dancer on the rope...

My first exposure to movies, at least the ones that got me to really start enjoying them were the old Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire MGM pictures that used to come on TNT(later TCM, and then discontinued) in India when I was eleven and twelve. And of course I'll never forget Cyd Charisse - those legs... She was the first female dancer who struck a cord in me, and not just for that marvellous appearance in Singin' in the rain, but her films with Fred Astaire like The Bandwagon as well. It was with this background, plus my exposure to Cirque du Soleil in NY, and other performers, that I first watched the girl in this picture do her rope routine.

All I can say is, I wasn't stunned, but it was amazing, as it is always the case when a fellow human being has such grace and skill(not to mention calm) while dangling from a rope. She is only as old as I am, but has already been dancing for eight years. This picture was taken last year, and I have no idea why I only took Black and White shots when the setting would have been better expressed with well saturated colours, especially the wonderful thatched roof in the background. I remember I was also very worried about the contrasts in the light outside and inside because this was right at noon, with the sun pretty harsh and only a small amount ultimately leaking in that I could use. Though I had wanted to actually watch rather than reflect on the troublesome lighting issues, I didn't want to lose the opportunity having no idea how long the rehearsal would be.

But, after taking some interesting snaps, I couldn't resist the temptation to simply put my dear Canon FTQL gently aside and become a spectator.