Small, medium, and large

With those words, a night to remember was born last night at the Met. La Bayadere was a lovely respite from the frightful mess of reality tv. Besides, I need my sparkly rhinestone fix.



I arrived (after imbibing copious amounts of coffee as not to slump over) at 7:30, and went up to the third level. A Filipino man took a seat next to me, and we began to chat. Turns out he's a dance teacher who works in Chicago, and was trained under Danilova, Tumkovsky, and Vasiliev back in the 60's. He's seen every performance since May 13, and was excited to see Paloma Herrera, as much as I. She is now 28 and has grown into quite a lady. Random conversations can teach you specific things, kiddies, and this person did not disappoint.



A rousing band of ridiculous-and obviously clueless--tourists talked all the way throughout Angel Corella's first act solo when Solor spots Nikiya, and he whipped around with a thundering SHUUUSHH! My, my. And you thought I WAS INTENSE??!! I giggled, and we quickly moved during intermission.



Gillian Murphy played Gamzatti, Solor's treacherous fiance, and while she is not my favorite principal at ABT, she did not disappoint. Her developpes were strong, and there was a crisp clarity with regards to the mime. My delicious colors were all there: deep gold, periwinkle, crimson, ruby, blush pink, sienna, turquoise, purple and silver. The set's design came from Makarova's own memory when she performed this at Kirov. Not a foot was placed wrong by any of the corps. Mr. Filipino's comment about "small, medium, and large" came from him pointing out the disparate size of the three soloists after the Kingdom of the Shades fills the stage. Veronika Part, according to him, is "large"--very muscular thighs: an obvious product of the Bolshoi school. She's also about 5'8", positively gigantique for a ballerina.



Act II's intermission began, and we began to discuss my other sacred joy--skating. Interestingly, it was he and not me that initiated the topic. Johnny Weir popped up in the conversation, as did Sasha Cohen, Brian Joubert, and Tatiana Tarasova, the coach who choreographed Johnny's short program this year, and brought the newest World Champion, Shizuka Arakawara, to prominence this past season. Like I've said before, kindred spirits find each other.



This man, whose name I did not get (proof of any heated discussion--time flies and you forget), will most likely be sitting through the rest of ABT's spring season up in the balcony. I won't be able to see Raymonda, but I will be there for Coppelia in two weeks. I do hope to run into him.



It's so nice when your opinions can spill forth! Even with a stranger. I do hope I see him again. Our three-hour exchange had one tacit understanding underneath it all: when you love something, you must love it completely and in its entirety. Don't nibble at the sides, take a big spoon and dive in. There is no excuse for not knowing the thing you love. Even in its flaws and its splendor, you must know and feel every inch, pore, bump and texture. That is truly food for the soul. Don't expect to be fulfilled unless you actively seek your own kind. Great love springs from great knowledge of the beloved object, as Shakespeare said.



Truer words were never spoken.