DANZA ENTRE PINCELES THE BALLET SHOES (The painted ballet shoes) I received two pairs of ballet shoes from Mr.Perfecto Uriel (Director of the Casa de la Danza in Logrono - Spain) in February 2013; I am one among many other international artists selected (Greece, Tunisia, Mexico, Cuba, the Netherlands, Italy, China, Spain , etc... ) to paint the ballet shoes worn by famous dancers and then make them in a traveling exhibition “THE SHOES” around the world. My shoes have been worn by Alicia Amatriain, First Dancer of the Stuttgart Ballet, and Vladimir Shkliarov, Principal Dancer of the Mariinsky Ballet! To say I was excited is too simplistic; I was happy, curious, but also had a little fear. I am very honored by this request made by Mr. Perfecto Uriel, but it also meant a great responsibility, because they are shoes that belonged to the First Dancers, and with those shoes they have acted as a fantastic characters, and now I had them front of my eyes ..... its like I had a close encounter not only with the real dancers, but also with the characters played by them! I was overcome bny a strange and emotional feeling. I did not know the two dancers, but I did not want to watch their videos before I painted those shoes, because I feared to be affected in some way. I wanted it to be my imagination to fly in the sky once again for those shoes, as the dancers have hovered in the air with these shoes during their performance on stage! So, I armed only with my imagination and without having the slightest idea of the physical appearance of the dancers, and do not even know what to representation they have been made, I started to paint those shoes. I first painted Vladamir’s shoes using the colors of the clear turquoise sky, the deep blue sea, emerald green of the woods in the spring, the bold orange of joy, of being in passionate purple, a hint of cinnamon-colored woods and, in the end, with the simple light green moss ... all wrapped up within the space of a pair of shoes ! Then I painted Alicia’s shoes with the colors of the petals of the old roses, which have a more intense aroma, with subtle colors of the first sunset, the colors of the languid nostalgia, the colors of apricot blossoms, but also with the reddish purple, the color of intense passion, then almost fuchsia pink of the dreams and finally the green of tropical forests ..... all my imaginary of the utmost sweetness of the shoes worn by Alicia Amatriain ! Then I saw some video representations of the two dancers, a sensational discovery: he, so sweet but very strong in the features in the legs, and with those legs he can twirl as if he was suspended for a moment in mid air, an angel in flight without wings! She, a slender figure, sweet features but with an inner strength that shines through in her dance steps as safe as a gazelle in the savannah, her dance encroaching space and time! They are really two fantastic Soloists ! Only now I realize that I have lived the third story of those shoes: the first story belongs to their rightful owners Soloists Alicia Amatriain and Vladimir Shkliarov, the second story belongs to the characters represented in the scene, the third story I have lived with my ghosts on the stage ..... and now the fourth story will belong to the show around the world, my shoes and the other painted shoes will live for a great Neverending Story ! Thanks to Mr. Perfecto Uriel of the Casa de la Danza in Logrono, thanks for letting me live to magic as a real Dancer, thanks for letting me fly without having wings! May 2014 Diana LoMeiHing
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 18:49:09 +0000