Feb. 12, 2007

Manon, Violetta, Odette, Anna Nicole Smith, and Marilyn Monroe. What do these five women have in common? What do they have to do with the notion of "all the is in the past possess the future?" Well to begin with, who is Manon? Manon is a women in an opera entitled Manon who was a "courtesan" who feel in love with a man called Des Grieux. Both Manon and Des Grieux were on two different paths of life when they fell in love. Des Grieux was on a quest to find his father, while Manon was on a quest to be excepted as she was to her new lovers family. In the end, Des Grieux and Manon were falsely accused of committing "adultery" are were both arrested. Des Grieux wanted nothing more than to find his beloved Manon. But as soon as he managed to escape his punishment, he didn't get to Manon fast enough to save her. When he finally found her, Manon was almost lifeless. She fainted into his arms "Et c'est là l'histoire de Manon Lescaut," and she died.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manon) Who is Violetta? Violetta Valery was a famous "courtesan" who threw a huge party to celebrate her victory over a serious illness. Violetta then mistakenly falls in love with a man by the name of Gaston, but that love comes to late. By the time the two really become lovers, Violetta has already become bed ridden because the disease of tuberculosis has set into her body. In her last few moments, Gaston finally comes back and on her death bed he begs her for forgiveness, and then she dies in his arms.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violetta_Valery) Who is Oddette? Odette de Crecy, the flamboyant wife of Charles Swann in Proust's A la Recherche du Temps Perdu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odette). So now you know of the courtesans of the past, it is now easy to assume why women such as Anna Nicole Smith and Marilyn Monroe are so important to the notion of all that is in the past possess the future. Anna Nicole much like Violetta was known as a "courtesan", or high class prostitute. Anna also coincidentally died of a tragic death, drug overdose. Marilyn Monroe just happened to be Anna's idol. So what kind of woman do you think Marilyn is? So what is the importance of all of this? Life has imitated art of the past.




So now the question is, what have I done to imitate art of the past? I have been a dancer for many years of my life. I have flamboyantly twirled around on many stages. But my claim to fame in terms if imitating art was when I portrayed Belle, the beauty in Beauty and the Beast. Beauty and the Beast was not always a Walt Disney picture. It actually came from a traditional fairy tail from the 1700's.