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Sun Valley Couple’s Son Share in America’s Cup Win
Hailey Elementary Students Award Medals to Firefighters
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Blessing of the Animals This Sunday in Ketchum Page 5
Margot Whips up A Triple Delight - Raspberry, Lavender and Chocolate Jam Page 12
read about it on PaGe 7
O c t o b e r 2 , 2 0 1 3 • V o l . 6 • N o . 4 0 • w w w .T h e W e e k l y S u n . c o m
See Villella’s Free Ice Show Tonight BY KAREN BOSSICK
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hey’ve been working for three weeks. And now Ice Theatre of New York is ready to unveil
their new show for the public. The company, one of America’s premier ice companies, will offer a free show at 7:30 tonight COURTESY PHOTO for the public at Sun Valley’s outdoor ice rink. The show will feature Tchaikovsky’s “Elegy,” choreographed by the legendary ballet dancer Edward Villella. Villella choreographed the piece with the ice company’s artistic director Douglas Webster for the theatre company’s Oct. 25 gala fundraiser in New York. The fundraiser will be a tribute to figure skater Kurt Browning and ballerina Sonia Rodriguez. Tonight’s show will feature several Sun Valley On Ice dancers, including Kim Navarro and Brent Bommentre, who have starring roles in “Elegy.” Also, Joel Dear, Ryan Bradley, Ty Cockrum and Natalia Zaitseva. During the 75-minute show, skaters will also perform a few other pieces choreographed by Webster. Those pieces are choreographed to Philip Glass’ “Transitions,” about the journey to find peace; “Unforgettable,” the soundtrack of the motion picture “The Artist”; and Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O’Connor’s “Appalachia Waltz.” Among the songs that will be familiar is Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Villella, though often touted as the greatest male dancer America has ever produced, displayed genuine humility during the past few weeks in Sun Valley as he stood at the edge of the ice rink and weaved his body through the emotions he wanted the skaters to portray. The skaters appeared humbled to have the opportunity to work with George Ballantine’s protégé. “Edward Villella has incredible experience—70 years of dancing to draw on,” said professional figure skater and choreographer Carly Donowick. “It’s incredibly nice to work with someone who’s not a skater. He’s got us doing moves we’ve never done before. He polishes the small things,” said Eva Chalom, two-time U.S. silver medalist. Webster said the company hopes to be back next year, adding that the company gains from its exposure in places like Sun Valley and Ogden, Utah; Boston, Mass., and Plymouth, N.H., where they will tour after they leave Sun Valley. “It’s beautiful here,” said Chalom. “I like being outside and skating outside with the sun and the breeze and tws the clouds.”
Attitude Adjustment Attitude Doc, Alexandra Delis-Abrams, Touts the ABC’s of Attitudes, Beliefs and Choices STORY & PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
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lexandra Delis-Abrams couldn’t shake the image of little ones in Newtown, Conn., who finished off their morning cereal one morning last December and then trotted off to school, where a gunman shot and killed 20 children and six adults before turning his gun on himself. So the Hailey psychologist bought 30 stuffed monkeys with $421 friends donated at her birthday party. Then she donated the monkeys to Flourish Foundation counselors to calm children as they build emotional balance with meditation and other exercises. “I want to encourage the attitude of kindness toward others. If you do that, it will ripple out in the world. And it does start with the little ones. If we’re committed to this sort of thing, maybe more Newtowns won’t happen,” said Delis-Abrams. Choosing attitudes—kindness and others—is something Delis-Abrams preaches as a psychologist and self-described “attitude coach.” She preaches the ABCs of her belief system in her book, “Attitudes, Beliefs and Choices: Are Yours Creating the Life You Desire?” And she pushes it on her radio show, “The Attitude Hour,” which airs at 10 a.m. Wednesdays on Ketchum’s new community radio station, KDPI (89.3 FM). Delis-Abrams has called herself “The Attitude Doc” since a 5-year-old client once referred to her as “the attitude doctor.” “I call myself a ‘stretch’ instead of a ‘shrink’ because I believe my work is about giving people an opportunity to stretch and expand the way they look at certain topics or issues in their lives. And attitude is one of the most important things we can explore,” she said. “You can choose what kind of lens you’re going to look through. You can choose that you can have a crummy day because it’s snowing. Or you can choose another way to look at the day.”
Alexandra Delis-Abrams raised money for 30 stuffed monkeys, which she donated to the Flourish Foundation. Clients who feel restless or unsettled are instructed to grab a monkey and hug it to their bodies as they contemplate that what they think and do does matter and that they can influence life around them with random acts of kindness.
Delis-Abrams, also a certified laugh teacher, is likely to start off her program with a silly little ditty, such as “Every little cell in my body is happy. Every little cell is happy and well...” Next comes a shout-out to organizations and groups—local and national— who model healthy attitudes. Last week, for instance, she acknowledged F-Stop, which lost its lease after 31 years. “They had a sort of one-door-closes, another-door-opens attitude about it,” Delis-Abrams said. Her first talk-show guest was music
meister R.L. Rowsey, well-known for his positive approach. “I love Alexandra, and I choose to be happy doing what I do. Happiness—it’s the driving force behind everything I do. My father and I were best friends—we were always spending time together. And I watched him take delight in all he did,” said Rowsey, as he waited to go on air. “Yes, things tug at my heartstrings sometimes, and I feel heavy sometimes. But I’m working to have a network of
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