Moot Thoughts & Musings

I don't know why I'm getting into the entries that are snippets of thoughts here and there; perhaps that's how my brain is thinking at the moment. Like popcorn.

* Last Thursday I taught Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. I showed a video of the Joffrey ballet's reconstruction of the original performance/choreography of Nijinksy--the performance that caused a riot that fateful day in 1913. It is so striking. I never get tired of it. It was interesting to hear the students' reactions; how surprised they were about how disturbing and violent it was to even them. It is about human sacrifice, after all. After class one of my students came up to me and mentioned that she had actually studied with the Joffrey Ballet and had danced some of Nijinsky's choreography! that was so cool. I wish I had known earlier, I would've asked her some stuff. She said that she and her friends used to joke that these were the "ugly ballets". The forms and movements are very angular and unnatural, but they fit so well with the music. Stravinksy must be seen. (The other thing she said which blew me away and made my day was that this class was her favorite! could I actually be making sense?) So, now two recordings I definitely want to get for pedagogical purposes is the DVD of the reconstruction of the first performance of Monteverdi's Orfeo and the video (is it out on dvd?) "Paris Dances Diaghilev."

* I had a crazy day on Thursday taking care of the Curly-heads. I was so pooped by the end of the day. I have the utmost respect for their mama. I've been making supper and taking it over every evening since. Then we just eat with them and chat a bit. It's fun holding the baby, though my baby doesn't like it when I'm hanging out with other babies, because he starts kicking at them. Guess he doesn't like his style cramped at all.

* By 8 am it's 80 degrees. Lovin' it! Due to the fact that summer is officially here, I had to get some shorts. I stopped by Old Navy and had a lousy experience and spent waaaay more than I had originally intended. Sale items were at a low. I was kind of perturbed, because the only maternity shorts on sale were ones for only the first two trimesters. Exploiting the poor pregnant women! I just had a bad day in Old Navy. I was so hot and so tired that when I needed a different size, I just asked the sales associate to find it for me. He forgot about me. Granted, he was swamped, but still. I sat there on the little bench in the dressing room and just burst into tears (very quietly, of course). I felt ridiculous, and then there's this big mirror in there, so I could see myself crying, which made me cry more! Eventually I pulled myself together and went out and asked him if he had been able to find what I needed. He had found only one; I went to the rack and promptly found the other. :-S I also got a very cute red sweater on clearance for the Curly Head baby (and I grabbed on for Elvis, too) and a pair of lightweight linen pants. It gets so hot here that by July I don't even bother with jeans anymore; I find them too hot. Maybe if we had decent a/c I could...

* Today is much better. Lovin' my laptop. Sitting in bed in front of the a/c unit getting some good work done.