So, I watched The Normal Heart last night...still reeling. So many dancers I knew died during that time, and also my very 1st singing teacher (who taught all the Broadway kids and was extremely encouraging of my original compositions). I remember my mom sitting me down to explain how my singing teacher died - it was so heavy, and he was the first person we knew who passed away from AIDS. I remember meeting my idol Keith Haring at an AIDS Benefit for which he designed the poster, where I danced along with a group of fellow School Of American Ballet Students; we all knew it was a very important event, and were humbled to be a part of it. So many sad, intense memories and being a kid, I barely understood the magnitude of the epidemic – but watching the film made me grateful I had such a progressive mother who very passionately explained to me how much work/fundraising/research needed to be done to help, what the GMHC was and why we should support it, and notably, how the virus was and was not contracted and does not discriminate. She always explained it with compassion - never with panic or anything but a sense of collective/community responsibility and heartbreak. ...All that aside, I thought the movie was brilliantly made, and the acting was suberb.
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 21:06:22 +0000
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