Norfolk: Part III....Day trip to Bacon's Castle

(Above: Bacon's Castle, front.)

On Saturday we ventured out from Norfolk....driving over toward Williamsburg and taking the ferry from Jamestown across the James River.

(Above: Mom and Steve on the ferry boat. It was quite windy and hot!)

We headed to Bacon's Castle in Surry and took another great tour through the rare Jacobean structure. Built in 1665, it was updated with a Greek revival addition in 1844. The interior was furnished according to mid-18th century inventories. Our octogenarian guide instilled us with her love of the building, the preservation efforts, and covered all three floors plus the basement. She's been with the place since it was opened to the public in 1983. (It was purchased by the Preservation Virginia in 1972.) Steve and I have visited in 1984 and 1987. Since then the 17th century garden has been excavated and planted.

(Above: Bacon's Castle, back.)

From Bacon's Castle, we drove to nearby Smithfield and walked around the charming town, its art center, and then had a fabulous lunch at the Smithfield Inn.

Norfolk: Part II...The Moses Myers House

I love touring historic homes. The Moses Myers House was no exception. The tour was private....just Mom, Dad, Steve, and me with a great guide who explained that the dining room (above) is generally more elaborately appointed.....but Birmingham Royal Ballet had some function in it during the week so the place settings were removed. We were further told that the table and chair were being put into temporary storage for this occasion too. No, Mathias was not part of this event. The room really can't hold the entire company and guests, but it was exciting to think about such a pretty, historic place being used for the arts festival and for the ballet company!


Mom and I had a bet about the detailing between these two elaborate mantles. Okay.....she won....but I got the photos!

We also visited two nearby small museums, a church with its old graveyard, and wandered around Granby Street peeking in the windows that were being used to showcase various artworks in a project called Art/Everywhere, a storefront art initiative.

Of 90 submissions, 33 projects were accepted and opened on May 1st. Easily, our favorite was Virginia Keith's Dry Humor at 250 Granby. Everything about it was clever and well done. I can't believe there are no Internet images, website with details, or this statement somewhere....but it was great....fit the space perfectly....and dealt with the waste of energy due to the prevalent use of dryers in the USA. Mom said to take a photo for my sister Wanda but this was the only one that turned out.

Norfolk: Part I...Mom and Dad and Mermaids

The extended weekend in Norfolk for the Virginia Arts Festival was amazing. I took loads of photos, ate too much, cried tears of pure joy over ballet, visited several cemeteries, toured historic houses, and loved every minute spent with my family. There is no way to share the experiences in chronological order. It would take forever to get it all correctly written and illustrated. So, I'm just posting several entries, thematically....or at least that's my plan.

While in Norfolk, my Dad checked his email daily....even logged on once all by himself. He corresponds with my sister Wanda in Munich, Germany each and every day. Wanda wrote begging for lots of photos.

From that moment on, I started snapping pictures of Mom and Dad with as many of the Norfolk Public Art Mermaids as possible. The city has been adding to "Mermaids on Parade" for the last ten years. They're everywhere!

Mom and Dad got used to having their photos taken with public art....even non-mermaid pieces like Chaim Cross' bronze sculpture called The Tourists from 1904. It's by the waterfront.

Mathias is featured in an early rehearsal of BRB's Brouillard

Birmingham Royal Ballet - Brouillards rehearsals from Rob Lindsay on Vimeo.

THIS VIDEO DOES NOT SEEM TO WORK ON ANY SITE WHILE USING INTERNET EXPLORER. PLEASE VIEW WITH MOZILLA FIREFOX OR OTHER BROWSER!

Above is the video. Below is the statement from the Birmingham Royal Ballet's "touring blog":

Birmingham Royal Ballet performs Brouillards in just three places in 2010: Cheltenham, Poole and Truro.

Each year the Company splits in two to perform different ballets at opposite ends of the country, in both the South West and the North East. This year’s very special South West leg features a programme of three one-act ballets: Brouillards, The Dance House and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.

Here you can see Birmingham Royal Ballet Artist Mathias Dingman in early studio rehearsals for the piece, in the Company’s own studios here in Birmingham, UK

Mathias is mentioned in a review!

This review appears in Music OMH for a performance in London's Coliseum. Steve is visiting this week but I don't think he saw this particular performance.....but he might have!


The Sleeping Beauty
Coliseum, London, 20-24 April 2010

(Photo: Bill Cooper)

performed by
Natasha Oughtred, Iain MacKay, Dominic Antonucci, Laetitia Lo Sardo, Michael O’Hare, Victoria Marr, Lei Zhao, Jenna Roberts, Arancha Baselga, Kristen McGarrity, Sonia Aguilar, Angela Paul, Celine Gittens, Callie Roberts, James Barton, Mathias Dingman, Oliver Till, Christopher Rodgers-Wilson, Yvette Knight, Joseph Caley, Carol-Anne Millar, Nicki Moffatt, Yasuo Atsuji

Celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its move to Britain’s second city, the Birmingham Royal Ballet is contributing to the Coliseum’s spring dance season with Sir Peter Wright’s own take on The Sleeping Beauty.

Wright’s production, which premiered in 1984, works from Marius Petipa’s original choreography and possesses its own surprising, though highly successful, mix of the innovative and traditional.

As the curtain rises the production instantly feels safe because Philip Prowse’s golden palace design is beautiful but hardly revolutionary, whilst the various courtiers are introduced to the stage in a somewhat sedate fashion.
The dances of the six Fairies, however, reveal just how innovative Wright’s approach really is. Galloping around or scuttling on points, with arms either flying outwards or swaying lyrically, we witness Fairies thrusting legs this way and that as they typically stand on one point.

Equally interesting is the way in which both the Lilac Fairy (Lei Zhao) and the Fairy Carabosse (Victoria Marr) wear flat shoes and hardly dance at all. With their relative calmness exuding authority, this says something about the power that each commands, and Carabosse’s henchmen, in particular, scuttle around her in fear and awe. That both fairies also seem so similar, wearing identical dresses with only the colour differing, suggests that it is far too simplistic just to label them as ‘good’ and ‘evil’ respectively.

The highly talented Natasha Oughtred is a captivating Princess Aurora. It is a shame that she has to perform such difficult steps so early on as her nerves are somewhat apparent, but she rapidly gains in confidence over Acts One and Two to deliver a performance teeming with elegance and grace. As Prince Florimund, there is a brilliant lightness of touch to Iain MacKay’s strident step, and as the pair dance their pas de deux there is a real sense that they are in tune with each others’ movements and feelings.

The final act delivers all of the exuberant charm that we expect from the turns of Puss-in-Boots and Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. Particular accolades, however, must go to Joseph Caley’s splendid Bluebird and the wonderful pas de quatre of Arancha Baselga, Kristen McGarrity, Mathias Dingman and Oliver Till. Meanwhile in the pit, the Royal Ballet Sinfonia gives a strong and sturdy account of Tchaikovsky’s score under the baton of Philip Ellis, and the result is a joyous evening entirely befitting of a company celebrating its twentieth birthday.

Steve as ROCKY!

I tried to make a little video of this but couldn't figure out how to purchase the "Gonna Fly" music from the movie Rocky! It would have to be that melody....nothing else would do! Steve was going to post this on him blog, but he managed to fly to London late last night....likely one of the very first international flights into the United Kingdom since the volcano erupted in Iceland. He's there to see Mathias perform Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty. So.....I'm posting his "Rocky Run" here!

So.....(above)....here he goes. Sing along...Bum..bumbum...Bum...bumbum...BUM.BUM.BUM!

Yes, it is ridiculous. No, he was not the only person doing this. There were plenty of people taking the stairs outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art two and three at a time. The air seemed to pulse with the ever-so-familiar beat from Sylvester Stallone's movie workout.

Up...up...up!

Higher and Higher!

Gonna Fly Now!

Yes! He made it!

Triumphant! ..... And, yes, plenty of people jump up and down, hands held high, at the top of the staircase....like like Rocky!

At the top, the exact spot is marked by two sneaker patterned bronze footprints and a carved word "Rocky". Yes....we waited our turn for Steve to stand in this spot!

Near the bottom of the steps is the bronze "Rocky" statue. (Photo far above!) There's a little chain rope partition around it so that a line automatically forms on the sidewalk leading up to the statue. People (including us) wait patiently for their turn for a photo-op. By the way, the museum is WONDERFUL. We stayed for most of the day and early evening. It was open until 8:45...and is on every Friday night. Live jazz was performed. We almost stayed for dinner in the posh restaurant....but we were under dressed! As we left, we giggled at the people taking turns for photos....fists in the air....Rocky style.....even though we'd done the same thing just hours beforehand!

Easter dinner

This is a photo taken on Easter Sunday 2010....Mom, Dad, and Steve....using the Hungarian embroidered round tablecloth that my sister Sonya sent me. Thanks Sonya!