ALABAMA and “Rescue Me”

ALABAMA and “Rescue Me”– Finished the week of rehearsal in Philadelphia. Things went well and we got a good jump on the project.

So, I’m back in Huntsville Alabama, teaching a summer intensive for my friends Phillip and Rachel Otto (Formerly of Pacific Northwest Ballet). Did I mention it was hot here?

The students are hard working and focused here. Phil and Rachel have a very large school (350 students) and a good Regional Ballet Company.
They did a Pas de deux of mine last season on a contemporary program and may be doing something else next season (More about that later).
Did I mention that the average temp. here, is around 100 degrees.

So, while I was down here a segment of a television show that I had choreographed finally aired. The show is called “Rescue Me” starring Dennis Leary on the FX channel. One of my dancers (Samantha Barczak)
did a beautiful job in a solo I created for the show. The premise of the show was about a NYC Fireman who was dying of cancer from exposure he suffered rescuing other Firefighter from the World Trade Center during 9/11.
His one dying wish was to see a ballet in a live performance.

So, we shot a wonderful 2 1/2 minute solo. My motivation was to create something beautiful enough to make a grown man cry. The script called for
The Firefighter to be so overwhelmed at the end of the ballet that he cries uncontrollably from his seat in the audience.

But, alas as things can happen in Film/Television the dance segment was shortened in edit quite a bit. But better to have loved and lost, than never to have… Well, nuff said!

My best
The Traveling Ballet Master

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