1) I forgot to mention that Weeping Baby Pumpkin Head made some new friends last week.
2) A two-hour thirty-three minute phone conversation was the nicest part of my day.
3) Tonight's audio/visual wallpaper has been "The Kingdom of the Shades" from La Bayadère:
Balanchine may have called the music of Ludwig Minkus "beer hall music," but I am unashamed to admit I love it.
Here the role of Nikiya is danced by the great Soviet prima ballerina Natalia Dudinskaya; it appears this role was the greatest of her career. Sixty years after this was filmed, I saw La Dudinskaya as a somnolent octogenarian in an acrylic Icelandic sweater, setting this ballet on the Company. And that showed me how tough a dancer's life can be.