I was astonished to learn during the run of "A Chorus Line" that Jessica Arena from Marin County was a student of Marc Platt, who died in March at age 100, and who was featured in the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo along with my first ballet teacher, the incredibly-handsome George Zoritch. I couldn't believe Jessica's and Marc's years of dancing overlapped! Marc Platt is best known for his dancing role in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."
Tonight, I'm astonished again to learn that Jessica was featured IN Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine's spectacularly-good 2005 movie "Ballets Russes" along with Marc Platt. (Jessica's the dark-haired ragamuffin behind the wagon at 2:01 in this video, which dates about to 2003.) It just vividly shows that ballet's genealogy is unusually compressed, and that only a few generations separate us from ballet's origins in the courts of 18th Century Europe.
I am totally amazed and thrilled Jessica was in the movie!!!!! It's something magical and cosmic! I wish I had an equivalent film to show. Well, who knows, maybe if I look I can find one!
Not finding much, and quality isn't the best. Still, here is George Zoritch and Milada Mladova at their Hollywood best: Begin the Beguine, from "Night and Day", starring Cary Grant.
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