Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Calling all dancers:

Hi you gals and guys!        I have been reading that really excellent magazine Dance Australia, and learned that at present there is in Brisbane Queensland a  new production of The Red Shoes, which is fascinating, since it seems to do more than just pay homage to the 1948 cult movie.   When it came out we kids would go to it and as, in those long lost days, performances were continuous, sit through it twice!.   Since then I've never lost touch with this much-loved movie, always seeing it when it was screened anywhere, and more recently I acquired the digitized DVD.   The full Red Shoes ballet in the movie was remarkable,with the beautiful Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann and many others.  I   think this new production should be great - certainly such an inventive original movie ballet deserves re-birth, and although I'm in Sydney and I know I'll not be able to get up to Brisbane to see its performance by The Expressions Dance Company I'm with it all the way !   
Incidentally, the movie has a dramatic - to say the least - story surrounding the ballet itself, and is well acted by all concerned.   If you have never seen  it look it out. What's also interesting is that there are several rehearsal shots in it, and also there's part of the movie's company's class. Look carefully at those barre exercise!.   We've come along way technically since then and oh what  a different shape those dancers were! But not Miss Shearer herself, who died not very long ago.  I must tell you, a few years ago we were touring by car in the South of France.   I suddenly shouted to Derek to stop!   I noticed we were at the bottom of  a long flight of steps leading to a house.   'Look darling,' I said, that's where  Vicky Page in her marvelous peacock green  Jacques Fath gown, rushed up to  to be told to go home to bed, as the next day she had to start rehearsals for their new  ballet - The Red Shoes ! '
Bye for now.    
P.S. - my blog about pirouettes was obviously popular so at the moment I'm giving thought to Attitudes!  

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