Airy Hill Studio

There are layers of the black swan behind and shadowing the swan princess as she takes her bow.  For me she is giving thanks to her supporting cast of characters as they levitate to a higher level.  They are her angels.  They are the people who support, share, care, and give unselfishly to her. 

​hovering above

breathing shallowly

hardly breathing

offering herself UP

spinning and twisting

each in her own column

avoiding descending

tight and sharp legs

taper to points, to spin

faceless

wrapped beauty

blindfold ballerina

with her  sisters

echoing her grace

feathers streaming and swirling

the marionettes  are braced

hold and release

*A written Reaction to Swans Final Act, by:  Dianne Caskie

Painting by:  Cory Wanamaker

This swan is poised in preparation for movement, resting from exhaustion, or a quiet moment during what has been an amazing journey through a story told in dance.

 I believe she is giving thanks to her supporting cast of characters as they levitate to a higher level.  They are her angels.   They are her family and her friends.  They are the people who support, share, care, and give unselfishly to her.  I can relate as I have had many angels in many places and in many aspects of my own life.  I believe in angels as the everyday people who often go un-noticed.

There are many layers to these Swans and Angels in my life.   The people we meet on this journey are dancers across the globe.   On that journey they become angels to people like me.  Friends who I have connected with deeply and left a beautiful mark on the map of my life.

Cory Wanamaker

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This swan is ascending to a higher level of performance, piece, understanding, and dance.  She is being washed over with all the accolades that come with ascension of this type.  She is looking ahead towards a new beginning challenging her own understanding and embracing the experience as it flows all around her.

​The dancers are preparing for the dance; they are stretching in unison, showing togetherness for what is to come.  The shadows in the mirror reflect their thoughts of the upcoming movements and experiences.  They are preparing mentally and physically for the dance.  Is the dance a metaphor for life in this painting?

The swan princess is also stretching, reflecting, thinking, and imagining.  She is taking the form of the swan to fully understand the dance that is to come.  She is giving thanks to her supporting cast of characters as they levitate to a higher being.  They are her angels.  They are the people who support, share, care, and give unselfishly to her.  I can relate as I have had many angels in many places and in many aspects of my own life.  I don’t believe in angels as a deity.  I believe in angels as the everyday people who often go un-noticed.  

​This swan is dancing to a higher level of performance, peace, and understanding across Moscow.  During her journey into the city, she has crossed the Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge.  On her one side is The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour; on the other side are the towers of Saint Basel’s Cathedral.  She is levitating into the stars.  They are mapped across the sky in the exact formation as they are placed on the Kremlin Wall.

There are many layers to these Swans and Angels in my life.   The people we meet on this journey are dancers across the globe.   On that journey they become angels to people like me.  Friends who I have connected with deeply and left a beautiful mark on the map of my life.

Plunges

deliciously

invited and embraced by the water slender symmetry

expressionless

yet calm

placid

of  the water

the light circles around her

cupping her

livid living 

twisting but stationary

whirlpool

drawn to her centre

I want her to twist

energy effervesces from her

mouth-watering

a luscious dagger

at the  peak of pirouette

about to shatter

suspended

bound

free

*A written Reaction to Swans Final Act, by:  Dianne Caskie

Painting by:  Cory Wanamaker

​

This swan is pirouetting, spinning, twirling to a higher level of performance, peace, and understanding.  She is looking off towards a new beginning challenging her own understanding and embracing the experience as it flows all around her.   She is being fully supported by a troop of dancers who look to her for the next step.