As a dancer, Peter Boal learned that there was a significant difference between working with Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine."With Robbins," Boal noted recently, "you danced the steps exactly as he choreographed them. If the piece called for two pirouettes at a particular moment in the music, then you did exactly two pirouettes. If Balanchine called for two pirouettes and the dancer was able to pull off four in that moment, he would be so excited. There was more opportunity for spontaneity with Balanchine, but it also puts the dancer at a greater risk - because the four pirouettes might put you off count for the next movement."Boal is entering his second year as artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet, and both Robbins and Balanchine are represented in a season nicely balanced between the expected and the unexpected. The company will première 21 ballets this year as well as bringing back such audience favorites as "Swan Lake," "Nutcracker" and Kent Stowell's ballet adaptation of "Carmina Burana."
If you're a fan of "Gone With the Wind," you will find a certain amount of enjoyment in Ron Hutchinson's comedy, "Moonlight and Magnolias." It's pleasant, sometimes silly, and quite unremarkable.Hutchinson mixes farce with a behind-the-scenes peek at the Golden Age of Hollywood. Set in 1939 and supposedly inspired by true events, this lightweight romp centers on the (re)writing of the blockbuster film epic "Gone with the Wind." Think of it as the Old South meets the Marx Brothers.Like "GWTW," "Moonlight and Magnolias" involves a love triangle. But not your stereotypical one. This play features three men in love with the magic of the movies. And you thought Scarlett O'Hara had trouble! Hollywood producer David O. Selznick faces a potential disaster with what Hollywood insiders are calling "Selznick's Folly." As Hutchinson and Hollywood history tell it, three weeks into the filming of Margaret Mitchell's celebrated tome, Selznick shut down production, threw out the script and fired director George Cukor. Then he summoned script doctor Ben Hecht and pulled director Victor Fleming off the set of "The Wizard of Oz." Faster than Miss Scarlett could say "Fiddle-dee-dee," Selznick locked himself and the two men in his elegant Art Deco office for five days to crank out a new script, with only bananas and peanuts for "brain food." To add to the chaos, Hecht never bothered to read Mitchell's 1,037-page novel. So Selznick and Fleming must act out every scene and character, while Hecht mans the Remington and wrestles with his social conscience.
What would I like to write - ahh, there's the rub. Of course, ideas flood my mind. I'd like to do the books or book about the two women mountain climbers, I think, for young adults. I'd like to rework the peanut butter article and a couple of others. I'd like to get the diary into novel or docudrama form. I'd like to get "Halligan's Halo" into a TV format. And on and on. Someone once said everyone has great ideas; it's bringing them to fruition that counts.I beat myself for my lack of drive to pursue these many ideas. I know there is a market for them, but do them I do not. Why, I ask myself. And I think I've come up with the answer. I love to write, to put words down on paper, to find a word that says exactly what I want to say, to capture the rhythm of dialogue, to express the ordinary from a different perspective, like Aunt Mil's ashes.
It almost sounds too good to be true, but a few simple changes to your diet can significantly reduce your risk of breast cancer - a disease that affects one in eight American women and more than 1,500 men annually."You just have to do a little planning," says Heidi Lucas, a naturopathic physician at Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center and former community educator at Bastyr University. "It's not difficult."Lucas is using the platform of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October to point out the power of diet in cancer prevention and overall health.In the United States, one woman in eight either has or will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. This year, an estimated 211,000 women and 1,600 men will be diagnosed with the disease, and 43,300 women and 400 men will die.At Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center - which integrates standard oncology with naturopathy, Chinese medicine and other complementary treatments - Lucas is one of three naturopathic doctors who help patients fight cancer through diet and nutrition.
People have great expectations when they visit a dietitian for the first time. They are motivated and ready to make real changes in their lives. I have seen many clients with serious health problems - often caused by reckless, addictive or otherwise dysfunctional lifestyles. Naturally, I talk about the importance of sound nutrition, the need to exercise and the dangers of alcohol and nicotine. That is what gets discussed on the surface. In most cases, it doesn't address the real issues. It's only the tip of the iceberg. The big pictureUnhealthy lifestyles are typically symptomatic for ailments that lie much deeper. People who have otherwise happy and fulfilling lives don't normally exhibit self-destructive behavior.
The art season is in full swing this fall on Capitol Hill. Just now there is a unique opportunity to view two separate installations by the noted Seattle artist Trimpin. Currently showing at the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park and at the Frye Art Museum on Terry Avenue in First Hill are, respectively, "Picnics, Rhythms and Vacations," and "Klompen." Beth Sellars, curator of Suyama Space, organized a series of exhibitions that are part of a two-year, statewide retrospective honoring Trimpin's 25 years of living and working in Seattle. Shows have been held at the Henry Art Gallery, the now defunct Consolidated Works, the Museum of Glass, Washington State University Museum of Art, Suyama Space, the Vancouver Jazz Festival and the Tacoma Art Museum. Susan Rosenberg at the Seattle Art Museum and Robin Held at the Frye were the coordinating curators for each respective piece. Taken together, these works are an excellent introduction to Trimpin's creative genius.
As landlord to more than 24,000 low-income residents, steward of our public housing stock and recipient of much of our housing levy funds, the Seattle Housing Authority plays a major role in our community. But to whom is SHA accountable? As a public corporation, SHA is governed by a seven-member Board of Commissioners which approves the budget, sets policy and chooses the Executive Director. But who chooses the commissioners?After years of trying in vain to get the Seattle City Council to exercise effective oversight of SHA, the Seattle Displacement Coalition joined other housing, labor and social service organizations in Olympia in 1998. We succeeded in getting a new law passed expanding the board from five to seven and shifting final authority for board appointments from the mayor to the City Council. The law also shortened the term of commissioners and reserved two seats for residents of SHA properties.
Austin WheatNo, because I'm retarded. I had to work late and I pretty much spaced it. Please don't tell my mom.Dorothy PorcoNo. I just moved here in February. It's high on my to-do list. I'll be shamed into voting in November by my friends after this interview.
Have you driven by the old Safeway building on Broadway lately? If you wanted a last look you've missed your chance. The building's been demolished. In its place is an empty lot. The property is being prepared for the construction of what will become the Brix condominiums, a large mixed-use project slated to open in 2008. Such construction, along with the large project slated for the old QFC site one block south, begs the question: What will happen to the single-story Broadway properties nearby?The short answer is, I don't know. But as a case in point, consider the block immediately north of the old Safeway, between East Mercer and East Roy streets. A quick glance at the street suggests that it's ripe for redevelopment at some point. The buildings are not architectural treasures. And, given the Broadway zoning increase that raised the allowable building height to 65 feet, an increase the developers of the Brix project as well as the upcoming mixed-used development being planned for the former QFC property, it's only natural to assume that other substantial buildings are heading this way in the not-so-distant future.
A new, furry resident moved into Aegis Senior Inn in the Northgate neighborhood last week. Perry the dog was adopted into a very special community where his presence alone has put smiles on the faces of the residents who live there. Aegis is an assisted-living facility that specifically accommodates people affected with cognitive impairments such as memory loss, Alzheimer's or some form of dementia. Forty-six residents reside in apartment-like rooms in a homey, secure atmosphere. Activities director Jo Rothenberg found Perry on the Craigslist website, where he was placed on-line for adoption by a Shoreline family. Based on Perry's profile alone (no photo), Rothenberg thought he would be the perfect fit for Aegis. However, Perry did need to audition.
To attract new audiences to live theater in the Puget Sound region, four North End theater groups will offer free tickets and host special events as part of Live Theatre Week.From Oct. 16 through 22, participating theaters throughout the city will open their doors to the public, offering access to rehearsals, special meet-the-artist events, receptions and behind-the-scenes tours. New this year, Theatre Puget Sound, the coordinator of Live Theatre Week, will also present Theatre Communications Group's national Free Night of Theatre.The theaters will offer a select number of free tickets to attend a certain performance, making their theater available to both new patrons and the economically challenged. In total, 36 companies throughout the Puget Sound region will offer complimentary tickets, which equals about $58,000 worth of tickets, according to Sam Read, membership and programs manager of Theatre Puget Sound.
Seattle Public School Superintendent Raj Manhas has made his preliminary recommendation to close the Pinehurst/Alternative School No. 1 building and co-locate the school at Summit K-12 Alternative School.Manhas cited the school's smaller building size that is due for major renovations as a main reason for the building's closure and the school's move. Also, Pinehurst/AS#1 students would have opportunities for art and music, which Summit K-12 currently has.
I'm hot. I say this without any false modesty or bravado - I am on fire. No actual flames are present but I'm quite certain that my core temperature is hovering between 100 and 150 degrees. This has nothing to do with the ambient temperature of my home - although I just peeked at the thermostat and it's reading a nice, balmy 75 degrees in the family room, with a humidity level measuring somewhere around 300 percent. No, this has nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with raising teenagers.On Saturday morning, we had out-of-town guests visiting, so naturally we had to take them out of our town to show them a good time. Before we left, I made them a hearty breakfast consisting of a ham-onion-mushroom-cheese-egg scramble, toast, bacon and juice. As I was standing in front of the stove getting hot, I was pondering the wisdom of leaving the two teenagers home and taking our two youngest daughters with us. I was leaving two teenagers alone for the day, with...car keys.As I stood there stirring the eggs, the thought appeared in my head that there would be a car accident today. Over the years I've learned to listen to the voices, and so I began to think about how far we were going to be from our offspring, who they could call in an emergency.... But then I saw something shiny, got distracted and forgot the whole episode.
Wallingford businesses are all abuzz - but, unfortunately, it isn't about the consumer activity. The business owners are discussing how to stop a string of recent burglaries that struck local shops and a restaurant.Burglars targeted six Wallingford businesses within three days' time, stealing $2,544 cash and a laptop computer. The first occurred at 3:07 a.m. on Sept. 14 at Harold's Lamps, 1912 N. 45th St. The suspect tripped an alarm but continued to go through desk drawers. Nothing was taken in this incident.In the early morning hours of Sept. 17, a suspect broke into five neighboring businesses along North 45th Street and Wallingford Avenue North: Bee Well Vitamins, Juice Goddess Café & Juice Bar, Palmyra Mediterranean Cuisine, Four Legs Good and Terra Hemp. In all six burglaries, the suspect broke and removed the door lock and looked for cash.
Unless the county can immediately cough up another $5 million and figure out a way to sustain their operation, it is likely that the North Seattle Public Health (located in Northgate), a dental clinic on Lake City Way Northeast and King County Public Health at Northshore (located in Bothell) will all close.This is based on the 2007 budget that King County Executive Ron Sims will officially hand over to the Metropolitan King County Council on Oct. 16, with a final decision to be announced Nov. 20. What's at stakeIt is estimated that 150 jobs would be lost, and according to Northshore employee Suzanne Gordon, "This is a cost-cutting measure that would save $4.6 million and leave no access to public health care in North Seattle and the Eastside.