Even though I've been interested in dance for as far as I can remember, I've only seriously watched ballet for the last two to three years. My interest in Balanchine is even more recent, as only recently have I acquired any level of access to writings and media on his work. Only recently have I felt confident enough to make observations beyond the most banal and superficial, and even now it's in a limited context.
One of my earliest memories of cable television was of a (probably) Soviet gymnast going from arabesque (they call it a scale) into a front walkover. In retrospect I probably thought, 'oh what lovely line', but I was only four or five, so I probably thought 'ooh pretty' and left it there. Then in secondary school and university I got into figure skating and both artistic and rhythmic gymnastics. However, frequent scoring changes affect the execution and conception of the sports, and as placement was never my original motivation for following the sport, I am now only an occasional spectator. I danced when I was younger, and now I have gone back to it, except now I hold no illusions over my inabilities. But that's all right, they can dance and I'll pretend to do so, killing swans and massacring washing machines in my wake.
I go to ballet, watch them, and occasionally put on a video simply to listen to the interaction of music and toe shoes. I've had good guides thus far in helping me pick out well-made, well-performed performances. All this has only served to deepen my obsession, but that's okay, it's still legal.
All of the preceding has basically set this blog up as a repository of my occasional cleverness.
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