Spandex, Ballet

WATCH ME!: Today marks the midway point for Annabelle's latest ballet session, which means it was family observation day (usually we're locked out!). When I told Annabelle we'd be sitting in, she replied, "That means you can take new pictures of me! We do different things in different classes," she explained, as if I needed coaxing to bring my camera.

Before we left for class I played Ballerina Girl by Lionel Ritchie and Tiny Dancer by Elton John to get everyone in the right frame of mind.

The lesson was more of the same - cute girls in pink outfits more clumsy and silly than graceful. But what else would one expect from a 4- to 5-year olds' ballet class?

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!: Well, just two Russians, and only to my computer screen and speakers. While searching YouTube for ballet-related songs this a.m., I discovered the dare-I-say delightful (don't think I've ever used that word before) Ballerina on the Boat. An award-winning cartoon from 1969, directed by Russian animation master Lev Atamanov, with a score by Alfred Schnittke. In digging around, I learned the film was choreographed by two dancers from the Bolshoi Ballet.

The 15-or-so minute cartoon follows a ballerina on board a ship. Hilarity ensues as the crew tries to replicate her graceful moves. But before long, the ship's captain becomes fed up with the antics. The ballerina retires to her cabin, only to reemerge a hero when the ship's endangered by a huge whirlpool.

I'm not sure I've ever seen an example of animation and score meshing so well. This 40-year-old film is an absolute treasure. Treat yourself and watch at least a couple of minutes (Part I by clicking on the link above [the title], Part II is here.)

BLOCKBUSTER: The kids and I hit the video store, er, I mean library, after ballet today. We came away with 8 videos and one book. What's wrong with this picture? (OK, in trying to make myself feel better, some of the videos are educational - Bill Nye the Science Guy and that ilk. But still, it just feels so wrong. ...)

ROCKIN' BOBBIN: This afternoon I was sewing the petals for the flower portion of Annabelle's Halloween costume. She was interested in the goings on and asked if she could operate the sewing machine pedal. My first reaction was Oh hell no!!!! Thankfully, I didn't screech that aloud. Instead, I realized that, of course, I should let her work the pedal. It was a teachable moment, right? Right. So I explained the primary parts of the set up to her (cable from pedal sends power to the motor, which spins to make the needle go up and down, which engages the bobbin, that kind of thing). Let me tell you, it's quite exciting having your hands near the needle when someone else has the pedal to the metal. Fortunately, no blood was shed and Annabelle got her first taste of sewing.

GET THE LEAD OUT: The only pieces of CJ's costume that are missing are the green hair spray and white face makeup. The face makeup is easy to find, so I wasn't worried about that - until I clicked on a link last night to a story that reports Halloween face makeup/paint is laden with lead and other nasty metals. DAMMIT. Now what the hell am I supposed to do? Slather him in Noxema? He might be glowing for days afterward, but I doubt he'd be down with that cold cream for long. So I spent a hour plus last night trying to think of workarounds. The best I can come up with is putting non toxic fingerpaint or even poster paint in a base of hand lotion and seeing if that will work. I also thought that perhaps I could use some of that sunscreen - zinc oxide - the kind that leaves a white stripe down your nose and cover his face in that, but where am I gonna find that in late October? Nothing's ever simple, is it?

WE'RE LYING TO OUR CHILDREN: The quote of the day comes from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan . "States are setting the bar too low. We're lying to our children when we tell them they're proficient, but they're not achieving at a level that will prepare them for success once they graduate." His statement comes on the heels of a discouraging new Education Department report.