So last night I finally mustered the nerve to rent "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". You know, the three hour "curious case". I didn't start it til after 1am because I was working on KORU. I have to say that I've put off getting this movie also because I know several of the dancers in it and didn't want to get jealous watching them participate in the life I used to lead. Ok there I said it. Anyway, the movie started and I could not stop. I loved it. The story, the cinematography, the production design, Brad Pitt half naked looking like he did in "Thelma & Louise". My only criticism is that Benjamin didn't seem to be as young as he was supposed to be in the early years, so it was confusing some of the situations he would be in and not act more naive. But this did not keep me from loving the film. The three hours flew by and I didn't even doze off. Like I did tonight in "Robin Hood" which I almost walked out of. Anyway, "TCCoBB" touched me in a special way. I loved the final scene when he fully regresses. The story is amazing. Loved it.
This morning I went to meet a friend at Starbucks. I ordered my drink...Iced Venti Sweetened Green Tea and as I got it I noticed this handsome man, I know...shocker. He was sitting with his family. His wife and daughter were talking which didn't hold my attention so much but I couldn't help but notice his son playing with his fathers adams apple. The father had the most gentle smile on his face as if he was in future reflective thought of remembering that moment forever. It was so touching and real. I used to be in awe of my dads adams apple and wondered if I would ever have one. Well I do and I know that if I were that father today, I would remember the exact moment my son fiddled with it and how it made me feel, the unconditional love that can exist between a father and a son is a beautiful thing.
Later today I went out to Spelman College to witness the culmination of T. Lang's "Sweat Shop" summer intensive. There were about 8 dancers and they showed what they had been working for the whole week. These girls were amazing. T. Lang set an excerpt of the piece that she and Spelman Dance Theatre are taking to Lincoln Center in NYC, where they have been invited to perform next week, CONGRATULATIONS. In addition to that piece they ran through five others, one being full length at over five minutes and the others, more lengthened phrases. T. Lang's choreography is challenging, inspired, intricate, and something that she is now incorporating...gestural. I love seeing artists evolve and that is what T. Lang has done over the past year. The young dancers moved as though they had absorbed an alien energy and was using it as fuel to morph their bodies into different shapes with varying speeds and emotions. A great way to spend an afternoon.
