3 Haiku for Balanchine's Jewels
1. Emeralds
Verdant the river
Flowing shaded, soft and sad;
(Why did you leave me?)
2. Rubies
Jump up like a flame!
Jazzy jaunty pelvises!
That's romance! Grab it!
3. Diamonds
Snow-white swan's down, glide
Down to cape and crown the head
Of my beloved
5 comments:
I like! :) Each one captures the spirit of each movement perfectly.
Thank you! And please note I subtly work a color reference in there too!
I was actually going to e-mail you about these since I was hoping you would see them, but I don't like to do that kind of thing.
And I'm hoping to post more extended thoughts, uh, you know, when I can. . . .
I fully appreciated the impact of the color reference! It's amazing how much you can pack into three lines. You must think in haiku now.
Feel free to email me anytime. I saw Jewels again yesterday (it was the antidote for a really bad day) and it was even better than the first viewing.
I do find myself counting syllables a lot more than I used to, or walking past something like a dead bird and immediately trying to think of a five-syllable description. . . .
As you probably surmised, I was at Jewels yesterday also, but for my first viewing. For next season I'm hoping not to book myself up so far in advance with subscriptions so that I can see some of these programs twice -- it would be really fascinating to see Jewels two or more times in a week and compare the different leads and what they bring to it -- otherwise, the one performance you see is what the ballet is for you, right? And you don't see what else it can be while still remaining the same ballet.
(Though I have watched the Paris Opera DVD you mentioned in your write-up on Saturday Matinee, but it's kind of a different experience -- you don't get the experience of the stage depth, for one thing. I also liked SF Ballet's sets better.)
And I have to say I thought my ticket was a bargain -- I was in the front row and only paid $60, which I think is a great price to sit so close and for all those dancers and live music as well.
One of my favorite poems is Waltz by Edith Sitwell because you cannot read it without speaking in a Waltz rhythm. These three haiku reminded me of Waltz because even though I have no experience with this ballet, I can hear the different types of music in my head as I read each one.
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