Polonia Global Fund

Shanghai company brings classic `Coppelia’ to Blumenthal

The history of classical ballet in China spins on the very toe of political upheaval. It came to China with Russian dancers who fled the Bolshevik Revolution. These émigrés set up dancing schools in major cities such as Shanghai, where a young Margot Fonteyn studied ballet from 1928-1933.

But the Shanghai Ballet company, presented Monday night [October 28, 2002] by the Carolinas Concert Association, was not founded until 1979, after another revolution — the brutal Cultural Revolution — had quieted enough to allow involvement in Western culture again.

Performing at the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, the Shanghai Ballet presented “Coppelia,” a 19th-century French ballet based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffman of “Nutcracker” fame. (This performance could truly be called international: a Russian-influenced Asian dance company performing, in the United States, a French ballet based on a German story set in Poland.)

Like “The Nutcracker,” “Coppelia” sparkles with magic and romance, depicting the unusual love triangle of a man (Franz), a woman (Swanhilda) and a dancing doll (Coppelia). But unlike the Nutcracker prince, the doll Coppelia doesn’t come to life; she dances only when impersonated by Swanhilda.

This production creates the wonderment of a fairy tale. In the opening scene, a softly painted backdrop shows a picturesque village under blue skies; the stage is its tree-lined square. Crowds of townspeople light up the set with bold costumes that include bright red hats and yellow boots.

The mysterious toymaker Dr. Coppelius, Coppelia’s creator, has an explosion of white hair that would make any mad scientist proud. His workshop, the setting for Act II, is vast and gloomy, illuminated by only a soft blue light and the startling costumes of his life-size dolls.

The Russian school of ballet is known for its attention to the upper body, and that influence could be seen in the precise and lyrical arm and head movements of the Shanghai dancers, particularly the two principals.

Ji Pingping, as Swanhilda, is an exceptionally pretty dancer — delicate and buoyant. Her pantomime in the first act was so stylized as to border on the artificial. It gave her acting a doll-like quality, even when she wasn’t being a doll. But her dancing was lovely.

Chen Zhenrong, as Franz, seemed a bit more flesh and blood. He, too, danced with grace and fluidity.

This delightful performance was marred only by a technical breakdown. The music stopped abruptly in the third act. (Oh, for live music!) But in the performing arts, good recovery is as important as good execution. After a pause, the third act began again, and the dancers continued graciously and gracefully.

Some people left during the interruption. Those who remained were rewarded with the finest dancing of the evening.

MEG FREEMAN WHALEN, Special to The Charlotte Observer

Poland is a democratic, politically stable country in Central Europe, populated by about 38.6 million people.

Privatization of economic activity is the key issue in the process of economic transformation in Poland. The most important of these was the opening of possibilities to establish new private enterprises, both domestic and foreign. The second path was privatization of existing state-owned enterprises.

The transformation of the economic system and especially the liberalization of the legal possibilities of setting up companies and regulation on liquidation procedures (bankruptcy) resulted in an enormous rise in business activity, especially private enterprise. The overall number of economic entities is estimated at over 2.5 million, taking into account individuals and civil law partnerships.

The number of enterprises with the participation of foreign capital rose remarkably.

According to Polish Agency for Foreign Investment (PAIZ), in the year 2001 the volume of foreign direct investment in Poland amounted to $6.1 billion. Within the last ten years the cumulative value of foreign investment amounted to $52.27 billion at the end of the first half of 2001. France, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy are the top investor-countries in Poland. In the 2002-2003 period, FDI is scheduled to reach $5.5 billion to $6 billion, rising gradually to $10 billion to $12 billion between 2004 and 2005.

In deciding to increase capital involvement in Poland, foreign investors took into consideration the macroeconomic situation, the level of economic development and the progress of reforms, Poland’s recent OECD, WTO and NATO membership and prospects for participation in the European Union. Also an important factor is Poland’s creditworthiness in the international arena.

Among the country’s 38,670,000 inhabitants, its young population (85.6 percent of the population of working or pre-working age) makes up a relatively highly qualified labor force yet deals with an insufficient supply of jobs. Thus, Poland is an extremely attractive labor market for local and foreign employers, in practically all branches of the economy.

Poland is deeply interested in investments, including direct foreign investments that would increase employment in regions with surplus force including rural areas.

The successive opening of the Polish economy resulted in growing importance of links with the outside world.

Both politically and economically the country became a leader in transitions, soon to be followed by others. The task was neither easy nor simple, and the results of transitions are now different among various countries. Poland, however, represents an undeniable success, also confirmed by independent sources, like Freedom House, a U.S. non-government organization, which for over 60 years has been carefully watching and supporting democratization processes in regimes around the globe. According to the Freedom House’s recent rankings, Poland holds the first position among 27 post-communistic countries in advancing and achieving progress in political and economic transformations.

Following the September 2001 parliamentary election, Poland has a new coalition government headed by Prime Minister Leszek Miller, with Jacek Piechota having assumed his post as Minister of Economy and Wieslaw Kaczmarek as Minister of Treasury.

© The Korea Hearld

A serendipitous meeting on an airplane has led to a business venture that joins fine beauty products with fun and fanciful home and garden decor.

Sound like a strange mix? One visit to the coupled Rocky River stores of Lilly’s Beauty & Soul and Urban Home & Garden, and you’ll see that one flows into the other like champagne into a fluted glass.

“Tom Paghi and I met on a plane two years ago,” says Lilly’s owner Jeanette Fortunato. “We just clicked, and we’ve been together 24/7 ever since.”

Their friendship quickly kindled a discussion of a business partnership.

“Tom had a home-and-garden accessory store in Lakewood and Westlake, and I had the beauty products shop in La Place,” Fortunato says. “We decided to test a theory: Would a woman shopping for a new lamp be interested in buying a lipstick at the same time?”

Fortunato says the temporary shop they opened in Rocky River’s Beachcliff shopping plaza for the 2000 Christmas season was a huge success, proving that shoppers loved the concept of taking care of their home and themselves simultaneously.

And so a retail niche was born.

After an exhaustive search for the perfect location, Paghi secured a storefront at Detroit and Lakeview roads. He closed his Lakewood store, Georgetown Gallery, and moved from Westlake into the Rocky River location.

Although the two shops have separate entrances, strolling through the space is a natural progression.

A tumbled brick floor, upbeat jazz, pleasantly scented air and artfully displayed merchandise create a comfortable and sensory-tickling experience.

Fortunato arranges products such as Lady Primrose dusting powders, candles and bath salts, which are packaged in re-usable crystal containers, alongside cultish “star-power” products – the powder supermodels Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss can’t live without (T. LeClerc) and Tom Cruise’s signature scent (Turquoise by Comptoir Sud Pacifique).

An old-fashioned washtub and ironing board painted mint green are the perfect corner for La Bouquetiere scented laundry powders, which coordinate with French body lotions and perfumes.

Cocoa lovers can go to chocolate heaven with Cheeky Chimp’s milk, white-chocolate and orange-chocolate scented soaps, lotions and shower gels.

Fortunato left a medical secretary’s position that she had held for 12 years in an intensive care unit to open Lilly’s Place in 1995.

“I had this creative energy that was stalled and dormant,” she says.

She had learned about make-up and beauty care from her mother, Liliana, a model and actress from Warsaw, Poland. Lilly’s Place, named after her, offered shoppers unique and hard-to-find products, many imported from Europe.

“You read about products in magazines like In Style or Allure, but nobody knew where to find them,” Fortunato says.

“At first I’d import directly from France, but now many manufacturers have U.S. distribution centers or companies that approach me directly to carry their new lines.

“Now our West Side customers can find unique products without having to traipse across town.”

Fortunato believes that body and soul go hand in hand.

“This store is not about masking what society says is a flaw or blemish,” she says. “It is about feeding your soul.

“It needs to be nurtured, and when your soul is happy your inner beauty is enhanced and released.”

Lilly’s Beauty & Soul and Urban Home & Garden, 20033 Detroit Road, Rocky River, Ohio are open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. The phone number for Lilly’s is 440-333-9430. Urban Home’s is 440-895-4663. Lilly’s Place, La Place, 2101 Richmond Road, Beachwood, Ohio is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is 216-831-6120.

©Dani Marinucci, Special to The Plain Dealer

PORTSMOUTH – Alecja Goronski knows what she likes when it comes to fashion.

Designer pieces, both originals and limited-edition couture, dramatic dresses, classic separates, and accessories from jewelry to handbags and shoes to go along with all of that.

Now you can benefit from Goronski’s fashion sense yourself at her new consignment boutique, Diva, at 2800 Lafayette Road.

“Not everybody is born to money, but we all deserve to look good,” she said.

Goronski, who immigrated to the United States from Poland in 1975, brought with her not only her rich Slavic accent, but fashion sense she learned as a child from her mother, a clothing designer, and honed throughout her own career, which has included stints at Nordstrom and other fine retailers, as well as owning a consignment shop in Portland, Ore., Fashion Deja Vu, before moving to Portsmouth a year ago.

“I learned everything from my mom. The fabrics, the shapes. My mom was a real diva,” said Goronski, who defines a diva as a “woman who knows what she wants.”

“When you look good, you feel good. That’s the whole secret,” she said. “You blend things with jewelry and shoes and you are a diva.”

Goronski has translated those skills into being able to spot good clothing and good labels to assemble her shop’s selection of high-end clothing. And because it’s a consignment boutique – “secondhand” seems too common for a store that sells Escada couture and the like – Goronski can offer prices that you wouldn’t find on brand-new merchandise.

“It’s like digging in your best friend’s closet and pulling out the best,” Goronski said.

Diva’s selection includes an Escada couture suit that would retail for $4,000, priced at $450; an Adrienne Landau coat that’s been worn by the likes of Wynonnacq Judd and other celebrities; an Adrienne Vittadini with the original $280 price tag still on it goes for $80; and if you look around, there are labels from Ralph Lauren to Albert Nipon to Ferragamo. Sizes typically range from 8 to 16.

“Labels stand for better fabrics, better cuts,” she said. “If you pay several thousand dollars or several hundred, they have to stand for something special. When you have that cashmere sweater, that Escada skirt, you feel good about yourself.”

To ensure the quality of her shop’s selection, Goronski won’t accept any garment that has anything wrong with it, from the tiniest tear or the lightest spot. Her standard is not to take anything the person consigning it wouldn’t put on and wear out of the store in public.

“If I do something, I do it 100 percent. I don’t do it halfway. Everything I have in my store, I have to like it,” she said.

Goronski requires anyone who sells clothes on consignment – one of the sources of clothing for the store, along with close-outs and other special buys Goronski makes – to sign a contract agreeing to terms from how long the store will offer the item to the 50-50 split on the profit. Goronski generally determines the item’s price, but typically it’s at least 50 percent off the original manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

Located in a storefront in White Birch Plaza that Goronski renovated herself (even recruiting Papa Gino’s workers from next door to help her paint the interior), Diva opened on Tuesday with a flourish. Goronski served champagne and finally let in the customers who had been banging on the shop’s door, begging for a chance to come inside since she started stocking the shop weeks ago.

Goronski says she’s also gotten a warm welcome to the local business community, from other consignment shops like Upscale Resale in downtown Portsmouth to Kumminz Gallery and, of course, the Papa Gino’s guys.

In addition to regular sales of clothing and jewelry (there’s even going to be some wedding dresses), Goronski offers personal wardrobe consultation, from finding an all-new selection for a customer to helping her choose separates to match pieces already in her closet.

But Goronski warns that while she’s constructive, she’s not afraid to be direct when advising a client on what looks good and what doesn’t.

“I am terribly honest, because I care,” she said.

Asked to pick her favorite item in the shop, Goronski has a tough time choosing. “I love my alpaca wool capes, I love my evening dresses. I love my store. I am Diva.”

Diva is located in White Birch Plaza, 2800 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Hours (to start) are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday; from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The shop is also open by appointment for personal wardrobe consultations. For information, call (603) 427-1717.

© By Christine Gillette, Portsmouth Herald