The Way of StoryElephants & Perspectives
The gift of Art rests in the artist’s perspective.
Catherine Ann Jones
Here is an excerpt from my NY Journal and my memoir:
Dinner with Violette Verdy, friend and prima-ballerina, just returned from her NY City Ballet Tour of Russia & Poland, also Paris. At the Opera de’Paris, Violette danced Giselle to raves! I mentioned seeing our friend, Madeline Malraux, who played Stravinsky’s Circus Polka at her recent Paris concert. Violette asked, “Do you know the story? Sometime ago before Balanchine created the NY City Ballet, before Balanchine had his own company, he had to make a living. Barnum & Bailey asked him if he would choreograph a dance for their elephants. Balanchine telephoned his friend, Stravinsky, and asked him if he would write something for a dance of elephants. Without the slightest hesitation, Stravinsky replied, “How old are the elephants?” Balanchine replied, “Very young ones.” Hence, the Circus Polka was born!
The memory of Violette’s story behind Stravinsky’s Circus Polka stayed with me all these years.Why? I think it is because creatives perceive the world in different ways from others. Logic is replaced by visions and imagination. The gift of Art rests in the artist’s perspective.
Hold fast to your vision and trust the creative process.
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