Special all-Bored Panda episode. Bored Panda is the single website (other than ARHtistic License, of course) that got me through the pandemic. Here are some of my favorite articles. You’re welcome.
When I was a little girl, my very best friend, Bonnie Ann, lived just across the street. That’s me on the the left with my “pixie” haircut that my mother adored. I coveted Bonnie’s hair, because she could wear pigtails.
When I was seven, my brother was born, and I was sent to my aunt’s house for a week while my mother and baby Billy were in the hospital. When I came home, Bonnie’s family had moved. I was heartbroken. Bonnie told me months before she was moving, but I never believed she actually would.
She came back to visit a couple of times, but then I didn’t see her for decades.
Until recently. A couple of years ago, she tracked me down. We reconnected through a blog post I wrote for Doing Life Together. We friended each other on Facebook, and last spring she came to Phoenix to judge dog obedience trials, and we got to spend a couple of hours together.
Bonnie recently traveled to Russia for three weeks. She posted hundreds of photographs on Facebook, and gave me permission to share some of them with you. I picked out just a few, mostly highlighting Russian architecture and art.
Bonnie is in most of these pictures. It’s amazing, isn’t it, how much she looks like she did in the picture above, even though she’s only a year younger than me (er, twenty-nine…).
Peterhof – Tzar Peter the Great’s summer palace known as the ‘Russian Versailles’
A mosaic at the Old Stalingrad market
Mural on the ceiling of the railroad station in Volgograd, depicting the 1918 Russian Civil War.
Statues (click on the smaller images to enlarge and reveal captions):
‘The Motherland Calls’ – statue completed in 1967
Sphynx given to Peter the Great, in 1832, by Egypt.
Russian Museum of Art and statue of the poet, Pushkin
Statues of the architects of landmarks in a park in St. Petersburg
Catherine the Great
Vladimir the Great
All Saints Church, Volgograd
Catherine the Great’s Summer Palace:
The Throne Room
The Church of the Blood, St. Petersburg
Hermitage, Palace Square, St. Petersburg
Interior of St. Peter and Paul Church, St Petersburg
Bell tower of Our Lady of Vladimir Cathedral, St. Petersburg
The iconic St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow; Kremlin bell tower at left
Friendship of People Fountain in Moscow. The sixteen figures represents the 16 different cultures of the old Soviet Union. The statue over Bonnie’s right shoulder is special to Bonnie, because it represents the Ukraine, which is part of Bonnie’s heritage.
The Cathedrals of the Kremlin:
On left is the Archangle’s Cathedral – built 1505-1508. On the right is the Annunciation Cathedral – built 1484-1489.
Assumption Cathedral
The Interior of Assumption Cathedral
Changing of the guard at the Kremlin
The Tzar Bell
The Tzar Cannon (never fired)
Red Square; Kremlin on the left
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Russia’s largest shopping mall – GUM Department Store at the Red Square – built in the 1890’s.
The Vodka Museum. Pretty door.
Pretty staircase within Izmaylovo Kremlin
Stalin’s grave
Samovars for sale in a marketplace
Decorative eggs
Nesting Matryoshka dolls
Putin’s Palace, Moscow
View of the Kremlin and St. Basil from cruise ship on the Moskva River
The subway station in Moscow must be one of the cleanest and most beautiful in the world:
Traditional Russian folk art – Gzhel – on subway wall
Mosaic of Ukranian Soviet workers
Sickle and hammer from Soviet times
Yes, this is the subway.
A great big ARHtistic License thank you to Bonnie Lee for generously sharing her beautiful photographs.
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No matter what you think about the leadership of Russia, the people of Russia have an enviable artistic legacy. Their glorious architecture, inspiring literature, and heartrending music express the triumphs and challenges of their centuries of existence. Russian dance transcends mortal experience and transports audiences to the heights of beauty and wonder.
No matter what you think about the leadership of Russia, the people of Russia have an enviable artistic legacy. Their glorious architecture, inspiring literature, and heartrending music express the triumphs and challenges of their centuries of existence. Russian dance transcends mortal experience and transports audiences to the heights of beauty and wonder.
If I had to reduce Russian dance to two words, they would be grace and athleticism.
Let’s start by looking at some Russian folk dances.
Here’s an example of grace: Berezka. (This may actually be from the Ukraine; if so, my apologies.)
The dancers glide so smoothly in their long gowns that observers barely see their steps. It’s almost as though they’re dolls on a turntable.
Now, for athleticism: Kalinka.
This vigorous dance features prisyadka, the deep squats followed by a kick that male Russian dancers made famous; also that crab-walking thing (I’m so sorry—I don’t know the name of that step).
Russia produced some of the greatest composers of ballet music: Tschaikovsky, Prokofiev, Glazunov, Stravinsky. It comes as no surprise that Russian choreographers drew upon the wealth of their native culture to create inherently Russian ballet. It also stands to reason that some of the most legendary ballet dancers in history are Russians.
The Dance of the Snowflakes from The Nutcracker:
Dance of the Little Swans from Swan Lake:
No matter what you think about the leadership of Russia, the people of Russia have an enviable artistic legacy. Their glorious architecture, inspiring literature, and heartrending music express the triumphs and challenges of their centuries of existence. Russian dance transcends mortal experience and transports audiences to the heights of beauty and wonder.
The Dying Swan from Swan Lake:
Rudolph Nureyev defected from Soviet Russia in 1961 and partnered with Dame Margot Fonteyn at The Royal Ballet in London. Here is the Balcony Scene from Romeo and Juliet:
Nureyev in Swine Lake:
Long before becoming Carrie’s love interest on Sex and the City, Mikhail Baryshnikov was a Russian dancer who also defected, in 1974, when he was hired by the American Ballet Theater.
Watch him leap. He seems almost to be jumping on a trampoline.
The training of a Russian ballet dancer starts before the age of 10, when students can audition and commit to the ballet academy. They reside onsite while they complete their study, including several hours of dance classes every day. Less than half graduate, due to the high demands of the program.
Few people understand what it takes to actually become a prima ballerina. Here are a couple of videos that give you an idea what young dancers need to practice every day. Note: even though they make it look effortless, in reality, ballerinas suffer severe foot pain for their art.
I studied ballet in kindergarten, and took another class when I was a young adult. I also have been a member of Phoenix International Folk Dancers for about six years.
Do you dance? Do you like to watch dancers? What are your favorite kinds of dance? Share in the comments below.
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