Tag Archives: Stephen Sondheim

WEEK 22 – 21 TO 27 NOVEMBER 2014

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148 FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2014

Shall We Dance? – Gotan Project – Top 10 Contender

Shall We Dance_ (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)

Just like cricket, ballroom dancing is one of those pastimes that I have never fully understood. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they do seem like fun activities, at least ballroom does. But I don’t see the point of both being taken so seriously, lest being professional disciplines with championships and world cups. However, I’m a sucker for movies where ordinary people get their moment to shine under the spotlight of such pastimes. That is why I’ve liked movies such as 1991’s “Stepping Out”, and 2004’s “Shall We Dance?”. In the former, La Minnelli teaches a group of misfits to tap so they get to excel in a dance recital. In the latter, La Lopez coaches another group of everyday people for a ballroom competition.

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WEEK 20 – 07 TO 13 NOVEMBER 2014

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134 FRIDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2014

Loving You – Judy Kuhn & Ryan Silverman

Passion ((2013 New York Cast Recording))

So, last week I left you with a cliff-hanger. I’m afraid Fosca is not dead yet.

She has already manipulated Giorgio into writing a letter where he claims he wishes he could forget her. Now she tells him what her love for him is all about.

Loving You is the song that unmasks Fosca as a conniving, manipulative, self-centred old twat who only cares about herself and uses her frail condition as a weapon to get what she wants. She may not have the strength of a wife-beater, but she certainly uses the same excuses an abuser would use to justify his actions. “Loving you is why I do the things I do. Loving you is not in my control.” In her little world, putting the blame on others is a valid reason to inflict pain and anguish on the people around her.

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