Photo credit: Scott Martinez Photography
M
imi is a woman of broad cultural refinement and
sophistication, a lover and collector of fine art, with a need to be
surrounded by beauty, all of which inform her lifelong passion
for dance. The BAA studios are simple and functional, with the
necessary walls of mirrors and permanent and movable ballet
barres, along with anatomical charts and inspiring ballet posters.
The entry and waiting spaces are adorned with deep wine-red
velvet draperies, crystal chandeliers, and original artworks.
Many would consider ballet a luxury of the rich, or at best
another after-school option for kids (almost entirely girls)
besides sports or martial arts. Not all BAA students come from
wealthy homes, but those who come through the door find
themselves in an environment “far from the madding crowd.”
Formal ballet is a high art form with a centuries-old tradition,
highly structured, with an established language of bodily
positions and motions that stretch the limits of human potential.
It is a vocabulary that must be learned in a series of steps, of
which there are many. Each position and move has a name,
largely in French, which must be retained in mind and then
translated into bodily memory, combining complexities into
great expressive and aesthetic power.
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ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE
Photo credit: Scott Martinez Photography
Photo credit: James and Kathy Mangis Photography