.
  19. I would call it petit battement battu serré - when there is no change in position of the beat. I always loved the syncopation of motion - the changes of emphasis on the "and" count in the back/front-front/back petit battement - especially on pointe.
  20. So, there is no serré to the side - as Odette does?
  21. Life is so fragile. May he rest in peace.
  22. Thank you, CharlieChuck. I forgot two other versions of pas de bourrés - piqué and degagé.
  23. I don't think that battements serrés and petit battements are the same thing. In petit battements there is a change of place - front/back/back/front. In serré - there is not. And serré is done much more quickly. I remember reading that there are hundreds of different versions of pas de bourrés if you include the placement of the working foot: at the ankle, at the knee, at the calf. And then there are all the changes of direction: moving to the front, moving to the back, de coté, en tournant endors, entournant en dedans. Also, on demi-pointe or full pointe. I never personally counted them!
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