Monthly Archives: November 2013

Complexions, The Ballet

I’m hardly the dance/ballet expert, so it was quite hard to follow the performance, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, at the Joyce Theater. So all I could do was watch the ballet in an earnest fashion: marveling at the way the dancers moved and performed but not understanding why or how they dance.

It was entertaining to watch the dancers move with utter grace and fluidity. They would do stretches and poses that looked impossible to do if I tried to replicate there moves. It was passionate, and at times, extreme how they tried to portray the feelings through nothing but dance. There wasn’t a word that was uttered during the dance; you only could hear deep and time breaths, the slapping of their hands, and the pounding of their feet.

The first few dances to me were quite abstract. It was trying to portray some sort of feeling; I found it to be happiness. They were all dancing collectively, as if they were expressing happiness and good will as a human force. The music that they danced too was often quite positive and happy; it consisted of piano, strings, and often brass.

The dances after the first intermission conveyed a much different emotion to me. It was sadness and desperation as the dancers usually danced separately. The music was much more mellow and depressing, as usually a single violin or viola played music to which the dancers dramatically danced to. It made me feel sad and disappointed inside about how the dancers expressed their movements and the music that was being played.

The last set of dances after the final intermission was in stark contrast to the ones done before. It was jazzy, it was upbeat in that you wanted to follow a long, and it was something you’d just want to be part of. You could even see it on the dancer’s faces; they smiled and gave even a quiet chuckle as they danced to the groove. I personally preferred the first two set of dances, even if the third one was memorable and entertaining. There’s something more in-depth about the first two that draws me in.

Complexions was a great ballet to watch; it definitely gave me a new impression about ballet itself!

Complexions

complexions-articleLarge

The projected sweat, the deep breathes, the sweet caresses: nearly every aspect of Complexions Contemporary Ballet left me in awe. The performance as a whole was broken into three, and some were better than others.

It started off with a contemporary dance with what I believe was a storyline of male versus female, bridging off towards topics such as seclusion and heartbreak. The males and females would sometimes dance as pairs, leave their partner or dance alone as others stared. As a whole, a full liner storyline can be difficult to interpret, so I decided to fully focus on one dancer. I created a story for him: he was the man with brown curly hair and nameless. He immediately caught my attention after bouncing up and down; making me laugh and grasping my emotions. At times I noticed his sadness as others danced, his happiness when he danced. He seemed to be a loner trying to find a companion, so he would often stare with wonder at the other characters. I identified with him and was drawn to his story, but I wish I could have done the same for all the dancers; a daunting task based on the wide variety of personal stories being told on stage.

The second part was by far my favorite. As the curtain rose, I heard deep, saddening music, and right away I was touched emotionally. I had so many favorite parts of this show; one being the two seemingly naked males dancing. It was slightly provocative, potentially homosexual, but the crisp movements of their body and the chemistry between the dancers were simply beautiful. To me, the two dancers portrayed a love story with potential problems and heartaches, and when one dancer tried to leave the stage and the other pulled him back, I felt the tension and quick desire between them. The final scene was so graceful, as the two dancers held a disconnected embrace.

The other dance I particularly enjoyed was with three dancers: two up front and one in the back. The dancers in the front seemed to be wearing black robes doing a traditional Japanese dance. It felt extremely proper, but in an artistic and elegant in tone. However, the artist in the back is what I enjoyed the most: he danced in front of a white screen making him appear as a shadow and dancing as he wanted to. This gave the dance a direct juxtaposition: traditional versus the internally pleasing. It reminded me of oppressive parents, the two dancers adhering to their strict traditional beliefs of dance, as their child is in the back dancing as he wants to, making motions off whim and pleasure as opposed to tradition.

The final act was my least favorite, it was lively but it seemed off putting compared to the beautifully constructed first parts. The whole dance seemed to be a bad Broadway musical reminiscent of dancing at a club. Sure it was fun and enjoyable, but I felt that it was all over the place and I couldn’t focus on one character or one dance like I’d want to.

Complexions

Let me start off by saying that dance is some of the most intense stuff that I’ve ever seen. Literally everyone on that stage seemed like they were flexing every muscle in their body to keep a perfect form of movement consistently throughout the performance. I really enjoyed having a close seat, but I have a feeling that sitting in the balcony would’ve provided a great view all on its own because we would’ve seen the dancers’ full bodies from a higher angle. Seeing them sweat and hearing them breathe gave the evening a very personal and intimate aura, however, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

The first two small performances were interesting, and that’s just about all I can say about them. I searched and searched for some sort of story line and meaning, but couldn’t find anything. Perhaps that’s because I’m not very creative, and our professor(s) came up with a plot that the performance followed. The music was certainly classical more than anything, and my second favorite instrument is the piano, so I found the melody to be captivating. I can overlook my inability to create a plot in my mind by focusing more on the movement and the effort that I watched all the dancers put forth in their performance, which in a personal sense I admired more than anything else.

But, of course, the last part of the performance was completely thunderous and incredible. Give me saxophone solos, jazzy love songs, and some Stevie Wonder audio, and I’m ready to get up on that stage with the dancers to make a fool of myself. Those melodies revitalized about half of the sleeping class (I was a member of the awake group) and gave the rest of the audience a jolt, leading to spontaneous applause and whistling and ubiquitous “wows” that were heard nearly every thirty seconds.

MoMA – Rene Magritte

La Clairvoyance by Rene Magritte was, without a doubt, my favorite painting in the MoMA exhibition. I think the first thing that stuck out to me as I walked by was the majestic bird on the canvas, and that’s where my pondering began. Why would Magritte paint a self portrait in the act of painting a bird, when he could’ve just painted the bird itself and focused on all of its delicate details?

That’s when I looked down and saw the unhatched egg on the table.
Essentially Magritte is suggesting that when he paints, he perceives
everything about the future. He is so creative and innovative that all he needs
is square 1, and he will give you squares 2-infinity. Of course, the painting
need not be a realistic representation of how Magritte would actually paint a bird, rather a pretty clear suggestion that Magritte has the element of creativity
that makes him stand out as an artist.

Magritte may be promoting the idea of clairvoyant thought. Don’t settle for a small white egg on a table; take the egg and enhance what it merely is. Even go a step further: don’t settle for something that “is”. Make that something into a prospect or a potentially miraculous image. Some might mistake Magritte’s painting as a blatant sign of arrogance, but I believe it’s quite the contrary: it’s more of a message to the audience that’s going to be viewing and criticizing his work than it is a self-righteous display of his talent. And that makes it even more fascinating; Magritte is famously known as a surrealist, but here the only surreal aspect is the fact that he is seen painting something as opposed to presenting his painting as it is traditionally supposed to be: on canvas. Instead, the focus is not actually the bird (which it would be if it was a “normal” painting) and is, instead, Magritte’s keen ability to be creative.

clairvoyance

Complexions at Joyce Theater

This past Tuesday, we visited Complexions at Joyce Theater. After seeing what contemporary dancing was like in class, I was excited to see the performance!

During the first half of the performance, it was very difficult for me to understand the story behind the dancers’ movements. I remember one point where I thought “oh, my gosh! It’s a romance story and the two men are fighting over one woman!” But, then another woman came into the picture and five other men rushed onto the stage as well. The complexity was very admirable but it was also hard to comprehend. The background music was also very dragged out. It was hard to tell apart the beginning, middle, and end.

Like Professor Eversley pointed out in class, the dancers moved with the beat of the music. I could only imagine the time and energy the dancers and choreographers dedicated to perfect the performance. When the dancers twirled, you could see their sweat from their forehead hit the floor as they quickly twirled. I bet if I watched the performance again, I would understand the story line/meaning better. I wonder if the dancers exactly understand the meaning behind each step, and each move. I love how passionate they are about dancing. Their drive and determination makes this performance even more special!

I LOVED THE SECOND PART OF THE PERFORMANCE. LOVED LOVED LOVED IT! I felt like it was more livelier! The music and the song lyrics made it more easier for me to understand. I wonder what dances the dancers personally liked better. I wonder if there was an intention behind the difference of choreography and music between the two paradoxical performances. I wonder what the costumes signify. I remember the first performance had women in a black one piece and men were in black “underwear” shaped outfits. In the second performance, dancers were wearing nude colored spandex, I believe. Then, if I remember correctly, actors then changed into a span of different color tops with tight white jeans. All the costumes were so unique. I wonder if the costumes were created first or if the dances were. I wonder how they found the music.

What did you guys feel about the performance? Did you guys like the second half better?

MOMA : René Magritte and John Cage

My favorite painting of all time is Le fils de l’homme (The Son of Man) by René Magritte. An apple covers a man’s face, immediately making us question what’s behind, but that’s the message: why figure out the hidden when the rest is being shown. The interesting thoughts behind Magritte’s paintings are what interest me the most. He is a surrealist painter who incorporates simple, common items and places them in areas to give them a surrealist, new meaning. This questions everything we know about the common item. He elevates simplicity into beautiful art everyone can relate to and ponder.

The exhibition at the MOMA was very surprising and beautifully constructed. It takes the museum-goer on a journey through Magritte’s life, beginning with his earlier work and ending with his later ones. It begins with typical paintings, progressing to 3D art and redefining the boundaries of the frame. Despite this progression, Magritte consistently uses the same basic idea: fiddling with the juxtaposition of objects, placing objects where they aren’t usually found and defying common sense. For example, the piece that struck me the most was La reproducción interdite (Not to be Reproduced) by René Magritte. A man looks into a mirror, yet his reflection is not shown back. This is meant to confuse us and our common sense. I wanted to know how his face looked, why the mirror was doing this. It made me frustrated – that is not how a mirror works and I want to see his face.

[Clio Team] 1937 Magritte La Reproduction interdite, 81x65 cm

The last exhibition I visited was There Will Never Be Silence: Scoring John Cage’s 4’33’’. I visited it after noticing the name John Cage from my art movement project, and was further intrigued when I noticed that I knew a majority of the artists featured. I knew their famous art pieces and their main objectives in art, which intensified my appreciation for the exhibition. For example, it examined Cage’s influence on artists such as Yoko Ono, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol – artists who pushed the boundaries of space, time, and physicality. One of the most interesting pieces was Cage’s 4’33’’ manuscript of simple plain white pages. While going around the exhibition, I noticed the art and poetry of Yoko Ono, whose poetry was very avant-garde and confusing. I did not understand it, but seeing this historical figure’s work was an amazing experience. As I was walking out of the exhibit, I heard strange, random noises. I was at first scared but then I was struck when I located the noises coming from a small wooden box in the middle of a room. There was no name on the piece, but I wish I could know who created this eerie box, I walked around the piece, hearing it from all different angles, put my ear as close as I could. I wouldn’t have noticed the piece if I didn’t explore the area, it seemed to blend into the exhibition, just as John Cage always wanted: ambient sound can change the art form.

There-will-never-be-silence

On the language of modern dance

On Tuesday, November 26, we will see a series of performances by Complexions Contemporary Ballet, at The Joyce Theater (175 8th Avenue @19th Street) at 7:30PM.  The performance will run 2 approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes, including two intermissions.  We will meet in front of the theater at 7PM.  In preparation for this performance, we’ll watch and discuss the following during class:

“A History of Modern Dance”

“Martha Graham–A Dancer Revealed”

Martha Graham’s “A Dancer’s World” (1957)

“Merce Cunningham at 90”

Merce Cunningham Dance Company at BAM

 

 

Here is an interview with Desmond Richardson, Director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet:

Visit to the MoMA

Going to the MoMA for the first time was a really cool experience for me, because for the first time there was art displayed that I was a little bit perplexed by. For example, the exhibition that I completely blew my mind was Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary, 1926-1938. As I read in the description, Rene Magritte was a surrealist, and wanted to challenge the real world. I think he does a really good job in doing so, because a lot of his paintings have obscene material, like nudity, which is brave of him for doing so in the early 20th century. I’m not even comfortable looking at nudity now, and its the 21st century already!

the-lovers-

 

Take a look at this image. It surprises me. After seeing all those naked people in his drawings, all of a sudden, Magritte wants to hide the faces of these two lovers. He is trying to invoke a cinematic cliche of a close-up kiss, and he is attempting to capture the audiences attention by masking these two people. Now that the lovers are masked, the audience can have questions, and want to find answers to satisfy their curiosity: who are they? Are they embarrassed by the love they have for each other? Why do they have to the masks on? This is a painting of the year 1928, and the norms of that time were quite conservative compared to the norms for our society today. Magritte is challenging the norms of his society, and asking for people to unmask their love for each other and be more liberal. Otherwise, they’ll end up looking just as ridiculous as these two lovers.

pipe

 

In French, the message on this image translates to “This is not a pipe.” I, as the viewer of the image, disagree with that statement. So what the hell is it? But Magritte responds to my concern saying, ” Who could smoke the pipe from one of my paintings? Nobody. Hence, it is not a pipe.” Magritte says that people saying that this is a pipe is simple error and misuse of language. I thought this was an interesting analysis of his painting. Nobody would even think of such an explanation, so again, that’s another example of Magritte challenging social norms and ways of his time. I enjoyed this exhibition, more so reading the descriptions than looking at the nudity in most of the images, but I won’t deny the fact that the painting were indeed exceptional. See, I like people like Magritte: people that go out of their way to make a case and challenge want the society throws at them, and people who are open to think out of the box.