Spears and skates
Apr. 1st, 2014 09:36 pmI spent what feels like my entire practice session this afternoon working on waltz jumps from back crossovers going backwards at the pace of a geriatric snail, and by the end, it was finally starting to pay off. The timing of the hips and the arms and the shoulders and the feet is all in sync! I did a couple where I'm pretty sure I took off from my toe pick! They felt like leaps rather than all-but-steps! Hurrah, hurrah.
Afterwards, I went to hear Clare Murphy, a professional storyteller, tell Irish myths. I had no idea what to expect, but whatever my expectations were, they were blown out of the water. It was kind of like a really, really well-read audiobook mixed with standup comedy, much more of a performance than I thought it would be. I'm a very visual reader (and aural/odoral/tasteual) reader, so I get vivid images/sounds/smells/tastes/textures in my head when I read; this was like that, only more intense. (It may have helped that she mimed throwing a spear, etc.) I see why this was such a big deal before literacy became widespread.
As I left the building, I passed by a group of ten or twelve raggedly-dressed college kids standing in formation with swords, for reasons I could not discern. Between that and the collection of English profs in the audience (especially the one who rather endearingly introduced Clare with a bunch of high-flown language read, haltingly and with many digressions, off a rumpled sheet of paper), I began to miss being in college or grad school myself.
And then I realized I didn't have to write a paper on what I'd just seen. Better yet, I didn't have to grade papers I made my students write on what I'd just seen. The rest of the night was mine to do with as I pleased. Being an adult (at least, an adult without a faculty job) is AWESOME!
Afterwards, I went to hear Clare Murphy, a professional storyteller, tell Irish myths. I had no idea what to expect, but whatever my expectations were, they were blown out of the water. It was kind of like a really, really well-read audiobook mixed with standup comedy, much more of a performance than I thought it would be. I'm a very visual reader (and aural/odoral/tasteual) reader, so I get vivid images/sounds/smells/tastes/textures in my head when I read; this was like that, only more intense. (It may have helped that she mimed throwing a spear, etc.) I see why this was such a big deal before literacy became widespread.
As I left the building, I passed by a group of ten or twelve raggedly-dressed college kids standing in formation with swords, for reasons I could not discern. Between that and the collection of English profs in the audience (especially the one who rather endearingly introduced Clare with a bunch of high-flown language read, haltingly and with many digressions, off a rumpled sheet of paper), I began to miss being in college or grad school myself.
And then I realized I didn't have to write a paper on what I'd just seen. Better yet, I didn't have to grade papers I made my students write on what I'd just seen. The rest of the night was mine to do with as I pleased. Being an adult (at least, an adult without a faculty job) is AWESOME!
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