A Little Tea or Something

Dear Diary,

In an earlier post I told you that my tenure in New York City was punctuated several times by visits with some dear friends, so now I would like to share those happy moments.  (This, by the way, is the building at 890 Broadway, where ABT has its offices and studios, and where I studied for seven days.)

First, I had made plans weeks before my trip to reconnect with my former performing arts school roommate, Sophia Fatouros; currently Dance Director at the Harlem School of the Arts, she has lived and worked in the city for many years now.

In the summer of 1976 my parents and I walked through the Daniel Street dormitory’s heavy front door at the National Academy of Arts (now sadly gone, this was once a beacon of performing arts excellence in the unlikely town of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois) to find Sophia and her mother.  Sophia—a tiny, smart girl—quietly informed us that the Daniel Street zip code was 61820; an important little nugget in an age well before personal computers equipped with email and Facebook.

I was thirteen and a long way from my native Memphis, literally and figuratively.  Sophia helped me settle in, although I had to sweet talk our dorm mother into allowing me to change assignments to make her my roomie; apologies to the loud girl from Chicago.  Sophia encouraged me to contribute to her impressive gum wrapper chain, which extended from one corner of our long room diagonally to the opposite corner.  (I still know how to make those chains and have passed on that important life skill to my teenager.)  She taught me how to eat a gyro.  And she also supplied me with this useful information:  if you wash your hair in cold water, it will not have static.

We had not seen each other in about three decades, and I must say, she looks fabulous—she has held up much better than I.  After what I gather is a Very Long subway ride, she met me for a late night catch-up at my apartment, where she delivered a lovely stack of ballet books, and then treated me to wonderful repast at a funky diner (really funky:  grasshopper was a menu item) a few blocks south of Park Avenue and 19th, and a block or two to the east.  We talked and talked for a long, happy time, and could have continued for weeks.  Next summer, Sophia!

I also had the opportunity to finally meet “Auntie” Karen Schlotter, whom I’d talked to many times by phone since my Uncle Stan’s untimely death a few years ago.  Karen and Uncle Stan were very close friends for decades and she has been like family to me in recent years, supplying all kinds of anecdotal (and more substantive) stories about him.  Uncle Stan was involved with the Light Opera of Manhattan (LOOM), as both musician and conductor.  He and Karen lived in adjacent apartments in Queens.  He was always dear to me, but especially in the years leading up to his death, as he struggled with his HIV; I had the great privilege of giving the eulogy at his funeral.

Karen insisted on treating me to dinner at Brasserie Les Halles on Park Avenue, a few blocks north of my apartment.  It was a delightful time, with animated conversation and fabulous food and wine.  As we were leaving, our waiter chased us down on the sidewalk and shoved a paper into our hands, beseeching us to find the YouTube video featuring, er, him, of course.  If you have exactly nothing better to do with your time, go here to meet Tim-the-Waiter; look for him around 4 minutes 15 seconds.  P.S.  He is nowhere NEAR as good a waiter as Anthony Bourdain suggests.  Sorry, Tim, and Anthony.  But the food there is pretty dang good.  And Auntie Karen, you are a hoot.

And finally, my good friend and occasional KBS guest artist Ryan Carroll met me mid-afternoon following his class at Peridance Center, just after  I had finished my oral exam on the last day of the intensives, and right across the street from ABT and Peridance at the wonderful Fishs Eddy store.  He took me to an amazing little place on Bleeker Street; I was force fed the World’s Best-Ever Banana Pudding across the street in a park with the most fearless and aggressive pigeons I have ever seen….

Then it was on to the lovely apartment where Ryan lives with his beautiful wife, Diana; that’s the view from their bedroom, above—Diana helped me set up the shot.  We schlepped our stuff down, took the doggie for a quick walk, and then went to the grocery store to get ingredients for the amazing Barefoot Contessa dinner Ryan prepared in their tricked-out kitchen.  We gathered food, wine, and doggie-in-her-crate, and enjoyed a sumptuous feast on the building’s rooftop deck with yet more incredible views of the Manhattan skyline.  A perfect ending to an amazing ten days.  Thanks more than you know, Ryan and Diana!

I will be back next summer, NYC, to continue with Levels 4 and 5 at American Ballet Theatre.  What an amazing adventure.  And I had plenty—PLENTY—of clean underpants.

Until next July, I remain yours truly,

Princess Glad-to-Be-Home Deb

Filed under: American Ballet Theatre, Knoxville Ballet School, Ryan Carroll, Sophia Fatouros, ballet, ballet school, travel by deb