Dear Friends, Family, Countrymen, (and so forth...)

It's Matthew Sly, back up to his typing out his life-story, in little managable peices. This is of course going to be about my fall, and winter, up to date, with some small previews into the near future. So, boil some tea, down-load the e-mail, get off- line, get comfortable, and read on!

Where to begin...

I think I long ago said that I was going to America for the summer, (NOT to work, as that would never be allowed, but to take part in a "Dance Fellowship" in the Albany Berkshire Ballet.) And so it went, and allthough the company there had it's usual problems and draw-backs, it was marginally better for my technique (opposed to no dancing for the whole summer,) and likewise for my bank-book, (as opposed to ... not dancing all summer. :) And I had a realy first-rate time after that in eastern Canada, (OK, in Montreal and Toronto... And Aurora! does that one count?) Yep, family, old class-mates, old friends, and some new friends too! It was great.

Anyhow, I got back to the Grind-stone in Estonia in mid-august, and set into the work here. This season has been, and will continue to be, a rather busy one for the Vanemuine Ballet. For comparison, last season, 2 new ballets were created, (and 2 musicals, and an opera here or there, but they are all easy by comparison.) This year, there are 5 (FIVE!) new Ballets for the company, as well as a smattering of musicals and operas. (and in case it's not obvious to you, most of the time we have is spent learning the peice, and perfecting it, ( allthough "Perfection" forever remains impossible.) So ... it is.)

The only way we can mannage to do all these productions, is to completly cram for a month and a half, or 2 months, if the choreographer is lucky, and, as soon as we're past opening nihgt, start cramming for the next new one. It's starting to take a toll on the dancers though, (mentally as well as the pot-pourrie of injuries. -knock-on-wood.)

Well... that's life. Now, about the dances. (and they are "Dances" rather than "Ballets". They in fact range from classic to modern.)

Fluxus (premier Oct. 17th.)

Quite Modern. Modern music, done by some Estonian, (OK, it was Erkki-Sven Tuur. But I don't think any of you know him.) It's mostly... unpleasant to dance to, (you know Dancers: they NEED counts. and the music simply hasn't any.) not All of it, mind, but the prologue and finally are particularly... unhelpfull. The Public, however, has been greatly impressed by it, and enjoys the music. They also like the dancing, and typically seem to get something from it, even though the dancers have never been able to find out from the choreographer what the peice actually MEANS. Over all, it's only a mediocre peice, to my tastes, and not one I especially enjoy dancing. (Not that I Don't like it. I just do it, full out, and then go home and eat spaghetti for dinner, without giving it a second thought.)

It is well put together though, and the publicity has been very well done, (for a change: the publicity department of the theater seems to be right out to lunch at other times.) So we keep dancing it, and the audience keeps seeming to be interested. And... (nothing certain,) but there's a chance that it will be taken as part of a dance festival in Germany, and go touring about there... if the festival finds the funds, and likes us enough. We've also made some film clips of it and sent them to a Dance-on-Film festival in Monte Carlo. So if they choose ours, then we may be making a film of the whole thing.

Anyhow that's FLuxus. (and I don't know what the name is suposed to mean.)

Armastuse Tango (Love Tango.) Neo-Classic. Dec. 14 premier.

This for me, has been a big step, and I feel a notable accomplishment. (and hopefully my next performance of it will go well.) It was created by one of the better known estonian Choreographers, Mai Murdmaa, in a complicated way, half in Tartu, (where I am,) and half in Tallinn, (2 hours drive from here.) You see, it was orriginally going to be Tallinn Soloists, (The 2 biggest stars in Estonia, I might add,) and Our Vanemuine Bellet for the Corps. And after watching us, she decided to try having a Tartu cast for the soloists as well. So now I'm sharing this roll with the aprtner of Estonia's Prima ballerina.

And the Choreography for the soloists was usually done in Tallinn, and video recorded for us to learn from. Of course then some changes were made, which we were not informed about, and now there's theirs and our "versions" of it. But... anyhow.

It's a complicated story about a 65 year old man, remembering his life, and devoted love to one woman... who married someone else. So I play 16 year old, in love for the first time. 20-few who loses her. 40 year old, still tortued by fellings. And 65, still in love, but bereft of Passion... and then her husband dies, and we fall in love again, to live happily ever after... with arthritis, bad knees, and all the joys of great age. :-)

It's not a lot of technicall dancing for me, but there's quite a bit of partnering, and a whole lot of character to express. That's why I feel it's... notable. It's also a Bellet which is centered Around me, (as opposed to the Female lead. Not the most frequent thing.)

So, that's That.

The next peice, which we've just started rehearsals for, (every morning and evening!) is a classical Beauty and the Beast, for children. And... (oh the pleasure!) I'm Not In It Yet! (aaahhhh... a little bit of rest!) I personally suspect that with time, they will find a rol that needs to be filled, or someone will be injured, but it shouldn't be too hard, and Right Now, I have most of the day free, (to read, cook, and Write this!)

For the remainder of the season, there will be a Marrige of Figaro, done as a "Ballet", (I don't know what style. I only know not operetta.) and there is some modern peice in early summer... I think. I'm supposed to be doing Figaro, I know, and I think the Choreographer will suit me, (and I him) well.

Hmmm... Have you noticed that this is nearly all about Dance? Well... It is. It's my life, and there's realy not all that much else in it right now. Sure, there's some good operas that I've had time to see. there's some friends I've made... mostly in the theater... but some from other theaters too!

The only Realy Thing thing that happend, as in something beyond the world of theater, was my Mom coming to visit with her husband Mike, for 10 days in September. That was realy great, seeing as I haven't seen my dirrect family for 2 years. (It's just a bit too pricey for me to cross those 10 time zones to be back home.)

She had a realy good time, allthough much hotter than she'd expected. It was truely sweltering some of those days. It was interesting what a different "Estonian Experiece" they had, compared to me; I don't know why, but in this nation that I've found rather quiet, and hard to talk to, they found people every- where speaking to them, even in English occasionally!

I had a great weekend going with them to the Island of Saaramaa, which was... well... Road-trip. With the true style of Canadians, in Estonia, on little gravle roads by fishing comunities, where nearly no-one spoke English. What could be more fun? (To twisted senses of humours like mine, I mean. :-)

Anyhow... I grow older and older here, and my reputaion grows, as someone Weird, Full of Energy, and a markedly Good Cook. I still have plans for the future, but there isn't much time to do much about them now. And perhaps that's all right, as when I actually step back, and examine reality, I find that I still am Fairly Young. So... Oh-Blah-Dee, Oh-Blah-Dah.

And I was so close to ending there, but then these things fell into my head:

-I may be going to Finland in April to some Dance Festival there.

-If funding is found, our Ballet Director would like to send me and a partner to a New-york Ballet Competition in the Summer, (allthough it's awfull hard to convice Estonian institutions that they should caugh up money for a Canadian, to go to America. :-)

-I keep reading a lot, and am currently in the middle of Anne Rice "Interview with the Vampire", Chaucer "the Canterbury Tales" and Keats "Endymion" (and some Ray Bradbury is in line for next.)

-Durring the past 12 months, i have performed some 90 times, not counting the musical Evita, (which must have been at least 15 performances.)

-I still speak very little Estonian, and Russian And German, but they're all getting better (at Glacial speed.)

-The usual temperature around here right now is 15 below 0 (centigrade of course.)

-And I had a good time singing at Christmass, even if it was in a language where I could only pronounce half the words or so!

Well, I think that's enough for now. I'll stop writting, and let my mind wander, to find what I've forgotten to say, but then I'll say that later.

So, unless i think of something good,

I wish everyone of you well, and a good start to the year.

Pax,

Matthew (Matteu in Italien, Matteau in Frence, Matti in Estonian, Matvay in Russian.)

(And never Never NEVER Andrew! -yes, I've had people here call me that too. :-P )