Coffee Date No. 11
Jessie Buckley reading list, "maxxing," the quiet girl, mouse door, and more
Hello dear reader,
In this letter, you’ll find some of my observations from this week, what I’m reading and watching and consuming, and things and thoughts and bits and bobs I’ve explored and savored. Thank you for being here as I dispatch my bookmarks!
Savoring artistic physicality
I put Gigi to bed Thursday evening and slipped out of the house to give my eyes a treat at an American Contemporary Ballet Balanchine-esque performance; felt like an undercover agent who, much like a ballerina, had to silently tiptoe and pirouette and glide across floors to sneakily reach for the exit of my own home at the risk of waking Gigi, our dictator. My friend and I loved the performance and the music, and because it was an intimate venue set underground somewhere in a building that in daylight operates as a bank/corporate office space, to our astonishment we were seated a feather away from the ballerinas onstage; there was no barrier between my leisurely silver ballet flats and their pearly workhorse ballet slippers. But one thing that caught me off guard was the physicality of the performance — it asked for a lot, and given how close I was to the action, I saw the ballerinas’ sweat (which, from afar, would have looked like a gloriously glistening addition to their chiseled figures), heard their measured panting as they strived to catch breaths between jumps, and for the first time saw what appeared to me the look of stoic discipline to the point of pain in a dancer. Really got me curious about physical rigor and artistic motivation, and whether there is an internal deal a performer is to strike with oneself when embarking onto the stage. I’ve been digesting this query even now.
Watching Belgravia
Unexpectedly good! Like a random hug. This Julian Fellowes fellow knows what he’s doing in the period pieces he concocts.
Reading Cassandra Speaks: When Women Are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes by Elizabeth Lester
A Jessie Buckley recommendation, as I venture to read all the book recs she’s shared. It’s also in line with all the works I’ve been recently devouring from female directors.
In case anyone else is falling head over heels for Jessie Buckley like I am, here are some more of her reading recommendations
The below possibility frightens me, truly:
I’m shocked just as you are that I have yet to watch the Peaky Blinders movie in theaters, but my treadmill workout and movie prep included this interview with Cillian and Barry (thanks Jacqueline for sending this to me!)
“We’re all maxxing now / on optimizing yourself into oblivion” — this piece was excellent. As was the astute observation from Deidre Woollard in the comments section:
Want to watch this film adaptation of Claire Keegan’s Foster after I get through the book:
I’m using the upcoming Spring Equinox to say good riddance to stagnant energy. It’ll look like de-cluttering and organizing each room (physical), clearing out inbox (yikes, what a digital mess), setting the intention of daily walks and weekly hikes.
Got Gigi this little door that opens! I’ll be inserting a cutout of a tiny mouse and sticking this cutie to a wall somewhere in her nursery near her bookshelves to let her imagination run wild.
Talk soon, lovelies!
Warmly,
A
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