I started the day by drawing at Olympia ballet studios. Frey Faust was teaching there. He is an amazing dancer. He started the lesson by floorwork, rolling movements and the bodies were unfolding like sea stars in the depths of the ocean. The tempo was accerelated and at the end of the class everybody was jumping and flying through the space on powerful African rhythms. I would call it AFreycan dancing

In the afternoon I met with Dora in Artis Zoo near the camels. We were going directly to the elephants, where 2 months ago a baby was born called Yindee. It was busy there but we had place to make sketches on the spot. The crowd of parents and their children was delighted to watch the cute little Yindee. If they were no barriers people would caress the fluff on the head of the pet-like animal. I did not expect that Yindee was such a small size. It was touching to see this toy animal hiding between the legs of her mother. From time to time she was pushed forward by her mothers trunk in order to learn walking.

Then something unexpected happened. The male elephant was demanding attention of the mother. He started standing on his back feet and eagerly climbed on the back of her. Between his legs a new 'trunk' appeared. It was then that people started realizing that this was not a public circus act but that they were witnessing a very private scene. Instead of being visitors of a baby room they all felt like voyeurs in a sleeping room. Parents did not know what to say to their kids.

After one hour i finished the sketches of the baby as well as the elephant couple (Dora was already drawing giraffes at a more quiet place). One of my favourite elephant drawings is by Rembrandt An Elephant, in the Background a Group of Spectators c. 1637. a black chalk drawing made of a travelling circus. He manages to draw the pose, shape and skin of the animals so well. I only wonder if the eye is not too big.


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