Congratulations

Today my first class of senior highschoolers graduated. The vast majority of them with honour.
I couldn't be prouder.
This has been a stressing year, for them and for me both. To me it felt like running a marathon, trying to stay ahead of the rest of the competitors. I built my classes chapter after chapter, desperately trying to find interesting material, to articulate the class so they'd enjoy it. I tried to pass on to them what I learnt from experience in the ten years head start I've had.
I wanted their highschool experience to have nothing on common with mine.

It's been daunting and exhausting and over all such a gratifying experience.
I was scared witless of messing it up, of letting them down, of failing them.

And God; I couldn't have been prouder today.
God, I couldn't have been happier today.

Today I was the lucky witness of their happiness, of their success, of their joy.

All through the year I saw them evolve, I saw them grow.
They grew, they grew up.
I saw them bloom and shine, gain confidence and start to fly on their own, making choices about their future, questioning their knowledge and the role they were to play in society.
I saw opinions form, ideas appear.
Hands rose.
That little spark of curiosity, of passion sometimes maybe.
God, when I see them I catch myself thinking maybe, just maybe, the future will be brighter.

Oh I couldn't be prouder.
So to all my students, those who will read this and those who won't,
I've seen you work, I've seen you endure the stress, the winter, the exhaustion and I am proud of you. I am proud of the effort you made, I am proud of the mistakes you made, proof that you tried and you learnt.

You are good and will get even better. You are strong and fierce and deserve a bright future.
I believe each and everyone of you will find a path, or several, and become the best version of yourselves.
Enjoy and rejoice! It is not time to mourn the end of an era but to celebrate the beginning of the rest of your lives.
I wish you all the best there is. A life full of opportunities, of dreams to fulfil, of challenges to take, of trials that will make your life more interesting. I wish you luck and love, happiness and pride.
Because today; you all made me both happy and proud.

Congratulations.

Something I'd like to film one day

Iron – Woodkid

Black and white.

On the sound of a waving flag : middle shot : A ballerina is sitting on the floor of a dance studio. she is putting on her pointe shoes, her hair in a bun. she is wearing a training suit. dark leotard and dark tights

close shot on her foot and her hands.
Middle shot: she stand up, puts her right foot on the shoe, and then the other.  Stands on pointes in first position, her arms in preparation, and lowers her head / looks down.
Close shot on her face, her eyes are closed, she takes a breathe.

Long shot on the first trumpets - slow motion: The ballerina raises her head.
Close shot on the face, she looks straight at the camera, she is determined.
Camera moves back - full shot : She stands on her pointes and walks and stops herself on the middle of the room, her feet in fifth position, arms in preparation.

Second trumpets : on the crescendo : Middle Shot: she makes a reverence: half fold, she opens her arms in second position
on the decrescendo: she stands and bring back her arm in preparation.
On the drums: she starts to dance. Her pointes on the floor correspond to the rhythm of the drums.

"Deep in the ocean, dead and cast away"
Close shot on the ballerina’s face. She wears make up and her hair is perfectly combed into a strict bun. her tiara shines and sparkles. We understand she is on stage. Her face is lightened by spotlights. She looks at the audience. shoulders back, head straigh, chin up.

Long shot of the audience.
Close shot : she closes her eyes.
flash: a panorama of an ocean:
Close shot, she opens her eyes.
Long shot of the audience - old opera house seats. the room is full.

"Where innocence’s burn in flames"
Close shot on a hand who puts a lighter on, and another bring a piece of ribbon to make it melt.

"A million miles from home, I’m walking ahead"
Long shot: we see a young girl walking alone in a path. It’s snowing, everything is white around her. The camera is far behind her, we see her back as she crosses the huge iron gate.
camera moves forward to follow In front of her there is a huge and old and dark building in which is written “National Ballet Academy”. the camera stops at the gate, unable to move forward as she stares at the building.

"I’m frozen to the bones, I am"
Close shot on the young girl’s face: her breath makes steam. She looks defiant.

“A soldier on my own, I don’t know the way.”
Long shot: We see the young girl in the middle of a dancing class; she looks scared and lost in the exercise. surrounded by other girls. the all wear the same white outfit and move in perfect unison.

“I’m riding up the heights of shame “
Middle shot: The young girl is sitting on her bed, crying.
“I’m waiting for the call, the hands on the chest.”
Middle shot: The ballerina is in backstage, waiting for her entrance. She looks stressed, moving her feet, climbing on a pointe and the other, her arms crossed on the chest. Her head is low.

"I’m ready for the fight and fate"
Close shot on her face; she raises her head and looks straight at the camera.

Music : She enters on the stage. chassé, grand jeté. dancing. Shot altering: The camera is at the edge of the stage as she lands and pauses.
forward to an american shot, then follows her movements.

“The sound of iron shocks is stuck in my head:”
Close shot , slow motion on the teacher ‘s stick hitting the floor with the tip of her cane to mark the tempo, raising a cloud of white dust.
“The thunder of the drums dictates”
Close shot on her old hands, clapping on rhythm.

“The rhythm of the falls, the number of deads”
Long shot: The girl in training suit is trying to make a spin, but falls, once, twice, three times.
Close up on her face as she falls again.

“The rising of the horns, ahead.”
Close shot : We see the face of an old and thin woman, a ballet teacher. She is shouting something in slow motion.
“From the dawn of time to the end of days,
I will have to run, away”
Long shot: we see the young ballerina, training in the empty studio, dancing. older than the girl in front of the door. teen?

"I want to feel the pain and the bitter taste:"
We see the ballerina in the backstage just before her entrance , she is wearing a white tutu, sparkling with jems.
"Of the blood on my lips, again"
Close shot on her mouth. She is bitting her lips, stressed out. dark lipstic, white skin, white teeth. younger than in the first shot. Late teen.

Music : The ballerina is alone on the stage, dancing under the spotlight. all grace and strength.

“This deadly burst of snow is burning my hands”
Medium shot: the young girl is in front of the door of the Ballet school. The camera is on her back. Everything around her is white because of the snow. the camera moves back, the iron gate appears again.

“I’m frozen to the bones, I am”
Close shot:  The young girl puts her woollen hat on her head and claps her hands to fight against the cold.

“A million mile from home, I’m walking ahead”
Very long shot: we see the young girl in front of the building, she seems terribly small, in front of the huge building. the huge closed doors. She walks up the stairs and pushes the door.

«  I can’t remember your eyes, your face.”
Close shot on the ballerina’s face. She closes her eyes.
flash. Long shot of the black gate of the Ballet school, a thirty years old woman is standing, saying goodbye, waving her hand.

Music: The ballerina is dancing on the stage, alone. We see her from the back of the stage, with the audience in the background, dark. She is all in white, bathed in light. contrasts with the audience
When the flute starts, the camera starts to follow the ballerina, following her movement, as if the camera was her dancing partner. close to her. torso, hands, neck, head.

When the flute stops, the ballerina stops, make a slow reverence and lowers her head.

Long shot on the audience who is stanging, applausing, her.

End of the music, Close-up on the ballerina’s face. She raises her head to the light and smiles. triumphant.

London's Calling

Me: " Instead of ordering my book over the internet, I'm going to go pick them myself. Wanna come?"
The Other Ginger Sibling: "Sure, when?"
Me "Say... Tuesday to Friday?"
The Other Ginger Sibling: "Deal"

Thus began our Adventure:

I. The V&A Museum:

II. The Natural History Museum

  

  

  

   

III. A recap: 

Nobody can spell my name properly apparently.

We travelled literally TWO days.

As intended I brought back a couple of books.

Then some Harry Potter merch attacked me.

Thanks Gods for the Vikings!

"If English is strange, Old English needed therapy."
TEDed - A brief history of plural words"