Friday, April 15, 2011

A new style, just for Paris

I am going to spend too much money on clothes. I have absolutely NO idea how I'm getting everything home (answer: I probably won't).

However, all I have in my wardrobe is winter clothes, and seeing as the weather is getting nice, that had to change. And while I was at it, I decided to go ahead and continue a style transformation that I've been working on and am just crazy about.

So here are my yeses for the season -- and a new, Parisian, rock and roll Gillian:

yes to natural hair color , no to blonde
yes to eyeliner
yes to bijoux (jewelry), especially clunky -- rings, bracelets,necklaces
yes to jeans and jean shorts
yes to light scarves
yes to plaid
yes to easy breezy tops
yes to edgy, yes to rock and roll, yes to chunky watches and the top few buttons undone
yes to androgyny and blazers and fedoras 
yes to the look at me if you dare, swagger when you walk attitude!!!!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Some time to breathe (and work on that paper)

I haven't updated in forever. I didn't bother to check how long but I know we're looking at three or four weeks. I apologize for my laziness but I have a good excuse: I very honestly have not had the time.

I performed with my choreography workshop at Paris 7 last week -- the 5 and 6 april -- as well as my solo on the 6th. The weeks before that were packed with rehearsals and a lot of various errands. I was trying to see people before the vacation and also get some work done on my research paper. It is going very slowly, though I do have an outline now. I also have three books just to start with and really, really need to get writing. That's what these next couple days are for, at least that's the plan. I was going to start today and then decided that I could take one day to just chill -- so I slept in, cleaned my room, did some groceries, got my haircut -- you know, the essentials.

The show, by the way, went really well. I had about ten friends who came to see me. The piece with Paris 7 was 30 minutes long and was an exploration of light -- we had all sorts of awesome special effects with the infrared camera -- like the traces of heat on the floor, echoes of dancers behind them...hard to explain, but it turned out really cool. The only problem was that we only rehearsed with all the special effects the afternoon of opening night and so naturally during the show, for whatever reason, the music completely cut out for about two minutes. We got it figured out eventually -- at least the techies did -- and the second night was just perfect. We took two curtain calls as planned and then were forced to come back for a third one because everyone was still clapping. It was really cool.

My solo was also much better received than the first time I danced it, though I did crash down on a few joints a little harder than I might have liked-- ah well, nobody noticed and they'll heal.

The theatre was a little strange -- we were the last show to perform there before they tear it down and there was a general sense that the techies had stopped caring. The first day of rehearsal the stage was absolutely disgustingly dirty and there were various cigarette butts thrown on the floor in the audience. I was not at all impressed but they did clean it up before the show, thank god. Otherwise it was kind of falling apart, but what hey.

A buffet was provided both nights for the dancers and it was actually really extraordinary. My dad was super impressed, and me too! It was like an extravaganza of bite size amazing little things.

Oh yes, the other major thing that happened was that my Dad came to Paris for a visit -- wednesday to wednesday. I put him on the train back to Charles de Gaulle at 9:15 this morning before going back to bed, rather reluctantly. A week is far too short to catch up seven months worth of talking and hanging out. The first couple days he was here, I had to get used to having someone else in my life, but once that got straightened out, it was wonderful and I didn't want him to leave.

We didn't do the tourist thing -- well, not really. We walked by the Louvre, the Tuileries, Avenue de Champs-Elysée, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower...but just to see them. We also went to the musée Rodin and musée de quai branly...and for the rest of the time? We ate. And drank. And ate some more. A bistrot for lunch, coffee and/or a beer in the afternoon, and then in a restaurant at night. We ate a lot and well and talked and talked and talked...it was really wonderful.

In any case, I leave for Italy on Monday evening and will be staying for a full week. I am not taking my computer and will not be updating. However, when I get back I do promise to post pictures and tell you all about it.

until next time.