"Aquamarine" - Circus of the Dancing Fountains - - June 28, 2016

Circus performance in Moscow

Elisa, my American friend, invited me to go to this circus with her, so I decided to go and invited my friend Shirly also!

 One never knows what to expect with this sort of thing, so it was another adventure. First, Shirly & I met Elisa & Kaya at the metro and then we walked to the chain restaurant called Yakitoria. Thanks to Elisa for navigating and getting us both to the restaurant and the circus venue!

The venue itself was not that impressive...kind of run down and tired, but we arrived just in time for the show to begin. 4 ladies were in our seats, so we had to kick them out. 

The show begins with some clowns who do a silly little skit (in Russian, of course) and because it's meant for children, I actually understood most of it! lol I was a little concerned about it containing animals as I feel very sad for animals thinking that they will be treated badly. Unfortunately, there were some monkeys and some dogs and the dog trainer, in particular, was cruel to the dogs who weren't performing the way he wanted them to...he was choking them with a wire leash to get them to do what he wanted them to do...I didn't like it one bit. I loved seeing the monkeys and dogs, but don't want to see them having to perform because they don't seem to want to do it and don't seem happy. Ok, enough of that...the rest of the show was interesting. They switched back and forth between an ice rink with skaters to a mat for other performers such as a high wire act, acrobats, jugglers, magic, etc. They were very good at what they do and the show was enjoyable (although kind of long at 2.5 hours because of a long intermission - 35 min.- there were games, cotton candy, pony rides, etc. during the intermission, so it's understandable, but if you don't have young children, it's just a long intermission). 

Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening. I left the apartment at 4:50 pm and returned home at 10:20 pm to my sleeping husband.

My photos did not turn out as I had hoped, kind of blurry, so forgive me for that, but you get the idea.

The silly clowns that the children loved. I enjoyed hearing the children giggle over these two characters.

This seemed like a family of jugglers. They were simply amazing how coordinated they were and never dropped one single baton.

A good view of the fountains and some of the costumes

The "monkeys"... I know, there are different species, but I don't know what they're called. You can just barely see their little leash to keep them from running off into the audience I guess!

This little guy was good and the trainer seemed to be good with them.

A monkey playing the drums.... not a sight you see ever day.

This acrobatic lady was wonderful. No safety net for her!

This trapeze artist was talented. She went from the swinging bar directly to the loops with just her feet! So daring, coordinated and strong!

For this dude I didn't capture the "before" because I was just too disturbed by it! He got the usual at first with his hand chained and then chains wrapped around him and locked, but THEN they wrapped him in saran wrap! His entire body and even his face/head! I forgot to take a picture. They then put him in this bag and dumped him head-first into the water. After what seemed like at least 5 minutes from the time they wrapped his face in saran wrap, he broke free, thankfully!

Breaking free...

Here's the evil dog trainer...doesn't he even look a little deranged? The dogs were very good staying in their "school desks" and dancing, counting, erasing the chalk board, but I don't like to see this sort of thing unless the dog is treated really well and likes doing it ... but in this case, dogs were scared of the trainer.

This is a cute picture. Is that dog at the back of the class dyed orange or is it his natural colour?? Not sure.

 

1st visit to a doctor in Moscow... June 27, 2016

Doctor's Appointment

Well, we finally experienced going to the doctor in Moscow. It's never the same in another country as it is going to a doctor in Canada, so I was ready for the adventure.

Just for the story's sake, I will give you a brief history of why we went in the first place. Craig was nauseous and dizzy one day and wanted to know why. I had been having chest pain for a week and wanted to rule out anything serious.

Monday morning, Craig called the European Medical Centre (EMC) and we both were given appointments that same day with two different doctors. An embassy driver drove us to the centre and through the reception desk we were guided to the 2nd and 4th floor. It's a very modern looking building, clean and organized looking. That was nice to see! 

We each filled out the necessary paperwork, signing our lives away (it was in Russian and English) regarding all the policies and payment, etc. One interesting thing they asked for is a password so that if they call me, I have to give that password so they know they are talking to the patient. After filling out the paperwork I was told to go to room 216. The door was closed, so I knocked and walked in to an empty exam room. My mistake was closing the door behind me. About 5 minutes later, the doctor walks in with another woman! I learned later that if the door is open, there is someone waiting in there for him. So, I was told to wait outside for a minute and I think it was literally 1 minute before the other lady was done and I was brought back into the office with the doctor. He was a young, serious man. He spoke English, but with a VERY heavy accent. He asked me what was wrong, I told him the story and he did his thing including taking my blood pressure and listening to my breathing through the stethoscope. After the exam, he said he didn't think it was anything to be concerned about - just strain on the cartilage (I think that's what he said), but to rule anything serious out, he wanted to take a chest x-ray and EKG. I said "right now?", he said, yes, "immediately".

It was all very efficient. His assistant escorted us (because at this point, Craig was done his exam by his doctor - he's fine :) ) directly to the radiology area not far away. I waited about 3 minutes and then they brought me in for the x-ray. The Radiologist and assistant did not speak English, but really, how much do they need to say? I followed their motions of what to do! The other assistant came back right away and escorted me to where I would have the EKG (which was the "emergency" area). I'm hooked up to the machine, the report prints out right there and then I head back to the doctor's office. Within a couple of minutes, he is there (he has to get the EKG printout) and we go back into his office. He tells me that everything on the x-rays looks very normal and same with the EKG. Yay! For each procedure, they give you two pieces of paper with the procedure and the cost. You take these pieces of paper (one copy is mine, one goes to the cashier) to the KASSA (payment booth). Each of our visits cost about the same (although I had a lot more done) - RUB25000 (ish) each - which is the equivalent of $500 Canadian. So, after about 1 hour total being at the Centre, $1000. Being Canadian, I had no idea what it was going to cost, but Craig called it bang on! We will get reimbursed for this cost, but we pay it up front at the time the service is provided.

So, I was very impressed with the service we received and the sheer speed with which my x-ray and EKG were performed! Back in Canada, those tests, the results and a 2nd doctor appointment would have taken months to accomplish and here it was done all within an hour! Amazing. I guess that's the difference when you are paying directly for the care. It was a really positive experience that put me at ease. In an emergency situation, who knows. Although, a Canadian just told me yesterday about her experience being poisoned by some water that sat for a very long time and how she could have died if not for the very swift medical care she received. Good to know!

The next day, I received a text on my phone saying the x-ray report was ready! Fast!

 

No pictures... guess I could have taken some, but I didn't even think of it! 

Moiseyev Ballet Company

Igor Alexandrovich Moiseyev

This move seemed particularly difficult as we watched them rehearse it....not just the move, but the landing. In this picture, the guy holding the material does not appear to be helping much! lol When we saw it performed it seemed the helper was working hard also. Here they are making it look pretty easy! :)

WOW! What a very unique experience!  Through the American Women's Organization (AWO) and with my friend Elisa I was able to experience a rare opportunity to be up close and personal during a rehearsal at the famous Moiseyev Ballet / Dance Company! They do not normally allow visitors here. When we all walked into the building and saw these young dancers walking the hallways we all stood up a little straighter because that's what you notice, their amazing posture!

Sitting in Moiseyev's office, we were given some background information about the company from the current Artistic Director, Elena Shcherbakova. She is a very charismatic woman who was also a dancer - taught by Moiseyev. We were told not to take photos or videos so the pictures above are from the www.moiseyev.ru website. However, the lady beside me defied these rules, so I gave her my card and asked her to send them to me! :)  The above pictures are very much like the rehearsal we saw. I thought we would be sitting in a theatre setting while they were up on a stage, but we were given chairs and we sat along the mirrored wall right in the rehearsal studio! Amazing! I absolutely loved it! To be so close to the dancers, to see the little smiles and looks the dancers gave each other, to see their struggles and accomplishments, it truly was a unique experience that I will always remember! Some unexpected observations:

* They poured some water directly on the wood floor and then rubbed their shoes in it - for traction?
* They all were dressed in black. Although not in the costumes, it still makes for a unified cast visually for rehearsal.
* Unfortunately, during one part of the rehearsal a girl was kicked hard in the face by a male dancer, but she was back dancing not long after. The show must go on! :)
* It's Russia, I expected very strict instructors with lots of yelling. There was none of that. It seemed to be a very supportive environment. The dancers supported one another and the instructors were encouraging. Yes, they made them do things over, but that's striving for perfection.
*The athleticism of these young (and some not so young) dancers was truly impressive. It was a hot day and all of us spectators were hot just sitting there watching them, so I can imagine how they felt. There was no air conditioning, just a few open windows.

I believe they said the company has about 150 dancers total. New up and coming dancers can only audition every 5 years. That sucks if you are not the right age (13-14) when audition time comes around and you miss the chance to join the company.

Some of the dances we witnessed include the Spanish Dance, Korean Dance, Dance of the Kazan Tatars and the Naval Suite.

Pictures we were allowed to take:

They've been all over the world performing - even in Canada - and are always presented with gifts that fill Moiseyev's office.

The studio we were in

In Moiseyev's office before the rehearsal. You can see some of the gifts presented to him after performances from around the world.

Left: Our guide, Anna, Right: The Artistic Director Eleana. I love her smile as it really shows in her eyes. I think she would be a very interesting lady to get to know.

Us with some of the dancers afterwards

 

(below, excerpts from Wikipedia.org)

Igor Alexandrovich Moiseyev (Russian: Игорь Александрович Моисеев; January 21, 1906 –  November 2, 2007) has been widely acclaimed as the greatest 20th-century choreographer of character dance, a dance style similar to folk dance but with more professionalism and theatrics.

Born in Kiev, the only child of a Russian lawyer and a French-Romanian seamstress. His family lived in Paris until he was 8, and throughout his life he spoke to Western journalists in fluent French.^[1] Moiseyev graduated from the Bolshoi Theatre ballet school in 1924 and danced in the theatre until 1939. His first choreography in the Bolshoi was Footballer in 1930 and the last was Spartacus in 1954.
Since the early 1930s, he staged acrobatic parades on Red Square and finally came up with the idea of establishing the Theatre of Folk Art. In 1936, Vyacheslav Molotov put him in charge of the new dance company, which has since been known as the Moiseyev Ballet.

http://www.moiseyev.ru/