One word for yesterday: flu. Now I understand why Dick Cheney got that flu shot. This virus would have killed him.
I was in too wretched a state to crawl to the computer and post this new article in the Chronicle, about a day at the San Francsico Ballet School Student Showcase.
Truth be told, I’m not that pleased with it. Not for lack of interesting material: It was a privilege and a rich experience to spend 12 hours with the students, teachers, and parents of the San Francisco Ballet. I was so impressed by the way they’re building not just technique, but character. If I have a child, and if that child shows a talent for ballet, I’m shipping that kid off to the San Francisco Ballet School.
I got home at 11 p.m. with enough notes and details to fill 3,000 words–but my word limit was just 800. And the story was due by 8 a.m. the next day. That’s daily journalism for you, no use complaining.
The thing that most struck me was how many great boys the school has now, and how the stigma of studying ballet has lifted for them. I talked to quite a few teenage guys, and many credited broad-minded dads. Perhaps the culture of boys and ballet is finally changing in this country?
I’d love to write about that in more depth someday.
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