Anjuli_Bai

There are also cat/kid situations. Many years ago a man living down the street knocked on my door to tell me that he was calling the police to report that my male cat had attacked his 7 yr old son and it should be considered dangerous and euthanized.. The officer, I, the father and the son were soon discussing this matter. There were red marks but no open skin on the boy's arms. Fortunately, I had clipped the sharp points off the cat's claws just a day or two before. At the time my own son was an infant and I thought this a good idea. I asked the child to tell us exactly what happened. He related that he was peacefully walking down the street when the cat suddenly ran up to him and leaped up to scratch his arms. It just didn't sound like a likely story - cats don't usually arbitrarily leap at people. After some more conversation - and specific questions, it turned out that the boy had chased the cat, cornered it, and then picked it up and was clamping his arms around it in an effort to keep it from running away. The cat was quarantined to make sure it was not ill - which it passed with flying colors as it's vet shots were up to date. The officer took no action - saying that none was warrented - it was not a dangerous cat. What the father said to the boy - I have no idea. His first response was to euthanize the cat.

Absolutely see a GP.

Anton Dolin wrote an interesting biography of Spessivetseva: "The Sleeping Ballerina." I read the book many years ago. There is also some clips on Youtube of her dancing Giselle. I have a tape of her in a 1987 interview with Makarova and a second tape "A Portrait of Giselle." Her dancing does not look dated and one can see how magical it must have been.

Thank you so much for that very interesting information. So it was not a premiere for the Messel production of Sleeping Beauty - but it was the company's first visit to the USA. In her autobiography, Fonteyn writes that she practiced the Rose Adagio balances every day for a year prior to this very important date in ballet history.

Read in the newspaper today that a British company "ShakeAway" will be opening two shops in San Diego and eventually across the USA. Apparently San Diego is the test city. So - why is this posted in Room 101? That's all I needed was another wonderful ice cream/yogurt/shake shop. Yes, indeedy.....thanks folks....

Avoid hard surfaces - that includes not only where you dance but also walking. No open toed flimsy shoes such as flip-flops, sandals, etc. Also avoid shoes with hard soles such as wood. You want shoes that have a resilient, supportive sole such as a good walker. No pounding movements such as would be done in tap dance - or anything resembling that. As you return to dance make sure your feet are thoroughly warmed up - with gentle exercise, before class. Rest Get thoroughly healed. This condition can become chronic if not taken care of.

I did find that date - but also Oct 7th - which I much prefer since it is my birthday. Sometimes dates seem fluid because when one says "first time performed" it depends on was it a one act version? an expanded version? a 3-4 act version? and who's version? was it a "try-out" version? Was it the "new and improved" version? Facts can be slippery in the world of the theater.

My favorite shows especially drama are Brit!

Good for you! Don't let outside forces make decisions for you - there's always another way - another door. Usualy a better door. Enjoy!

So - that means that it was not performed on sequential nights. It was first performed on the 12th and then not again until the 17th (second night/performance). After my own experience with Wikipedia - giving wrong information of which I had personal knowledge - and was easy to check - I;ve never trusted it..

As an aside - interesting that a ballerina in Indonesia uses the expression "you guys."

There is a temps de poisson - movement/step of the fish. I've never heard of "puisse" as a step.

So, if the Queen's Diary says the 17th of July - how did so many other resources (considered reliable) get it wrong? I have also found differences in dates given for the Royal Ballet's very famous opening night "Sleeping Beauty" on its first ever visit to the USA - with Fonteyn in the starring role. It is interesting to see how Queen Victoria gives her opinion - honestly but still diplomatically. Did she assume it would be read?

G.B.L. Wilson's "A Dictionary of the Ballet" says: "July 12, 1845" was the first performance and that Queen Victoria attended the second performance of four. The "Oxford Dictionary of the Dance," says: premiere was July 121, 1845 and does not mention the Queen attending at all. Wikipedia is often wrong - I know this by personal experience. Sometimes premiere dates can be tricky since a "premiere" was often thought of as a final rehearsal. This was kind of a psychological mind game to take the edge off the nervous pangs of the dancers - they could think of it as a rehearsal rather than a premiere. Maybe this is why Queen Victoria attended the second night.

"Poached testicles of rhino poachers - cures rhino poaching" that might work, too

Gail Grant's "Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet" is quite complete and very clean. I highly recommend it.

There is no stop in 5th position.

I never used them or had my students use them and we all managed to transition to pointe work quite well. However, the only real problem I would have with them is the temptation on the part of the student to attempt full pointe in such a shoe. I am not sure that going to demi-pointe in a shoe with a thicker sole without actually continuing onto full pointe teaches where the balance should be or gives the foot the correct resistance for strengthening. For me, resistance is a passive modality whilst continuing onto full pointe is an active exercise. In other words, one would have to stop the action at demi-pointe - while the real work still lies ahead in pusching up to full pointe. I am sure others feel differently. As for thinking of it as a "training bra" - it begs the question of training for what? Training wheels, I understand.....but.....training bra?

I'll let you know if it is true.

Trying to find serious news reporting - the following pertains to every cable and/or broadcast news show: When a "news" program has as a guest an "authority" on an important subject (such as Mideast crisis, or negotiations with Russia/Iran, etc) and the guest's claim to knowledge on the subject is he/she is a local radio talk show host. Spare me. Women who are supposedly reporting serious news, wearing (barely) very short dresses, very abbreviated on top too, invariably with long blonde hair, seated on high stools, high heels that look like weapons on feet that don't reach the floor, and spend their time crossing and re-crossing their legs whilst telling me the world is about to explode. "Breaking News" with all the hoopla that accompanies that only to tell me that some famous Hollywood duo - that I've never heard of and never wish to hear of - is reuniting after breaking up after reuniting and are finally getting married with five of their children accompanying them down the aisle. And a description of her gown especally cut to reveal her relevant tattoos and oncoming motherhood. It's not news and I don't care about it. Watching the news while eating breakfast to find out what parts of the world are still intact - and all I get are cereal ads (of course, I'm eating the wrong one) and what medication I should be talking to my doctor about though it is guaranteed to kill me and might make worse whatever it is it purports to cure. And finally - the false banter between "news hosts" showing off bleached teeth that positively gleam in the studio lights, hair that wouldn't move in a hurricane, the men's ears surgically clipped back which makes indentations in the skull, as they try to formulate a complete sentence while the news tape running below them is full of spelling errors. It is not unusual for me to complete my breakfast not one whit wiser about the state of the world - -and have to take on trust that it still exists as my street seems to be intact - so far as I can see. And then there was the 20 something weather reporter, while constantly flicking her long blonde hair, said: "The sun rose this morning at 5:00 and will continue to do so." Well, at least she was accurate - the sun did continue to rise - thank heaven for small favors.

I am very wary of dogs not on a leash. I do like dogs very much - we had a beloved dog for many years. I have found some of the smaller ones to be the most aggressive. This seems to be especially true when there is more than one.

I have 'The Art of the Royal Ballet" and it is indeed a beautiful book. I also have one totally devoted to Margot Fonteyn and shows her in the exact same moment of a ballet - 40 yrs on. Quite wonderful. One can also see the progressions of costuming through the years.

i've used a sewing box.

My adored doll was a Kewpie. It was torn apart by a bully - a boy 2 yrs older than i, who had tormented me for about 3 yrs starting when I was 6 yrs. old. Everyone else had an older sibling to protect them - I did not. Then one miraculous day - as he was getting into his usual frenzy - another boy - a true Knight of Ivanhoe - came running to my rescue and thoroughly convinced the bully that his behavior would no longer be tolerated. But, it was too late for the Kewpie - a crack in her wooden head ran down through her sweet smile. I did, however, get the opportunity ten years later to avenge us both. At a dinner dance, he did not at all recognize the young woman I had become and asked me to dance. I couldn't resist - enjoying the admiration in his eyes and the total lack of recognition. But when after the dance, he asked me for another dance and an evening out - the answer was an emphatic "NO!" I'm sure the Kewpie - long gone - was pleased.

The Reviewer declared it wasn't dance, so this reader declares it wasn't a dance review.