Category: 84 Ribbons

In the late 1950’s, the period of Marta’s story in 84 Ribbons,  dancers were on their own for everything that took place outside their rehearsals. That include their diet. It was simple: don’t gain or lose weight because the costume mistress didn’t want to adjust costumes. Many young women took weight issues to the extreme, eating only one meal a day, taking diet pills, smoking or using drugs to curb their appetite or whatever means they thought of to control their weight. They worked hard not necessarily smart to maintain their proper body image. In today’s ballet companies time and energy is spent...

On Day 13 I mentioned Melanie Doskocil’s blog, Ballet Pages. Here are two more universal truths worth contemplating.   1. Someone else will always have more than you or be better than you. It doesn’t matter if it’s money, fame or a position earned by hard work, eventually another person will take over your spot.  Therefore, focus on what you can accomplish, do your best and be grateful for the experience.   2. The only person who can make you happy is you. The root of our happiness is our relationship with ourselves, What we fo affects our mood; what...

Dance Magazine shared an article written by a new professional ballet dancer, Molly Wagner, in March, 2013 that fascinated me. Molly began dancing at age 13 after ending her gymnastics career. She is dancing her second year with the Kansas City Ballet. Molly said dancing was like painting in that each canvas and each dance is unique. Both depend on interpretation and nuances. Both allow  for  individual expression and many balletomanes can see the differences the same dancer shares from one night to the next. I must admit when I see a ballet danced by different ballet companies I seldom notice...

Today we have the privilege of hearing from a young novelist, Nicole Gerspacher. Nicole earned a Journalism major with a Criminal Justice minor at Cal State at Chico last year. Currently she is a staff writer on the Paradise Post, Paradise CA. I know you will appreciate her story. Welcome, Nicole! My new novel, “Everything After,” follows the story of Kevannah Hayfield after her cancer relapses and is told she has less than a year to live. Being in her early twenties, Kevannah had a strange idea of what it meant to be an adult and fought tenaciously to uphold...

In 84 Ribbons I use a photo of Maria Tallchief to connect Marta to Harry, the janitor at the end of the book. I selected her because I admire her career and tenacity. As one of the most celebrated ballerinas of the past 1oo years, Maria was considered daring, brilliant and possessing great musicality (the ability to interpret the music through her movements). She was the daughter of an Osage Native American and a Scotch-Irish mother who began dancing before she was ten. Balanchine’s style attracted her. She reported to have said that it made her feel like a musician:...

Melanie Doskcil wrote an interesting blog post on her Ballet Pages listing ballet truths. These two universal truths caught my eye. 1. You won’t always get what you want. Whether it’s roles in ballet, hearing compliments, getting promotions or being part of the perfect group, it may or may not ever happen. But, if we do our best, practice, listen to advice and accept that others might know more than we do, we’ll be in a better place to succeed. Because, if we do nothing we’ll get nothing.   2.  You’ll never feel 100% ready. Regardless of how much we...

Answers to yesterday’s 5 trivia questions: 1.  What is the international language of ballet?   French 2.  What does ‘turnout’ mean?  the outward rotation of a dancer’s hips 3.  What is the purpose of a barre?  to support a dancer during warm-up exercises 4.  What is the term to describe a ballet enthusiast?  balletomane 5.  What is a pas de deux?  a dance for two people

Test your basic ballet knowledge on these 5 questions. 1.  What is the international language of ballet? 2.  What does ‘turnout’ mean? 3.  What is the purpose of the barre? 4.  What is the term used to describe a ballet enthusiast? 5.  What is a pas de deux? Answers tomorrow.  

Have you ever had an itch that needed scratching? No matter what you did to distract yourself, it still itched? That’s how I feel about writing. In fact, that sentiment is inscribed on the cover of my media kit: “Stories come to me like an itch: they refuse to leave until I promise to scratch around for their meaning and write them down.” While some people are compelled to run, compete in sporting events or meet the challenge of the New York Times crossword puzzle, I write. I’ve tried not to write but after a couple of days I need...

In her book, Between The Lines, Jessica Page Morrell says,”Backstory illuminates the origin of behaviors and motives, especially those tied into the main conflict. ( p. 18) I agree. As authors we lay down subtle suggestions and reactions to fill in gaps and lead readers to conclusions. Sometimes it is hard to not share those details. I have two such chapters that wouldn’t stay out of my brain. After I wrote 84 Ribbons, I went back and wrote two backstory pieces to explain two recurring actions by Marta: Jonas: The Day Marta’s World Changed and Steve’s First Ballet. I hope...