Independence Day, 2021 Some reflections after a walk in Winnemac Park The Walk I live near Winnemac Park on Chicago's North side, a forty-acre jewel that has five baseball diamonds, a soccer field, a prairie reconstruction, a children's play-lot and some community gardens. It is bordered by Chappell Elementary School on the West and Amundsen High School on the East. (None of the Chappel kids wear full armor to school and most of the Amundsen kids are not blond Swedes despite the Chappel "Knight" mascot and the Amundsen "Viking" mascot.) There are apparently no descendants of knights or vikings around to object to cultural appropriation, so for the moment the mascots are secure in their sinecures. The park also features Jorndt Field, a football field with an artificial surface believed to have a capacity of 6,000 spectators. (I was unable to find a definitive answer to this question using Google.) By walking around the edges of the park and making a back
Joffrey's Bolero Performing arts companies are stressed into creative innovation even more than usual during the Covid panic of 2020–21. One of the best responses has been by Chicago's Joffrey Ballet. As evidence, I offer this 19-minute new work recently published by the Joffrey on YouTube. The replay of the February 27th world premier will be available on YouTube through March 1, 2021 according to the most recent information I have. Joffrey Ballet of Chicago presents Bolero What would Maurice Ravel say were he able to see this incredible production using his iconic "experiment" Bolero? My guess is that he would not only approve, but enthusiastically so. Music is first-class (a London Symphony recording) and production values are high thanks to Jack Mehler's lighting and Big Foot Media directed by Tim Whalen. Choreography was by Yoshihisa Arai with Costumes by Temur Suluashvili, both Joffrey artists who we are more accustomed to see as dancers rather than the r