Kafkas

Tonight's performance "An Evening of Music and Dance" was, even if I do say so myself, absolutely marvellous. After a day of constant rain that I spent indoors reading and thinking and even a little writing for my Masters dissertation (sadly neglected in recent weeks) - I got to school at 18.45 wondering if we would have an audience !! Traffic in Istanbul becomes almost gridlock in the rain and sometimes people have totally missed the show. Anyway, we had a couple of hundred people come so we were satisfied.

After a first half of piano, flute, vocal, including Bach, Chopin, Grieg, Debussy, Billy Joel and Dolly Parton (!!!), the programme of dance in the second half included a guest Kafkas Dance group who performed dance and music from the Kafkas (Turkish name for the Caucasus region) between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The movements were very Turkish but also very Russian (think Cossack) and the whole dance, lasting but a few minutes, was mesmeric. The (only) female dancer (pictured here, taken from the wings backstage) had spent at least an hour in the Green room doing her make up and appearance ! Her eyelashes were about an inch long!! I choose a photo of her for today because I have never seen this regional dancing before, but I do also want to note-to-self that in addition to the magical musicians in the first half of the evening, the student dancers from school were just as wonderful and the choreography of our modern dance teacher was expressive and stunning. The audience was extremely appreciative so I floated home.

All in all a most satisfying day, marred only by the fact that the vet has given poor Besiktas (here) no more than a 50/50 chance for recovery - for now it is a waiting game. She is in good hands