Costa Rica – Mostly Dance

Art and Ballet: A Special Sunday in Costa Rica – Part 2

JoAnne Tucker / September 12, 2024 / Costa Rica, Personal Life

The Teatro Melico Salazar was a quick ride from the museum, and we planned our schedule so we would get there in time to have a late afternoon lunch before the Ballet Nacional de Cuba performance started at 5. The theatre has a wonderful café called Café Raventos (https://www.facebook.com/raventoscr). They have a delightful lite menu, and the description on their Facebook page – that they are a place “filled with history and art” – fits perfectly. We were all very happy with our selections, both in food and special coffees – or in my case, hot chocolate. Since I will occasionally have fish when I am out, I had a wonderful trout salad. (If you are a regular reader to this blog, you may remember that my diet is plant based except for occasional fish when I am out.)

Waiting with Artists in Residence for our late lunch.

By the time we finished our meal, the café had gotten quite full and noisy, so we were glad we had gotten there at 3 and enjoyed a leisurely meal. The café literally leads right into the lobby, and we found our way to orchestra seats. When I saw the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in April of 2023, I had seats in the mezzanine. I don’t recommend that, as there are poles spaced regularly and so it’s hard to tell which seats have obstructed views. In the orchestra, there is no problem, so that is where I plan to sit from now on.

The performance opened with Dionaea, the most abstract piece of the program. In googling the word “Dionaea,” I discovered it refers to the Venus flytrap plant. It’s a carnivorous plant with tiny “trigger hairs” lining its edge at the end of the plant leaves. It snaps shut when an unsuspecting bug or spider trips one of the hairs. A large chorus of female dancers in red unitards portrayed the plant, with their arms creating patterns to represent the triggering hair. I was impressed by the very tight ensemble quality of the large group of dancers. Program notes indicate that a female soloist “represents a living petal” who separates herself from the other female dancers and dances the power of attraction to three male soloists. The tall female dancer, Sadaise Arencibia, was elegant and enticing. The piece was choreographed by Gustavo Herrera with music by Villa-Lubos and premiered in 1984. The costumes and set complemented the movement.

Curtain call of Dionaea (Photo by JoAnne)

The next piece, Muto, was a short solo for a male dancer. It was a haunting and technically challenging contemporary-style piece spectacularly performed by Roque Salvador. The choreographer Alberto Mendez is well known and respected, having created many pieces for Ballet Nacional de Cuba. The music was by Edward Grieg.

A classical duet from El Corsario (Le Corsaire) concluded the first half of the program. It was choreographed by the company’s famous prima ballerina Alicia Alonso (1920-2019), based on the original choreography by Marius Petipa created in 1899. It was brilliantly performed by Grettel Morejon and Yankiel Vazquez, with both duets and solo sections.

Curtain call of El Corsario (Photo by JoAnne)

The second half of the program was the ballet Carmen. The piece was created in 1967, and Alicia Alonso was well known for the role of Carmen. Detailed program notes reminded us of the story and how the company interprets it:

The staging of the National Ballet of Cuba concentrates its intention on revealing the essential contradictions between Carmen’s rebellious personality and the forces of her time, represented by the characters that surround her. Carmen faces a society that, according to its canons, denies and judges her. The dilemma that is presented to her is to adapt or perish; and she, free, willful, individual, prefers to die.

The plot is summarized as follows: the gypsy Carmen, a beautiful and sensual woman, is terrible in her passions. She works as a cigarette maker in the factory where she has quarreled with one of her colleagues, for which she is arrested by Captain Zúñiga. Carmen seduces Sergeant José so that he forgets his duty and helps her escape, turning him into a smuggler and thief. Later, the gypsy falls in love with the young bullfighter Escamillo. José, seeing himself betrayed by Carmen, stabs her to death.

Carmen plays with the feelings of three men: Don José, the bullfighter Escamillo and Zúñiga. The famous protagonists of Merimée’s novel are located in a bullring, which symbolizes life. The fighting bull and Carmen’s destiny come together in a sinister character.

What an amazing event. The Ballet Nacional de Cuba has an outstanding reputation, and it didn’t disappoint at all. I felt the company was even stronger than when I saw it in April 2023. In particular, the ensemble work was much tighter and the soloists both technically and emotionally outstanding.

There are so many plusses to living in Atenas, Costa Rica. I love that it is a small town. That I live on a beautiful, spacious property filled with fruit trees and tropical flowers, overlooking mountains and farming land. I do miss going regularly to the ballet, modern dance concerts and musical theatre. What a wonderful treat it is when a company like Ballet Nacional de Cuba comes to Costa Rica and I am able to attend.

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Art and Ballet: A special Sunday in Costa Rica – Part 1

JoAnne Tucker / August 28, 2024 / Art, Costa Rica, Personal Life

I was excited to see recently that Ballet Nacional de Cuba was returning to Costa Rica. I loved the performance I saw in the spring of 2023 (Link blog May 5, 2023), so I immediately made plans to attend this time. Three artists in residence were going to be at my home at the time of the performance, so I quickly sent off emails to them to see if they wanted to attend. All three answered with an enthusiastic response, realizing what a treat it would be to see this outstanding company.

As we got close to the day, one of the residents asked if we could combine the performance trip with a visit to a museum in San Jose. The performance didn’t begin until 5 PM, so maybe we could visit an art museum first and then have very early dinner in the café attached to the theater. A few google searches, and we found that while some museums were closed on Sunday, Museo de Arte Costarricense (MAC) was open. I had been there before (Blog: March 23, 2024), but I didn’t mind going back, especially because I loved some of the sculpture in the garden and thought it would be fun to sketch.

Leaving the house at noon, we arrived at the museum in plenty of time. The exhibit that I had seen before, Valle Oscuro by Adrian Arguedas Ruano, was still the featured first-floor exhibit. I decided to go upstairs, as I had heard there was a uniquely decorated room. A sign outside the room provided information:

The Golden Room used to be La Sabana International Airport’s Diplomatic Lounge. Its walls are covered by a mural constructed from 1939 to 1940 by Louis Feron, a French Sculptor and goldsmith who lived in Costa Rica for more than 10 years.

This mural is made of stucco carved in bas relief and presents fragments of Costa Rican history from the pre-Columbian era to 1940 when the building was inaugurated.

The room was spectacular and made one wonder what international guests were entertained there. An informative guide asked me what country I was from, and when I said the United States, he immediately told me that among the guests was President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy visited Costa Rica in March of 1963 to attend a summit with the presidents of six countries.

A small section of the mural by Louis Feron in The Golden Room. Photo by JoAnne

There was also a new exhibit that I hadn’t seen before by Carlos Cruz-Diez, a Venezuelan artist (1923-2019). Wow… it reminded me a lot of Yaacov Agam’s art. Agam’s “12 Tribes of Israel” stain-glass windows are installed in the Petrie Synagogue, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. I am quite familiar with the windows, as the Petrie Synagogue (which according to a description on HUC-JIR’s website “expresses the institution’s commitment to enlightenment and modernity”) was the main New York City performing space for the Avodah Dance Ensemble, which I founded and directed for over 30 years. We also held workshops in this wonderfully flexible, light and airy room. The HUC-JIR website goes on to describe the

windows:

The metaphor of light finds its expression in Yaacov Agam’s kinetic “12 Tribes of Israel” stained glass windows, which are the first three-dimensional stained and leaded glass installations in the world. Vivid shapes of color define the diverse identities of each of the twelve sons of Joseph, who are united by a shared color palette and geometry in the four windows measuring between 26’ and 29’ in height. Agam’s images are in a “state of becoming” – they cannot be seen in their totality at any one time or from any one position. They can only be discerned, as a revelation, through the viewer’s physical movement through the space.

It was an inspiration to be able to regularly rehearse, teach and perform in this unique space at HUC-JIR. As I walked through the exhibition of Carlos Cruz-Diez’s work, I was fascinated with how, in a two-dimensional manner, he had created the sense of movement and color changes that I remembered from Agam’s work in the Petrie Synagogue as well as other work by Agam that I recently saw during my spring trip to Paris.

In doing research for this blog I googled Agam’s name with Carlos Cruz-Diez and found that actually Carlos Cruz-Diez began doing explorations in kinetic art prior to Agam. In 1955 they were both in a seminal show in Paris called “Le Mouvemente” along with several other artists.

I was curious why this artist’s work from a Paris show in 2014 was being shown in a museum that mainly focuses on Costa Rican artists. A statement by Esteban Calvo, director of the museum, answered me:

This exhibition is a very significant event for the Costa Rican scene that brings the population closer to the works of one of the most influential artists of the 20^th century, as well as inspiring new generations to explore the infinite possibilities of color.

A description on the Cruz-Diez website described the uniqueness of it:

On the occasion centenary of the artist’s birth, the exhibition RGB: The Colors of the century started its worldwide tour, in partnership with the Centre Pompidou and the Musée national d’art moderne. In 2024, the tour continues.

This exhibition was conceived and curated by the artist in 2014 and consists of sixteen artworks and a computer program implemented on tactile supports. It has been conceived in such a way that it doesn’t require any physical transport of works, the data allowing the realization of these works being transmitted electronically.

One of the exhibited pieces of Carlos Cruz-Diez. Photo by JoAnne

Having some time before we needed to leave the museum, I headed toward a balcony with benches that overlook a garden with sculpture and had fun drawing.

I highly recommend this delightful museum, which has free parking and free admission although you need to sign in and show ID. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 AM to 4 PM. Here’s a link to learn more.

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Oscar

JoAnne Tucker / July 24, 2024 / Childhood, Costa Rica, Personal Life

Oscar, a miniature poodle, is an important part of my life. He is also building a fan club of my guests, so that almost all emails from friends and artists who have been guests at Casa Uno Artist Residency include a greeting to Oscar! He is also the first dog that I have had as an adult.

When I was growing up, we always had a dog in the house. My mom loved dogs and said dogs followed her home from school when she was a child. I didn’t take much interest in the pets we had in the house except when they had puppies, and then it was fun to watch the little Dalmatians grow or the strange mix that a German shepherd and a large French poodle produced.

Cats, and especially a black cat we called Midnight, were a part of my children’s life growing up. My husband and I were cat people, although sometimes I thought it might be fun to have a dog. When I made that suggestion to my husband, I got a look from him that clearly said that wasn’t going to happen.

Things changed after my husband passed and I had a robbery in the house where I live in Costa Rica. While the two young robbers didn’t get much, it was enough for me to decide we needed to take steps to make the house more secure. I did, making sure the alarm system worked and that the property was completely fenced in with grill work on vulnerable windows. I also thought it would be a good idea to get a dog. At first, I was looking at a German shepherd, knowing that they are good watch dogs, but then I got realistic, also knowing that a large dog would be too much for me to handle. While a rescue dog was appealing, I was concerned, as a new dog owner, that I didn’t want to handle problems that a rescue dog might bring. Since some family members were allergic to some breeds of dogs, and as I was anticipating guests, I wanted a dog that would not be a problem for people with allergies.

Next came the fun of naming him. Since he would be a part of the Artist Residencies I was planning I wanted to give him a name that had an artsy ring to it. I first wanted to call him Shakespeare, but I immediately got a resounding “no” from my house manager Manrique, who firmly said, “He is a Costa Rican dog. He needs a Costa Rican name.”

I asked for suggestions of famous Costa Ricans, particularly if they were in the arts.

After a short pause Manrique suggested the name Oscar for Oscar Arias Sanchez, who served two terms as President and was also a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. That worked for me since it immediately also reminded me of Oscars in the world of arts, such as Oscar Wilde and Oscar Hammerstein. So now I had a name for my new puppy.

Oscar has been with me for over three years now and is an important part of life here. It has been fun to watch how he adapts to all the different guests. When he hears a car coming up the driveway, he immediately rushes to the door to see who’s here. I find it interesting that when he recognizes someone he doesn’t bark, but if he is unsure, he will bark, letting me know that it may be someone we are not familiar with. Once someone is acknowledged by me as a friend, Oscar is the first to warmly welcome them, and he needs to be acknowledged before I can greet the person. He will often curl up beside someone, expecting to be gently petted. Since his fur is so soft and silky, he gets lots of petting. Sometimes he will sit beside someone and lift his paw, meaning, “please scratch my belly.”

As a choreographer who doesn’t have any dancers to work with, I have had lots of fun teaching Oscar some moves. Here is a video of Oscar and me going through his regular routine.

An example of one of Oscar’s tricks. Photo by Nancy Abraham

Slowly I add new tricks to Oscar’s repertory. I used to wonder how people could become so attached to their dogs. Now I know!

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A Visit to a Costa Rican Art Museum Triggers a Fascination with Mascaradas

JoAnne Tucker / March 23, 2024 / Art, Costa Rica, Personal Life

On February 17^th Art House Atenas owners Anna Matteucci and Felipe Keta lead a small group of Expats to San Jose to visit two museums: The Jade Museum and the Museo de Arte Costarricense (MAC). It was a delightful, interesting day. My favorite exhibit was called Valle Oscuro (dark valley) by painter Adrian Arguedas Ruano at the MAC .

As one enters the museum, Arguedas’s bold colorful paintings greet you. A few of his sculptures catch your immediate attention too. The works fill a large gallery room and three smaller adjoining rooms, mostly picturing masked community members along with unmasked figures. While some young children are painted wearing small masks of animals, others are wearing distorted, grotesque, large masks, and still others are depicted wearing large heads mounted on torsos making them look larger than life.

Felipe Keta talking about the artist in front of one of Arguedas’s paintings!

One of my favorite Arguedas paintings. I love the grandma in the center being surrounded by community participants, which captures the intergenerational life that is very important in Costa Rica.

All the paintings of Valle Oscuro were done between 2020 and 2022. On the artist’s website I learned about his fascination with masks:

Arguedas is a native of Barva de Heredia, a small town known for keeping the traditions of making popular mask parades. In his childhood, he found artistic inspiration through the figure of his great-uncle, named Carlos Salas, who worked sculpting the clay to prepare the base that would later serve as a mold to create the original traditional masks, made with paper. Salas had a powerful influence on the artist inspiration and artwork. https://www.adrianarguedas.com/bio.html

Doing more research, I learned that the mask tradition dates to pre-Hispanic time, when the aboriginal people made and used masks for various purposes. They were first used at funerals in two different ways: first, they were used by whoever led the mortuary procession so they appeared to have a higher power to lead the deceased to the other world, and second, they were given to the deceased to identify his role in the tribe. Shamans and chiefs also made special use of the masks as part of their rituals. These special masks are known as Mascaradas.

Today, in Costa Rica they are still part of community celebrations, and much to my delight I had an event in our town of Atenas where mascaradas were a highlight.

A friend on Facebook posted about a fundraising event on the full moon for a local church that included food, music, dance and mascaradas. The evening was called “Lunada Bailable,” and I loved the poster.

I went with some cousins who were visiting from Pittsburgh, and we had a wonderful evening. Music piped through a large sound system contributed to the festive quality of the event. I was surprised to hear a Spanish version of “If I Were A Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof. When it got dark and the moon was shining bright, six local dancers began the formal entertainment. While not professional, they put all their energy into their routines. They waved their skirts and used scarfs as props. It was fun to watch one youngster, about age 4, who pretended she had on a long skirt and delighted in following their movement.

This was my favorite dancer to watch. She always had a smile on her face, dancing with lots of enthusiasm.

The closing event was the Mascaradas, with children from ages toddler to maybe 5 or 6 years old, wearing masks and dancing, joined by older boys and teenagers with full body masks! The older kids liked to come over to the tables of the audience that surrounded the performing space, and pretend to scare us.

It was a special evening for my cousins and me to be a part of this community event. I think we were the only ExPats attending.

Three photos showing the Mascaradas in action.

All photos in this blog are by JoAnne!

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The National Symphony of Costa Rica

JoAnne Tucker / November 9, 2023November 9, 2023 / Costa Rica, Personal Life

What a delight to open my email on September 26 and see a flyer of an upcoming event for Friday, October 20^th in San Jose. Democrats Abroad were inviting members to an open rehearsal of The National Symphony of Costa Rica in the National Theater.

I was excited because one of the challenges I have faced living in Costa Rica is finding stimulating cultural activities that are in English or at least don’t require knowing Spanish as a prerequisite to enjoyment. I RSVPed, filling out the form with both my Passport Number and Temporary Residency number, which were required for attendance. As the days grew closer to the event, the chance to be transported by beautiful music was indeed a very welcome relief in these difficult times.

I had never been in the National Theater and so the time spent waiting in the lobby before the doors opened was very special. We were surrounded on three sides by beautiful classical sculpture.

Once the doors opened, we were escorted into the orchestra part of the auditorium. My friend and I decided to sit as close as we could, in the fourth row just behind where the musicians had left their instrument cases.

Carl St. Clair, the Conductor and Orchestra Director, welcomed us while behind him musicians were still busy tuning their instruments. St. Clair has an impressive background, having studied conducting with Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood. He has conducted various symphonies throughout Europe and the United States. Since 1990 he has been the Musical Director and Conductor of the Pacific Symphony located in Southern California with performing venues in Irvine and Costa Mesa, CA. In 2013 he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Costa Rican Symphony.

He conducts with his whole body, and as a choreographer I loved watching him. I could sense the music flowing through his veins. It was also very meaningful to be able to hear — in part Spanish and part English — his notes to the orchestra, and then to hear the improvement when they replayed a section of a piece.

The program was varied. The first piece, which he carefully rehearsed, requiring repetition of quite a few sections, was by a Costa Rican composer, William Porras. The piece, written 25 years ago, is called Rhapsody for Orchestra and is dynamic and dramatic. The composer was at the rehearsal, and after the orchestra finished working on the piece, the musicians were given a break and St. Clair introduced us to Porras.

Although we were not aware of anything unusual during the rehearsal, I learned a few days after the two performances that the performance that evening had marked the first time in the 83-year history of the symphony that a woman, Rebecca Medrano Munoz, was the concertmaster during an official season concert. The Costaricatimes reviewed the Friday night performance:

The theatre’s air was thick with anticipation as Medrano, with a bow as her baton, led the orchestra through an unforgettable night. It was a performance she had dreamt of and practiced for all her life, a magnum opus that reverberated with hopes, dreams, and extraordinary talent. The audience, wrapped in the symphony’s grandeur, embraced the landmark moment with applause as stirring as the music itself. https://www.costaricantimes.com/a-striking-crescendo-costa-ricas-national-symphony-sees-first-female-concertmaster-in-official-season/75460

The rehearsal continued with Brahms Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, Opus 102 with soloists Fernando Munoz (violin) and Alvaro Gonzalez (cello). St. Clair especially rehearsed the transitions between soloists and orchestra. My heart soared listening to this beautiful piece.

St. Clair going over one of the transitions with Gonzalez, the cello soloist.

The program ended with two playful pieces by Ravel, Mother Goose Suite and Bolero. In Bolero, it was particularly interesting to watch the drummer, whose chair was moved directly in front of the conductor, and who keeps a continual beat throughout. St. Clair stopped the piece several times to check with an assistant in the back of the auditorium to make sure the drum and the orchestra were properly balanced.

Following the rehearsal, the 45 of us in attendance had lunch at the Alma de Café located in the National Theater. We had preordered our lunches, and they did an amazing job getting each of us what we had individually ordered.

Thank you, Democrats Abroad in Costa Rica, for sponsoring this event. It provided a wonderful break from the distressing world news.

All of photos by JoAnne.

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Chopping in the Kitchen

JoAnne Tucker / September 8, 2023September 8, 2023 / Costa Rica, Personal Life

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you might have noticed that I haven’t been writing as much as usual. The last two blogs were a review of a book, and they took a lot longer to write than other blogs. The second reason is that I have been doing a lot of dancing in the kitchen! Chopping, sauteing, spinning around and chopping some more. The chopping seems to go on and on forever. The reason behind this is I am now eating a totally plant-based diet.

Here are some bowls of chopped veggies and beans ready for an eggplant recipe.

In March I noticed some swelling in my ankles, and I decided to do some research on the best way to eat in order to keep my health good and strong. Everything I read led me to a vegan way of eating. I did that for about a month with some help from an English-speaking general nutritionist here in Costa Rica, who had only some idea of what a good vegan diet is. I decided to get my blood tested. I wasn’t pleased with the results and soon began to realize I was eating too many processed vegan products. So I searched for a doctor either here in Costa Rica or online who could help me with the proper way to go on a vegan diet.

Much to my delight I found an excellent doctor, Dr. Miranda Graham, who calls herself a VeganMD and lives less than an hour from my house. I have learned so much from her. My first visit was in person. She suggested using Cronometer, which is a website for a computer (or there is an app for the phone). I am under her account, where I log in, and she monitors what I am eating and makes suggestions. There is a free version one can use on their own. It has been very helpful. For example, I love it when she says my Vitamin A is too low, so make sure I add some carrots to my daily diet. I am now at the point where I can look at my food page and see the kind of foods I need to add in my diet for dinner to make sure I am getting all the nutrients that I need for the day.

The result is that my blood work has improved, I have more energy and I weigh less. I don’t think of this as a diet. Rather I think of this as my new lifestyle. I am enjoying finding new recipes and trying different foods. There are so many wonderful resources on the Internet. My favorites are https://foodrevolution.org, https://www.drfuhrman.com, and https://www.forksoverknives.com.

Living in Costa Rica makes plant based eating easy, as there are always lots of fresh fruits and vegetables available. Each Thursday I enjoy going to the Feria (Farmer’s Market), and as a regular, I always get a friendly greeting from the various vendors.

Shopping at the Feria del Agricultor de Atenas. Photo by Manrique

Here I am, with energy and a slimmer look, leading some guests on a walk on the labyrinth. Photo by Ed Needham

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Ballet Nacional de Cuba: Costa Rica, April 23, 2023

JoAnne Tucker / May 5, 2023September 8, 2023 / Costa Rica, Current Dance Events, Personal Life

I never would have imagined that I would get to see the Ballet Nacional de Cuba here in Costa Rica, but I did, and what a delight, for several reasons. First, going to theatre and ballet is what I miss most in my life here. When I saw a sign advertising the Ballet Nacional de Cuba for two performances here, I knew that I wanted to go. Second, there were some unexpected surprises in the repertory and third, it was a fun evening, providing a chance to experience a different side of life in Costa Rica.

Checking online, I was able to find that the repertory the company would be doing here was a mix of classical — which they are well known for — and some new pieces which looked intriguing. There was even a YouTube video of one of the new pieces, and after watching it I knew for sure I wanted to get tickets. I asked a friend who I thought might be interested, and sure enough she was and even offered to drive. Since I knew I would be having a guest at my house on the date of the performance, I also asked if she wanted to go. She did, and so I went online and bought three tickets in what we would call the mezzanine. The tickets were appropriately priced but the service charge for buying them online was outrageous. Alas, there was no other way to buy them, and you are not told about the service charge until after you have paid and see the separate amount on your credit card.

We did a bit of research on possible parking lots and decided we also wanted to have something to eat before attending the 5 PM performance. With the help of Google Maps we made it into the area and were immediately impressed by the stature of the theater – and this wasn’t even the National Theatre. The Melico Salazar Theatre is built in the European Baroque style. Originally called the Raventos Theater, the building was completed in 1928. Various restorations were done over the years, and in the mid-1980’s the government bought the theatre. By law it became a “cultural institution especializada” of the Costa Rican State. In 1986 it was renamed to honor the famous Costa Rican tenor Manuel “Melico” Salazar.

We drove around the area, but no parking lots were open, even though some had indicated they would be open for theatre performances. So we pulled up in front of the theatre to ask where to park. There were several cones blocking the direct entrance but a gentleman, clearly part of the theater staff, moved the cones. When we asked where to park, he said that for 5,000 colones (around $9), right where we were. We were thrilled and my friend Cynthia, who had driven and who speaks perfect Spanish, had a fun conversation with Hugo. And to make things even easier for us, the theatre has a lovely Café Raventos with a menu that worked perfectly.

Following a wonderfully relaxing late lunch, we entered the theater. I felt my usual excitement at attending dance and theater events. The theater definitely had a feeling of grandeur, and we found our seats. As the theater filled, it became clear that even though we were in the 4^th row of the mezzanine the slope wasn’t steep enough for us to have a clear view. Luckily there were empty seats behind us and even one on the aisle in front. So we each were able to get a good view of the entire stage.

The first half of the program was my favorite. It opened with The Shape of Red, a recent addition to the repertory, by choreographer Ely Regina Hernandez. While I found an interview online where she talks about the piece, I was unable to find her bio. There were no printed programs. With a QR code I was able to download the program, but it contained no bios, and dancers who perform main roles in pieces are not named. The choreography incorporated a lot of modern dance moves typical of choreography in the mid-20^th century, and then suddenly there was a pointe solo added in. That was a bit surprising, but as a whole the piece’s theatrical portrayal of the color red was very satisfying, including the ending where the lead character grabs hanging fabric and is lifted into the air. If you are interested in watching the piece, it is available on YouTube, and here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxGkxIfHH2A&t=745s

My overall favorite piece was La Muerte de un Cisne, (The Dying Swan). Choreographed by Michel Descombey (1930-2011), it opened with the roaring sound of wind blowing, and what a surprise for me to see that the Dying Swan was a male dancer in bare feet. This was clearly going to be a different version than the original one created by Michael Fokine for Anna Pavlova in 1905. Descombey’s choreography worked with some very interesting and original dance phrases and it was beautifully performed! Alas there was no information about Descombey on the Ballet Nacional de Cuba’s website nor do I have any information about the dancer. The audience loved the work, and the performer received lots of bravos. From some research online I learned that Descombey was a French ballet dancer, choreographer and director. Most of his career was in France but the last part of his career was in Mexico. There is a video of La Muerte de un Cisne on YouTube. Here is the link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RphILIjOL0

The dancer in Ballet Nacional de Cuba caught the fragile quality much better than the performer in the link.

The other piece that that I really liked in the first half was Tres Preludes by Ben Stevenson. A trio, it was beautifully danced by two men and a woman. It had a simple quality to it, cleanly and playfully performed.

The rest of the program was what I had expected to see — well-trained dancers performing classical material, some of it credited to Alicia Alonso’s variation, such as the duet from Swan Lake.

The company is much loved in Cuba and the final curtain call showed that they are used to much adoration. The Costa Rican audience was generous with its applause, but I got the feeling that the company is used to more.

It was a very special evening and a real treat to see a fine company here. I hope there will be other opportunities!

We were allowed to take photos, as long as we didn’t use a flash. I enjoyed photographing the final curtain calls; here is the male dancer of the Dying Swan taking his solo bow.

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An Experiment: Writing Haiku with Accompanying Watercolor

JoAnne Tucker / March 24, 2023March 24, 2023 / Art, Costa Rica, Personal Life

I have always been fascinated with the short poetic form of Haiku and how much meaning can be put into just 17 syllables. During the pandemic I took a weekend Haiku workshop at Upaya Zen Center via Zoom. I had fun exploring the form and enjoyed reading Natalie Goldberg’s Three Simple Lines. However, it wasn’t until we began the Atenas Writers’ Group in Costa Rica that I was motivated to write Haiku on a regular basis. At the same time, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review was offering a six-week online Haiku course, “Learn to Write Haiku: Mastering the Ancient Art of Serious Play,” taught by Clark Strand. I quickly signed up. Most sessions were prerecorded but a few were live sessions where we could ask questions. Clark encouraged us to have a daily practice and to write lots each day! What a great opportunity to learn from Clark, as he is totally dedicated to Haiku, with a big commitment to write Haiku himself, translate classical and contemporary Japanese Haiku and to encourage others to write Haiku. Here is the bio that Tricycle has online:

Clark Strand is a former senior editor at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. His books include Seeds From a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey and The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary, which was co-authored with his wife, Perdita Finn. He teaches the popular group “Weekly Haiku Challenges with Clark Strand” on Facebook and leads Tricycle’s monthly haiku challenge, as well as the Tricycle Haiku Challenge Facebook group. (From Tricyle.org ‘s website)

The medium of watercolor has always both challenged and fascinated me so I decided I would choose the best Haikus that I wrote each week and do small watercolor paintings including the text in the painting. Since mid-August I have completed 35 painted Haiku ranging in size from 6” x 8” to 9” x 12”.

I also made the decision that the Haiku had to be inspired by what I saw in my own backyard. Living in Costa Rica, that’s not a problem. My husband used to say that we were living in our own National Park. In Clark’s course we were not only to follow the form of 3 lines with 5 syllables in the first, 7 in the second and 5 in the last, but also to include a seasonal word. I decided to follow the traditional style as much as I could, including a seasonal word as it related to Costa Rica. I also thoroughly enjoyed the different samples of classical Haiku that we were exposed to.

It has been great fun to do this practice, and I have been quite consistent until recently, when I started writing prose to share with the Writers’ Group. I look forward to getting back to my Haiku/watercolor practice on a regular basis. Meanwhile, here are eight favorites. To see more, visit my Facebook page – JoAnne Tucker Art – where you can see all 35.

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Bonds of Friendship in a Writers’ Group: Remembering Jim Shaw

JoAnne Tucker / March 7, 2023March 14, 2023 / Costa Rica, Guest Posts

Our writers’ group in Atenas is just 7 months old, yet a special intimacy has developed in coming together and sharing what we have prepared for the week or in responding to a prompt. I have experienced a similar rich friendship and closeness built when creating choreography for a new piece with a dance company, or going on tour with a small group of participants who only a few weeks before were strangers. That kind of warmth and fellowship developed quickly in our small writers’ group.

The writers’ group grew out of a workshop presented by Jennifer Paquette when she was my guest spending several weeks working on a historical fiction novel. A day before she was due to leave, she shared some of her writing and then prompted us to do some writing. Immediately afterwards several participants enthusiastically suggested, “Let’s start a regular writers’ group here.” And so we did. Jim Shaw was one of the people who was at the workshop and immediately wanted to be part of the new group.

I had known Jim since January 2020, when my husband and I moved to Costa Rica. At that time, Jim was President of our homeowners’ association and made a welcoming visit. Nine months later, when my husband passed away and Jim saw my post on Facebook, he immediately drove down to my house to check if there was anything he could do to help. That gesture sealed a special place in my heart for Jim.

When I began to think about inviting artist friends to spend some time at my home, I reached out to several members of the community for suggestions on places to take visitors and ways that we might interact with the community. Jim and his wife Tracey had lots of good suggestions. A year later when the artists’ visits began, Jim and Tracey enthusiastically attended the artists’ presentations.

Jim came to the writers’ workshop when he could. Writing wasn’t easy for him so sometimes he shared a combination of what he wrote and just talked about his poignant memories of growing up and being a pilot during the Vietnam war. Since confidentiality is an important component of the group, we won’t reveal specifics, but we will share how much Jim meant to us. I personally am so grateful for Jim’s friendship, founding role in our writers’ group, and the opportunity to have heard his writing and storytelling.

Members of the Writers’ Group Share Their Thoughts

From Rosalie Olds

Even though I’ve been living in Atenas for about three years, I only met Jim recently when we both joined a local writers’ group. His quick wit and twinkling smile endeared me to him right away. When I shared my writing piece, I found his comments supportive and insightful. I especially enjoyed hearing about his experiences serving in Vietnam. Jim clearly felt compassion for others and delighted in being kind and helpful. I’ll miss the ribbing he gave me when his beloved Astros beat the Mariners. May he rest in peace.

From Trey Mallard

Haiku for Jim Shaw: In Memoriam 01/17/2023

1943-2023

In one’s life, people cross your life’s journey for just a moment but have a lasting impact. For me, one of those people was Jim Shaw. We met at a party, and immediately, Crissy and I knew that Jim and Tracey would become fast friends. We had similar stories in that we were both on second marriages, and some would say we married “eye candy.” But Jim and I knew better. Even though there were age differences with younger wives, we had both met and married our “soul mate.” Jim joined the initial writers’ group organized by JoAnne Tucker, which met in her lovely home in Hacienda Atenas. We were all would-be writers, but Jim was the only one who had not put his stories down on paper–Wisconsin farm boy to Top Gun in the Vietnam war. His stories were difficult to transcribe because his war experiences were still much with him and hard to relive. Jim lived with significant physical disabilities but was always up for a good time. His smile and sparkle in his eyes belied internal pain but were an instant attraction to those he encountered. I was fortunate not to have been drafted into his war, but I understood what it was like to lose friends who never returned. His death was sudden and too soon. Here’s to you, my friend…

Top Gun y Mas

Home, country, farm boy

grew, handsome, gentle spirit

pilot, war, hero.

Soars on metal wings.

Flight, chase, fell the enemy.

Now, soaring on mist.

III

Second time love found

On love bird wings, two fly high

Soaring one flies home.

Crippled body parts

needs extra feet for walking

now, one straight path, Light.

Blue eyes, smile lives on,

His loving memory strong.

New star, so bright, Jim

Jim Shaw
Photo taken by Tracey Shaw on the Roue de Paris (Ferris wheel) on the Place de La Concorde in Paris when they visited 6 years ago. They went on a wine cycling tour in Burgundy and visited Paris before and after their wine tour. Tracey described it as a truly wonderful trip.

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Five, four, three, two, one!

JoAnne Tucker / August 25, 2022October 27, 2022 / Costa Rica, Personal Life

I was shopping one day in PriceSmart in Costa Rica (like a Sam’s Club or BJ’s), when I passed an aisle of workout equipment. I had passed such displays before but I had never seen a recumbent bike available. I had sold mine before we moved, and I missed it. My hips don’t do well on a regular bike. A recumbent bike actually helps my hips. I feel less pain and best of all I get a workout!! Needless to say I bought it and was lucky to have someone put it together for me. That was in late May and I have now enjoyed riding it almostevery day, having logged in 71 rides.

“Five, four, three, two, one…. Now take the speed up higher and the resistance too! Ride at a higher cadence with higher resistance for a minute! Five, four, three, two, one… OK back to a slower pace with less resistance for a minute before we go again.” These are typical instructions from the IFit trainer. The bike is designed to go with programs produced by IFit. I had a 14-day free trial and after that I didn’t hesitate to sign up to continue on a monthly basis. A fun side benefit is that not only is the coaching excellent but the rides are filmed in locations all around the world. I have done rides in Fiji, Hawaii, National US Parks, Costa Rica, Italy and Turkey!

Now why am I writing about this? Recently, a writer was in residence at my home as part of the Artist in Residence program I offer. At the end of her residency she led a writer’s workshop and gave us the prompt of writing about transitions. First she asked us to list seven transitions that we had experienced in our lives and then to select one to write about. No problem, I certainly had lots of major life transitions to write about, several of which were very recent, like moving to Costa Rica and losing my life partner of fifty-six years. But what fascinated me at that moment was the little transitions I make each day related to aging, and I found the transition from slow to fast on the bike, and then back again to slow, a good metaphor.

In the last blog I wrote about finding a model of someone who has done new things in their 80’s. That is very important for me and equally important is how to do them. What I am taking away from the writing prompt, and using the bike experience to write about, is a way to pace myself. I want to be able to enjoy new and challenging things in a safe way. The bike exercise is a strong reminder that a push, whether it is physical or mental, needs to be balanced with a time of lower energy and relaxing!

In the biking workout it has been an equal balance of pushing heavily for either a half minute or a minute and then pedaling easier for the same amount of time. I do not know quite how I will carry this over into my life but I do know it is important and something I will keep in mind!

As I get nearer my eightieth birthday, questions on how to make this a quality time of life are often on my mind. I wonder what other readers might want to share about this, whether it is turning eighty or experiences they have had at a younger age. I welcome your feedback and thoughts in the comments!

Photo taken by Manrique, who helped to put the bike together!

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