and All That Jazz

I watched the Miami City Ballet doing Ballanchine and Twyla Tharp on PBS. I recalled when they came to Israel in 1987. Both L.D. and Becca were taking ballet at the time, probably because I always wished to take ballet lessons as a child and was fulfilling my childhood fantasies by giving them things I couldn't have as a child. I dragged them to see Nureyev, the Stuttgart, Kirov, Israel and London Festival ballets, and when the Miami City Ballet came to town (Jerusalem, at the time), I paid extra so they could meet Edward Villella, who was the founder and still Creative Director.
I told him that L.D. was the only boy in his class and he gave him lots of encouragement. He said that when he announced to his parents that he wanted to study ballet, they were horrified and pictured him in a tutu. He told L.D. how hard it was for a kid growing up in New York being the only boy in his neighborhood taking ballet lessons.
After that, Joe Namath, the famous Jets quarterback, took ballet lessons and it became acceptable for sports figures to take lessons to improve their strength, agility and coordination. I'm sure that it helped L.D. become an accomplished snowboarder and Thai kick boxer.
Then, while flipping through the channels, I caught the great "All That Jazz", which was about the great choreographer, Bob Fosse, and enjoyed it as much as I did when I first saw it in 1979. I think it was Roy Scheider's best role and the rest of the cast is great also. You can catch the incomparable Ann Reinking dancing a great top hat and tails number with a young Elizsabet Foldi on YouTube. It will definitely lift your spirits!
It also reminded me of the huge poster I bought when I was in my twenties, I think, of this gorgeous male dancer from the Joffrey Ballet leaping in the air. It was then that I think I developed my admiration of the human form, especially that of male dancers, and eventually led to becoming a figurative sculptor. I'd love to get back to it someday before I forget how to do it!