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Trust me when I tell you, I read a lot. I average roughly a book a day and have for three-plus decades now, which works out to, you know, a lot. It would be even more (a lot squared?) but there is a small number of books I read again every year or so because they continue to resonate with me. As I change, as I (ahem) mature, I find that my favorite books affect me differently in ways I simply wasn't ready to understand before.
One of those books is Stardance, by Spider and Jeanne Robinson.
The plot is simple. A gifted but overlooked dancer fights to overcome obstacles on Earth, above it, and beyond, to create the first zero-gravity dance. And this tells you absolutely nothing about the relationships and the anguish and the joys and the humor and the triumph of the people involved. Acclaimed science fiction writer Spider Robinson and his wife, dancer and choreographer Jeanne, crafted something about dreams, dance, perseverance, and humanity's message for the universe. Also, there's a telepathic waiter. Then they did it again, twice, with Starseed and Starmind.
And none of that is why I'm writing this.
I'm writing this because Jeanne Robinson once had a shot at actually dancing in zero-gee. NASA got a look at Stardance and invited her into the Civilians in Space program. She was shortlisted for a shuttle ride, and the only reason it didn't happen was because the first Civilian in Space happened to be on the Challenger.
But now computer graphics have caught up to the writer's mind. Jeanne and an insanely talented crew are working on creating a short film to explore the possibilities of dance without gravity. The Stardance Project is already underway with a deadline of July 2007, and they need support.
Never fancied myself a patron of the arts, apart from helping contribute to a lot of publishing royalty checks, but I really want to see this. Check out the site for details.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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This is one of the reasons I love Hatrack--exposure to cool things I never would have heard of. I am off to read the book.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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Honestly not sure. Dunno if they'll be modeling after a real dancer or if it'll be CG from start to finish.
About the books: Stardance began as a novella, which won the Nebula and Hugo that year. They expanded it into a book which added a lot more to the story, essentially using the novella as Part One to an even cooler, more epic work.
If you're just starting to read Spider Robinson I also highly recommend the Callahan's series, especially if you have a high tolerance for puns.
[ May 25, 2006, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: Chris Bridges ]
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
I actually started with the collection Antinomy (now out of print), and the book MindKiller. The story "God is an Iron" was in the former, and wound up as a chapter in the latter. I recommend both highly.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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