As I was posting the reference below to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, unbeknown to me, my mother was unearthing photographs of my daughter who, as a junior in high school, choreographed, costumed, and danced her own original interpretation of that piece. Her costume was flesh-colored and glittery. Her makeup dramatic. Her movements fierce. This in a school district community that, at the time, was quite unsophisticated. (Actually, given the large number of current unsophisticated national constituencies, it was apparently ahead of its time.)
Anway, I just love this photo, which, according to writing on the back, was taken and given to her by one of my daughter’s teachers.
I must not have taken any photos of her that evening since no others are turning up. I do remember sitting in the middle of the audience listening to the murmurs during her performance that probably had more to do with the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra under her leotard than with the choice of performance piece. I wish I could have taped the comments afterward from other parents as they tried to come up with something that would not give away their real opinions.
Kalilily Time
Just an old lady talking to herself
The fact that I wasn’t wearing a bra obviously meant a great deal to you as well because you mention it every time this piece comes up! ;-P
Wearing a bra under a leotard while dancing the Rite of Spring would be pretty silly. 🙂 It would be counter intuitive to the meaning and feel of Stravinsky’s piece (always one of my favourites). Of course if those in the audience who were complaining about that actually let themselves go and experienced the rites of spring they would know that, then again they’d probably freak out and shut down the school 🙂
hrm..I don’t think, even sans bra, that I was endowed enough to shut down the school. ;-). But I would have been proud had it happened!
Actually, it probably would have happened — this is the same school that banned a movie-night showing of “Tommy” because it “glorified the use of drugs”. Duh. I had already seen it (I was 15 or so) and knew that the drug scene was actually quite frightening. But — that’s the town I grew up in!
I also taught in that rural district, where the principal of my school, a retired navy officer, introduced me (as a new teacher) to the crowd in the gym on parents night as “our little rose of Poland.” Sheesh!
This is the town where, during the Vietnam War, someone came up onto our property and tore into little pieces the “peace flag” I hung from a low-hanging tree branch.
This is the town that had only one family of color living within its boundaries.
When my daughter went off to college, I sold the house and moved so b!X could go to a more progressive public school.