Newcrest Digest

NEWCREST DIGEST

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WILLIE WILKINS WATERWORLD MEMORIAL TO WINDENBERG ENTERTAINMENT LEGEND

WHO’S NEWS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BALLET STAR RICHARD MARRINER

JANUARY 2016

WHO’S NEWS

BY GABBY ANSER

W

HAT does échappé sauté have in common with downward dog? If you are Richard Marriner, danseur and longtime devoté of Vinyasa yoga, they are both means to graceful movement, centered energy and a meaningful life. We sat down with the handsome star of Willow Creek Ballet Theatre’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to find out about his dance, his dalliances and his dreams.

Newcrest Digest: So, Rich, I understand that you are one of our newest residents.

Richard Marriner: Indeed! Doug [Douglas Curtis III] introduced me to the RoseTech Design Studio team. Archy [Archibald Tech] and Rose [Rose Waters] were fantastic! I have exactly the living space I’ve always wanted. I call it my “postmodern paradise”.

ND: You’re originally from St. Sciurus.

Did you begin your dance training there?

RM: Not exactly, but I began my movement training there. Believe it or not, my grandmother studied yoga in India as a young woman, and she passed her knowledge on to me as I grew up on the island. Later I was apprenticed at the Paris École de Ballet where I got my formal ballet training.

ND: Your grandmother sounds like a

fascinating woman. Is it true she dabbled in voodoo? I’ve heard it said that she was a priestess.

RM: I’ve heard that rumor too. Let me just say that my grandmother was one of the kindest, most generous people I’ve ever known. She used her considerable talents and abilities to help many people on the island.

ND: And you? Rumor also has it that you have a dark side.

RM: There seem to be a lot of rumors in the Quad City area! If you mean, ‘do you dabble in the occult arts?’, I have to answer: I’ve worked hard to develop the talents that have been given me. I have not depended on luck or any sort of woo-woo practices to get where I am now. And I thank my grandmother for instilling in me a practical spirit—to see life as it is, not as I wish it to be.

ND: Okay, moving right along… What besides yoga occupies your time when you’re not in the ballet studio?

RM: I’m an avid reader. Give me a good novel and I’m content for hours. I also like to cook.

ND: You’re quite the gourmet cook, I hear.

RM: Let’s just say I enjoy the food I cook for myself!

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

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THE MANY MOODS/MODES

CASUAL

FORMAL

CELEBR

S OF RICHARD MARRINER

RATION

ATHLETIC

SWIMWEAR

ND: Walk me through a typical day for Richard Marriner.

RM: I usually get up before 6 o’clock— unless I’ve had a performance the night before that ran late. Then maybe half past 6. I practice yoga for about 45 minutes and when I’m in the mood, I jog to the Painted Lady Café, about a mile and a half from my bungalow. I’ve become a great fan of their chocolate croissants. And with a cup of espresso, heaven! On Sundays I’ll go to one of the museums like the Simsonian Portrait Gallery or the Amuseum in Newcrest and spend a few hours studying the art. I usually don’t get to the ballet studio in Willow Creek till mid afternoon.

Then it’s warm-ups and rehearsals, and maybe a performance.

ND: Do you go out on the town after a performance?

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RM: Rarely, it’s usually right to bed.

ND: So I also understand you are branching out into modeling. You are to be featured in a new ad campaign for Kelvin Hobbes underwear.

RM: Where do you get your information? Kelvin Hobbes is a personal friend. His company is negotiating with my agent. We’ll see how it goes.

ND: A new career in the offing?

RM: I don’t think so. Ballet is my life.

ND: And speaking of your life, as Newcrest’s most eligible bachelor our readers are eager to know if there is anyone special in your life right now. You’ve been paired with any number of local celebrities.

RM: No comment. ❦

EXCLUSIVELY AT KAUFHOF • WINDENBERG • WILLOW CREEK • NEWCREST • OASIS SPRINGS