oh maya.....

I can't begin to even count how many times I've referenced or talked about Maya Plisetskaya on this blog.  She was (and is) just too amazing not to mention all the time.  The main reason why I speak of her today is because I met a really lovely couple at the restaurant where I work tonight.  We started talking about ballet, and it turns out the woman used to dance herself!  We got more into talking, and I found out that she was once Maya Plisetskaya's student!!!!!!  I literally almost dropped the tray of margaritas in astonishment.  This made my day so much to know that I came into contact with someone who has come into contact with my most favorite ballerina EVER.

Never heard of her, or want to learn more?  Definitely check her out on wikipedia.  I consider myself quite an expert on Plisetskaya, and Wikipedia accurately does her justice based on the knowledge that I have from reading her autobiography.

oh maya....

she is just too gorgeous

with jorge donn and bejart's company

the cover of her autobiography, I, Maya Plisetskaya

Still don't believe me about how amazing she was?  Watch these.... Oh and by the way, did you know she premiered in Alberto Alonso's Carmen?  And that she choreographed Anna Karenina?  And to this day, is still noted as having the best Dying Swan?  I could go on and on and on...

Her famous Dying Swan.  Ignore the annoying intro.  This is from 59'

THOSE JUMPS!

Habanera's variation.  Just think, we wouldn't be watching Zakharova dance this today if it weren't for Maya!

Humpbacked Horse with Vasiliev

I could keep going with all these videos.  So please enjoy and investigate for yourselves.
xox
Rachel

ohhhh my toes

Ohhh yes, my toes.  And everything else on my body as well!  I think I'm almost over this injury.  I can almost do petit allegro and parts of grand allegro.  I'm sooo relieved to be able to do just simple tendus (which I couldn't one month ago, let alone stand on it).  This past week I've been collecting and filming different videos for a last minute over-the-sea audition. 

This week I also danced in Serenade for the first time in more than two months!  That's partially why I have a HUGE knot in my left calf (my good leg by the way...).  I've also got a badly bruised toe nail, blisters, and lower back pain (as always of course).  But, this is my life.  I'm used to it.  Unfortunately the knot in my calf came in a bad time though when I was trying to record my fouettes =/

Currently obsessed with the style of this sketch...

 

 

Tumblr is so awesome for finding really cool and random pics.  Here is a link to my TUMBLR
Most of it is random ballet, art, music, fashion, and of course the random funny stuff.

my own random:

Gosh, I so tired from work and ballet!!  Going to massage my calf, read some more of Bag of Bones and then off to bed!
xox

"days go by"

"days go by" dirt vegas. super super old, but in love still

Spring is among us here in Pittsburgh, yet it's supposed to SNOW tomorrow?! WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?
Anyways other than the upcoming weather...

I had the opportunity to go home for a few days last week, which was so so so great!  I loved seeing my family, and eating my mom's food (unfortunately my stomach is protruding from my tights).  My uncle took me to MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in NYC.  Originally we had wanted to go to the Met (since it's one of my favorite places), but alas the Met is closed on Mondays.   But it worked out because I've never been to MoMA. 

Diego Rivera Exhibition revisits the MoMA since it's first appearance in 1931.  These are just a few of his murals displayed there currently:

Agrarian Leader Zapata. 1931. Fresco, 7' 9 3/4" x 6' 2" (238.1 x 188 cm). The Museum of Modern Art. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Fund

"The Uprising" (1931) by Diego Rivera. Fresco, 74 x 93 3/4 inches. (Museum of Modern Art)

"Indian Warrior (1931) Water based paint on plaster fresco mounted on cement
41 x 52 1/2 x 3" (104.1 x 133.4 x 7.6 cm)
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts, Purchased with the Winthrop Hillyer Fund.

Impressionism and Post-Impressionism (my favorite of course, as always):

Claude Monet "Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond" (1920) oil on canvas, 78.7 × 502.4 in

Henri Rousseau, Exotic Landscape, (1908), oil on canvas

Pablo Picasso. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. (1907). Oil on canvas, 8' x 7' 8" (243.9 x 233.7 cm). Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest. © 2005 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Marc Chagall "I and the Village" 1911. Oil on canvas, 6' 3 5/8" x 59 5/8" (192.1 x 151.4 cm). Mrs. Simon Guggenheim Fund. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Giorgio de Chirico,

"Gare Montparnasse (The Melancholy of Departure)"

Paris, early 1914. Oil on canvas, 55 1/8" x 6' 5/8" (140 x 184.5 cm). Gift of James Thrall Soby. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, Rom

Vasily Kandinsky,

Panel for Edwin R. Campbell No. 3

1914. Oil on canvas, 64 x 36 1/4" (162.5 x 92.1 cm). Mrs. Simon Guggenheim Fund. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Gustav Klimt, "Hope II" 1907-08. Oil, gold, and platinum on canvas, 43 1/2 x 43 1/2" (110.5 x 110.5 cm). Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder and Helen Acheson Funds, and Serge Sabarsky

Henri Matisse "Odalisque with a Tambourine" Nice, place Charles-Félix, winter 1925-26. Oil on canvas, 29 1/4 x 21 7/8" (74.3 x 55.6 cm). The William S. Paley Collection. © 2012 Succession H. Matisse, Paris / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New Yor

Amadeo Modigliani, "Reclining Nude" (1909) c. 1919. Oil on canvas, 28 1/2 x 45 7/8" (72.4 x 116.5 cm). Mrs. Simon Guggenheim Fund

Pablo Picasso "Violin and Grapes" Céret and Sorgues, spring-summer 1912. Oil on canvas, 24 x 20" (61 x 50.8 cm). Mrs. David M. Levy Bequest. © 2012 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

These works are just ones that I had alot of interest in.  If I had to have a Top 3, they would be: Exotic Landscape (Rousseau), Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (Picasso), Reclining Nude (Modigiliani).  Rivera's exhibit was incredibe because they had all his blueprints for his large murals.

After the museum, we went to one of our favorite restaurants in Newark (one that is known for its fish, since I'm a pescetarian).  We had really good sea bass, not-so-good grilled calamari, flan, and of course sangria.

Of course what wouldn't a post be without advertising for Pittsburgh Ballet?  haha Ok, here ya go:

Performances are all this weekend.  Click HERE for tickets.

I honestly have not seen any of the rehearsals, so I cannot say what it will be like, other than that the women playing Swanilda are beautiful!  One of them, Christina Schwaner has just been promoted to Principal dancer, and she's so lovely.  If you're new to ballet, this is a great classical ballet to start with.  It's very funny and great for kids as well.

Today I danced Serenade for the first time in like two months!  It was challenging and I had to mark several things, but I didn't get hurt, and I made it through!

Happy dancing everyone,
xox
Rachel

we live in a beautiful world...

we live in a beautiful world - "don't panic" coldplay

MARCH.
That fine month that marks the beginning of spring.  Oh yes.  You know what that means?  Flowers.  Rainbows after rain.  Bunnies coming out of hibernation.  Rebirth.  A New Beginning.  And hell, lets just get to it... WARMER WEATHER.

I'm really excited.  Not to mention, I'm also super excited to start dancing again.  I finally got my MRI, and I do not have a fracture in my navicular bone... just "type 2 accessory navicular bone syndrome" *gosh that's a mouthful*  For those of you who aren't anatomy geeks, the navicular is one of your tarsals on the inner part of your foot diagonally beneath your ankle bone.  Mine never formed correctly, and so unfortunately because this bone carries most of the weight of the body and is also attached to the posterior tibularis tendon....... what was my point again?  Oh yeah.... I need to strengthen the bejesus out of it.  Of course strengthening very carefully and helping it get unswollen.

I watched PBT's A Streetcar Named Desire last night.  I actually liked it very much.  It was nice to see some contemporary work that still actually has a storyline.  It was very different from the play however.  It began with a prologue where Blanche is in the asylum.  Then it flashes back to her wedding with Allan who turned out to be gay.  That marriage didn't last.  Especially when he kept dying every time she touched him.  I especially loved how Blanche always seemed so separated from everything that was going on around her.  Act 1 was brilliant, especially as her relatives are constantly dying around her.  Their black clothing and lack of expression really set the entire ballet as being extremely morbid.  It was also very interesting to have a mixture of some dialogue with the ballet.

Act 2 was also great.  This is where Blanche remembers her visit to her sister, Stella, in New Orleans.  This seemed to hold alot more true to the play.  One of my favorite parts was when Stanley told Mitch Blanche's real story.  Mitch grabbed Blanche and put her under a bright light exposing her for who she truly is.  The rape scene was also really interesting.  I was wondering how the choreographer, John Neumeier, was going to incorporate such a graphic but important scene in the form of movements.  It was really fantastic and also very tasteful.  The point was made clear.

Anyways....

I have the beginning of a Spring playlist.  Enjoy! (in no specific order)

if you want to sing out, sing out -- Cat Stevens

from the mvoie, Harold and Maude

don't panic -- coldplay (really awesome vid by the way) 
new slang -- the shins (you know you love the shins)
just breathe -- pearl jam (it's an oldie...)
as tears go by -- rolling stones

 

had to put this up for you guys... who doesn't love jagger?

shattered -- o.a.r. (turn the car around)
carmen -- georges bizet

plisetskaya... I had to

l'amour est un oiseau rebelle (hananera) -- georges bizet (maria callas)
we are young -- fun feat janelle monae (higher than the empire state)
karma police -- citizen cope ( radiohead cover)
romeo and juliet balcony scene -- prokofiev (ferr/bocca. the BEST)
play with fire -- rolling stones (jagger again. yum yum)
the planets -- gustav holst (neptune)  listen to all of them =]
let go -- frou frou (garden state clips)

As you can see this playlist is heavily influenced by Garden State and soft oldies =]  Keeping my loud-mouth guitar-screeching zeppelin stuff for summer if I can resist.  Anyways, if you've ever been wondering if you'd like opera, Carmen is a great opera to begin with.  It's really not that long, and it's very catchy.  I'm sure you'll recognize alot, even beginning with just the Overture!  Prokofiev is also genius as well, and his Romeo and Juliet is just fantastic.

Oh, and cheers to the time change... Yuck.  I almost forgot to change my clock, and that really would have messed up Monday morning.

Happy SPRING!
(btw, it's been about 3 weeks of not biting my nails.... woot woot!)

"it's all over now" RACHEL WANTS

"it's all over now" the rolling stones

Drum roll please....... durururududururududuurrr

fashion post yay!

I have spent the past week putting together a post of 10 amazing things.  check em' out.

1. velvet

 Yes, velvet.  Every little girl's xmas dress fabric.  I am especially obsessed with velvet LEGGINGS and shoes.  Winter is not over.  And it definitely won't end anytime soon in Pittsburgh.  Alors maintenant, il est parfait!  yay I remember some French. go me!






2. head scarf

 It's definitely no secret that I love Natalia Makarova.  She does a helluva an ODETTE (almost up to Plisetskaya's par I must say) and has some of the most astonishing technique and care of movement.  But she also has an amazing wardrobe of head scarves.  Almost every video I've ever seen her rehearsing in, she's wearing one.  And they're never the same.  How does she make it look so non-babushka?  And non-Jackie Kennedy Onassis?  And non-pirate? Next to shoes, scarves are my favorite clothing to buy, so I'm going to be spending alot of time developing scarf-wrapping techniques.  Yippee for lots of free time!

3. that punky-colored-hair-strip

I just spent like ten minutes looking for the perfect example.  Unfortunately nothing has come of it.   Uhmmm. so close your eyes and imagine (well don't close them yet, read first!).  Pretend your going to itch the skin right behind your ear but keep going back.  I want to dye a little strip of hair a bluish-green color. Just because I CAN.  No one can tell me not to. mwahahahaha!!!

I did come across this.  And just had to share with you guys.  God bless those with this hair style.    God bless.

4. those sexy pussy-kitten winged eyes
It's no secret winged eyes are "in".  So why don't ya grab that eye liner and paint yo face?

Of course, every dancer will tell you that the "winged eye-liner" began with Suzanne Farrell.

 5. UNIQLO winter coat
UNIQLO is an awesome Japanese casual clothing store.  I checked it out when I was in the city this past winter.  It's a very cool store.  It is definitely very very casual and essential.  They have very basic lines with many many many different colors to choose from.  Their #1 item that was literally on every single mannequin was their light-weight winter coat.  Stupid me, I didn't take advantage of their 50% sale.... oh well.

Just one example.  They had many other shapes and colors.

6. urban outfitters men's boots
I don't think it's necessary to explain any further... I don't care if they're for men.  Rachel wants.

$285. yeahhhhh buddy

7. long-pleated skirt
I'm seeing this all over LA fashion bloggers.  Who says it can't come to the east coast?  

$62, american apparel

 8. bedazzler
You'd be crazy if you said you didn't want one.  Don't even try to lie.  Every girl (and some boys) want it.  Just imagine.  Bedazzled shoes, belts, blazers, hairbands, skirts, gloves, YOU NAME IT.

 9. pashmina scarf
I just bought one =]  They're awesome because you can wear them in soooo many ways.  Around your neck, around your head AND neck (my personal favorite babushka style), skirt, shawl, and so much more!  They come in beautiful colors and really unique designs.  I say it's a must.

 10. leotard/bodysuit
I'm honestly still trying to figure out this one.  I wear a leotard everyday, so why would I want to wear one outside of the studio?  If anyone knows, please explain.  There must be a reason why companies are selling them (hem hem american apparel).

 

"if"

"if" pink floyd.

 I am truly very jealous for anyone reading this that can understand Russian.  I want to know what this woman is saying SO BAD. 

So I had to make this post because I was watching a bunch of random youtubes (story of my injured life), and I came across this set of 4.  It's a documentary from Perm Ballet School (anyone else remember when that other Perm video came out called "Beautiful Tragedy"?  Yeah, I do.  Check it out if you haven't).  Anyways for those who don't know, Perm is one of Russia's best schools, at least from what I've heard, and this teacher is awesome.  First off, she always wears the same purple sweater with colorful embellishments.  Secondly she makes girls cry, smile, and giggle all in the same class.  Thirdly she also parties!!  Fourthly, and maybe most importantly, she is friends with MAYA PLISETSKAYA.  The  most amazing female dancer ever - I don't care what anyone else thinks.

in case you didn't believe me, here is the sweater

Her name is Ludmila Pavlovna Sakharova.  Unfortunately I could not find any other information about her except that she is a great teacher and she thinks that, “A teacher must possess many qualities – firmness and softness, patience and perseverance and sturdiness… But above all is love for children, desire to train them up, all of them, both week and strong. And, creativity in one's approach to one's task is also above all.” (Sakharova from a Ballet Magazine article).


I highly recommend watching these videos (why else would I post about them?), however I will give you a brief summary of each so that you can rate their importance and decide which you prefer watching if you have lack of time.

Part 1: They show a little bit of barre and then center.  She makes two girls sit out.

 
Part 2: Center continues and then they switch to examination day.  And then one of the best parts is MAYA PLISETSKAYA.  If you are also a Plisetskaya fan, fast forward to 13:20 to see her gorgeous face along with five pounds of eyeliner (but hey she looks hip!)

Part 3: This part is super boring.   They continue exams but not really showing much of the actual dancing.  Then they show a girl crying and blahblahblah, part of their show with a weak performance of Don Q pas, and then their awards ceremony.  If you're truly trying to find something to do to fill your boring day (ahem like me), then I guess you could watch it.

Part 4: Ok, probably the best part.  After the performance, the kids celebrate, AND SO DOES SHE.  Great dancing.  Anyways if you're not into old ladies dancing (which I personally think is awesome), at least you see the last of the pas de deux with the girl's fouettes.  The rest is just fill-in scenes like an empty studio and people walking on the street and such.

So if you're not familiar with ballet and have watched some of these, maybe you've learned that ballerinas aren't as "soft" as you think.... I wish my dad would watch this.

I did promise a fashion post, and don't worry it's coming up.  I'm just spending extra time/research on it to make it awesome.  Ohhh yeah.

Also, a little tidbit here for ya: TODAY IN HISTORY, Puccini's Madame Butterfly premiered at La Scala Opera House in Milan.  Oh and it's also Michael Jordan's birthday.

Ta ta for now everyone!
xox

holocene

"holocene" bon iver.  cool sound. thanks SNL

warning: been stuck in my apartment all week, time to vent. lots of anatomical terms getting ready to shoot your way...

when it first started... much different picture now.

So it's been snowing since yesterday, and it shows no sign of stopping! UGH.  Even though I hate the cold and everything that comes with it (hem hem SNOW. ew), I was looking forward to going sledding at least once.  BUT NO.  I am currently wearing a "boot", aka the dancer's 3rd-rate footwear (and practically every dancer has one of these bad boys stuffed in their closet wrapped in a plastic bag to keep the stench concealed).  Luckily I got a new one because my old boot is somewhere at home probably giving the stink-bugs in the basement a run for their lives.  This new one is awesome because... well it's 5 years newer than my old one!  It's got this awesome pump thingie that allows me to control how tight all the cushioning is.

oh yeah. look at that sexiness

Ok, ok.  I know.  The suspense is killing you.  So Monday I thought I'd be all goody-good and take another class after rehearsals (almost getting past my plateau.... or at least I was....) and my foot started acting up, so I shook it off and put on a leg warmer and marked some things.  Yuh.  Every dancer does this (or at least the less intelligent ones).  And then petit allegro came up, and I promised I'd only do it once even though it's one of my favorite parts of class.  And as I went into a glissade, I twisted my foot.  Thank gawd I was on the side in the back, I just hopped over to my stuff cursing under my breath and made my way to the locker room - still doing a weird hoppy-limp thing.  Oh YAY! Even greater news!  It's my right foot!  aha  yesss safe driving home!  That was an adventure!  Don't try pressing the gas pedal with just your toe....

Finally I got to seeing a sports doctor.  Turns out I have "type 1 accessory navicular bone syndrome"!  Woo hoo I have a syndrome (stay with me here, I get excited over cool words since I've been in my apartment all week watching Lord of the Rings.... oh and I watched A Clockwork Orange twice, once with commentary. fabulous choodessny. Never gets old).  Everyone has this "navicular" bone.  It's one of the tarsals in your inner foot below the sticky-outty ankle bone.  The posterior tibularis tendon runs over this tarsal, so unfortunately it hurts to do certain movements with my foot.

there's that suckah.  circled it for ya

and here again, the bone shaded in green "D" medial view.

the posterior tib is shaded in red.  So as you can see, my foot hurts in inversion and dorsiflexion (fortunately just at the navicular bone, the larger part of the tendon does not hurt)

So the doc says, we should get you an MRI!  Woo hoo hooray!  (sarcastic much?)  At the moment I'm waiting to hear from my insurance company whether or not I'm covered for the MRI.  Until then (or then and thereafter) I must wear this damned boot for 3-4 weeks because immobilization is the best remedy.  Hypothetically if the bone (or cartilage... whichever shows in the MRI) hasn't healed I may have to get some steroid injections (double yay for getting even more fat!).  And then worse comes to worse... dum dum dum. surgery.  But lets not talk about that.

My friend taught me this trick to name ten things you appreciate right off the top of your head when you're a bit down.  Think it's a good time.

1. I opened up my anatomy book for the first time since anatomy class two years ago.

2. I love black nail polish.  I don't care what people think
3. my magic bullet.  just learned that it has more than just the ability to make smoothies and margaritas. it can make breadcrumbs too!
4. candles.  who doesn't love?
5. my jim morrison poster.  he's just staring at me.  no matter where i walk in the room.  it's like a huge mona lisa! except manly and topless and beautiful wavy locks of hair
6. youtube.  fell in love with a Japanese beat boxer today
7. ability to call something "artistic" because in reality you can't use watercolor for your life so you just try to make it look abstract when really, you just messed it up so bad.

 

view from my eastern window.... awesome sunrise at 7 in the morning. thankyou, insomnia

8. hot cocoa
9. frozen lima beans

10. my guitar.  even though i still can't play to save my life, it's definitely a time consumer.

OK. yeah. That made me feel happier =]

Update on random stuff:
- PBT is performing "Uncommon" this weekend.  Oh and they just announced next season's rep!  I'm beyond excited for Giselle because it's my most favorite ballet.
- started putting a real dent in Anna Karenina.  I got to Part 2!! Only about 600 pages to go!
- have officially watched all three Lord of the Rings.  That was a doozy.  Smeagol is my favorite.
- Jackie Brown has found its way into my collection of Tarantino films =]
- am preparing a super-awesome fashion post since I have a lavish amount of time

So if anyone has had a similar problem with an accessory navicular bone or is super smart or something with advice, comments are especially appreciated.  Actually, in addition to that, anyone can comment.  It isn't required to have a higher intelligence level.  All levels of smartness are acceptable. =]

random sharpie.... the dude is Ralph or Ralphie. whichever you prefer.  just random stuff. i swear i'm not a druggie, I've just been incorporating mushrooms in my diet often lately since they've been on sale =]