Ballerinas must be light on their feet...

 ... or Tamara Cerner wouldn't be dancing on water in the flooded basement at Shades of Gray HQ.

Happy birthday to Aesha Ash!

Celebrated and internationally renowned ballet dancer (and now instructor) Aesha Ash turns 45 today! Here are a few pictures in celebration!

What are the dancers doing as the year ends?

On International Dance Day 2022, the ballerinas ran off into the wild. We're trying to keep track of them, and we'll try to bring you updates on the last Wednesday of each month until International Dance Day 2023.

It's winter. It's snowing. Now what?

 
 

If you're cold, they're cold. Bring them inside.

Don't forget Xmas gifts for the Machine People!

We're welcoming a new sponsor to Shades of Gray: Winkleton's Machine People Emporium. It's Slaughter Valley's premier outlet for Machine People accessories and enhancements, and it's the perfect place to get a Christmas gift for your non-biological friends and neighbors!

Mention Shades of Gray or NUELOW Games while shopping at Winkleton's and get a 25% to 50% discount on purchases!

Even if you're not local to the Slaughter Valley, we think it will be worth the trip. Winkleton's is a fascinating place--and while their business is primarily focused on Machine People, they also carry items that will make great gifts for any Mandroids in your lives. (While you're in the Slaughter Valley area, there are a whole host of other interesting places to visit, including scenic Slaughtermouth Seaside Resort.

But -- whether you are coming from near or far, you need to get some Christmas gifts for the Machine People. If the Machine People have a Merry Christmas, there's a better chance of you having a Happy New Year.

What are the dancers up to?

On International Dance Day 2022, the ballerinas ran off into the wild. We're trying to keep track of them, and we'll try to bring you updates on the last Wednesday of each month until International Dance Day 2023.

It's cold and rainy. How are the dancers doing? Well, they generally aren't letting the weather get to them...

... but some have sought temporary shelter.

 

But wherever the ballerinas are as Autumn turns to Winter, you can be sure they're dancing!

A Bad Reading of Good Poetry: November Rain

 

Over on his YouTube Channel, Steve Miller Talks, Shades of Gray proprietor Steve Miller does Bad Readings of Good Poetry two or three times a week. Today's poem fits the format here, so we're presenting it for your... enjoyment? Click here to watch Steve perform "November Rain" by Ellen Allerton.

 

And if you want more... well, there is. So much more. All the Bad Readings of Good Poetry can be found and experienced here:

Musical Monday with slenderbodies

California-based musical duo slenderbodies says that they are hoping to inspire change in the world through their dreamy, poppy tunes. Check out the "official visualizer" for their single "smilin'" and let us know if you think they might succeed! (We enjoyed the curious peppiness of the song and weirdness of the video... and we hope you will, too!)


smilin' (2022)
Starring: Alyssa Rose
Directors: Max Vehuni and Benji Cormack

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Ballerina Security Corp Adds a New Service!

The Ballerina Security Corporation (BS Corp) is proud to announce we now have a surveillance division! Our highly trained operatives stand ready to get the dirt on cheating spouses, to baby-sit the tweens and teens who doesn't want to be baby-sat, or for any other job that requires them to observe and report.

(Some of our agents may still have to work a bit on developing subtly, but, in their defense, we never said we offer covert survelliance.)
 

It's a Danse Macabre Monday

We continue our celebration of Halloween on this Musical Monday with another amazing video for a version of Camille Saint-Saens immortal "Danse Macabre" that is equally amazing! (It's what the dancing dead could play if they used each other as instruments!)

It's Danse Macabre Monday

Danse Macabre (1922)

Starring: Adolph Bolm, Ruth Page, and Olin Howland

Director: Dudley Murphy

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Young lovers (Bolm and Page) try to escape Death in what is essentially a music video made in the days when film had no sound.

"Danse Macabre" is a spectacular short film, with excellent special effects and starring professional ballet dancers that was made to be precisely timed to the Camille Saint-Saens composition of the same name. The film was meant to be marketed to high-end theaters with full orchestras, where it did indeed play to critical acclaim. It was also popular in less elaborate venues where pianists or smaller ensembles provided the score.

 
Director/producer Dudley Murphy announced plans for an entire series of these sorts of pictures--he called them Visual Symphonies--but at the time it was impractical. They would only be successful if the music they were made for was performed precisely timed to what was happening on screen, by talented, well-rehearsed musicians. Although some movie theaters would have that capacity, many (most even) would not. 

Big hair of 1982 was nothing compared to big hair of 1922

"Danse Macabre" was, as far as I can determine, the only one completed. By the time synchronized sound arrived (bringing audiences things like the Sing-Along series from the Max Fleischer Studio), Murphy had moved onto other ventures, so one can only imagine what he might have come up with if he hadn't been too far ahead of the technological curve.

This, being Halloween, seemed like a perfect time to share this film with you, synced to a roughly contemporaneous recording of "Danse Macabre". Maybe enjoying this great, mostly forgotten masterpiece of early cinematic horror will awaken the Halloween Spirit within you! (There are going to be more "Danse Macabre"-centric posts here at Shades of Gray today. So please check back again later!)

--

Ruth Page (1899 - 1991) was a top ballerina and trailblazing choreographer whose career in American dance spanned almost 40 years, and whose impact on the art is still felt to this day. You'll probably see more of her here, during a future observation of International Dance Day!

Halloween is coming... will the dancers be safe from the creatures?

On International Dance Day 2022, the ballerinas ran off into the wild. We're trying to keep track of them, and we'll try to bring you updates on the last Wednesday of each month until International Dance Day 2023.

Halloween is almost here, and we were starting to get worried. Could the ballerinas defend themselves against the Creatures of the Night, not to mentions various ghouls and hobgoblins? How will they survive?

Some are going to try to blend in with the zombies...

... some are going to try to blend in with the ghosts...

... others are going to play dead until the danger has passed....

... but most of them are going to bravely confront the creatures.

Because they have legs that can kick holes in stone walls.

None of the monsters stand a chance!

They only come out at night

If you are in the streets after most sane people are sleeping soundly in their beds, you might see them.

They are the Night Dancers, mysterious and graceful beings who can be seen moving from shadow to shadow, sometimes pausing beneath the streetlights and dancing to music only they can hear. As Halloween draws closer, sightings of Night Dancers become more common.

It is unknown where the Night Dancers come from or where they disappear to, but it is said that those who witness one of them dancing through the night will have good fortune and find happiness in the near future. On the other hand, those who interfere their dance or pursue them are rumored to suffer dark and terrible ends.

Photographer Dane Shitagi is one of the few people who have managed to catch Night Dancers on film. We share some of the more intriguing results of his work in today's post.

If you have had an encounter with a Night Dancer and wish to share it, we welcome you to use the Comments Section below.

You can also let us know if you think any of these songs are close to what the Night Dancers perform to...