Confession: I lived in London for 3 years, yet never stepped foot inside the National Portrait Gallery. I somehow regarded it as the smaller cousin of the imposing National Gallery that overlooked Trafalgar Square, and regrettably overlooked it.
On a recent visit to the city, I decided to right that wrong. I ended up losing myself in the Gallery for nearly 3 hours, looking into countless pairs of revealing eyes (and missing lunch).
In the words of a friend, my weekend trip with my mum to Hong Kong was “a little extravagant”. We’d booked tickets to see American Ballet Theatre (ABT) perform at the Hong Kong Arts Festival on Christmas night (after the novelty of opening presents).
If you’ve read a previous post, you’ll know my mum is just about as big of a dance buff as I am. She won’t know what a double saut de basque is, but that doesn’t stop her from admiring the breathtaking height of the jump.
We watched ABT perform on two nights – the first, a typical gala programme to open the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Continue reading
For the last six days, I’ve been in Tel Aviv. Dancing, reading (Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall), laughing, and eating. I saw friends – who are still at Rambert, whom I graduated alongside, who are now based in Israel. I met lovely people, including a pensioner at class who turned out to be an ex-Batsheva, ex-LCDT dancer (who spotted my Rambert School jumper and talked about the principal Ross McKim, who he danced with) and ex-Batsheva rehearsal and artistic director! A prize to whoever can tell me his name – I seem to have mastered the British art of having a conversation without asking for a name!
Filed under Gaga, Improvisation, Travel
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