The Stand play series - "Wildflowers"

Over the last couple weeks I wrote another ten-minute play based on The Stand. This one is probably spoilery too, so probably only those who don't want to play in future runs should read. The characters featured are Sister Flora Johansson and Violet Wood, both PCs. I like the idea of this scene a lot, though the piece itself probably needs polishing.

( The Stand play series - "Wildflowers" )

It takes more than fire in the belly to become the next Baryshnikov

Though normally I have a pretty strict naturally-occurring bedtime, last night I found myself staying up entirely too late watching videos on Youtube of Mikhail Baryshnikov dancing. I often watch ballet videos, and those of male dancers specifically, but the way this man moves is mesmerizing. They say he's one of the greatest of all time, and I think even a completely uneducated eye can be struck by how perfectly he moves. He is strong, balanced, controlled, completely correct and yet passionate at the same time. And he has a perfect ballet body, all lean muscle, perhaps a bit short for a ballet dancer but it's all to the good, because it just means he is that much closer than being able to leap his own height. I almost don't like watching him in a pas de deux because I want to see him fly, not just be a stand for a female dancer.

I also learned of the existence of White Nights, a 1985 dance movie starring Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines as a ballet dancer and a tap dancer working together. I watched several of the big dance scenes from the film, which are quite remarkable, designed I believe mostly by Twyla Tharp. There's a lot of great stuff in it, particularly a scene where Hines bets Barysh eleven rubles that he can't do eleven pirouettes in a row, and Barysh sails through them with such smooth precision that it's like he's an electric drill. The choreography is somewhat strange at times, particularly a scene with just Mischa doing a very bizarre, very eighties kind of breakdance sort of thing. It's a weird piece of work, but if nothing else it showcases Baryshnikov's sheer raw athleticism-- he may be doing weird things, but he can do those weird things only because damn, that man can move. There's also a neat duet that I think is supposed to combine the two styles of ballet and tap. It's a great dance, and I don't mean any offense to Hines, who is a talented tap dancer, or to the style of tap at all, but I found it slightly disappointing because it just looks... too easy for Mikhail. This is a man who can do a vertical split and is a master of one of the most precise and demanding dance forms in the world. If he's not leaping, kicking, and spinning, it's almost like a waste of him. The movie is shot kind of oddly at times, and I've probably already spoiled myself on the best parts, but I'd like to see the whole thing now, especially if there's any more dancing that I missed.