Scene - Blogs - For want of an I

For want of an I...
Published: 3/30/2010 11:27 AM
Last Modified: 3/30/2010 11:27 AM

Muscle memory is a strange thing. It can help a dancer remember and recreate a ballet he or she has not performed in years. It can help a musician properly execute a difficult passage of notes with an ease that belies the years of practice. It can allow an actor to evoke an emotion that makes a scene come to vivid life.

And it can screw up a writer like there's no tomorrow.

For example, I know -- really, honestly, I KNOW -- that Maurice Ravel's ballet is titled "Daphnis et Chloe."

But I had to type the third from the last word three times before I spelled it properly.

For reasons that are too long and boring to go into here, whenever I type the letters D-A-P-H, my fingers automatically reach for the N and E.

Which I did throughout the review I wrote of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra's performance of "Daphnes -- DRAT! -- Daphnis et Chloe."

This is an explanation, not an excuse. Nor does it alter the fact that Berlioz just doesn't send me.

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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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Archive

Past Articles By James D. Watts Jr

2/15/2013		'Concept/OK' exhibit ends Saturday
2/14/2013		Symphony to host piano soloist
2/14/2013		Broadway tours bring 'Shrek,' improv musical to Tulsa area this weekend
2/14/2013		Arts roundup: Improv reigns at several upcoming theater events
2/14/2013		'Lion King' returns to Tulsa PAC June 4
2/12/2013		Review: Signature Symphony reprises '100 Years of Oklahoma Music'
2/11/2013		Tulsa Symphony's concert salutes diverse American music
2/10/2013		Cherokee artist weaves messages into baskets
2/10/2013		Tesla Quartet set for Tulsa residency next week with variety of activities
2/10/2013		Jim Murphy wins 2013 Anne Zarrow Award
2/10/2013		LBJ chronicler Robert Caro to speak at TU on Tuesday
2/9/2013		Theater review: Playhouse makes "Barefoot in the Park" believable

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