Ballet!

Went to my first-ever ballet class with Rhona today (after several cups of tea and a couple of scones) and it was so lovely! I've never done anything like ballet before, although nearly everyone I spoke to about it said something along the lines of "Oh I did it when I was little. For about 10 years actually. But I was rubbish!" - not the most encouraging thing to hear. But it was very relaxed and elegant - I don't think my own hands have ever looked so graceful! Coming back home, I was inspired to look into the multitude of ballet-themed art and beautiful photography...

Degas' work in particular is very good at illustrating how beautiful dancers are - and look at this wonderful dress on 1920s dancer Cynthia Gregory...

I really enjoyed Black Swan when it came out last year, but I suspect it was for all the wrong reasons - I found the dancing extremely beautiful, and the way the lives of the ballerinas were portrayed was fascinating - if not particularly healthy. And the beautiful costumes - especially the two swans that Natalie Portman wears at the end - just make it an outstanding visual piece of work. I found this poster for it...

Which I thought was rather interesting.

Another aspect of this interest in ballet is it makes me want to dress up in big poofy skirts and ballet flats and the like. But I couldn't want anything more than this skirt. Too lovely for words.