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mari-writes · 5 months

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Akaashi Keiji has a secret. One that he’s sure people might be surprised by if they found out.

He has a deep, prevailing love for classical ballet. He’s not sure when it started. Perhaps when his parents took him to a Nutcracker performance when he was barely eight years old. To this day, he spends hours of his free time watching videos online, and reads about the history of the art form. He even convinces his mother to take him to see live performances on occasion.

There's something so romantic and expressive about dancing. The way the dancers can convey emotion through their body, with no words at all—it’s absolutely fascinating. Keiji admires them so much. He wishes he could be like that.

He doesn’t tell anyone. He’s not ashamed, just cautious. Dance should not be a gendered interest, but alas, society is strange. His friends and most of his teammates already know he’s gay. No need to push the stereotype further, right?

What he doesn’t predict is that his best friend (and secret crush), Bokuto Koutarou, is apparently also a fan.

“Akaashi!” The older boy exclaims, right over his shoulder. “Is that the Australian Ballet?”

Keiji flinches, scrambling to switch off his phone. “Bokuto-san,” he scowls, “it’s very rude to eavesdrop.”

“Oh, sorry!” Koutarou plops down next to him. Their futons are close, much too close, and Keiji can smell his mint shampoo. It’s distracting. “But seriously, is it?”

Keiji shoots a nervous look around. Most of the training camp attendees are either taking turns in the bath or wandering around campus, enjoying the warm evening. Only Komi is here, casually lounging with a magazine on the other side of the room. “Ah, um, yes,” he nods. “You’re familiar with ballet, Bokuto-san?”

The other boy nods enthusiastically. “My sister does it! My other sister and I tried it when we were younger, too!”

Surprised, Keiji stares. “I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah! I still do exercises I learned back then. It’s good for flexibility and to strengthen muscles. People don’t know how much of a workout ballet is! It’s really hard.”

Again Keiji nods, awkwardly shuffling on his futon so that he and Koutarou are sitting thigh-to-thigh. “Would you… like to watch the rest of this with me, Bokuto-san?”

Koutarou answers with a beaming smile.

They make it a habit of watching dance videos together. Koutarou is surprisingly knowledgable about the different companies, even mentioning specific dancers and performances. It’s odd, only because he never watches or talk about it otherwise. Perhaps he’s shy about his interest, too?

It isn’t until one evening, when Koutarou is staying the night at his house, that he discovers the truth.

Keiji is eager to show his crush the souvenir program her purchased after seeing a performance of La Sylphide two years ago. He carefully passes it to Koutarou, wondering if the other boy will be surprised, or maybe even jealous that Keiji was able to attend such a special, sold-out show.

But instead—

“Oh! My sister was in this!”

Keiji freezes. He turns slowly to look at his friend, unsure if he heard correctly. “What?”

“Yeah, she was made principal ballerina that year!”

Keiji frowns. “Your sister… performed with the National Ballet of Japan?”

“Yeah!” Koutarou grins. “She was there for two years, until she went overseas. I miss her so much.”

“Wait a minute.” Keiji is having trouble trusting his own ears. Because it sounds like Koutarou is insinuating… but no, that can’t be it. Can it? Suddenly frantic, he flips through the program, until he find the cast profiles. He leans in to look at the lead female dancer. A familiar face in the modern ballet scene. He blinks, turning to look at Koutarou, and then back at the woman on the page.

Intense golden eyes. A wide, toothy smile. Silvery hair, with just a hint of black at the roots. “Bokuto-san,” he croaks, “is your sister… Bokuto Kai?”

Koutarou chuckles. “Well, yeah! That’s my Kai! Isn’t she so cool?”

Keiji chokes on nothing. He sputters, enough for his friend to reach over and pat his back consolingly.

“You okay, ‘kaashi?”

Is he okay? Keiji doesn’t know. The fact that his best friend’s sister is one of the most well-known ballet dancers in Japan, the world even, is actively shifting his reality.

“So… I guess you’re a fan?” Koutarou smiles in obvious amusement.

“Y-yes,” Keiji admits, thoroughly shaken. “I am. She’s incredible.”

One year later, Keiji is standing frozen in the threshold of his now-boyfriend, Koutarou’s family home. He’s been here many times, and spent time with most of the family. But the person at the door is not anyone he’s met before.

But oh, he knows her well.

“Ah, you must be Akaashi!” Kai Bokuto is short, the crown of her head barely reaching Keiji’s shoulders, but her immaculate posture seems to expand her presence. She’s wearing a cotton hoodie and leggings, her silver hair tossed over one shoulder in a long braid.

She’s a vision.

Keiji’s mouth drops open. He blinks. “B-Bokuto-san, um, hi! Hello there. You… um, I… well...” His words stumble out of him like dominos. He’s never felt so inarticulate in his entire life.

Kai laughs. “Please, call me Kai! I’ve heard so much about you. Come in, Keiji-kun!”

When Keiji finds his boyfriend inside, he greets him with a light punch to the shoulder. “You could have warned me she was here,” he hisses, “I just made a fool of myself.”

Koutarou snorts. “You’re such a fanboy!”

“Shut it.”

It turns out, Kai and Keiji have a lot more in common than a love for ballet. Both of them love literature, poetry and art history. Kai regales him with stories of her time in Europe—including her recent stint in Paris, thes city Keiji wants to visit more than anything.

They also happen to be quite protective of Koutarou.

“He’s very important to me,” she says, as they watch Keiji’s boyfriend hurry to help his mother in the kitchen. “He means the world to all of us, really. It doesn’t matter how tall or strong he gets—he’ll still be our baby Kou.”

Keiji grins softly. “Yeah.”

They exchange numbers that first night, and stay in touch when Kai flies back to France for her next set of performances. She regularly sends him photos, poems, news articles, and of course, updates on the Parisian ballet scene. They ask each other advice on outfits and home design.

“Ya know, I’m starting to think you like her more than me,” Koutarou pouts, one morning when they are curled up in Keiji’s tiny dorm bed.

“Are you jealous?” Keiji raises one eyebrow.

“Hmm,” Koutarou hums, “maybe a little…”

Giggling, Keiji turns in his hold, leaning up to touch noses. “Don’t worry, love. You’ll always be my number one star.” The comment seems to light a fire in Koutarou, whose face splits into a brilliant smile as he pulls Keiji in tighter. “Promise?”

Keiji smiles back. “Always.”

I love the idea that Keiji gets along great with Koutarou’s sisters, and admires them (almost) as much as his boyfriend. The idea for Kai being a ballerina was inspired by the beautiful artwork of Temari! I just can’t get the idea out of my mind.

Please, if you enjoyed this, reblog and comment! It really helps me out. 🥰❤️

#bokuaka #bokuto koutarou #akaashi keiji #my writing #writing #drabble #bokuto sisters #ficlet #oneshot #haikyuu!!#haikyuu

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ifthestarsarewilling · 7 months

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fun facts about the names of the penumbra podcast characters (junoverse specifically cause i haven't watched the other one)

nureyev was a famous male ballet dancer, and peter/petya means rock! petya (the name slip calls nureyev) is actually a female name, as well as being the name of a family of malware. the surname nureyev and the name petya are both russian/eastern european, despite the names of outer rim planets being from a variety of cultures (brahma is a hindu creator god, ranga is an australian word, balder (aka baldur) is a norse god of light and beauty, yama is a hindu god of death/the underworld/justice, osiris is an egyptian god of the afterlife that judged souls, susano-o is a japanese god of thunderstorms).

aurinko means sun! buddy obviously is another word for friend

vespa means wasp, and ilkay means new moon.

so buddy and vespa are literally eachothers sun/moon awwwwww

rita means pearl and is a greek word

juno is the roman goddess of marriage and childbirth, but unlike in greek mythology she has a more warlike aspect! steel is used as a metaphor for being strong and hardy, as well as coming from germanic origins and relating to the german word stahl, to stay.

jet is a type of black semi-precious stone, plus y'know. jet engines, etc. sikuliaq is a boat! a research vessel actually, and the word means 'young sea ice' in the native Iñupiaq language.

m'tendere means peace in chichewa, a language spoken in zambia, malawi, mozambique and zimbabwe

kanagawa means 'god sound river' and is also a city! croesus basically means rich, croesus was a rich king of lydia (also the last king). cecil means blind to ones own beauty or sixth, but i prefer the first interpretation because cecil wears loads of makeup and trys really hard to be this big personality, missing his true beauty on the inside. cassandra was an ancient greek prophetess who was cursed to always see the truth but never be believed, and her documentary ideas making money when she was told they wouldn't is very cool. min means 'minute', 'from' and 'quick' or 'clever' in abbreviations, arabic and korean respectively.

thats all i can be bothered to do for now, more possibly coming later! lmk if anyone wants more!

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queerasfact · 1 year

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Queer Calendar 2023

We put together a calendar of key (mostly queer) dates at the start of the year to help us with scheduling - so I thought I’d share it around! Including pride and visibility days, some queer birthdays and anniversaries, and a few other bits and bobs. Click the links for more info - I dream one day of having a queer story for every day of the year!

This is obviously not an exhaustive list - if I’ve overlooked something important to you, feel free to add it in the reblogs!

January

3 - Bisexual American jazz-age heiress Henrietta Bingham born 1901

8 - Queer Australian bushranger Captain Moonlite born 1845; gay American art collector Ned Warren born 1860

11 - Pennsylvania celebrates Rosetta Tharpe Day in honour of bisexual musician Rosetta Tharpe

12 - Japanese lesbian author Nobuko Yoshiya born 1896

22 - Lunar New Year (Year of the Rabbit)

24 - Roman emperor Hadrian, famous for his relationship with Antinous, born 76CE; gay Prussian King Frederick the Great born 1712

27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day

February

LGBT+ History Month (UK, Hungary)

Black History Month (USA and Canada)

1 - Feast of St Brigid, a saint especially important to Irish queer women

5 - Operation Soap, a police raid on gay bathhouses in Toronto, Canada, spurs massive protests, 1981

7 - National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (USA)

18 - US Black lesbian writer and activist Audre Lorde born 1934

12 - National Freedom to Marry Day (USA)

19-25 - Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week

March

Women’s History Month

1 - Black Women in Jazz and the Arts Day

8 - International Women’s Day

9 - Bi British writer David Garnett born 1892

12 - Bi Polish-Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky born 1889 or 1890

13 March-15 April - Deaf History Month

14 - American lesbian bookseller and publisher Sylvia Beach born 1887

16 - French lesbian artist Rosa Bonheur born 1822

20 - Bi US musician Rosetta Tharpe born 1915

21 - World Poetry Day

24 - The Wachowski sisters’ cyberpunk trans allegory The Matrix premiers 1999

April

Jazz Appreciation Month

Black Women’s History Month

National Poetry Month (USA)

3 - British lesbian diarist Anne Lister born 1791

8 - Trans British racing driver and fighter pilot Roberta Cowell born 1918

9 - Bi Australia poet Lesbia Harford born 1891; Easter Sunday

10 - National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (USA)

14 - Day of Silence

15 - Queer Norwegian photographer and suffragist Marie Høeg born 1866

17 - Costa-Rican-Mexican lesbian singer Chavela Vargas born 1919

21-22 - Eid al-Fitr

25 - Gay English King Edward II born 1284

26 - Lesbian Day of Visibility; bi American blues singer Ma Rainey born 1886

29 - International Dance Day

30 - International Jazz Day

May

1 - Trans British doctor and Buddhist monk Michael Dillon born 1915

7 - International Family Equality Day

7 - Gay Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky born 1840

15 - Australian drag road-trip comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert premiers in 1994

17 - IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia)

18 - International Museum Day

19 - Agender Pride Day

22 - US lesbian tailor and poet Charity Bryant born 1777

22 - Harvey Milk Day marks the birth of gay US politician Harvey Milk 1930

23 - Premier of Pride, telling the story of the 1980s British activist group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners

24 - Pansexual and Panromantic Awareness and Visibility Day; Queer Chinese-Japanese spy Kawashima Yoshiko born 1907

26 - queer American astronaut Sally Ride born 1951

29 - Taiwanese lesbian writer Qiu Miaojin born 1969

June

Pride Month

Indigenous History Month (Canada)

3 - Bisexual American-French performer, activist and WWII spy Josephine Baker born 1906

5 - Queer Spanish playwright and poet Federico García Lorca born 1898; bi English economic John Maynard Keynes born 1883

8 - Mechanic and founder of Australia’s first all-female garage, Alice Anderson, born 1897

10 - Bisexual Israeli poet Yona Wallach born 1944

12 - Pulse Night of Remembrance, commemorating the 2012 shooting at the Pulse nightclub, Orlando

14 - Australian activists found the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands in 2004

18 - Sally Ride becomes the first know queer woman in space

24 - The first Sydney Mardi Gras 1978

25 - The rainbow flag first flown as a queer symbol in 1978

28 - Stonewall Riots, 1969

28 June-2 July - Eid al-Adha

30 - Gay German-Israeli activist, WWII resistance member and Holocaust survivor Gad Beck born 1923

July

1 - Gay Dutch WWII resistance fighter Willem Arondeus killed - his last words were “Tell the people homosexuals are no cowards”

2-9 - NAIDOC Week (Australia) celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture

6 - Bi Mexican artist Frida Kahlo born 1907

12 or 13 - Roman emperor Julius Caesar born c.100BCE

14 - International Non-Binary People’s Day

23 - Shelly Bauman, owner of Seattle gay club Shelly’s Leg, born 1947; American lesbian cetenarian Ruth Ellis born 1899; gay American professor, tattooist and sex researcher Sam Steward born 1909

25 - Italian-Australian trans man Harry Crawford born 1875

August

8 - International Cat Day

9 - Queer Finnish artist, author and creator of Moomins Tove Jansson born 1914

9 - International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

11 - Russian lesbian poet Sofya Parnok born 1885

12 - Queer American blues musician Gladys Bentley born 1907

13 - International Left-Handers Day

22 - Gay WWII Dutch resistance fight Willem Arondeus born 1894

24 - Trans American drag queen and activist Marsha P Johnson born 1945

26 - National Dog Day

30 - Bi British author Mary Shelley 1797

31 - Wear it Purple Day (Australia - queer youth awareness)

September

5 - Frontman of Queen Freddie Mercury born 1946

6 - Trans Scottish doctor and farmer Ewan Forbes born 1912

13 - 1990 documentary on New York’s ball culture Paris is Burning premiers

15-17 - Rosh Hashanah

16-23 - Bisexual Awareness Week

17 - Gay Prussian-American Inspector General of the US Army Baron von Steuben born 1730

23 - Celebrate Bisexuality Day

24 - Gay Australian artist William Dobell born 1889

30 - International Podcast Day

October

Black History Month (Europe)

4 - World Animal Day

5 - National Poetry Day (UK)

5 - Queer French diplomat and spy the Chevalière d’Éon born 1728

8 - International Lesbian Day

9 - Indigenous Peoples’ Day (USA)

11 - National Coming Out Day

16 - Irish writer Oscar Wilde born 1854

18 - International Pronouns Day

22-28 - Asexual Awareness Week

26 - Intersex Awareness Day

31 - American lesbian tailor Sylvia Drake born 1784

November

8 - Intersex Day of Remembrance

12 - Diwali; Queer Mexican nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz born c.1648

13-19 - Transgender Awareness Week

20 - Trans American writer, lawyer, activist and priest Pauli Murray born 1910; Transgender Day of Remembrance

27 - Antinous, lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian, born c.111; German lesbian drama Mädchen in Uniform premiers, 1931

29 - Queer American writer Louisa May Alcott born 1832

December

AIDS Awareness Month

1 - World AIDS Day

2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

3 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities

8 - Pansexual Pride Day; queer Swedish monarch Christina of Sweden born 1626

10 - Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners host Pits and Perverts concern to raise mining for striking Welsh miners, 1984

14 - World Monkey Day

15 - Roman emperor Nero born 37CE

24 - American drag king and bouncer Stormé DeLarverie born 1920

25 - Christmas

29 - Trans American jazz musician Billy Tipton born 1914

#calendar #queer calendar #queer observances #pride days #queer history #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbt history #gay history #trans history #queer #gay #trans #lesbian #lesbian history

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miasiegert · 7 months

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How Cats Casting Often Works (Summer Stock)

So due to request, explaining how casting works for many regional productions of CATS. NOTE: I am not discussing ANYONE I work with, anyone I've worked with past-tense, any production I've done. This is a general explanation of how summer stock works and how incredibly difficult it is for the director/choreographer to make decisions. Because, surprisingly, the director doesn't get auditions for each character! They have to choose from already cast actors! WHAT? Yup, that's Summer stock!

The actors are contracted to do about four shows for a theatre to last for their summer season. This is subject to change, sometimes actors have to leave (injury, illness, Broadway offers (yes, that happens!)), but for those shows the bulk of the actors are already cast! So someone can't hold auditions for Mistoffelees or Victoria. They need to go with who's already there (very talented! But they might have different skillsets!)

The director needs to assess the actors, some of whom they know, many of whom they don't and see reels but a lot of instagram, and they must compare them to the entire summer stock cast to decide what's best.

For example, if someone is not a singer but a great dancer, they might be someone like Mistoffelees, Victoria, Pouncival. If someone's got an incredible belt, they might be Bombalurina. Usually Bombalurina and Cassandra are coin tosses and REALLY hard decisions (you really need a good actor for Cass to be so aloof and hold the poses). If there's a soprano, usually the more classically trained one who is not a dancer will be Jellylorum. If someone's an incredible tapper, they'll be Jenny!

You get the double threats for the ones who dance and sing (Munkustrap, Skimble) and those might be some that'd be considered for different roles--Mungo and Rumple are always double-threats but often triple threat because of acting. If someone's a rock singer, they'd be Tugger because it's HARD to do that. If someone can turn and has a strong ballet/jazz background, they're Mistoffelees (which is how one can end up with a 6'2" Mistoffelees and very panicked costume designers who have 3 weeks to create TWO full new costumes from scratch to fit their height! What, no, I'm not talking about us, what gave you that impression?).

Then there are triple threats, ones who can dance, sing, AND act, like Demeter and Munkustrap. Those are HARD roles. It doesn't always end up like that because of who's available, which is NOT shade towards any actor--when contracted for a season, they are given the best possible role to highlight their ability.

For Macavity, it's usually one of the largest dancers because of the Munk and Alonzo lift and someone who is a very lyrical mover.

This does not mean that Plato will do the lift with Victoria in the Ball. The lift goes to the person who is the best at doing lifts in the cast. US Tour V had Eddie (who was Alonzo) doing the lift because he was the best. One of the Australian tours had (surprisingly) Tumblebrutus do the lift! Yes, really!

In the US, Mungo and Rumple are usually the same size for the double cartwheels and we are very confused as to major height differences in the UK. I mean clearly it works but it's significantly harder when one's not as balanced so that's taken into consideration (Mungo NEEDS to do some tumbling).

Ensemble is where it's REALLY tough. A lot of times people assume the ensemble members are the ones who are hidden/not as good. That's absolutely false. The ensemble members ALWAYS are swings and understudy multiple roles. They need to be prepared to jump in on the spot in case of illness or injury, such as an onstage injury (there was a horrific one on the US Tour once where Pouncival had to take over during Mistoffelees as the actor broke his foot during the turns). A lot of the BEST dancers are put in the back and random spots because in order to make a good show that's cohesive, you need to have what looks like a fully in sync production. The ensemble holds everyone together and are critical for the show to be a success.

Cats is one of the rare shows where, with the fandom, since they're all their own characters, they are recognized for each thing but often not the why!

Also some characters might randomly be seen because some of the wonderful donors might have walk ons! Without donors, many regional productions would not exist! So if you see a cat that's maybe sitting around in the background, catting around, not dancing/not singing, you should 10000% appreciate them because without them, there'd be no show! Patrons are super important and it's an honor to give them some GREAT costumes to wear (and super fun for them to be cats!)

I hope that helps explain how casting works in many productions of summer stock and how difficult it is! Also did you know most productions only have one week to rehearse??? Wichita had three weeks, I believe, but most are only one, it's true!!!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Also I saw the comment asking about how we make warmers; I don't know how to reply to a reblog (sorry I am not smart at social media). Some day, we can go through a basic tutorial. But learn how to cast on/cast off, knit, purl, and stretchy decrease (tutorials online). It's SUPER easy, just time consuming... oh so time consuming. As for fluffy warmers, we use a LOT of different yarns, always at least double-strand, sometimes quadruple, lots of eyelash yarn, and while David does NOT do this, for my warmers, I will always use scraps if I'm doing the strays. Cats are mottled IRL. They won't be consistent. David likes having three colors per costume. I... am a bit more wild... yet strangely it's my muted costumes that people seem to be talking about here (buttercup Jellylorum for example!). Oh. And always Magical Misto will have black leg warmers with purple sparkles hidden in them. That's my thing. I give characters certain colors. Misto is purple, Tumble is blue.

BACK TO WRITING! I made today's deadline but PUSHING ON so I have less tomorrow!

#cats musical #cats the musical #cats cosplay #how summerstock casting works #did i hashtag this correctly?

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alessandro-accebbi · 1 year

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Hannah Sergi, dancer with The Australian Ballet 🩰 🇦🇺 • Photo Niv Novak (@nivnovak)

#dancer #dance #ballet #ballerina

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eddy25960 · 2 months

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Oscar Valdez (cuban dancer) - Principal with West Australian Ballet

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dance-world · 1 year

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Steven McRae - The Royal Ballet

#steven mcrae #the royal ballet #australian ballet dancers #dancer #danseur #ballerino #bailarín #boys of ballet #ballet men

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homomenhommes · 19 days

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THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … April 9

1476 – Italy: Leonardo Da Vinci and three other young men are accused of sodomy anonymously, but subsequently acquitted.

1821 – The French poet Charles Baudelaire (d.1867), a central figure in nineteenth-century French literature, was born on in Paris (d.1867). Two collections of Baudelaire's poetry continue to intrigue and influence writers: Les fleurs du mal (Flowers Of Evil, 1857) and Le spleen de Paris (Paris Spleen, 1869). In the latter collection, published posthumously, he essentially invented the "prose poem." For a while lived the modish life of a literary dandy on an inheritance from his father, reluctantly joining the Paris boheme when his fortune ran dry.

Speculation continues about his personal life. Some early writers suggested that he died a virgin; many others now believe that he died of syphilis acquired in 1841. He had complicated relations with Jeanne Duvall, a prostitute; Madame Sabatier, a courtesan for the wealthy and socially prominent; and Marie Daubrun, an actress. The poems Duvall inspired portray her as both the apex of beauty and the nadir of evil.

Lesbianism fascinated Baudelaire. He even considered naming his first book of poems Les lesbiennes. "Lesbos," from Les fleurs du mal, celebrates lesbian love and evokes Sappho, who is described as both "mannish" and "beautiful." Further, the speaker challenges the authorities who would "dare" judge those who inhabit Lesbos. Even the gods would not dare to judge these women, he asserts.

Two other poems called "Femmes damnées" also explore lesbianism. Here the lovers, with their disordered souls, must suffer in a world wound tight with rules. The bourgeois considers such women demonic; that alone makes them fascinating to Baudelaire.

Male homosexuality does not receive this kind of direct treatment; gay men can find no equivalent "Lesbos" in his work.

He was probably homosexual himself, or at least Marcel Proust thought so, as did Andre Gide, Roger Peyrefitte, and many others. The floppy cravat that Baudelaire affected became all the rage of European dandies and homosexuals during the first decades of the 20th century, gays having adopted him as their very own at an early date.

1909 – the Australian dancer, actor, director and choreographer Sir Robert Helpmann CBE was born on this date (d.1986). Born Robert Murray Helpman, he added the extra 'n' to avoid his name having 13 letters, at the suggestion of the dance diva Anna Pavlova, who was a devotee of numerology.

He was born in Mount Gambier and also boarded at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide, South Australia. The Helpmann Academy in South Australia, a partnership of the major visual and performing arts education and training institutions in South Australia offering award courses for people seeking professional careers in the arts, was named in his honor.

in 1932 he went to London. He joined the Sadler's Wells, later the Royal Ballet and was a principal dancer from 1933 to 1950. He established a great partnership with Margot Fonteyn, and together with choreographer Frederick Ashton, created many great roles, whilst also occasionally undertaking straight acting roles. Helpmann and Fonteyn toured the United States as principal dancers with the Royal Ballet in 1949 and caused a sensation, making stars of them all.

In 1938, Helpmann met a young Oxford undergraduate while fulfilling an invitation to dance at the university. Immediately drawn to the handsome and intelligent Michael Benthall, the pair formed a relationship that was to last for 36 years until the English theatre director Benthall's untimely death in 1974. The couple lived and often worked together quite openly for the time.

In 1965 Helpmann returned to Australia to become co-director of the Australian Ballet. Since he was Gay and flamboyant, his arrival in what was at that time a very conservative country caused some consternation. Australians were proud of his international fame, but not sure what to make of him personally. His most significant contribution to the development of theatre in Australia was his time with the Australian Ballet. The avant-garde nature and sexual overtones of much of his work unsettled many Australians. He did not endear himself with the comment: "I don't despair about the cultural scene in Australia because there isn't one here to despair about."

Helpmann's obituaries in the Australian media were suitably laudatory, but also reserved. The country paid him the highest final recognition it could by honouring him with a state funeral in Sydney, the eulogy calling him "a genius, an outstanding communicator of unique inspiration and insight. He asserted his rights to pursue a path that improved the quality of life of the nation, and defeated the common herd of detractors." An obituary in The Times in London, characterised his appearance as "strange, haunting and rather frightening", and portrayed him as "a homosexual of the proselytizing kind" whose impact upon a company was "dangerous as well as stimulating", creating fresh headlines in Australia.

1929 – The Utah Supreme Court, although upholding the constitutionality of the 1925 sterilization law, rules that a prisoner caught in the act of consensual sodomy with another prisoner, and who is described as "acting lovingly toward other boys in the prison," can not be sterilized for that reason alone.

1948 – Bernard-Marie Koltès was a French playwright and director (d.1989).

Born to a middle-class family in Metz, his life was violent and anchored in revolt. He took off from home at 20 for a nomadic writing life that began with a stay in New York in 1968. For a social rebel seeking an uninhibited gay experience, the timing was perfect. He returned to New York frequently until his death in 1989. He he had tried his hand at writing as a youth but renounced it, and didn't take to the stage until the age of twenty. He first garnered recognition for his work on a production of Medea (Médée) in 1970.

After seeing the film actress Maria Casarès, he was inspired and resumed writing, completing around ten plays in his lifetime. His first piece, the long monologue, The Night Just Before The Forests, was staged in 1977 at the Avignon Festival, and subsequent productions were put on in collaboration with director Patrice Chéreau.

Koltès's work, based in real-life problems, expresses the tragedy of being alone and of death. Koltes is most famous for The Night Just Before the Forests (La Nuit juste avant les Forêts, 1976), r (1977) and In the Solitude of Cotton Fields (Dans la Solitude des Champs de Coton, 1986). Many of these plays were first directed by Patrice Chereau when he was artistic director of the Théâtre des Amandiers in Nanterre. Koltes also translated into French Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.

Genet and the absurdists influenced Koltès's writing. Like other absurdist writers, he felt exiled - in his case, as a homosexual in a heterosexual world. In Africa, he saw native cultures being wiped out by European influences. This theme brought forth Black Battles with Dogs. After a visit to America he wrote Quay West (1985), about a brother and sister in a foreign culture. The title and the opening dialogue of that play, about tempting, dangerous life in moldy warehouses on a river, recall the West Street piers of the meatpacking district, and their vast, collapsing sheds that for two decades were sex resorts for venturesome gay men.

The psychopathic killer Roberto Succo provided the inspiration for his final play Roberto Zucco. It was first performed posthumously in Berlin in 1990, directed by Peter Stein. It has since been performed across Europe and the United States.

Although he did not attempt to deny it, Kolteès only ever referred fleetingly to his homosexuality, downplaying this as a motivating factor or theme behind his writing. He was rarely forthcoming about his private life, and what he did say is often contradictory or misleading.

Koltès died in 1989 due to complications from AIDS.

1963 – Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for Marc Jacobs, as well as Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, with more than 200 retail stores in 80 countries. He has been the creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton since 1997. Jacobs is on Time Magazine's "2010 Time 100" list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and ranked 12th on Out Magazine's 2011 list of "50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America".

Jacobs, who is openly gay was in a four-year relationship with salesman and retired escort Jason Preston. However, in February 2008, it was reported that Jacobs was engaging in an affair with escort and porn star Erik Rhodes who died in 2012.. Later he was in a relationship with advertising executive Lorenzo Martone. In March 2009, Women's Wear Daily reported that the pair was engaged after a year of dating. Several reports that they got married were later denied. On July 24, 2010, Martone announced via Twitter that he and Jacobs had not been together for two months.

In April 2018, Jacobs proposed to his new boyfriend, Charly Defrancesco, via a flashmob while in a Chipotle restaurant. The flashmob did a routine to the song "Kiss" by Prince. They were married in a lavish wedding held in New York City in April 2019.

Jacobs and Defrancesco purchased a home in Rye, New York in April 2019. The Westchester home was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and is known as the Max Hoffman House.

1999 – Montero Lamar Hill, known by his stage name Lil Nas X, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his country rap single "Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popularity in early 2019 before climbing music charts internationally and becoming diamond certified by November of that same year, moving over ten million certified units in streaming and sales combined.

"Old Town Road" spent 19 weeks atop the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the longest-running number-one song since the chart debuted in 1958. Several remixes of the song were released, the most popular of which featured country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. As "Old Town Road" was atop the Hot 100, Lil Nas X came out as gay, becoming the only artist to do so while having a number-one record.

Montero Lamar Hill was born in Lithia Springs, Georgia. He was named after the Mitsubishi Montero. His parents divorced when he was six, and he settled in the Bankhead Courts housing project with his mother and grandmother. Three years later, he moved in with his father, a gospel singer, north of the city in Austell. Although initially reluctant to leave, he later regarded it as an important decision, "There's so much shit going on in Atlanta—if I would have stayed there, I would have fallen in with the wrong crowd." He started "using the Internet heavily right around the time when memes started to become their own form of entertainment"; about when he was 13.

He spent much of his teenage years alone, and turned to the Internet, "particularly Twitter, creating memes that showed his disarming wit and pop-culture savvy." His teenage years also saw him struggling with his coming out to himself as being gay; he prayed that it was just a phase, but around 16 or 17 he came to accept it. He began playing trumpet in the fourth grade and was first chair by his junior high years, but quit out of fear of looking uncool.

In early June 2019, Lil Nas X came out to his sister and father and he felt "the universe was signalling him to do so", despite his uncertainty whether his fans would stick by him or not. On June 30, 2019, the last day of Pride Month, Lil Nas X came out publicly as gay, tweeting: "some of y'all already know, some of y'all don't care, some of y'all not gone [fuck with me] no more. but before this month ends i want y'all to listen closely to c7osure. 🌈🤩✨" The tweet confirmed earlier suspicions when he first indicated this in his track "c7osure". Rolling Stone noted the song "touches on themes such as coming clean, growing up and embracing one's self". The next day he tweeted again, this time highlighting the rainbow-colored building on the cover art of his EP 7, with the caption reading "deadass thought i made it obvious". He was unambiguous in an interview several days later on BBC Breakfast, where he stated that he was gay and understands that his sexuality is not readily accepted in the country or rap music communities.

The response to the news was mostly positive, but also garnered a large amount of homophobic backlash on social media, to which Lil Nas X also reacted. The backlash also came from the hip hop community, drawing attention to homophobia in hip hop culture. In January 2020, rapper Pastor Troy made homophobic comments on the outfit Lil Nas X wore during the Grammy Awards, to which Lil Nas X responded: "Damn I look good in that pic on god."

In January 2023, Lil Nas X tweeted a new statement about his sexual orientation, writing "be [for real] would y’all be mad at me if i thought i was a little bisexual". The next day, he tweeted "that was my last time coming out the closet i promise".

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themimicbird · 3 months

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Currently Free Films & Series on YouTube

Version From: March 31, 2024

💋 Disclaimer: I will attempt to update this list as needed. To ensure you're viewing the most up to date list, click the link in my pin post. The following are not listed in any order. Films & Series are added based on YouTube monetary status, genre, content, wardrobe, or having a storyline within the industries/themes related to my blog. Feel free to suggest things to add!

Ballet Shoes (2007)

Adopted by an eccentric explorer, three orphans struggle to fulfill their ambitious dreams of being an actor, pilot, and ballet dancer. Being poor themselves they accept the offer of an free dance education and stage roles. The three sisters attempt to chance their dreams and make enough money to make ends meet.

Penelope (2008)

Born with the snout of a pig, young Penelope Wilhern spends life as a virtual prisoner in her home. Believing that the only way to break the curse is to marry one of her own kind, that of a high status, she meets a number of suitors but all reject her. Two devious men, one with a grudge against the family, hire a man to pose as a suitor, but complications arise when he begins to fall in love with Penelope, and she makes a bid for freedom.

Sparkle (2012)

In the tradition of "dreamgirls" comes this Cinderella based story. Three sisters from Harlem form a singing group and try to make it big which leads them to take a path of romance, tragedy, and finally triumph.

27 Dresses (2008)

Perennial bridesmaid Jane always puts the needs of others before her own, making her the go-to gal whenever someone needs help with wedding plans. So when Jane's younger sister Tess snags the man Jane secretly loves, Jane finds herself questioning her role as a wedding junkie for the first time in her life. Meanwhile, a handsome reporter sees Jane's unusual story as his ticket off the bridal beat.

Boys on the Side (1995)

After breaking up with her girlfriend, a nightclub singer, Jane, answers a personal ad from Robin, a real estate agent with AIDS, seeking a cross-country travel partner. On their journey from New York City to Los Angeles, the two stop by Pittsburgh to pick up Robin's friend Holly, who is trying to escape an abusive relationship. With three distinct personalities, the women must overcome their differences to help one another.

The Magic of Ordinary Days (1995)

Set during World War II, the poignant love story is about an unwed pregnant woman who is sent to a small Colorado town to marry a lonely farmer who agrees to raise her child as his own. Livy Dunne dreams of a career as an archaeologist until she becomes pregnant by a dashing soldier who leaves her behind.

H20 Just Add Water (2009) | 3 Seasons

Teenagers always feel different, but these three Australian girls really are different; they're mermaids! Trying to keep their special powers a secret is hard for Emma, Rikki and Cleo. When they're not in school they're using their magical powers to save sea turtles and rescue those in need. Local bully Zane and popular snob Miriam don't make it easy on the girls to keep their adventures hidden.

That Girl (1969) | 3 Seasons

From the small town of Brewster in upstate New York, Ann Marie has just moved to New York City on her own to pursue an acting career, much to the chagrin of her overprotective parents, Lew and Helen Marie, who see both Ann's chosen career and New York City as no place a young woman should navigate on her own. As Ann goes on one audition after another, she has to decide if any acting role is worth it in the long term of the serious actress she sees herself as being. In living her New York City life, Ann meets Donald Hollinger, a magazine writer, the two who fall for each other. Don is another aspect of New York that Lew in particular doesn't like, as although he knows deep down that Don is a good guy, no man is good enough in Lew's eyes for his daughter.

A Perfect 14 (2020)

Exploring the fascinating world of plus-size modelling and the women involved who are fighting to reshape fashion and the standards of society.

#film #movies #Ballet Shoes #penelope #sparkle #youtube #free to watch with ads #free streaming #free movies #themimicbird #27 dresses #boys on the side #magic of Ordinary days #h20 just add water #that girl 1969 #that girl #a perfect 14

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