friday.

I spent the morning watching a ballet commentary by "Ballet Reign" on the Napoli tarantella which they love just as much as I do and it was so interesting seeing it from a dancer's perspective, what makes it difficult and enjoyable and exciting to dance. All these things I know nothing about, because I've never danced myself, but I can definitely see it when I've watched it on stage.

Watch on YouTube

The version from the 2009 production of Napoli for the Royal Danish Ballet, under artistic director Nikolaj Hübbe. It's my personal favourite, although I'll always be really irritated that the audio isn't in sync in this upload. It's okay on my DVD and the streaming version on the Royal Theatre's website, so it's no doubt something that's happened with this video specifically. Still, it gives a great feeling of the pure energy of this performance. Also features the whole pas de six at the beginning. The tarantella doesn't begin until 20:23 or thereabout.

I understand why they love it at "Ballet Reign", because I love it soooo much. This particular bit of Napoli is always brought along on their summer ballet tours around Denmark and it finishes the performance off on such a high note and in high spirits.

Then, after my social worker was here (where we discussed the possibility of her only coming ever other week which might be really good for me but I got a week to think about it), I sat down and... just like yesterday when suddenly the words were just flowing freely, I wrote the beginning of the first chapter of the Napoli fic I started on yesterday and it all just came so effortlessly, I almost wanted to cry. Haven't written in this kind of flow since working on my Omina fic back in spring and it makes me really feel like I've overcome my slump and the writerdrop I've had after finishing that mastodont in May.

Giovanina (the tarantella girl in the red skirt) is such an interesting voice for me to write, especially in first person, so I'm both meeting some challenges here and setting myself completely free. I really love it! It's like voice work just in writing, the perfect format to work on a character's voice. Also, all the hair metaphors!! I've never written a hairdresser before and the hair fashion changed so dramatically from the 50's to the 60's, so it's definitely an interesting time period and timeframe to work within. Also, much later than my usual period pieces that usually take place late 19th century/early 20th century.

Lots of research to do.

I kinda want a Giovanina icon for this, but I don't have any good stage images of her and I don't know how to screencap the ballet, so for now I'll have to live without. Sigh. If I were still apt in making icons, I'd never know when to stop. So much good content to capture.

I have the whole conversation written down that Giovanina is going to have with her pseudo-mother/mentor/boss in the first scene of the first chapter and I'm really hyped for writing it into the actual scene, but I can only concentrate so long at a time, so I need to pace myself and trust that I can return to it later. Omina taught me as much, that I can stick to something for a long time and keep going, but it's been a while since I worked on that particular project, so the brain forgets, haha.

The heart wants, but the brain forgets.

I have to trust myself with this.

But I was never good at trusting myself in the first place, even less with writing.

I hope you all will have a good Friday and a nice weekend. I'm visiting my parents tomorrow, so I might not update there, because I'm too tired. Luckily, we'll just be relaxing in the evening and finally, I get to watch Marie Antoinette with my gf! Let's see if that gets my Marie Antoinette plot bunny rolling...

Until then.

friday.

I have just rewatched the first act of Yukigumi's 2006 production of Versailles no Bara - Oscar hen where my beloved Maikaze Rira plays my all-time favourite character in that franchise, Rosalie. And, can I just say, they went all-in for the lesbian interpretation in this production, OMG. One-sided Rosalie/Oscar is a thing. Like, there is a whole dance number just of Rosalie pining for Oscar. IN PASTELS.



Anyway, as I was watching it, first it dawned on me that this production was staged the same year that the Marie Antoinette film with Kirsten Dunst hit theatres and they have pretty much the same aesthetic, too.


Something that leads me to the plot bunny I had never seen coming but which hit me hard. What if Rosalie from the musical refused to marry Bernard and instead insisted that she be sent to another household, so she wouldn't have to have her heart broken every day, looking at Oscar from afar? And, Oscar being the good, kind person she is, recommended her for a position at Versailles? She gets accepted, begins dressing Antoinette and boom, cross-over ship magic happens and they fall in love...



Best thing is, I could go two ways with this. Either I could follow musical canon and have Rosalie be with Marie Antoinette before the guillotine, so they're kinda together in death. Or I could go full out unhistorical AU and have Antoinette actually learn something from Rosalie who is a commoner, but has been brought up to know noble conduct and speech and furthermore, shares Oscar's views on the current problems of France. That way, maybe we could avoid the guillotine altogether.



There're really a lot of possibilities with this pairing and I'm loving them all.



But just -- the aesthetic. It's like Sofia Coppola saw Takarazuka and pointed at it, saying: I want that, but with Kirsten Dunst.

I'll need to do some more dual canon-reviewing over the weekend. Luckily, we're seeing Marie Antoinette tomorrow. Sunday, I could probably watch the second act again. When I pulled out my DVD here tonight, I hadn't seen that show in more than four-five years.

It was the first Yukigumi show I bought, a decade ago. It's still my guilty pleasure and I love Maachan in it, she's honestly the best thing about it. I'll fight you about that.