Vlad made a surprise visit to Chicago, and immediately, Illinois and all neighboring states knew! My weekend ended up being completely upside down, but also, it presented an opportunity to take a picture with all my children, which didn’t happen for more than two years,
Vlad was doing a pop up in the Lilac Tiger bar:
I asked Vlad to make minis for me, so that I could try more than one 🙂
Also, I asked him to visit my mom, which he did on Saturday. I went there with him because, at this point, my mom needed an interpreter. We had not more than twenty minutes one-on-one, but overall, visiting my mom with Vlad, and coming to his event today, significantly altered my plans, and I have no idea how and when I will catch up with the rest of my life. And no, I am not complaining 🙂
Yesterday, my neighobor and I attended yet another amazing Joffrey ballet performance. The “American Icons” showcases the works by several choreographers who contributed to Joffrey ballet through the seventy years of it’s existance.
Here is what Sun-Times wrote about this program:
The Joffrey Ballet’s early years have been enshrined in American legend, as the small troupe toured the country in a station wagon full of entrepreneurial postwar spirit and youthful enthusiasm.
Founded in 1956 by Robert Joffrey, son of a Pashtun father and an Italian mother, and second-generation Italian immigrant Gerald Arpino, the 70-year-old company continues to draw exceptional dancers from around the world to Chicago.
The Joffrey is, quintessentially, a company of immigrants in an American city powered by immigration.
The Joffrey’s “American Icons” program, running through March 1 at the Lyric, is, appropriately, a melting pot, too. Showcasing work by Joffrey and Arpino, plus dances by founding company dancer Glen Tetley and iconic modern choreographer Martha Graham, the evening’s collection evokes Old Vienna, Ancient Greece, Belle Époque Paris and the Catholic Church.
Collectively, the works communicate a modern American perspective on the Old World, and they represent an essential Americanness even while expressing the statelessness of dance.
I throughtly enjoyed avery moment of this performance, and at some point in the middle of it I realized that I have been smiling all the time. Each movement was impecable. The pictures can convey only that much of the beauty…
Hettie's Reflections 