Satima's Blogspot: December 2014

Thursday, 11 December 2014

Aussie spec-fic - The List!

Thursday, December 11, 2014 |

Posted by Satima Flavell

BOUND
Alex Caine #1

OBSIDIAN
Alex Caine #2

Over at http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/australian-scifi-fantasy-horror-megalist-xmas-books/ Alan Baxter has put together a huge list of books by Australian SF authors. Can there ever be a definitive list? Probably not, because books go out of print all the time and new ones appear daily - but this is a thoughtful list of currently available books, representative of all the speculative genres. No excuses, now - go and find your next read, or a suitable Christmas gift for a friend or family member! And if you have a favourite that is missing, tell Alan in a comment (or better still, ask the author to check it out and send Alan the same information as is contained in the existing entries) and perhaps he'll add it on the next update. I can see this growing into a valuable resource for readers and writers alike. There are other lists elsewhere but this one gives more information on individual entries.

ABDUCTION
Alex Caine #3

Oh, and don't forget to check out Alan's new Alex Caine trilogy while you're there. Click on the book covers for reviews, previews and purchase options.

4 comments

Monday, 1 December 2014

Dancing queens

Monday, December 01, 2014 |

Posted by Satima Flavell

For the past 18 months, I have conducted classes in Theatrical Dance at Trinity School for Seniors here in Perth, Western Australia. I have a lovely class of eight ladies, all over 55 years of age and all keen as mustard to carry on dancing as long as they possibly can.

Each lesson, we do a conventional ballet barre (but no grands pliés or big extensions) followed by ports de bras and centre practice. Our allegro, however, deviates from the normal glissades and pas de chats etc of a classical class - instead, we draw on the modern musical, folk dance and jazz ballet. There are many reasonably simple steps that don't require magnificent turnout or elevation, and we combine these in various ways to light music.

My lovely dancing ladies and their proud teacher

Some of the ladies have never danced before: others learnt ballet as children and have always wanted to take it up again. I am humbled by their enthusiasm and commitment. Quite honestly, if I were to front up one day and find the stars of the Australian Ballet waiting to take class, I would not respect those dancers any more than I do my Trinity ladies. They take the classes seriously, arrive on time, and work hard. What more can a teacher want?

I should tell you a bit about Trinity School for Seniors. An outreach program of the Uniting Church in Perth city, TSFS offers courses in a huge range of subjects, including languages, literature and writing, art, music, fitness classes of various schools of thought including yoga, several kinds of dance, walking tours of the city - the list is a long one and grows longer each year. Fees are extremely moderate and affordable even for pensioners, so the courses are extremely popular, with some classes being booked out as soon as enrolments are open each term.

This Thursday the annual concert will be held in Trinity Church, and six of my ladies are taking part for the first time, dancing to the carol 'In Dulce Jubilo'. We've had a lot of fun putting the dance together and the ladies have cheerfully chipped in to pay for simple costumes, designed and created by class member Nola who has a real flair for making something classy out of a bolt of stretch fabric. If I get pic of the team in costume I'll put it up next week.

Update 19 February 2015! It's taken a while, but here's the photo, taken by Ruth Points from the office team at Trinity School for Seniors. It shows some of the ladies in their smart costumes, designed and made by Nola. The performance went very well, by the way, with loud applause and cheering for my 'girls'!

2 comments

Aussie spec-fic - The List!

Dancing queens

Goodreads reviews for The Dagger of Dresnia