Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Swan Song: Retirement of Ballerina Darci Kistler

Last Sunday I attended a historic event: the retirement of New York City Ballet principal dancer Darci Kistler.

Darci was the last in a long string of larger-than-life ballerinas who were hand-picked and trained by the equally larger-than-life George Balanchine.
With the exception of an ankle injury that sidelined her in the '80s, Darci has enjoyed a remarkable 30 year performance career as a dancer at City Ballet, and remains its fastest rising star (from Apprentice to Principal in just 2 years).

This poster of Darci adorned my dorm room walls throughout college:

She's posing as Odette, the lead character from "Swan Lake," atop the surface of The Pond at Central Park, with The Plaza visible in the background. This image, with its illusory magic, always defined for me the best of everything about City Ballet. I cannot imagine a recent City Ballet principal better suited to pose for this iconic photo, and I will treasure it always as a perfect tribute to the city and the art that I love so dearly.

I have been looking forward to her farewell performance for months, but I confess that Darci has never been one of my favorite performers, though I have always respected her deeply.
I frequently find myself longing for glory days which predate my lifetime, and my sense has always been that Darci was great long before I ever got to see her dance (in fact, before I was even born), and that she may have done well to retire several years ago.

Though I don't always agree with his assessments, statements made in NYTimes dance critic Alastair Macaulay's review of Darci's final performance seem to corroborate my personal feelings on her career:
"The film 'George Balanchine's "The Nutcracker,"' in which she appeared as the Sugar Plum Fairy, suggests that her glory lasted until at least 1993. But my memory is that by 1992, her dancing had become scaled down, polite and musically safe. Since then her career has been a long, slow fade... After Sunday’s performance I had coffee with a balletgoer who had become a devotee of New York City Ballet in 1996. I was hoping that he would tell me how the later Kistler had meant to him something of what Fonteyn once meant to me. But in all those years, Ms. Kistler’s dancing had never been one of his reasons to follow the company. Her pale autumn has lasted far longer than her bright spring and summer combined, and I cannot see that since 1992 she has been a good role model for the young."

He acknowledges, generously, her undeniable loveliness:
"Her long, tapering limbs; remarkable breadth of shoulder; loveliness of facial features (and in particular her lips, whose beautiful outline registered in the theater with great distinction); the beautiful pliancy of her feet,"
and noted how, during her farewell performance,
"the light still falls beautifully on the planes of her face."
And yet, the time has come for her to bid us adieu.

Many balletomanes have maintained that as long as Darci dances, Balanchine lives.
I used to think that was true; after all, there is nothing like a direct link to the origin of genius to legitimize the continuation of a tradition.
And yet, as I watched Darci dance on Sunday, I found myself longing for other dancers to join her on stage...Tess Reichlen, Maria Kowroski, Sara Mearns.
And I realized that the tradition will continue, perhaps stronger, after Darci.
Macaulay came to the same conclusion, ending his review by stating:
"With the retirement of this last Balanchine ballerina, we have all moved one generation on in history."

I'll leave you with some photos I took during the farewell:

Final performance bow after Swan Lake, Act IV:


Accepting her first flower, from conductor Clotilde Otranto:


A final cast bow:


A bear hug and flowers from former principal dancer Albert Evans, who retired one week prior:


Getting a lift from past and present male Principal dancers, with other Principals surrounding her on stage:


Baby bouquets from baby ballerinas of the School of American Ballet (where Darci has long been a teacher):


Darci is the youngest child with four older brothers.
Three of them, along with her mother, came on stage and lifted her up, in one of the most fun and touching moments of the evening:


Hugging daughter Talicia:


Showered with falling glitter:


It really was quite a sight to behold:


The sunlight begins to set on Lincoln Center after the farewell ends:


Hoping the best will always be yet to come,
Cxx.

Homefront: Colorful Vintage Master Bedroom

This was our master bedroom. Yes, this is the 70's french provincial dresser we had before I was born. We had the works, dressing bench, canopy bed, nightstands, dressers, chest... it's a very popular set and I see it online, in 70's themed movies, blogs, antique malls....  this is the only piece that is left over the years.

My painted striped cake stand tutorial is here. I love how I can add depth and height with it. 
I love my mom's vintage "Merry Mushroom" cookie jar from Sears Roebuck . Too bad the lid cap broke.
I see this mushroom kitchen set all the time at antique malls, Ebay, Ruby Lane and Etsy.


Some fun vintage jewels... the heart and wheat brooch was my grandmother's


I love this mermaid mommy and son aceo by Wendy Gaffaney.

Our only printed family photo... 2 years ago. I dry brushed orange on the raised frame and matted the photo area with a fabric swatch. i used the same fabric on our tv stand,  pillows and other elements.


It wouldn't be our bedroom with a line up of some of our boys cars. They really love organizing them.


I used a vintage sheet to hide the storage drawers of my jewelry making and craft supplies. One day, the jewelry holders and shelving will be painted and organized better, but this is the best I could do for the time.


Many of these haven't even been added to my shop yet, but lots more goodies are at Jeweled Ambrosia.


Some of my favorite prints, from The Dreamy Girraffe and The Black Apple.

Our bedroom plate wall post can be seen here. Basically, I got tons of pretty plates from Goodwill.


Love this Misty book and my little brass owl family. I painted this letter holder a soft pink, and love it.




I love changing up vintage lines with our white down comforter. It's very cheerful and springy right now, 



{colour inspiration: buttercream}









. . . fashionably late once more and it's quickly becoming clear that things will continue to be a little sporadic around here as summertime's chaos continues and that's what makes it so beautiful -- the dashing about, the projects & plans and late lunches -- only to slow things down {just a little} on weekends, when the world slips away and there is nothing left but the sound of crashing waves and everything comes in shades of buttercream . . .

hope you're having a wonderful week,
xo

{recent colour inspiration:}
* petal pink & french grey
* driftwood
* olive & dusky taupe
* more buttercream

{images: 1 - little blue deer; 2 - photography by carla coulson via trouvais; 3 - pink preppy lilly lover; 4 - the sweetest occasion; 5 - martha stewart; 6 - lovely clusters via the style files; 7 - photography by paul ryan-goff via desire to inspire; 8 - anna zakusylo - by stefania paparelli for maria claire uk june 2010 via picsandmodels}

Eclipse Review & A Giveaway

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm a Twilight fan. And, yeah, the last time I had a "teen" in my age it was a couple of years ago, but I got totally sucked into the books and the "lion and lamb" love story. The movies? Frankly, I've thought they could have been better, but I had high hopes for the third installment, Eclipse. It was my favourite of the novels with the maximum of Edward and Jacob and all that love-triangle-angst. I promised my younger sister I would take her to see Eclipse on opening night and did one better by grabbing us, and my mom, some tickets to a midnight screening last night. Read on for my thoughts below, but beware of spoilers if you haven't read the book. If you skip the review make sure to head to the bottom of the post for a Twilight-inspired giveaway.

{via}

Not sure if you'll agree, but I think Eclipse is the best yet in this movie series. The ladies in the theatre went wild every time they spotted a shirtless Jacob and they swooned over gallant Edward while I silently cheered that Kristen Stewart managed to dial back the annoying this time around (and I really like her hair longer). One of my favourite scenes in the book is the time spent in the tent the night before the big fight when Jacob has to act as Bella's space heater and I was happy to see it brought to life on film.

I thought in some ways this movie was darker than the others (especially the opening scene), but they did a good job of bringing Bella's dilemma to life. Knowing she will have to say good-bye to friends and family in order to be changed is a horrible reality and I found the scenes with Charlie to be both heartwarming and amusing. The pain and struggle of the love triangle was also felt more keenly in this movie. And although I still love the books more I'm looking forward to the next movie--especially the wedding!

{via}

If you've seen Eclipse let me know what you think...if you haven't yet come back once you have so we can chat and compare notes!


So what's all this talk about a giveaway you ask? The lovely and talented Denise of Polka Dot Moon is a big Twilight fan, too, and to celebrate the release of Eclipse has kindly offered a pair of her moon-themed earrings to one lucky reader!

{The Prize: Polka Dot Moon Glass Pearl and Topaz Swarovski Crystal Earrings}

Denise has an array of Twilight-inspired jewellery items like this witty necklace...


...and these beautiful earrings, inspired by the greenery of Forks...


Polka Dot Moon also has several gorgeous items that aren't vamp-centric, any of which I would be happy to have in my collection. For the scrapbookers among you Denise also has another shop (Wild Moon Studio) with great supplies--you should check it out!


Fab, no? So here's what you need to know to win:


Giveaway is now closed -
Thank you to everyone who entered

How to Enter

This giveaway is open to followers of Sogni e Sorrisi (both new and old alike). Just take a trip over to Polka Dot Moon and let me know what your fave item is. In your comment also let me know what your favourite Twilight book is and whether you are Team Edward or Team Jacob (this will not effect how I choose the winner--promise!)


Extra Entries

1. Follow Sogni e Sorrisi on Twitter. If you already do just let me know.

2. Tweet about this giveaway. To make it easy you can tweet this:

Fab Twilight-inspired Polka Dot Moon jewellery #giveaway @SogniESorrisi http://tinyurl.com/2akk33z
3. Follow Polka Dot Moon's blog

4. Blog or Facebook about this giveaway. Leave the URL in your comment. {5 extra entries}

Contest open until July 3, 2010.
Winner will be chosen at random.


Good Luck!





Summer Dresses - 1965

In a radical change from 5 years ago, gone are the full skirted styles that reigned for nearly 15 years. The look is tailored and elegant, with the merest hint of shaping at the waist. Just starting to appear are Mod, Op-art, Pop-art, and Psychedelic styles that will become wildly popular over the next few years. Hemlines are on the rise, and will soon be called mini. Here, dresses for the heat of summer from 1965.

Dior black and white silk print tailored wrap dress.

Guy Laroche silk dress in a pop-art swirl print.

Tailored sheath in apricot voile by R&K. Sold for $20 in 1965 (about $139 in today's dollar).

Jean Patou red linen princess seamed dress.

Bill Blass for Maurice Rentner double layer op-art dress in organza over crepe.

Tony Armstrong white linen sheath with blue and red stripes has a decidedly Mod feel. Sold for $100 in 1965 (about $693 in today's dollar).

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...