122 :: The Diamond Premiere
Barneby was naked. Lounging on his day bed in the autumn room. Fitted silk sheets. Barneby only dressed for performances. He was always naked when not performing. He said skin does not crease.
Barneby’s apartment had five rooms. Four naked after the four seasons. They all came our of a control room in the centre. The top floor of the bell tower. A beautiful young women came into the room. Dressed as a nymph. Flowing white satin revealing naked skin. She held open her Skroll.
You are cordially invited to the premiere of Diamond the new work by Naomi creator of Two Birds. (Ambrosia)
How delightful. What shall I wear. (Barneby)
He opened his Skroll. Started flicking through outfits. Slowly contemplating each then flicking on. The outfits available on his feed. In screen pop ups. At the bottom of the screen scrolled text. Not on his feed.
A filler for a quiet Sunday afternoon with great potential. Two Birds hit 870 with 92 favourability in the A3 C5. We need A3. One risk. We have no data on Naomi. Stick to performance only. Do not comment on Naomi. Choose outfit 15. Claudette. Love 8. Jean-Tille. National. Name 13. Erique Knall. Pause 14. Do not name.
Barneby stopped at an outfit. Looked at the camera.
What do you think. I love Jean-Tille. It says Premiere. It says Barneby. It says the National. Oh Jean-Tille. Soon I will be back for you. My Darling. (Barneby)
He flicked passed five outfits.
Erique Knall. Such fine strong lines. Such delicious colours. Such flamboyance. So so Barneby. In Erique Knall anyone. Absolutely. Anyone would get the full Barneby feel. (Barneby)
He flicked one more. Paused. Looked at the camera. Tapped his finger to his mouth as if thinking. As if censoring his words. He flicked again.
Claudette. I think you will be my darling today. You will entertain my beautiful watchers. And you will be entertained. My lovelies. And remember my lovelies. If you want to join me you too can be dressed by Claudette today. Digital outfits are in my store. And do not accept knock offs. Only original signed digital outfits will be limited to my feed. Now. Bring in my clothes. (Barneby)
Barneby put down his Skroll. He looked at the camera. The screen read 10.
Hurry up my lovelies. Ten minutes until the show. Mix up those cocktails. Go to your cinema rooms. Prepare your bodies for Claudette’s finest digital outfits. And enjoy. Now where are my nymphs. (Barneby)
Barneby smiled at the camera. It did not look like he was reading the scrolling text giving him instructions for review.
It is a story about the fragility of beauty. Naomi is the diamond. She picks up seven veils in the dance. In the crescendo she disappears. It is the reverse Salome. John the baptist’s head is returned. It is a joyful ending. It is as if Naomi has left the screen to be with us. The moves are simple. LIke Two Birds. It flows. Potential for copy with added ending. Where do you go when you disappear. Jon Jon is making an instruction video showing each of the dance moves including the crescendo for free.
Next to the scrolling text is a live feed. The barn. People sitting on benches. Waiting. Blank. Dull. The opposite of Barneby. It looks out of place on the screen. The barn was not shown on Barneby’s stream. Barneby’s stream showed Barneby dressing.
A nymph brought in bright blue trousers. Padded hips. Crotchless. Puffed knees. A second nymph brought in a shirt. Sparkling. Many shades of blue. Elbow length sleeves. V neck. High collar. A third nymph brought in gloves. Shaped extended fingers. He pulled on the gloves. Extended each finger. One at a time. He ran his fingers through his clothes. Designed for digital sales. Loose puffs to hide imperfections. Sagging breasts. Bingo wings. Pot bellies and love handles. Extra large hips. Thick thighs.
Are you ready my lovelies. Should we take a peek to see who is in our audience today. Have you taken your seat yet. Are you will milling about fixing those cocktails. My lovelies. Three minutes. Let us see who is in the audience. (Barneby)
The screens on his wall reveal rows of seats. Screens slid into place over his windows. Some seats are occupied. Barneby walked about his room. He smiled. He pointed. Delighted.
So my lovelies. So many of you here this afternoon. A delightful fifteen ahead for you. I see we have Quadrant and Applepie in the audience today. Come to see the new dance. Will you be taking notes for your response dances. (Barneby)
Barneby looked at the camera.
Quadrant. Applepie. SoSix. Fingers. Tourtour. Miceman. You are all welcome to take the front row. There you are my lovelies. Now let us go say a big hello to the gathering. Do not be offended by the rustic nature of the gathering. It is where we find our diamond. Everyone ready. We will say on with the show on the count of three. One. Two. Three. (Barneby)
Barneby appeared on screen in the barn. He stood in front of his audience. The six main seats behind him clearly shown. All lounging back in their sparkling blue outfits. Four had their legs spread. Their crotches attracting the eye as much as their faces. One had his legs crossed. The sixth had a hand between her legs. Her thumb pointing up like a phallus. Behind them were the heads of a multitude.
Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me to your premiere. As you can see I have brought a few of my lovely friends with me. So without further fuss shall we watch Diamond. (Barneby)
Naomi appeared naked and motionless in front of the screen in the barn. And on the screen in front of Barneby. And on Barneby’s feed with an in screen of Barneby’s face. Three beats and Naomi began to dance. A slow dance. Gradually speeding up as she gathered the silk scarves about her. A pause on a beat. A glance to the camera. Sudden speeding up until she twirled like a tornado. Then she was gone. The scarves floating to the ground. In the barn someone noticed Naomi standing on the side. Naked. Oh. Everyone looked. Madison helped her into a robe.
Wonderful. But before we talk about the dance let me snow you the ending from a wide angle. (Barneby)
Barneby watched his feed. It showed the barn. The scarves floating tot he ground. Naomi on the side. The audience noticing Naomi. The audience clapping as Naomi put on the robe.
Well. Well. Fabulous. Was it not. And the ending leaves a few interpretations. Does it not. I can see this becoming a sensation. What do you think Quadrant. Applepie. I can see thousands of my lovely friends out there finding the scarves they need to learn this dance. The ribbon work was fantastic. Worthy of the olympics thought I am assured it is not a complex as those routines. And the trick in the crescendo. A little bird assures me it was a trick not a digital fix. What a clever idea. Bring the real stagecraft to the small screen. Jon Jon is working on a tutorial. When will it be ready. (Barneby)
Barneby paused. Looked directly at the camera.
It will go live at the end of this recording. I would not want to lose a single one of you excited lovelies to the tutorial just yet. So my first question is. Let me see. Diane asks why Diamond. WE all agree we start off with a diamond. In the dance we see just how brilliantly the diamond can sparkle. We see how the diamond gathers in all about them. How the diamond is made better by its placement. Its juxtaposition with the flowing silk. And finally how the true diamond is lost in the illusion. But of course as we saw in the performance there is another question. Where does the diamond go to. Perhaps Naomi is asking a question. What do we know about her. Nothing. There is no data. A footnote about a short term au pair post now finished. Is her genius is posing questions about our true selves in this world of illusions. I will leave that up to you to decide. Next question please. (Barneby)
He paused looking at the camera.
Diane asks if the scarves remind me of dancing as a child. It does. But more it makes me think of the dance of the seven veils. I remember watching pascha dancing it with such beauty in the national last year. I do hope he returns. I have just the right outfit. Next question please. I am told this will be the last question then we will be going straight into Jon Jon/s tutorial dance. It will be live and all of you are welcome. (Barneby)
He paused looking at the camera.
John that was more a statement than a question. I agree it will be a delight. I do look forward to enjoying the various belly dances and twirling dances this is going to inspire. Now my lovelies thank you so much for joining me today. It is time for us to enjoy Jon Jon teaching us a new dance. See you out there. (Barneby)
He smiled. Waved to the camera with his extended fingers. His feed changed. When he was not on camera he walked to the control room.
What the fuck. (Barneby)
Come on. We pulled it off. And sometimes we have to take a risk to stay current. (Paul)
Whose cock up was it. Can we fire the bitch. Make sure it never happens again. (Barneby)
Look. It just slipped through. Every one of us did not notice. All the paperwork is there but we missed it. Then at the last we had to decide should we go with it. Then it was my choice. Go with it. It is what makes you you baby. It is what they love about you. It is what makes you special. (Paul)
Just make sure it is in the briefing next time. (Barneby)
Of course. (Paul)
Now will you get her in here so we can do something solid. (Barneby)
We are working on it. (Paul)
123 :: Diane
Diane sat in her living room. Her Skroll buzzed. She looked at it. 27...
The Au Pair