1. Lynn Stanford's Music for Ballet Class, which to this day sends my soul soaring.
2. Stirrup
tights, the awkward older sister of convertible tights.
3. The Jane Fonda wrestling-style leotard with a striped tank underneath that I wore to jazz class.
4. A
Very Young Dancer, which I read with awe and reverence, every chance I got.
3. Leg
warmers, at least one pair, were a must!
4. The F
movies - Flashdance, Fame, Footloose, Fast Forward, in addition to, of course, Stayin'
Alive, White Nights, Dirty Dancing, Breakin' and Beat Street.
5. The day I got my bubble
gum pink Capezio pointe shoes in Pavlova. The other models were Nicolini, Ultimo and Contempora, oh yeah, and Duro-Toe.
6. My jazz teacher who taught the whole class in heels. And I thought she was the coolest woman on the planet.
7. Hiking my leotard or trunks (TRUNKS!) higher than my hipbones, often by running an elastic, belt or bandana underneath and fastening/tying it in front.
 |
| A CHORUS LINE, Nicole Fosse (gray leotard, left of center), Michelle Johnston (foreground, center), 1985. ©Columbia Pictures |
8. Shiny EVERYTHING!
9. Making myself a Flashdance-style, i.e., cut to reveal one shoulder, shirt, yes, for
jazz class.
10. The more the bounce the better the stretch. Wow!
11. The Solid Gold Dancers. That jazz-hand isolation series. Finishing the number coiled around some dude's ankle. I wanted this for myself. Really. I know. Shut up!
12. It
seemed possible to be in every single dance movie, like Cynthia Rhodes.
13. Gelsey Kirkland. So beautiful, but um, yeah. . .
14. White Capezio jazz shoes. And like ballet slippers, no split sole, so if you didn't have any feet, you were in trouble! Then black jazz shoes came on the scene - how rebellious!
15. Having runs and holes in your tights, like a Harvey Edwards poster, was cool - it meant you were truly a dedicated and suffering artist.
14. White Capezio jazz shoes. And like ballet slippers, no split sole, so if you didn't have any feet, you were in trouble! Then black jazz shoes came on the scene - how rebellious!
15. Having runs and holes in your tights, like a Harvey Edwards poster, was cool - it meant you were truly a dedicated and suffering artist.
