I heard from Mathias today!

This afternoon the computer rang, just like a telephone. It was Mathias. He had just finished another day of rehearsals for the upcoming tour to Sunderland. He looked sort of tired, but he explained that he'd only gone to bed at 3 AM the night before. He had gone to London with a bunch of friends to see some sort of HipHop dance event. It had been fabulous. No one was injured, which was amazing since several seemed to "bounce" on their heads! His microphone wasn't working, so he had to type. Strangely, I got to talk as he could hear me quite clearly. We both could see one another. I showed him the textile I bought from Dimba, the West African artifact dealer, and told him about my altered books, the USC performance of Martha Graham's work, and about the visit from his grandparents. He seemed quite excited about touring soon. He hadn't read a single word about BRB's production of Romeo and Juliet. He really doesn't care about the critics or the on-line writers much, but I have a feeling that might change if he's in the article. We had forwarded an email to him that included a link to the Bolshoi website. Several winners, though oddly not all, were featured including Mathias and Sasha. Lauren Cuthbertson wasn't, however. She won the senior female silver medal and her contemporary piece won a choreography award--all this in the same season as a major promotion at Royal Ballet in London. Naturally, the website featured Ivan and his partner. The video clips seemed "boot-legged", not the quality of those purchased from the organizers. I wonder who has a "boot-legged" tape of Ivan's first attempt at Round Three. It was a terrible thing to witness, so much so that I'd like to actually try watching it again. I was in such shock when it was unfolding, live, infront of me. Maybe, a repeated viewing might unlock some of the unanswered questions. Maybe not. In any event, Mathias was in fine spirits. We laughed quite a bit.