#it always circles back to ballet motifs

[disabled-battlekukku]

I need to sleep but I have such a fire concept for a Speedy design on my head. Why.

[jemeryas]

Chanel Continues to Honor Their History with 'The Button'

Chanel continues to honor their history with their recent couture show 'The Button'. A fantastical way to remind the fashion community of what makes Chanel unique in their designs. The button—an integral part for the founder Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel and her deigns—revolutionized how women's clothes are tailored and designed. Allowing women—according to Coco—to "rid themselves of everything that had prevented them from moving freely.” This motif was showcased by the house's creative director Virginie Viard who decided that ballerina-core would be the best way to communicate this all the while giving a history lesson on the brand.

The show, taking place in a round that allowed the audience and distinguished guest such as Anna Wintour, Kendrick Lamar—who is a brand ambassador for Chanel and would preview a new song for the house—and Baz Luhrmann a good view of the parade of clothes, begins with a short film depicting a young woman—played by Margaret Qualley—on a quest to find a button that would bring her face to face first with the sage or "wise woman" of the film, Naomi Campbell, giving her a ticket to Paris. It is there that Margaret would encounter a modern Coco Chanel—played by Anna Mogulalis—and, as the film would end, find herself on the runway, giving the audience a very cheeky grin and allowing the procession of models to follow. While at first I thought this was a nod to the Elizabethan era by Qualley wearing the popular ruff, a collar that was worn by British nobility; it is clear by the fifth look that would resemble an unfastened leotard paired with the signature tweed jacket that the fashion house would become notorious for since Lagerfeld would popularize it, that ballet would be central to this viewing. However, Viard does something that other fashion houses who have attempted a ballet themed collection fail to do and that is incorporating the brand's history in it.

Ballet and fashion have always gone hand-in-hand. Fashion houses have often collaborated with the likes of The New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, and Ballet Preljocaj to name a few. These collabs going back as early as 1924 when Coco Chanel would design costumes for Jean Cocteau's 'Le Train Bleu'. In 2016 Miu Miu would introduce the world to this "ballet core" aesthetic by debuting ballet slippers—retailing at just $975 in Nordstrom's if you were in the market for some new shoes—and would even re-introduce them again in 2022 for their fall/winter show. However the rest of the collection was still on par with the typical Miu Miu pieces. Pleated skirts, cut off shirts and polos; other than the inclusion of the slippers, you would've just been watching your usual Miu Miu collection. What Viard and the team at Chanel get right is taking the ballet aesthetic and Chanel-ifying it. Tulle is paired with the signature tweed jackets, a leotard goes with a bejeweled, pink jacket and skirt that would work perfectly for a show like 'Guys and Dolls' and while to the general public this may seem like a clash of colors and materials, what I have learned about the history of Chanel isn't from watching their shows or reading books but getting to visit their stores and talking with their associates who would inform me that—much like Sofia Richie Grainge's wedding that was entirely designed by Chanel—they design, not for the general public's approval, but for a specific clientele who will love their collections no matter what. It is exactly that type of dedication, from both consumer and producer, that allows this brand to continue to thrive. The show comes in full circle when the Chanel bride makes her appearance wearing a silver tunic for a dress with chiffon sleeves and a black ribbon that pulls her hair out of her face, giving access to soak in the radiance of both the model and ensemble.

It is never that a collection is bad, it just takes the right stylist—like Law Roach—to see certain pieces and connect the dots that allows the garment to shine beautifully on the right person. This show is just one of those few examples. The popularity of Chanel for this collection will take the right media outlet—much like Scream Queens did for the brand back in 2015—or the right celebrity figure to re-invigorate appreciation for the fashion house. While I may not give Chanel a ten this time around, their dedication to their history and legacy is one that I can admire and appreciate. Whether you like Coco Chanel or even Karl Lagerfeld as humans is besides the point. Focusing on the storytelling and that commitment is what makes me give this collection an eight. I appreciate a brand who knows their history and will go out of their way, regardless of public opinion, to honor it.

But as always make sure you watch the show for yourself and see some of my favorite looks from this collection.

[roseskiesandbutterflies]

Pain Is So Close To Pleasure (modern!Queen x platonic!reader) - Chapter 2

Summary: As a recently promoted Soloist for the Royal Ballet, you move closer to Covent Garden with your three-year-old daughter, Rose. But your new neighbour turns out to be the last person you'd expect to pop up on your doorstep.

A/N: This chapter, but really this whole fic, has such a specific vibe and I love it?? Like I can relate to a lot of the things I describe, and I don’t know if that’s a me thing, or a British thing, or just a thing. Anyways I’m here for it. And if you’re not British and don’t relate to this fic in the way I do, and you’ve wondered what it’s like to live in Britain, this might give you a rough idea.

The chapter count for this crept up again because I’ve had about two or three more ideas for this. I think now would be a good time to mention that I’m treating this as more of a load of one-shots set in the same verse, rather than a story with a plot. That’s why it will start to seem more like a series of vignettes, not as a storyline.

As always, I hope you’re all doing okay with everything that’s going on, and I hope to have another update for you all soon. I hope you enjoy!

Warning(s): swearing

Word Count: 3.3k+

Inspiration: Incandescent by @immistermercury on AO3, Outed by @platawnic on Tumblr, Rock Angel by @mirkwoodshewolf on Tumblr, Brian’s Instagram, Modern Times Rock ‘N’ Roll by @rhapso-kei on Tumblr and AO3, this silly lockdown business, the fact that I should have gone to see Queen over two weeks ago but it’s fine

Taglist: @bhmay @briarrose26

Series Taglist: @banana-tree-freddiemercury @lillycarlyn (darling you didn’t say which taglist so if you want me to put you on the perm one then let me know)

Ask to be on either! Make sure to specify!

You popped your head round the door to the studio and smiled to yourself when you found it void of people. You switched the lights on, the charcoal-grey clouds outside casting a darkness over the Opera House; uncharacteristic for midday, but then it was London, and it was February. You couldn’t expect too much from good old British weather.

It wasn’t often that you had the opportunity of having a studio all to yourself, so when you did, you simply had to make the most of it. The way your timetable for the day had worked out meant that you had a longer lunch break than everyone else, not by much, but fifteen minutes was more than enough time to go over a routine you’d crafted yourself. So, seeing as you could afford to eat later on, and everyone else was either in the canteen or some café in Covent Garden, you decided to book one of the studios for your own use.

You connected your phone to the mostly unused speaker in the corner of the room and quickly found the song. Time was of the essence here, and you were most conscious of that. You lightly ran to the centre of the room, making sure you weren’t facing the wall-length mirror for watching yourself dance made you rather self-conscious, replacing passion with technicality. This dance was your own, you had created it, cradled it, held it oh-so-close to your heart; unlike anything you’d ever done professionally, this dance was all about the enthusiasm and the love with which you danced.

Freddie’s voice rang out through the studio, clear as day and filling each and every particle with the richness of his voice. The singular note was soon accompanied by harmonies and then the familiar piano motif of Somebody To Love. You smiled despite yourself as you began the routine.

You promised yourself that one day you’d perform this to someone, even if it was just Rose. But that day was a long way off yet.

The way you danced was unlike how you had ever done so on stage. You performed with a vivacity that many dancers lost so early on in their careers when they valued the physical quality of their dancing over the raw emotion of it. You considered yourself quite lucky that you hadn’t yet surrendered to that particular temptation.

You considered this song to be a crescendo in and of itself, just building and building as its many layers unfolded. You’d made sure that this was reflected in the choreography. Each section was grander a more extravagant than the last. You quite liked the simultaneous challenge and familiarity of it; it made for a good dance to return to when you found your head overflowing with your thoughts and anxieties. You made more and more use of the space as the song progressed, like you were contained by an invisible circle that gradually grew.

When the third verse came around, and Freddie’s voice temporarily faded into silence, fooling the nonchalant listener into thinking it was the end, you had a second to pause. You used it to inhale deeply before starting the fouettés that accompanied the acapella. One, then another, then another, more, more, more until you genuinely thought you were going to fall over. You persevered, however, pushing through all forty of the turns, and even though by the end you wanted nothing more than to lay on the ground and watch the world spin, you couldn’t stop yourself from beaming because holy shit you’d never done them all before. You shook off the feeling, allowing yourself to revel in it later; right now, you had the rest of the dance to get through.

You breezed through the rest of it, the highest jeté seeming insignificant compared to the dizzying hell you’d just put yourself through. When everything quietened down once again, and Freddie faded back into his falsetto, you came to a still in the centre of the ‘stage’, going up on pointe and gradually raising one leg into the air so that it was parallel to your upper body and then to your face. When the music kicked in again, you dropped it back down and returned to your original flow. With the last tiny piano chord of the song, you did a cheeky little jump with the biggest grin on your face, before curtseying to your non-existent audience.

Or so you thought.

A slow clap sounded from the doorway and you whirled round to look at the intruder, blushing furiously with the embarrassment of being seen without knowing. Your smile made a comeback, however, when you recognised the face.

“Wow, that really was something, (Y/N),” Brian whistled, “I’m impressed, truly.”

“Thank you,” you ducked your head, panting heavily. Your muscles screamed with exhaustion, and even though you wanted to just lay down and maybe have a nap, you stayed strong, refusing to appear rude to Brian.

Somehow, he seemed to read your mind, “You can sit down, you must be knackered. Don’t mind me.”

You smiled at him gratefully before sinking down in the corner of the studio next to your bag and grabbing your water bottle with desperation. You gestured to the spot next to you which he took gladly. “How much of that did you see?”

“Pretty much all of it,” he laughed, “I was about pop in for a chat but I saw you put the song on, and I thought I might as well watch.”

“Gosh,” you muttered, beginning to take off your pointe shoes to relieve your aching feet. You’d had back-to-back classes all morning and doing a routine such as that one after all of that just didn’t help.

“I didn’t know you guys danced to non-classical music,” he said.

You managed to get one shoe off, and you started on the other one, wrinkling your nose at the quite frankly disgusting smell that Brian was politely showing no reaction to, “We don’t. Well, I haven’t heard of it anyway. Even if people did somewhere, it would be an awfully long time before the Royal started doing it.”

He shot you a confused look, “Then how…”

“It’s my dance. I choreographed it a while back,” you shrugged, not really understanding what the big deal was, “That’s probably the best run I’ve done of it.”

“Wow, I,” he ran a hand through his hair, “That looked like something from an actual ballet.”

You ducked your head again with the kind of embarrassed pride that comes with compliments, “Thanks, Brian, that means a lot. I only made it a while ago. I,” you laughed self-deprecatingly before saying, “I’d just done quite possibly the worst audition of my life, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how shit it was. So, I just freestyled to some of my favourite songs and that happened.”

“You just made that up?” he asked incredulously.

“It wasn’t nearly as good as it was just then. I’ve been working on it for months until it became what you just watched. It’s been my little side project,” you mused, shoving your phone and both of your pointe shoes into your ballet bag. You poked your head up and peered through the huge window on the opposite wall, cringing at the heavy rain and how that wasn’t a good mix with the non-waterproof trainers you were now putting on, “Oh, shit, I thought it wasn’t going to rain until later. I don’t think I packed my umbrella,” you said, forgetting about your shoes for a second and rifling through your bag.

Brian placed a hand on your arm, “Relax, I have one, we’ll just have to share, if that’s alright with you?”

“Thanks,” you looked at him gratefully before returning to doing your laces.

“Where are you going anyway? You haven’t finished work already, have you?”

“Oh, I wish,” you laughed sadly. You did love your job, but today was just one of those days where you had no energy and just wanted to cuddle up on the sofa with a cup of tea and a box of Quality Street chocolates all to yourself and binge watch Miranda on Netflix. “No, I didn’t bring any lunch with me, so I thought I’d have a look and see which cafes have free tables. You’re more than welcome to join me if you want.”

About five minutes later, you found yourself running through Covent Garden Market while it was hammering it down with rain, sharing an umbrella with Brian that was way too small for the both of you. You were trying your hardest not to slip on the shining cobblestones beneath your feet, while also trying not to knock into any other pedestrians who, like you, were also running for cover. It wasn’t long until you reached your destination, a café that was a favourite haunt of yourself and Rose. It served at Rose’s Friday treat after she had finished preschool for the day, when the weather wasn’t too good and you couldn’t go to the playground in St James’s Park. You also frequented it on bank holiday weekends or half-terms where you’d been in the flat for three days straight and were in desperate need of some fresh air but had absolutely nothing to do.

You held the door open for Brian, hearing the little bell ring when it came into contact with the door, and you grabbed the umbrella from him as he entered. You shook it rather aggressively outside and popped it into the bucket next to you, filled to the brim with the umbrella of fellow patrons who unluckily got caught in the rain and had dived into the nearest establishment for sanctuary. You made your way to the only free table left while Brian queued up to order your food and drinks.

This wasn’t actually the first time you two had done this, though it was the third. The first time had been rather awkward, as from the second you put your shoes on to leave to the second you said goodbye, you were both repeatedly stopped by people wanting to talk to Brian. And even though neither of you ever complained, you had later admitted to each other that you had found it rather annoying. The second time wasn’t as bad, though at one point you had been stopped by a guy from some tabloid you’d never heard of asking for an interview. Much to your amusement, and Brian’s embarrassment, the guy had actually been looking to talk to you instead of him. You’d politely declined, offering to do it another time, but as soon as you’d sat down to eat, you teased Brian mercilessly about it, and still did every now and then. All it took was for you to say Brian look I’m more famous than you for him to blush furiously and ask you to please change the subject. Considering this was the third time now, the initial shock of oh my God I’m just casually having lunch with Brian May this is fine had passed. Now it was merely having lunch with a friend. Just that that friend just so happened to be an international icon. No big deal.

You looked up to see Brian making his way over to you, carrying a tray of food, and you smiled when you noticed that he’d remembered from last time when you’d told him what, in your opinion, was the best food this particular café had to offer. He sat down opposite you and plonked the tray down on the table, as you both started to work out who’s food and drink was who’s.

“How’s work been this week?” he opened up the conversation as he stirred his latte that had fake milk in it because I don’t know if their milk is locally sourced, (Y/N)!

“Not too bad, actually,” you said, taking a sip of your own drink and cringing when it scalded your tongue, “We’re just in our last week of rehearsals for The Winter’s Tale right now. Someone got injured on Tuesday, and our first performance is next Tuesday, so that’s not exactly ideal. But we’ll get through it, it’ll be fine, I’m sure,” you shrugged. The show must go on, you supposed. Pun not intended.

“Listen, (Y/N),” he started, his more serious tone intriguing you already, “I need to talk to you about something.”

You nodded slowly, “Okay…” You weren’t all too sure where he was going with this, and it was impossible to tell if the news he was about to impart was good or bad.

“I know this is very sudden, and there’s no guarantee that this will even happen, but I thought I’d ask you first,” he rambled for a moment.

“What, what are you on about?” you laughed impatiently.

He took a deep breath and said, “I have a business proposition for you.”

**************

The after-school pick-me-up was carnage at the best of times, let alone on a Friday which also just so happened to be the last day of half-term. Parents crowding around the doorway, desperate to reunite with their child and careless of who they had to shove out of their way in order to reach them. Children spilled out of the school, arms full of lunch boxes and month-old paintings that were meant to be rainbows and dragons but resembled something similar to an oil spill. Teachers waved goodbye with the odd word to the overly concerned parent, not-so-secretly relieved that their week off was edging closer, and hurrying everyone off because the sooner they left, the sooner half-term started. Something which parents had very split feelings over.

Not for you, however. You were more than happy to get Rose to yourself for the week, finding the flat way too still and silent and void of a child’s laughter for you to find remotely comfortable. And even though half-term would always mean a busy show week for you due to the sheer amount of families desperately needing something to do, you were still grateful for the time you got together. That may or may not be because you had spent the far majority of your adult life being a parent, but you weren’t complaining.

As per usual, you heard Rose’s shout long before you saw her face, but you decided that you wouldn’t have it any other way when you saw her run straight towards, “Mummy!”

You crouched down and hugged her tightly when she collided into your arms, almost overbalancing from the sheer force of it, “Hello, darling, did you have a good day?”

She pulled away and grinned at you, “Yeah! We had a dance party and we played games and we played musical chairs and I won and I got some chocolate!”

“Oh, wow, that’s really good Rose, well done you,” you bopped her nose and turned to the things she was holding, “What’s all this?”

She thrust a piece of sugar paper under your nose, “I did a glitter painting yesterday and it’s dry now! It has every colour in the whole world!”

You took it from her and looked at it, pretending to inspect it like a pretentious artist and putting on the poshest voice possible, “Well, I do think it’s rather splendid, if I do say so myself. Absolutely spiffing.”

She dissolved into giggles, “Mummy, you’re silly.”

You gasped in mock offence as you took her hand and started to lead her out of the crowd, “Excuse me, I’m not silly! I’m a very serious grown-up, don’t you know?”

“I don’t want to be a grown-up! Grown-ups are boring. I want to be little forever and ever and ever.”

“I’m a grown-up, do you think I’m boring?” you asked.

“Only sometimes,” she said very seriously, “Only when you talk about boring grown-up stuff.”

You chuckled slightly, “What about Rog and Bri? Are they boring?”

She laughed again as if you’d just said the funniest thing she’d heard all day, “No! They’re fun because they give me ice cream and they think of really good games,” she paused for a second, “Mummy, are we going to the park today?”

“Well, it is Friday so if you want to go then we’ll go. It is a very sunny day today,” you said, frowning when you noticed Rose’s face, “What’s up, sweetheart?”

She pouted as if deep in thought, “I don’t think I want to go today.”

“It’s perfectly alright if you don’t want to, darling. It’s half-term next week so we can always go another day,” you assured her, “Why don’t you want to go?”

“I feel a bit tired,” she said sheepishly, “I don’t want to fall asleep on the swings and fall off!”

“Oh, baby,” you said, heart swelling with the simultaneous silliness and adorableness of her logic, “I’d catch you before you fall, don’t worry. But we can go home if you want. We’ll find something else for your Friday treat.”

Her eyes lit up, “Can we have cookies? The nice ones with the big chocolate bits?”

“Good idea, darling, we can have cookies,” you did a quick mental run-through of what your biscuit tin was looking like at the moment and said, “I don’t think we have any of those ones at home so we’ll stop off at the bakery on the way home.”

“Yay!” she squealed before singing, “We’re having cookies! We’re having cookies!”

Rose spent the entire journey home singing that song, and even though you wanted nothing more than to never hear that tune again, you wouldn’t dare burst her bubble of joy. Besides, you didn’t think you could tell her to stop if you tried; she really was that cute. Or maybe you just told yourself that, so you didn’t feel like a terrible parent. You guessed you would never know. At least the lady who worked at the bakery found it endearing that a child could be that excited for something as relatively simple as cookies.

By the time you’d shoved the key in the door and the two of you had spilled into your flat, it was around half past four and Rose was positively exhausted, despite her best attempts to look and sound awake. You’d decided to have the cookies with some milk you’d warm up once you’d sorted out Rose’s stuff and gotten her changed from her long day at preschool. Then you just supposed you’d have some cuddles, and, with any luck, she’d fall asleep because the poor girl really needed it.

You put the radio on in the background before snuggling down on the sofa with her comfortably in your lap and your favourite honey-golden blanket draped over the both of you.

“I love you, Mummy,” she murmured against your chest before nibbling on the cookie that was bigger than her hand.

“I love you too, baby,” you said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and feeling her snuggle in more, as if that was even possible. You suddenly remembered your lunch with Brian, and the news you needed to impart, “I had lunch with Bri today,” you started, feeling her nod and carrying on, “He had a very cool idea, darling.”

“What was it?” she whispered, large, curious eyes looking up at you.

“He asked me if I wanted to work on a film, and I said yes,” you smiled, watching her face light up with the muted excitement that was usually paired with some element of confusion.

“A film? Is it a big film? Like Tangled?” she asked, suddenly much livelier than before.

“Yes, sweetheart, a bit like Tangled, except there’s going to be real people in it instead of animated people,” you explained.

“What’s the film about?” she was getting more curious by the second and it just made your heart leap with pride.

“It’s about the band that Rog and Bri are in, darling. It’s the story of how they got famous,” you grinned.

“Who are you in it?”

“Ooooooh, I couldn’t possibly tell you that yet, I’ve got to keep it a secret,” you said judiciously, smiling when she pouted at you, “I’ll tell you another day, sweetheart, don’t you worry.”

“Promise?” she asked hopefully.

You brought her into a hug again and whispered, “Promise.”

[gussolomonsjrtest]

LIMÓN DANCE COMPANY

The Limón Dance Company has survived the death of its founder for more than forty years, supplementing its José Limón and Doris Humphrey repertory with dances by Lar Lubovitch, Doug Varone, Donald McKayle, Susanne Linke, Meredith Monk, Jiri Kilian, and others. One new dance in this Joyce Theater season, May 29-June 2, is by the company’s new artistic director Colin Connor, a New York premiere, and the other is a world premiere by dancer and choreographer Francesca Harper, who performed notably with Dance Theater of Harlem and William Forsythe’s troupe in Europe.

The current dancers of the company are adept at the emotional expressivity of Limón’s dances, which was the performing mode of the era when they were created and that his pieces require – “The Moor’s Pavane (Variations on a theme of Othello”), which has never left the repertory, and “Psalms” an excerpt of a dance from 1967, which was restaged in 2002 by Limón’s successor as  company director, Carla Maxwell.

(l-r): Terrence D.M. Diable and Frances Samson in Colin Connor’s THE WEATHER IN THE ROOM. photo by Christopher Jones

Connor’s “The Weather in the Room” happily features two mature leading dancers as The Couple – Miki Orihara, from the Martha Graham Dance Company, and Stephen Pier, a former dancer with companies like The Royal Danish and Hamburg Ballet, as well as the José Limón Dance Company. They portray a couple whose relationship is weathering an emotional storm. They sit adjacent each other, he in a suit and dress shirt in a straight-backed chair, she in a flowing red dress on a boudoir stool (costume design by Krista Dowson.)

Guest artists Miki Orihara and Stephen Pier in Colin Connor’s THE WEATHER IN THE ROOM. photo by Christopher Jones

After the opening duet that reveals a failure to communicate; they dance past each other in a claustrophobic “room,” defined by the carpet they’re restricted to. They are alone together. This introduction has potential to develop dramatically, as The Weather in the bodies of six dancers enter like a Greek chorus, symbolizing the frigid emotional temperature. The women wear delicate slips and the men are in light gray jeans. They’re bare-chested, which seems gratuitous in this context; plain shirts would have more aptly reinforced the couple’s emotional distance from each other. And when the couple begins to dance the same movement as the youths, the gravitas of the pair dissipates, and we become distractingly aware of the age disparity. The couple ends up in the opening positions, rotated 90-degree, but we’re not sure how their journey has changed them.

(l-r): Lauren Twomley, Jesse Obremski, and Jacqueline Bulnes in Francesca Harper’s RADICAL BEASTS OF THE FOREST. photo courtesy of The Limon Company

“Radical Beasts in the Forest of Possibilities” is Harper’s dance, made with the dancers. The music is composed and performed live by jazz artist Nona Hendryx, improvising with voice and piano. Costumes are by avant garde designer Epperson – tones of gray with colorful linings on the women’s dresses that make the cast resemble a band of outcasts, who seem to harbor some unspoken rage – and restlessly dramatic lighting by Christopher Chambers reinforces the agitation of the movement.

(l-r): Jacqueline Bulnes, Mark Willis, and David Glista in RADICAL BEASTS OF THE FOREST. photo courtesy of The Limon Company

The dance begins with a man, lit by a woman with a flashlight – an effect overused in modern dances, and here the light is too small and too piercing to make the device theatrically effective. The piece progresses with the kind of restless aggressiveness, intended to gin up our emotions, but all the running in and out that substitutes for transitions, and the random iteration of gestural motifs feel gratuitous, as if the dance had not yet found its path through the Forest of Possibilities or specified the emotional journeys of the characters. The work feels rather like a catalog of ideas in search of structural organization. Perhaps another viewing would render it less opaque. But since the dancers’ contributions give them ownership of the material, they perform it with an abandon not seen elsewhere in the program.  

The company does the two Limón works skillfully, highlighting the expressive power he always strove for. His classic “The Moor’s Pavane (Variations on a theme of Othello)” is one of his most memorable and beloved dances. In this rendition, the women – Savannah Spratt as The Moor’s Wife, Jacqueline Bulnes as His Friend’s Wife – and Mark Willis as The Moor – are dramatically convincing; tall, muscularly powerful Jesse Obremski dances the role of The Friend with a youthfulness that misses the requisite deviousness, malice, and enviousness that would believably drive The Moor to murder himself and his Wife. All four are technically secure, opening night jitters notwithstanding.

The compositional construction of the ballet remains pristine, using the structure of Henry Purcell’s music, arranged by Simon Sadoff, and the form of the eponymous 16th century court dance. The ballet schematically depicts the interactions and relationships among the leading characters in Shakespeare’s “Othello” (whom Limón does not specifically name), capturing the prevailing emotions without the nuance of text. It remains a choreographic masterpiece.

“Psalm (Excerpt)” (1967), reconstructed in 2002 by Maxwell with a new score by Jon Magnussen, directed and staged here by rehearsal director Logan Frances Kruger, brings the program to a climactic close. Its symbolic characters are The Just Man (David Glista), Expiatory Figures (Savannah Spratt and Frances Samson), and Psalmists (the company.) The movement is passionate, angular, awkward even, with elbows and knees bent in trudging steps, curved arms framing the head, side leaps with arms raised or with elbows jutting forward. Hands clasped on heads, they stride in lunges, twisting their torsos side to side. The movement is often striking, although its stilted design stifles its kinetic flow.

Artists of The LImón Company in his PSALM (EXCERPT). photo by Douglas Cody

The vigor and rigor of “Psalm” are reminiscent of the energy of Martha Graham’s amazing political dances for her all female company in the 30s – “Steps in the Street” and “Chronicle.” Unison passages in tight formations are strikingly synchronized and the quick leaping patterns dynamically devour space, supported beautifully by Magnussen’s strident, percussive score for orchestra and vocal chorus. The group circles the hero, women traveling one way, men the other. Small groups lift and carry him, filling the space with motion and energy, and finally all hoist him aloft. And as this conflicted central figure, Glista’s enthusiastically committed performance throughout is riveting.

Gus Solomons jr, © 2019

[mommyofmanyhats]

Top 24 Unique and Easy Couples Halloween Costume Ideas

If you are planning on going to a Halloween party or event with your spouse, significant other, sibling, or bestie, you may be looking for a costume. These are some of this Mom’s favorite couples Halloween costume ideas, the deviled egg is my first choice.

Funny Couples Halloween Costume Ideas

Are you the funny couple? Do you like to make your friends laugh or are you always pulling pranks? Here are some of our favorite funny couple Halloween costume ideas.

Bacon and Eggs

Who doesn’t like bacon and eggs? This is a super fun costume that is perfect for any two people. It is not necessarily themed for a couple, so you can wear it with a friend, parent, child, or co-worker. Both of the costumes are about 16 inches high and fit the average adult as a one-size-fits-all costume. These can also be used with teens.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Couples Costume

One of the top couple’s costumes on last year was the peanut butter and jelly set so I thought it was worth a mention again this year. These are unisex costumes, so anyone can wear the Halloween costumes. One of them contains an oversized peanut butter bread slice as the costume, while the other one has a jelly bread slice.

Wine and Cheese Set

We’ve been told that the best way to make a good impression at a tony party is to bring along a tasteful wine and cheese pairing. If you are looking for a fun adult’s couple costume, consider going as a wine and cheese set. And we don’t see how anybody could do better than this hilarious costume set, which lets everyone know just how much you and your partner hope they enjoy the hors d’oeuvres! This is another one-size-fits-all adult costume set, this time where one of you is the shape of a wine bottle and the other is shaped like a cheese platter with a large inflatable knife.

Nerd Couple

Nerds can be shy, socially awkward, and dress strangely, but you know what else they can do? Party! Don’t believe us? Take this Nerdy Nerd Costume for a spin, and you’ll feel the geeky partying spirit before you can recite the number pi to the 100th digit! (Which is a 9, btw. Thanks, Google!)  Dressing up in this classic nerd style costume costume is a good step toward embracing your own inner nerd. Several options are available for men nerds and women nerds alike.

Mr and Mrs Potato Head Costume

  There are always some big questions lingering over common items and practices, and Mr. Potato Head is nearly at the top of the list! Who was the first to think of making molded pieces of a face to adorn your boring old potato? That’s not where the Potato Head questions end, either. Who decided that this newly anthropomorphic potato man needed a wife? And who came up with the idea that his rear end was to be storage for said parts. We may never know, but in the end, we’re glad they thought of it. This Mr and Mrs Potato Head Costume will be a blast from the past. We just hope you’re not plagued with an existential crisis when you’re supposed to be partying.

Plug and Socket Costume

In the vast world of domestic hardware and fixtures, you’d be hard pressed to find two things more perfectly designed for each other than the electrical plug and socket. Without each other, plugs and sockets are just spare parts in separate bins; but when you put them together, the magic happens! It may sound sappy, but when you and your sweetie are wearing this cute Plug and Socket Costume together, you’ll feel that magic too!

Now, when we’re talking about the “magic” of the plug and socket in this couple’s costume, all the stuff we just said still applies, except we’re trying not to giggle while we say it. You and your special someone can wear these costumes to show everyone how perfectly you go together! Or, you can wear them to an electrician’s convention and see how many awkward looks you can get from people. If that sounds like fun, then you two really are made for each other!

Oreo Cookie Couples Costume

Do you two finish each other’s. . . sandwiches? When you two split a piece of pie does one of you prefer the crust while the other loves the filling? It’s not often that the heart and the stomach align allowing the perfect snack pack to come together. If you’re looking for an edible take on the classic couples costume this Oreo ensemble won’t disappoint.

Cookies and cream have been a classic combo long before the Oreo. How beautiful that two chocolate cookies get to be together until the crunchy and delicious end. People have been craving that creamy crunch since we were living in caves. In fact, while some paleontologists have argued that the circle motif stands for the circle of life, many have hypothesized that cave drawings depicting a circle within a circle were rudimentary designs for the early Oreo.

Deviled Eggs

This is by far my favorite couples Halloween costume idea this year. I mean, who doesn’t love eggs? There are so many ways to eat your eggs; fried, poached, hard-boiled, scrambled, sunny side up, and… DEVILED! A devil costume and this egg are sure to give you one of the punniest costumes at the party. Just don’t forget, everyone also loves a good egg pun, so don’t be shy to use this as an opportunity to crack a few yolks.

Gru and Minion Couples Costumes

As we found out with the smash hit Minions, the little yellow guys of Despicable Me fame have served many masters over the years. But we still think they work best with Gru! Pair this Minion costume and Gru costume together, and you’ll be a pair of truly despicable characters for your couples theme. In fact, you’ll probably be ready to pull off a major heist at your big Halloween get-together, or attend a ballet recital.

  Famous Couple Halloween Costume Ideas

There are famous couples throughout history, why not celebrate them this Halloween. From bad guys to good guys to real life couples, there are plenty of choices in our famous couples Halloween costume ideas.

Joker and Harley Quinn

Two of Gotham’s famous villains, Harley Quinn and the Joker, have a relationship based on love or, uh… insanity! If you are in the mood for causing a little trouble or making people squirm with a truly demented sense of humor, then this pair of Batman villains might be perfect couples look for you. With these authentic DC Comics inspired costumes, you’ll be ready to go toe to toe with the Bat… but just a little bit of advice, you might want to be prepared to get locked up in Arkham Asylum afterwards! These costume choices running the gamut from scary to sexy, we’ve got a Joker look and a Harley look that are sure to let you put your style stamp on this Gotham City couple.

Captain America and the Black Widow

The Marvel Cinematic Universe film series is still churning out movie after movie of fast paced Avengers action. I think any pair of Avengers costumes would be a great fit for a heroic minded couple, but Captain America and the Black Widow are definitely the male/female couple that would kick the most party butt! We also have female versions of the Iron Man and Captain America costumes, so any woman can be the superhero of her choosing. Coordinate your Marvel look with your costume partner, and get ready to help save the world!

Superman and Wonder Woman

Officially, Wonder Woman and Superman are just “really good friends,” but they are a fan favorite couple nevertheless. We sure think that makes it pretty hard to resist a night in the shoes of the Amazing Amazonian and the Man of Steel! Hit the town as this superhuman power couple, and you won’t even need the rest of Justice League to help save the day. Coordinate one of our fantastic Wonder Woman looks with any of our authentic Superman costumes for a great time. (Just don’t forget your golden lasso!)

Dottie Hinson and Coach Jimmy Dugan

“You’re gonna lose, you’re gonna lose!” Not with these costumes! Our authentic League of Their Own costumes will give you the perfect combination of classic, fun, and nostalgia. You can be Coach Jimmy Dugan and Dottie Hinson for the working couple that’s always butting heads, or coordinate Dottie and her sister Kit Keller for a same sex costume duo. Just accessorize your costume looks with a pair of gloves, and you’ll be ready to hit the field or locker room. Just remember, “There’s no crying in baseball!” OR at Halloween parties.

Forrest Gump and Jenny

Forrest Gump may not be the smartest man, but he is very wise (especially when he decided to invest in Apple in the 80s). Ever since he and Jenny were little kids he knew they belonged together. The exclusive Forrest Gump costume pairs perfectly with any of these hippie costume to recreate the characters from the classic film. Because if there’s one thing we know about Forrest and Jenny? They go together like “shrimp and grits.” And that’s all we have to say about that.

Captain Morgan and Coke

Okay maybe not a famous couple, but the definately go great together. It’s one of the most popular cocktails, the classic Captain and Coke, and it can make its appearance in more than one way on Halloween night. Pick up a Captain Hook costume and transform the look into Captain Morgan himself. When paired with this Coke bottle costume, you’re sure to have the best couples Halloween costume at the party. (Bonus points if you can figure out how to lug that barrel around all night lol.) Cheers, mate!

Bonnie and Clyde

Grab your pair of Tommyguns and you might just become the new Bonnie and Clyde! Hopefully not really though… it’s just pretend! You know you’d love to hop into a time machine and head back to the roaring 20s, but the next best thing is going in one of our fantastic Gangster and Flapper couple’s looks! There is a wide selection of flapper costumes on the web, so you’ll be able to pick out a style, cut, and color that will complement your gangster guy perfectly.

Captain Hook and Tinkerbell

For a fun look why not go as the delightfully wicked Captain Hook and the effervescent Tinkerbell as your couples costume combo! You can play these classic characters like they appeared in Disney animated films or even in live action films like Hook and Pan. These two are usually adversaries, but we’re sure any couple will have a delightfully magical time. Have a little one you will be dragging along, they can be your little crock! Pixie dust unfortunately is not included.

Mario and Luigi

I’m a child of the 80s and a huge Super Mario Brother fan. So this duo may not be a couple, but definitely are an iconic pair.  With female versions of both Luigi and Mario, you can choose which character you want to be, and make your date the other half of this dynamic duo. You might not get a chance to transport to the Mushroom Kingdom from your party, but we recommend being ready for Koopas and Goombas to try and crash the scene anyways! If nothing else you’ll have fun humming the theme song all night long. Doo doo doo.

BamBam and Pebbles

The Flintstones are all grown up now, go as Pebbles and Bamm Bamm. Perhaps you know them from the old cartoon, or perhaps you know them better as those weirdly addicting chewable vitamins, but either way you know they are a classic! As young adult versions of these classic animated characters, you’ll finally be able to get the modern stone age family out of Bedrock and find yourself a proper place to party. Yabba-dabba-doo!

Where’s Waldo?

“Where’s Waldo?” Well there are two of them over there, and I’ve never seen stripes look so good! Consider going as one of the most popular looks when you coordinate a Waldo and Wenda costume together. We have to imagine Waldo gets pretty lonely out in the crowd. So we’re sure he’ll be glad to have his girlfriend Wenda along. You can pick one of these Where’s Waldo costume options for men and women to make sure your couple’s look is spot on.

Other Great Couples Halloween Costume Ideas

Couple costumes are so much fun, but you don’t to be a famous couple to winner the contest. Something clever like zombies, egyptians or characters from the same movie can also be a hit pair. So explore some more of this moms couples Halloween costume ideas and find something you both will love.

Zombie Couple Costumes

Fan of AMC’s The Walking Dead? Pick your favorite zombi and embrace your inner killer. What better time than the present to go as zombies for your couple’s costume? You can be a lovelorn pair of the undead, destined to spend the rest of their reanimated days together in search of fresh flesh. Mmmmmmm. Coordinate any of these zombie looks with your partner to create a couple’s look that’s simply to die for. Just be on the lookout for a crossbow wielding biker dude or a certain sheriff!

Renaissance Themed Costumes

With hit shows like Game of Thrones and Vikings, Renaissance themed costumes are at an all-time height of popularity. Except maybe back when they weren’t even a costume and people dressed like that every day! Whether you prefer fire and ice, or the sharp blade of an axe, there are tons of Renaissance themed costumes that will be the perfect fit. Head to the Ren Fest and have some mead, because whichever costume look you choose, it’s sure to be just downright medieval! Pair up as a warrior and a shield maiden, a king and a princess, or even as just a pair of twisted court jesters.

Greek Themed Costumes

With Greek men’s and women’s costumes, you can be a pair of wise philosophers, Spartan warriors, or even gods like Zeus and Hera! Classical Greece is responsible for many of the foundations of Western Culture. So what better way to do a throwback look than by going way, way back!  With robe based tunics and togas, these are some of the most comfortable costume looks to wear, and I love to be comfy. And you have to admit, it’s pretty fun to spend your night being worshiped as a god! Just bring plenty of grapes to feed each other.

Egyptian Couple

There are a variety of goddess, pharaoh, and even mummy costumes, so you can choose your Egyptian historical pair of choice for your couples theme. These blast from-the-past looks are sure to have you feeling like historic royalty! What better way to command respect at a party than by making a grand entrance as Cleopatra and a pharaoh. Rule the Nile as some of the top historical figures when you coordinate an Egyptian look for your costume duo.

Perfectly Accessorize Your Couples Halloween Costume Ideas

Don’t forget to pair up these great costumes with great accessories. The right Halloween costume makeup can make or break a costume, and costume contest. From clowns to zombie, you’ll want to finish the outfit off right.

If you are really looking to get the perfect look and win your couples Halloween costume contest, then every little detail matters. Contacts can really finish your look. The mummy eyes, witch eyes, even web eyes can really complete your scary look.

Other Halloween Costume Ideas

If you are still looking for inspiration past our couples Halloween costume ideas, check out some of our other Halloween ideas. This mom covers everything from costumes to planning the perfect Halloween party.

Top 16 Funny Mens Halloween Costumes

Top 29 Easy Scary Halloween Costumes to Scare Your Socks Off

Halloween Food Ideas: 18 of the Spookiest Treats and Drinks

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