Day 137 - Thursday 30th July 2020

Location: London, UK

COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak

Lockdown

I have taken ballet classes since I was about 3 years old. In that time I have had many pairs of ballet shoes. I'm remember the excitement of graduating from elastics to ribbons and then getting my first pair of pointe shoes - these are seminal moments for a dancer.

I recently came across this item on the BBC news from 2018: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-46025716

I found it quite astounding that black dancers have had to cover their ballet shoes in foundation to get them to resemble their skin tone until very recently. It took until 2018 for Freed's, one of the best known dance shops in the world, to produce a pointe shoe not in satin pink.

Whilst it's great that they are doing it, why on earth has it taken this long? I'm honestly gobsmacked and saddened for the many dancers who possibly felt that ballet was not a world for them, because literally, the shoe didn't fit.

Image from Freed's website:

Comments

Day 23 - Tuesday 7th April 2020

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown I've got long hair and have had for all my adult life. As it's curly, I can get away with quite a lot with it, including getting it cut about twice a year... I know, terrible. I was very much due a cut when "all this" happened so I took matters literally into my own hands and chopped off a couple of inches. I don't think I've done the best job, but again, as it's curly, my hair hides a multitude of sins/poor cutting. When I do eventually get to see my hairdresser again, I'm hoping he'll forgive whatever it is I've done. In other hair news, many of my male friends and family's hair is getting comically longer and shaggier as the weekly video calls go on. I wonder how many hair clippers Amazon has sold recently... Let's have some music - Hair Broadway Cast performing "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" [LIVE @ The Late Show] ht...

Day 117 - Friday 10th July 2020

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown I am fortunate to have a job at the moment and I have some annual leave to take before a certain date. I am normally one to hang to my annual leave and not use it willy-nilly, but the date is looming and with no-where to go I am at a bit of a loss with what to do. Personally, I don't fancy going anywhere at the moment. I really don't feel inclined to get on a plane to go anywhere - I don't particularly enjoy flying at the best of times - and the idea of having to wear a mask for the duration of the journey doesn't appeal. In previous years, the idea of just being at home with no-where to be was incredibly appealing, but as that's kind of the status quo at the moment, it's lost some of it's magic. So what to do with my leave - well, I think the garden and a book do still beckon and maybe a whole series on Netflix...

September 2020

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak September - how is it already September? September was the month when everyone really tried to "go back to normal" Started off the month with a cast screening of Love & Information which we decided to really go for big style - everyone dusted off their black ties and ballgowns and we had a fabulous evening! It was my birthday - celebrated with a family walk and Papa John's vegan pizza which was great! Lockdown birthdays kinda suck but also I feel like people make more of an effort to reach out as the circumstances are so strange. I went back to weekly ballet classes, first since March. It has been lovely to stretch my muscles and my dance brain. Went to the cinema for the first time - my cinema of choice is the BFI, partly because I'm a member and partly because I like the way they do things. Saw two excellent films (in a socially distanced cinema where masks were required through...

The Extreme Staycation

Search This Blog