6 Months & Counting......!

September is upon us, thus officially marking the 6 month anniversary of Madame B NYC as a "Dance & Ballet centered blog".  As outlined below, Madame B has gone through a number of revisions -- so getting to the 6th month with a clear mission gives cause to celebrate!! 

Reviewing the timeline below, I have learned so much about a creative life .. so much about the idea that the final product may actually develop from an entirely different origin and that the most important thing is to trust the creative impulse and move on it -- regardless of how it seems senseless at the time.  JUST DO IT! For me I am person who is security driven -- I crave a clear-cut path to my goals and dreams yet I'm also stuck with an intense creative nature -- one that requires time, editing and development. Sometimes I feel I've been punked.

Had I set out to create a dance-centered blog from the beginning, I'm sure it would have flopped! (and believe it or not --- it didn't even cross my mind remotely, until over a year later.)  I was all annoyed and fighting with dance when I began writing -- I had made a return but had reached an impasse.... all this writing began on A MERE WHIM .... at the spurning of a friend --who at the time was almost a stranger... not even taking it seriously and never expecting to develop readers.  I don't consider myself a writer really -- and that's the truth.  I like to write things bc it helps my brain process things -- bc my brain buzzes around at the speed of light --  but give me an assignment to write and I'm like "eek!"....  So, it has been interesting to see how things can grow creatively and change to become so much more that what you ever imagine -- and yet, contradictingly -- exactly what they should have always been! Now I get what it means when people say to trust the process!

Now almost 2 years later from the origins, a mere 6 months into a dance focus, and we are pretty certain that we are on the right path -- at least topic wise.  Content wise, I'm sure things will grow even further -- and well, who knows I may even re-develop all over again.

At any rate, to inspire you readers to take some chances yourself and just put it out there... lets look at the evolution of Madame B., past to present!

Fall 2009  MADAME B IS BORN: MY BITCHY LITTLE NY BLOG
Image by VARGAS: My Inner Bitchin' Beauty!
#Readers: 120 (first month) - finally over 1000 monthly

The Original Madame B.

                          

As the title suggests Madame B wasn't always tootin' her horn about ballet -- but she WAS tootin' her horn!  Burnt out with the Ballet Battle, Madame B began as a Bitchin' NY Dame with a lot to say!  Writing on every topic under the sun from Monday's Advice For World Happiness, to holding a competitive Future Husband Competition,  Madame B. was hittin the town and she was painting it Red, Red, RED!

Feb 2010 -- FALL 2010 FASHION WEEK INVITATION

Name Change to Madame B NYC -- balk
See Video from Fashion Week, Below!

http://video.aol.com/aolvideo/null/madame-b/67511601001

Out of the blue, I was contacted and invited to cover the last shows at Bryant Park by Bill Cosby's very own newspaper... this was so ultra-exciting!  Tromping daily through the winter snow to the tents in my fur was such fun fun fun, but boy -- concrete and heels do not go together! Luckily, Fur goes with everything!  ;-)  It was at this time that I did video blogs for Stylelist Magazine (above) as well as getting to go to some fabulous shows!  Somehow I nearly made every show in the tents -- many times, in first or second row seats! I was present for the announcement of McQueen's Demise and even blogged on this here... I WAS DEVASTATED -- and a bit pissed off at him.  I mean really... I finally make it to Fashion Week and now he has to die? Luck! I also met an upcoming PR Boy BLAKE HARVEY of the Lawrence Blake Group who, after working with myself and my cabaret group known as The Lady Dames, suggested that I may want to simply go by Madame B. NYC: rather than My Bitchy Little NY Blog!! LOL! -- and well, even though someone has to do it, I was getting a bit tired of having to be the B**** all the time.... so that was my first revision....

March / April 2010
MADAME B NYC
Inaugural "Man About Town" Interview
ABT Soloist:  Daniil Simkin

Photo By: Roee Dori

After fashion week, my PR Boy was eager to get Madame B. NYC out on the town... with a booked social calendar, we decided that opening up an interview column would be fun, so I came up with Man About Town.  At first all thoughts were on Christian Siriano to stay fashion forward --- but I was missing dancing... and well, I thought that Daniil had style -- and substance! SO, I convinced myself and PR that that current readers wouldn't be disappointed!  As it turns out,  we weren't disappointed one bit because Daniil turned out to be one of the most generous interviews we could imagine and it went perfectly.  Becoming my first Man About Town Interviewee (which you can now find here in my Men In Tights Column), Daniil proved to be the diverse, engaging person and dancing super-star that we imagined.  In addition, being a first for me, Daniil has put up with all my floundering post-interview communication skills, patiently accepting more than he bargained for, as I go through the grind of freaking out and balancing juggling act of dancer & blog writer...He's been a Prince!

Presently, Daniil can be found coming off a grueling schedule and touring season with ABT and preparing for tours, galas and performances this fall! He has made an appearance on So You Think You Can Dance -- and was also just interviewed by Fox TV while touring Indianapolis. He has also since been the beautiful photo-subject of ACNE PAPER Issue No 12, here.   You can check out his upcoming work here on his website & blog, here.

May 2010
Image by HELEN RANDALL
My "actual" visage

The "Real" Madame B.

Well after the first interview went so well, we started planning the second and really wanted to get someone from the City -- such as the Comptroller... as such we thought it was time my blog image fit more my outer visage than my inner alter-ego, because it would be more accessible... and well "important people" would respond better..... And so the following image was created by artist Helen Randall... to illustrate my truer hair/size, my love of interviews, my love of fashion, and my love of my baroque style dance pants designed by Irina & Max; such as those I was constantly wearing everywhere until they were forever lost at Steps. 

This turned out to be sort of the beginning of the end of the blog as a NY Culture blog -- simply bc after losing my inner beautiful, bitchy alter-ego -- well I sort of lost steam..... I was exhausted from Fashion Week, and I felt too much pressure to write from my personal viewpoint -- and well as a performer at heart, I'm just not interested or inspired by speaking from or about my life as a "writer" -- that just feels too absorbing.....
From about June - the end of 2010 my writing was dismal... I was totally uninspired -- and after interviewing Daniil, i realized my interests are really, like it or not, back to dancing .  My PR BOY was a bit non-plussed at what seemed like my flakiness....and well, I just knew that if Madame B. NYC became popular as some a culture blog, I'd be thrust into the social scene, leaving little time or energy to dance.  And with the bitchin' taking the back seat, well what else did I really want to speak about?  So I sort of piddled about until around January 2011.

MARCH 2011
With the Black Swan Film having hit the theatres I figured it was a better time than ever to go all ballet! I cancelled my interview with the Comptroller (after having waited months for a response) and VOILA... A NEW MADAME B. NYC is born. 

MADAME B. NYC: "We Heart Ballet Here"
Image: Madame Liberty by Me!

Madame Liberty

  WE HEART BALLET HERE-- and well if that doesn't sum me up -- what does?   Right from the beginning I was like DUH.... what took me so long... ? Giving me the perfect outlet to write out all my class notes, my ideas and even bitch about ballet sometimes, the new, improved Ballet and Dance focused blog has gained more energy in 6 months than I could have imagined. With readership reaching over 2000 readers a month and have over 200 Twitter followers, I sometimes have a hard time keeping up!

Since this time, I've been lucky to have 2 more incredibly fun interviews:

MAN IN TIGHTS: Miro Magloire: Composer/Choreographer/Artistic Director of the New Chamber Ballet -- you can read our interview here where we had a really fun discussion on beginning ballet training later, starting a small and ambitious Chamber Ballet with ALL LIVE MUSIC -- and other entertaining topics.  You can see his company perform their Season Opening this weekend on 9/9 & 9/10 at City Center Studios in NYC at 8pm!  It's a really magical evening to sit in an intimate atmosphere with a Live Pianist and Violinist, as well as the dancers... its just really rejuvenating and beautiful.  For more information visit the NCB website here.

Also I've been able to interview my first B. IS FOR BALLERINA: Susan Jaffe... am I lucky or what....?????   when I say there is literally not a role she hasn't honed, I mean it!  One of the premier ballerinas in American History, Madame Jaffe proved herself to be one of my most fascinating interviews yet! Touching on the depth of focus and art necessary to rise to the top through a bevy of personal and professional obstacles, we can easily see how Ms. Jaffe not only made a name for herself on stage, but continues her legacy with coaching today's artists as a Ballet Mistress with American Ballet Theatre, as well as continuing to develop her creative capacities as an upcoming -- and very exciting, I might add, ballet choreographer!  In addition Ms. Jaffe is a sought after expert on the psychology and dramatic perspective of numerous ballets including Swan Lake, which she will be discussing in length for the upcoming Julliard Educational Series on the history of the ballet Swan Lake beginning September 15- December 22. For more information on this really interesting series, go here.

ALL OF THIS IN 6 months! WOW! I am really grateful for all of this support -- as none of this would have happened without the willingness of the above mentioned interviewees, but also to you, my readers....who have hung by me through it all.  Thank you so much for reading and stay tuned for the FALL/WINTER 2011 LINEUP including:

INTERVIEWS: This Fall season will focus on those serving dancers including teachers Edward Ellison,  famed Adult Teacher Kat Wildish & Vaganova Pedagogue Nina Osipyan; I'm also seeking interviews with former NYCB Dancer and Dance Psychologist & Expert Lecturer / Writer / Advocate, Dr. Linda Hamilton, Dance-Physio Consultant Lisa Howell, THE INCREDIBLE Body Tuner Shmuel Tatz, Renowned Dance Photographer Paul B. Goode & Pilates Master Teacher, Pam Pardi!

DANCER WORKSHOPS: Don't think I've forgotten you dancers! In October, Madame B NYC launches our first Dancer's Workshop on Stretching Techniques for Hip Mobility as well as a planned follow-up workshop with Olympic Trainer John Kelly on Resistive Meridian Stretching (the key behind 41 Year Old Olympic Medalist Dara Torres).  In addition, other workshops are in the works for Performance Nutrition / Supplementation as well as an exciting "TBA" master class!

OTHER BLOGS: Who knew there were so many dance related blogs out there.... ?? Check out a few of my faves: The Ballet Bag, Ballet University & the new blog of Dance Photographer Paul Goode, Vision: A Photographer's Journey

THANKS EVERYONE..& HAPPY FALL!

B.

***an extra-special thanks to my 1st Year Believers:  Dance New Amsterdam, Benjamin Briones Ballet and Ursula Verduzco's Latin Choreographer's Festival