Movies, Dance, & Music

Part four in the series "Music Mondays in May" from my blog group

Homesteaders and Homeschoolers.

This week I'm going to give you some randoms about me and music.
My love of visuals and music in perfect combination.
Dance and music.
A bit from college and what I can remember.
Here it goes...

I love the movies.
It's why Chad and I got married, really.
I understood his geekiness about movies and he let me introduce him to A Room With A View and Out of Africa.
Music plays such a vital role in film. When a really good film has hit you full force and you feel like the wind has been knocked out of you, the music within the film probably played a bigger role than you imagined.
It can set the mood, the scene.
One of my all time favorite movie scenes is from an above mentioned film.
A Room With A View is my very favorite movie EVER.
Makes me smile just writing about it.
And my favorite scene in the film contains zero dialogue.
Let's go into the movie now...
Lucy Honeychurch is in the Italian countryside and George Emerson (he's just one of many others in their group who made the afternoon trip to the countryside) is there with her.
He's standing on a hill taking in the amazing scenery.
The wildflowers and barley fields are tall and waving in the breeze.
Lucy finds him in the field.
It's very hot out, but Lucy is dressed as a proper lady at the turn of the century should be.
Parasol and all.
George turns and sees her.
The song playing begins to get bigger.
The song is called "Chi el Bel Sogno di Doretta" by Puccini and is sung amazingly by New Zealand Soprano Kiri Te Kanawa.
He begins to walk toward her.
Then he walks with more purpose.
Quicker.
Kiri Te Kanawa is hitting her high notes now.
The music begins to crescendo and at it's climax and as Kiri hits THE note, he runs to her and plants the most amazing kiss ever.
He steals his kiss, which Lucy happily and shockingly gives to him, and then he runs off.
Sigh.
Swoon.
I love that scene.
And that song.

I studied dance in college.
Music was a part of my everyday life.
Classical, new age, jazz, rock.
All of it enveloped my head from my first class to my last.
My homework usually consisted of choreography.
More music.
It's easy for me to "see" a song and what choreography could be thrown into it.
To make the song come alive even more.
It's easier for me to see the results in my head than to actually execute them now.
I haven't really danced since probably 1996.
But I still cut a rug with my kids in the living room.
And as I'm driving I can hear a song and envision it on the stage.
With dancers moving to and fro.
It's a part of me that will never go away I think.

College.
I don't remember too much sometimes.
It wasn't like I was drunk during my entire college experience.
Far from it.
As I said before, I was a dancer.
I couldn't take a nap during my second class of the day.
No one could get away with napping after a long hard night of drinking if they were in Advanced Modern Dance or Pointe.
I just have a bad memory for specifics sometimes.
I remember a few things about music outside of classes.
When we lived in the dorms there would be lively productions of "Annie The Musical" in the halls by me and my friends.
And there was Laura's infatuation with Patsy Cline our sophomore year.
I think it really freaked Rose out.

When I discovered dancing at The Gallery (and was old enough to get into the bar) I spent most weekends there dancing.
Dancing to U2, INXS, and whatever obscure group/song the DJ threw out.
It was the place to be if you were an artist.
The dance, theatre, and art students converged at The Gallery Thursday-Sunday.
The Frat guys and Sorority girls went to the two bars next door, Shannigans and Rockys.
Except when it was Retro Wednesday.
Then we would wander into Rockys to dance to old school disco.
Our group was always the first to hit the dance floor.
People in the arts don't mind being looked at by strangers on a stage.
It's our thing.
It's our element.
It's who I am...