Here's to Harry!

Today has been so far quiet with a short Newtown visit to the market and shops, washed a dirty car and petrol  fill, then more washing at home. So it was a domestic clean day, with an unscheduled delightful look-in at Royal New Zealand Ballet School where they were rehearsing Don Quixote opening next week. It is a sharp young company under the watchful eyes of  Aussie choreographer and also the new Artistic Director of RNZB, Francesco Ventriglia, whose Italian dance background is expansive and enviable. It will be a must-see soon, so it will be my splurge for the month.

Later tonight at these same rehearsal rooms, on the invitation of Jennifer, I am going to the Memorial Party to celebrate the life and work of legendary dancer and former Artistic Director, Harry Haythorne, of great fame on both sides of the ditch. It may be, as Jennifer claims, a gala dress-up occasion, or it may be a simple get-together of balletomanes. There will be some video footage of Graeme Murphy in Melbourne to be seen as well. Harry was a favourite of Graeme's having appeared in quite a few of his ballets, including the unforgettable tap dancer on roller skates in his blockbuster 'Tivoli' when Harry was already in his seventies. So there is hope for my tap dancing shoes yet, but not on rollers!!

Selma for the Oscars

So look what happened .....with a little time for consideration, after seeing the fabulous rehearsal rooms and the ballet in action, I decided to forego an evening of drinking and talking with people I don't know, so I quickly decided to catch a great film about Martin Luther King and the freedom marches in Alabama, a film I have been waiting to see for quite a while. 

'Selma' which was on at The Paramount, did not disappoint, in spite of giving Oprah Winfrey a small role in which she performed quite well. The lead, an English Jamaican actor, will certainly be up for an Oscar I think, and even 'Selma' itself will be up for for best film, given the sensitve subject and its excellent production values. It was moving and important, and I would say everyone should see it. 

Knowing that I lived through this time but in Australia, only knowing of the human rights marches at a great distance, it is good to be reminded of what went before me when I arrived in America in 1969, the year after Martin Lurher King's assassination. I am really glad I saw 'Selma' instead of going to a drinking party, albeit in the name of a dance legend.

Reading my favourite magazine..

In the spacious Paramount foyer

On a balmy evening in Wellington..perfect!