"Buddha" at the Bolshoi Ballet Workshops

I went on a cool behind-the-scenes-tour of the workshops where the sets and shoes are made for the Bolshoi Ballet with the AWO yesterday.

The building where they do all this amazing stuff is totally non-descript and you would really never know from the outside. Not to mention, it's only about 10 or 15 minutes walking from our apartment. Right in the center of Moscow!

Building exterior for the Bolshoi Workshops. Pretty basic and indistinguishable from any other building in the neighborhood.

First stop on the tour was a huge room where they design and paint all the sets / backdrops. Apparently it's unique in that it has windows on 3 sides and allows the artists to get a bird's eye view of things from the "catwalks" as they work.

catwalk

angels and clouds for upcoming premiere of Bolshoi's Cosi fan Tutti Mozart opera

Babushka with strange underbite showing us the to-scale models for the backdrops being worked on (see above).

Another interesting and very odd stop on the tour (probably the most interesting, really :-)) was a visit with the "Buddha" who, for 22 years, has made 4 pairs of pointe shoes per day, by hand. Each pair is custom-made for a specific ballerina using a mold of her feet. See photos below to understand immediately why he's called the "Buddha."

No words. Just LOOK at this guy. See why he's called the "Buddha?"

And why oh why does the shirt need to be open!?

layers of netting and special homemade glue in the toe area

carefully eyeing his work

tap, tap, tapping to smooth it all out

finished product

The dancers are so rough on the shoes that the shoes this guy makes only last for one performance (if that) or for a few days of practice.

BIG pile of dead pointe shoes (photo credit: google images).

On the other hand, we were also told that many of the Russian dancers are now buying American-made high-tech pointe shoes that are lighter, quieter, more comfortable, machine-washable and last for months at a time. Needless to say, the local Russian artisans like the Buddha are not happy about this shift.

That's right, made in U.S.A.!

Gaynor Minden is one of the popular American high-tech brands.

“It is wonderful to dance all day with comfortable feet, and to have that extra ease in balancing. What I especially love about Gaynor Mindens is no noise! I am free to jump with as much power and brilliance as I possibly can because I know my landings will be soft and delicate. - Natalia Osipova, Soloist, Bolshoi Ballet”

We were then shown the costume workshop rooms. These were not very exciting because the Bolshoi is in between premieres and the seamstresses were just sitting around doing nothing.

Babushka seamstress reading.

newspaper and tools of the trade

Last but not least, we saw the printing presses which they use to print all the posters and programs for every ballet and opera at the Bolshoi. So interesting that they still do all this (pointe shoes, costumes, sets, programs) in-house and in such a small, unmarked building! The main press for large-sized posters and programs is from 1905 and is from Germany.

Yuri, the print manager, standing by the big press. Blank paper stock behind him on shelves.

Poster of authentication for the printing press. In the middle there's some German, "Koenig & Bauer," which is the company that made the press.

Reams of blank paper.

Partially printed programs.

Fascinating tour and I'm so glad I went!

I Feel

I feel happy that Siena's tail is wagging and back to normal.

I feel starved for good quality fresh fruits and vegetables.

I feel indignant that no one in Moscow holds the door. 

I feel limited by the lack of counter space in my Russian kitchen. 

I feel lucky to be married to such a patient man.  

I feel guilty for not always being in the present.

I feel proud that I gave birth to a healthy baby with a smile that lights up the room.

I feel confused by Russian customs and communication style. 

I feel sad that there's no doggy daycare.

I feel nervous and excited about starting solid foods.

I feel frustrated that I don't have a garbage disposal in my Russian kitchen. 

I feel anxious that Siena still has a bladder infection. 

I feel surprised by the wonderful women I've met in the American Women's Organization of Moscow. 

I feel disappointed in myself for not being as brave as I thought I was. 

I feel relieved that I've made it this far. 

More Pigeon Russian 101

Speet, spahl, boodit spaht

I've been mentally unable to retain the correct translation of the word SLEEP in Russian. R the nanny has probably said it 40 times and I get it wrong every time I try and initiate a sentence with it in there. Seriously, SLEEP is such a big deal with babies, it's kind of a critical bit of vocabulary that I really need!

But with R's help (have I mentioned she has the patience of a saint?) I think I finally got it. Or, "pa-ni-lah" as they say pa Russkie.

January 24
Бо спит ("speet") = Beau sleeps (present tense).
Бо спал ("spahl") = Beau slept (past tense).
Бо будет спать ("boodit spaht") = Beau will sleep (future).

Now that I've officially "written" it down, maybe it will stick. Russian is one tough language to crack!

P.S. I lost my little notebook where I keep all my new words -- not cool. I know it's somewhere in the apartment but it is MIA right now!

Oven Beef Burgundy Fail

Got a tasty-looking one-pot recipe from my mom over the holidays. I need dishes like this. Things that I can make in the afternoon or morning and forget about because by dinner-time things get hectic and more importantly, I start to get too hungry and too tired to begin thinking about making something. It's also nice to make these "pot" dishes because they usually yield enough for a couple meals.

Well, I left it in the oven for over 3 hours (after checking a few times and stirring "gently" as the recipe called for) and it came out so tough it was just no good. No good at all. Yuck. It was so bad, I didn't even finish, which is a big deal for me lately since I'm always hungry. I hate when this happens! I hate my Russian kitchen and I hate that I can't figure out how to buy/cook Russian meat! Actually I hate that I always have to cook, too!!

This package of meat was even from Metro so I thought it was good quality. It cooked for so long, wouldn't ANY meat get tender?! So disappointing, especially since it smelled pretty good while it was cooking. What a waste of time and energy!!!!

Stroller-un-friendliness

In order to cross Tverskaya Ulitsa, the huge, really wide avenue where we live, you have to go underground. There are actually three underground passageways within walking distance of our apartment (yay!) however none of them are very stroller-friendly (ugh!). I will say that one passageway has an elevator, but alas, it doesn't always work. So if you get there and it's out of order, you either turn around and go home or you lift your stroller down and back up all the steps.

Needless to say, this is a major source of stress for me. Basically I just don't take Beau out by myself if I have to cross the street. Kind of limiting.

At the base of the only set of stairs to get across the street. Somehow Scott thinks it's funny that we have to carry the stroller up and down all these steps every time we go to our favorite diner (read: the only one in town). It just makes me want to cry and curse out the Russians.

This is the Russian version of a handicapped-accessible ramp. If your wheels aren't the exact same width as these metal rails, well then, you're just out of luck.

More stairs on the other end. 

Pee on a plate part 2

This has really been a busy week for Siena. I used to think she was low maintenance!

Yesterday I brought another urine sample to the lab using my patented "plate collection" method (see previous post on this topic). Prior to the holidays they said we needed to retest for crystals to see if the medicine and new food are working.

My only observation this time around is that the vet clinic / lab where I went looks exactly how I envisioned a Russian [people] hospitals would look: cold, crumbling and not necessarily all that sterile. The people clinic that I go to is not at all like this, thankfully! And this vet was quite busy; I even saw two Goldens in the waiting room so they must be legit. The building is just kind of sad and worn out looking.  

This is the door to the lab: "laboratoria" is what the sign under the 7 says. 

Clearly they're not spending rubles on decor. The good news is it's only $10 for a urine culture. Unheard of in the States!

Cross your fingers that the results come back clean and that we don't need to continue the special, expensive urinary tract food and more importantly, that we don't need another ultrasound or more medication!

Snowy walk

We got about 4 inches of snow today. Siena LOVES it and actually it's much easier to clean her up after a walk in the snow vs rain or even just normal dirty Moscow. 

The bad part is I don't feel comfortable walking with her AND Beau together in Moscow -- too slippery right now and even without the ice/snow, it's too hard to navigate the big curbs and rough sidewalks. 

Makes me sad if I think about it too much because in my mind, once I finally had my baby and my dog together, I'd pictured myself as this hip, urban mom, getting my exercise and fresh air through my daily dog+baby walks. I saw myself striding along in my yoga pants with the dog on one side and the baby all snug and tucked away in his stroller.

Never mind all that. It is really more  about survival and just making sure Siena doesn't go stir crazy. I should be grateful I have a babysitter so I can leave Beau with her and still take Siena out. Period, end of story. 

P.S. Here's what happens in Moscow when there's a little space between cars but not enough to fit a full car. Just park on the sidewalk!

Siena's tail

Siena has started using it again! Very, very selectively, but the curve and perk are there. Such a relief to see even a few flaps of that happy-girl wag!!

Yeah!!

I'm so so relieved. 

In the belly of the whale

Chewed up by a whale and waiting to be spit out. That's how my friend M (a former expat herself, who knows about the trailing spouse life overseas) described it. And it's exactly how I feel right now, from the travel, the jet lag and new unwelcome stress.

Siena came back from the "farm" as we call it (where she boards when we're away) with a weird kink in her tail and now it won't go UP at all. She can still wag it, but it just hangs straight down, limp, and sways side to side. Not vigorous and perky like she usually is. It's so sad to see, my poor sweet dog!

I made Scott leave work and come with me, Siena and Beau to the emergency vet -- for crying out loud, a BROKEN TAIL IS an emergency if you ask me!

At the vet they weren't very definitive but said it wasn't very painful (though I disagree because she won't let me near it) and that it is either clogged anal glands (soo gross) or "trauma to the region" (and then they had me hold her still while they did a rectal exam to see if the poor girl had been "ruptured," which she hadn't, thank god). The whole thing was rather barbaric and Siena looked so uncomfortable and sad during the exam. :-(

We left the vet and Scott later tells me that we "wasted" his afternoon. 

But really. would your beautiful animal come back from boarding with a broken tail in the USA? I think not. And if anything did happen, wouldn't they call you right away and tell you they noticed it and had already taken her to the vet to get it checked?? Yes. When we called the farm they had no idea what we were talking about. Of course. 

Anyway, now we have to wait a few days and if it's still limp, we go back to the vet for more tests or pills or something. I know it could have been much, much worse, but honestly, we are still dealing with the urine crystals from before xmas and we have baby jetlag and our own jetlag going on in this household. Enough already!! Can we please get a break???

Poor Siena. She doesn't look like my same puppy dog without her trademark tail wag! I feel so guilty for leaving her. I know it could have happened anywhere but it feels so much worse here. 

Went to bed around 8:30 pm last night, an all time EARLY for me after such a traumatizing day. Thankfully Scott got up with B from 10-12ish? I think...now I've been up with him for feeding etc since 2:30 am but it's actually more tolerable if you go to bed super early. That assumes you have someone else to get up at the half way mark and your child already sleeps 4 hours at some point in the night.  

Ha, only took me 5.5 months and a dog with a malfunctioning tail to figure that out. Way to be a slow learner, CB. Belly of the whale, belly of the whale.