Peer Gynt

Grieg's Peer Gynt suite was one of my favorite pieces of music growing up. My mom had a collection of "Greatest Composers" recordings and Grieg was her favorite. She would play the album for my sister and I and tell us her version of what she thought the Peer Gynt story was about. Until I read the book in college, my understanding was that there was a troll that lived on a mountain and he kidnapped a beautiful girl and the girl's grandfather dies of grief over his loss. Not at all accurate but it was enough for me to stage an highly interpretive dance to the piece.

My sister and I would take turns portraying the girl and the grandfather but we both got to be trolls for "The Hall of the Mountain King". This was the climax and we would work ourselves up into a frenzy for this part. We would dress in big wide skirts and shawls and spin around like dervishes until we spun into the walls or got sick. I was banned from playing the song for awhile when I became too "agressive" in my dance. I was climbing on top of the stereo cabinet and trying to leap onto my sister's back as she twirled by.