I just saw part of the ballet, The Firebird, on Classic Arts Showcase. They broadcast free 24 hours a day, and this was something I had never seen. It’s the part where the Prince captures the Firebird.

I thought of Shirley.

This was the Bolshoi version, based on the original choreography of the great Fokine. Andris Liepa was the prince. Nina Ananiashvili was the archetypical Firebird.

I had seen this part before, filmed live on the Bolshoi stage, that extra-large stage which can accommodate the great ballets. Same cast, Liepa as the standard version of a prince at that time, blond and babyfaced.

Now, what I had just watched, was a highlight of a full movie with special effects. I want to find the DVD and watch the whole thing. [Kristina found it on YouTube! You can watch it here: Return of the Firebird]

The reason I thought of Shirley, which I’m always doing anyway, is because she was not just beautiful, she was elusive, hard to catch. I pursued her relentlessly. I wasn’t used to the chase, but she had awakened a fire in me, and lured me with her body, then seduced me with her mind. She was magic.

We graduated from the same high school, went to the same college, UCR, and I chased her all over campus, elbowing competition out of the way, finally caught her in my arms, and she was mine.

And I was hers. How could I not be?

She was the sylph in all ballet who sheds her wings, trades immortality for life as a human and lives happily ever after to the end of her days. We pledged, “Til death do us part,” but not even death can separate us. Now I chase her through my memory, and find her in my dreams.