From China: Dance of 1000 Hands

DANCE OF 1000 HANDS......

Read the paragraphs below FIRST before you watch the video

There is an awesome dance, called the Thousand-Hand Kuan Yin, which is making the rounds across the net. Considering the tight coordination required, their accomplishment is nothing short of amazing, even if they were not all deaf. Yes, you read correctly. All 21 of the dancers are complete deaf-mutes. Relying only on signals from trainers at the four corners of the stage, these extraordinary dancers deliver a visual spectacle that is at once intricate and stirring.

Its first major international debut was in Athens at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics. But it had long been in the repertoire of the Chinese Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe and had traveled to more than 40 countries.

Its lead dancer is 29 year old Tai Lihua, who has a BA from the Hubei Fine Arts Institute. The video was recorded in Beijing during the Spring Festival this year.

Chantdoc Celebrates a Big Birthday!

This has been a wonderful year for me, one of the best of my life.  Since this blog is primarily devoted to babyboomer travel, I will recap some of the trips I've been on this year.  

Last August, my three daughters and two sons-in-law took me on a delightful cruise that was headed to Cozumel.  At the last minute we were diverted to Grand Bahama, because of a hurricane...one that we had to slowly go through as we were leaving Miami.  Will include a video of that!

In September, my friend and I went to Italy for a fantastic tour of Rome, Florence, and Sorrento!  We had spectacular weather and met lots of wonderful people everywhere we went.  The food and the sites of ancient wonders of the world were simply spectacular.  Will enclose a photo of that!

In April of this year, I went to visit my daughter in Paris and another daughter joined us and the three of us went to Dublin, Ireland for the week-end, then back to Paris!  It's been a year of fabulous travel to capitals of Europe as well as a tropical paradise.  I don't think I can top it!

A few final pix from Paris!

I had such a fabulous time in Paris and am so looking forward to returning there!  Just thought you might enjoy a few more photos that I haven't posted yet!  Let me know if I can  help you with your travel plans!

Alice

Visiting the Salvador Dali Museum in Paris

This last trip to Paris was filled with museums!  For the first time I went to the Salvador Dali museum which is just a few blocks away from Sacre Coeur.  I'd heard of Dali all my life but I guess I really didn't realize that Dali was a brilliant madman!  I wish I could post all of the pictures I took there but the two above are pretty typical of his way of thinking.  The one with me in it is his "Alice in Wonderland."  The second is about a picnic and the woman is wearing most of the food!  She also has ants crawling across her forehead.  If you're not familiar with Dali, just Google his name and I'm sure you can find many, many pictures of his amazing art!

Update on my trip to Paris

Hello to all my Boomer friends! I've now got my ticket to Paris and have two possible speaking gigs:

• one would be at the American Church in Paris
• one would be speaking to a group of harpsichordists who are lifetime fans of the great harpsichordist Wanda Landowska, topic of my dissertation

Now I have a third invitation:

• Traveling for a few days to Jaen, Spain to consult with the music faculty at the university there about a "Music in the Hospital" curriculum that they are putting together! They will fly me down there and I am soooo excited as I have never been to Spain! It is in the Andalucia section of Spain and is very far south!

If you know anyone in Paris or Southern Spain who would like a workshop, contact me ASAP!

Thanks,

Alice

Traveling to Paris

Paris is one of my favorite cities. I've probably been there half a dozen times in my life and I love it more each time. I was very fortunate to have spent 6 weeks there in the summer of 1987, which I was doing research on Wanda Landowska for my doctoral dissertation.. Now I am going back to Paris this Spring to visit one of my daughters who will be doing an internship at the American Embassy in Paris. I will be able to stay with her in her apartment, but I am trying to find a good price on a plane ticket. You probably know that I have my own travel agency at www.CashFamilyTravel.com. I hope that you will always check there for the best price on your own plane tickets, hotel rooms, and rental cars! Thank you!

View from Anacapri

Although I've been to Anacapri before, I was eager to go back because of the memories of the Debussy prelude I payed long ago, "The Hills of Anacapri." I highly recommend seeing Anacapri if you're going to Capri. You can take a bus ride to Anacapri and then a chair lift to the tip-top for a spectacular view!