The Week at the Ballet

There are no men in tights and women in tutus in this tale. The late Isadora Duncan created a beautiful modern dance form. If this sounds familiar, then you have probably read “The Frozen Lake” story. Isadora Duncan, who the postal service is issuing a stamp commemorating her creativity in the area of modern dance, was a strange person, to say the least. Isadora Duncan’s performances included two things: her flowing scarves and her transparent Greek toga style clothing. Duncan was one of the most influential Americans to defect to Russia. She was Lenin’s crown jewel among defectors. In her last American performance, she caused a sensation by stopping in the middle of the performance and exposing her bosom. She said, “This is what you really came to see.”  She soon defected to Russia where she was given anything she wanted. There are rumors of her having an affair with Lenin. This does not follow her mode of operation. She preferred younger men. Her beautiful scarves led to her premature death at 55 years old. Her flowing long scarf caught in the open spoke wheels of her convertible sports car, breaking her neck and ending her life. 

My soul mate while in Germany, Juliana Bieber, studied at an academy founded by Isadora Duncan and kept some of the traditions alive. She produced dance performances based on classical opera. Juliana called me and told me she was giving a recital and wanted me to attend. It took me no time to get my job covered. Everyone in Systems control owed me time. The recital was to be at the castle in Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg is a curious town. At that time, the population was around 40,000. The area of Aschaffenburg has evidence of human habitation since the Stone Age. The castle at which the performance was taking place had a remarkable history. Built in 1609 and destroyed during World War II, the castle at which the performance was taking place had a remarkable history. The military governor of the area, General Patton, ordered the castle rebuilt. Unfortunately, they rebuilt the castle just as it was in 1609. That is wonderful in a way, but unfortunate in other ways. For one, it is where we are staying the week of the performance. I suppose many people would love to stay in a beautiful old castle. 

If you look at a globe, it might amaze you to find out that Germany is at the same latitude as northern Canada. That means cold, right. If you have been to Germany in July or August, you know at what I am hinting. If you want an idea of the weather, simply go into your bathroom and stuff a towel in the crack at the bottom of the door. Turn on the hot water to every faucet. When you have used up all of the hot water, you have a good idea of how it feels during July and August in Germany. You are probably asking what does that have to do with staying in a castle. During the summer, the original occupants would move to their summer home is the Alps. In 1609 there was nothing like refrigerated air. Although rebuilt, central air-conditioning was still a decade away. I thought it would be all right since we would only be there during the night. The nights will be cool, I told myself. When the temperature is 80 degrees during July and August, the heat index is about 105 degrees. That is the set-up for my story. 

We took the train from Manheim to Aschaffenburg. This is a beautiful trip along the Rhine River. At the train station, a limousine from the castle awaits our arrival. I could have walked the distance quicker, but would have died of heat stroke. I was in good shape while I was in the service. The heat and humidity are both close to 100. At the castle, the caretaker and the staff greet us. The first thing they tell us is that the air conditioning units to the rooms are out of order. During the 1960s, when the castle was open to tourists, air-conditioning was available in some rooms. This fact does not seem to be a problem for Juliana. She said something to the effect of, “Good, everyone will be trim for the performance.” I did not catch what she was hinting at until later that night. Let me put it this way, Juliana told me before the first rehearsal that the modern dance performer will lose as much water as a marathon runner. By the time I sat through the first rehearsal, I understood what she was saying. That afternoon they had a dress rehearsal. I must tell you these people work with each other all year round. They have been preparing for this performance since December. Juliana is a tough taskmaster but everyone loves her. 

A full description of the room is necessary. Remarkably, the room itself is probably as large as many houses. It must be close to 1000 square feet. The first thing a small town Arkansas boy notices is the ceiling. The ceiling is at least 20 feet high. It is copper and has the family crest of the original owners. The crest covers the entire ceiling. In the middle is a large chandelier made of copper and crystal. The floor is tile with the family crest. Tile colors are black, gray, maroon, blue, and gold. I wish I could download a picture that conveys its beauty. Once you have surveyed the floor and ceiling, you look around and admire the whole environment. There is a fireplace. I cannot truly describe the fireplace. The opening is 10 feet tall by 12 feet wide, with lions and dragons carved into the ornate mantle. On one side is large lion’s head on a chain. I discovered this controls the flue. The bathtub is unlike any bathtub I had ever seen. It is 10 feet long, eight feet wide, and five feet deep. You must stand to take a bath. There are not faucets. You simply pull on a brass chain to fill the tub. I quickly learned that you should not be in the tub when you do this. The water comes out as a waterfall. This sudden rush of water fills the vast space with water in just a few seconds. This is about 400 cubic feet of water. When you know the procedure, you call down to the front desk to have a worker light the heater underneath the tub so that you can have a warm bath. I was unaware of this for my first bath. Juliana later explained it to me. 

The bed sets on an elevated floor with steps surrounding the sleeping area. It is elevated from the floor by five feet. The canopy looms eight feet above the mattress on the bed. On each side of the bed are doors, which hide the rosewood curtains that go completely around the bed. The reason for the enclosure is to provide the occupant relief during battles. One could shut out the noise. In size, the bed is 12 by 12 feet. Sheets are red silk covered with a down-filled comforter, also in red silk. On a cold winter night, one could sleep the day away in this bed. As I said before, I was not there in the winter and comfort is a problem. The room is hot, hot, and hot. Considering the room’s size, I cannot think of any way to cool it much. I did find a way to get somewhat comfortable at night. I removed the comforter and moved it to the fireplace. I opened the flue to the fireplace and had a cool breeze blowing across the floor. This made the first night tolerable. 

This particular dance performance honors the Opera Carmen.  Carmen is the story of a messed up love affair between a beautiful gypsy girl named Carmen and a soldier name Don José. Do I need to tell who plays Carmen?  However, Juliana is a blonde, blue-eyed German, how can she play the part of a Gypsy girl. Add a black wig, dark contacts, a little makeup and as if by magic—a beautiful gypsy girl. Jeral Minfelder plays the second most important part. While his character, Don José, is in prison, Minfelder came back and talked to me. Minfelder was a local resident. He surprised me by telling me that he heard the air was out in the castle. He told me he would work on it first thing in the morning so we will only endure one night without air. Minfelder is the main air conditioning repairperson in town. That is what he does until he gets on as a full-time dancer. It is easy to understand why Carmen falls for this person. I wondered if Juliana had or is currently having an affair with Jeral. Jeral, sensing my discomfort, explains his relationship with Juliana. He likes Juliana very much as a friend, but he is more attracted to the other male dancers. I moved a little away from him after learning this. He must have noticed because he explains that he has a live-in lover, who is also a dancer. His friend is George Meder, they are always together, but they act the same as any young heterosexual couples. In fact, for Germany, they are discrete. His friend is also in the performance playing the part of the bullfighter, Escamillo.

How was the performance?  After the dress rehearsal on Sunday, the full performances for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday sold out. Carmen is originally an opera written by the composer Georges Bizet. Prosper Merimee wrote the novella of the same title. I have already named the dancers I remember. Don José is a corporal of dragoon; Carmen is a gypsy girl who works in the local cigarette factory, and Escamillo is a toreador. We first find Don José outside the cigarette factory at break time. Carmen, upon seeing this handsome young soldier throws her fate away by tossing him a flower. This starts the whole problem that will consume both. While Don José is on duty one day, Carmen attacks a fellow worker with a knife. While waiting for the prison warrant to be served, Don José must guard her. Carmen, with her many charms convinces Jose to free her. When the guards come to arrest her and take her to prison, she escapes. Don José is responsible (things like this sometimes happen when one thinks with body parts other than the brain). Don José loses his rank and must spend the next two months in prison. 

After his release, Carmen convinces him to join a group of smugglers. Because of his overwhelming love/lust for Carmen, he does and causes himself more trouble. While they are dividing the loot, Carmen does a private exotic dance for Don José, hoping that she can get him to go away with her. His senior officer comes looking for Carmen and finds Don José with her. The superior officer has designs on Carmen. Carmen refuses to submit to the officer, and Don José gets into a fight with him. Don José is now is deep trouble with the military. So doing the only thing he can, he joins Carmen and the smugglers. Carmen, by this time, is getting a little tired of Don José. She tells him to return home to his mother. Now the audience learns that Carmen has a new boyfriend, Escamillo. Escamillo is a famous bullfighter. When Don José learns that Escamillo and Carmen are now lovers, he starts a fight with the bullfighter. Not a smart thing to do, he is a fine-looking boy, but he lacks intelligence. The fight is broken up, and Escamillo offers all the smugglers a free pass to the bullfight the next day. At the bullfight, Carmen and the smugglers are in the crowd with Escamillo. Don José catches Escamillo as he is going into the bullring. Don José informs Escamillo that he is going to beat him. Escamillo just tells Don José that he would like to watch this beating, but first he had to fight a bull. As Carmen follows Escamillo, Don José grabs Carmen. He informs her of his love for her, and she scorns him and tells him she does not love him anymore. In a jealous rage, he stabs her, and she expires. Don José falls atop Carmen and realizes what he has done. He has killed the only thing he ever truly lusted loved. Don José confesses to the murder as the crowd exits the bullring. Guards lead him to meet his fate—death by hanging.   

Granted, this was merely a summary of the action. Performing this opera was a very athletic event. I doubt if any professional basketball player has the hang time some of the dancers had. 

 There is a moral to this story. In fact several morals:

1.     Lust and love are two different things; do not confuse them.

2.     When seated in a bathtub that holds 3200 gallons of water, find out how the water gets into the tub prior to pulling the chain.

3.     Fill the tub with water before you get in it. 

4.     Do not pick a fight with someone who fights 2000-pound bulls for a profession.

5.     Beauty is only skin-deep; you never know what is under the wrapping.

©2012 Michael L. Wright