Having Dreams

I've had dreams, well actually, it is an old dream now, of collaborating with a choreographer and performing select Bartok Mikrokosmos to original choreography. This would be a serious undertaking; the rhythmic complexities and precise lines of counterpoint should be danced to, and I liked to muse that perhaps Paul Taylor (or some Taylorite) would be the best choreographer for such pieces. I can see it even as I listen to my favorite pieces from volume 5: the deft footwork and the clear and decisive arcs of musicality, all of it innocence and playfulness amidst strict pedagogy. I imagine that Taylor and his dancers would understand the structural details of these simple-sounding miniatures.

That is a little dream, kept on a shelf.

"Some people dream of playing in Carnegie Hall; I'm ok with Yerba Buena Center. Really." I said this less than a month ago to a close friend, not imagining that my début, as it is, would come so soon. My "dream" of performing at Yerba Buena involved composer-me, the computer, my little USB keyboard, maybe an acoustic instrument or two, and all of us tucked halfway down in the pit, at the feet of contemporary choreograpy, perhaps as danced by my darlings of the ODC Company. This is the dream I so recently described, and in its dancey way, it is distantly related to the Bartok/Taylor dream.

Funny how dreams work out. Tonight I will play the piano for the Paul Taylor Dance Company as they warm-up for their performance at YBCA! It is just class (ballet barre) but it is onstage, so I'm thrilled, regardless. I shall try to play very well.