Magical Moment 468, "Adagio"

I love playing piano for ballet rehearsals. It was something that intimidated me at first and took me a few months to understand and get used to, but now I feel pretty confident every time I go into work that I know just what the instructor is looking for out the pianist. I let the tiniest things get to me however, and when someone mentioned that I may want to try and learn more "classics" to play, I began to doubt myself. I like to take the songs I already know and put a new spin on them, like Hotel California, music from Disney movies, and other out of the box songs. I've gotten positive feedback doing this too. (Though I have also forced myself to learn Coppelia, Esmerelda, Giselle, and Raymonda Ballet music. Never thought I'd ever play anything like that!)

I'm one of the few non-Russian pianists on staff and when I hear the others play Chopin, or Rachmaninoff from a studio down the hall I shrink down to about 2 inches. So, this week, bound and determine to learn a new, beautiful adagio for Saturday's class, I went through all my music. Adagios are the most beautiful ballet exercise combinations. The music is slow, flowing, and full of emotion. The dancers create long, expressive lines with their bodies and hold each pose longer than normal to build up their muscular strength. You would never know that they're working so incredibly hard because they make it seem so effortless.

Well, I gave up on Chopin. Sorry Fred. I went the easy way and just wrote an Adagio for this week. But I tried very hard to make it "classical" sounding, so that maybe, just maybe, someone who doesn't really know much about music might actually think it's a real song from a real composer. Ballet adagios are usual in 3/4, and must be divided specifically into 4 blocks of 8 counts. It's all very technical. Is there anything easier to write than a slow 3/4 in a minor key? Nope!

For a class, I would play a 4 count intro, but this just begins right away. My favorite part is at 1:44. Enjoy!

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-

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