Daily Archives: December 4, 2013

Message #1: An Original Poem

Hey class, here’s a poem I would like to share with you guys. I wrote it myself, and its straight from my journal. Enjoy!

Message #1:

 

These motives are insane

Living in peace, and not aware

of all those stuck in pain

I turn on the news, and just stare

You’re dancing, and you’re laughing

And doing whatever else you do

But you never take the time

to consider what the poor are going through

The reporter tells you lies

and you don’t even want to learn

Not until the day of your own demise

Until life took its wild turn

An “American” does not exist

If my thoughts are not yet heard

And if no one wants to hear it

I guess an “American” is absurd

You’re gullible and illiterate

A “happy” life is not there

The truth is left unsaid

In reality they don’t care

As long as they have a house

and car, and looks much more than good

They will never care about you

It was implied you understood

There are bigger things in life

than the numbers you pursue

Whether it’s the money or the grade

All of it will fade

The day death will come for you.

I wrote this poem to portray the corruption in our government. When we vote for people and expect them to do things for us, and then come to find out that these representatives were looking out for themselves and not the community or country as a whole, it hurts. So this is my message to them, and I want the people in Congress to take a look at this and reply. I want them to explain to me why they tell us they’ll fix problems with this country, the laws, the systems, and ways of running this nation, but they never do. I want them to explain to me why Immigration reform has been kept on that agenda for five years now, when the issue was supposed to be resolved three years ago. Money leads to greed, and that greed needs to go if we want to proceed and succeed in becoming a better nation.

 

Complexions Review

The Complexions performance at the Joyce Theater was quite an experience. Going to the movie theater, baseball games, and other large events, I would think front row, or very close to front row seats are awesome. They make us feel top notch, first class, and are supposed to be good thing. However, front seats at the Joyce Theater was not a good idea at all. It was nerve-racking, because the dancers were sweating and breathing, and I felt like I was too close to them. Personally, I like to keep a distance from people, and I felt like I was making them even more nervous and adding to their tension by being all up in their faces. It got to the point where I could see the sweat on their foreheads dancing off into the air, and I was afraid some of it would land on me. Therefore, no more front seats ever again for me, especially at a dance performance.

The professor said we would be witnessing a ballet performance, so I was expecting something like the Nutcracker. For some reason, I also thought the performance would be boring, because I don’t really pay attention to watching dance, unless I’m watching myself dance. However, the performance blew me away, and I loved the way the performers kept their energy levels up the whole time, especially towards the end. It was interesting to see their moods change throughout all three parts of the performance. I had questions in my head that were left unanswered, and I believe that’s something awesome about the performance: the curiosity kept me glued to my seat. Is there something I’m supposed to understand from the performance? Why is she making those faces? How come he’s moving so slowly? There were moments when I thought I would understand something by the end of a segment of the performance, and there were moments when I was feeling the tensions of the performers, based on their body language.

I absolutely enjoyed the third part of the performance, and I definitely started clapping to the beat. The performance was exceptional, and the dancers were fantastic. Their energy kept me awake and going as well, because if they started losing it, I would have fell asleep in that seat, considering how late it was and exhausted I was that night. That would have been a disaster for somebody sitting in front row seats!

Meditation and Art

So I might go a little off topic but Michele’s post reminded me of the artist I interviewed, Robin Bachman. In addition to painting deities, Ms. Bachman meditates on her free time. In fact, for her, painting and creating her various artworks serve as a way of meditating and relaxation for her. She sent me an article someone wrote about her after interviewing her about meditation and the influence it has on her artwork. It is really amazing to see how two different things–meditation and art–can come together to create something really beautiful.
Check it out! http://www.yogacitynyc.com/articles/WeeklyDetails/785

Complexions

Last Tuesday, we went to see the contemporary ballet, Complexions, at the Joyce Theater. The first thing I noticed was the very sculpted body of each dancer. The dim lights and shadows emphasized the muscles even more. This made me think about how much effort each dancer has to put in their moves. Even a skip, a hop, a spin across the stage required the utmost concentration and focus. The amount of discipline and energy in making the difficult look effortless was remarkable.

There were a lot of quiet almost silent moments in the second segment that made me uncomfortable because it threw me off. After minutes of music in the background, the sudden quietness startled me. I didn’t know what to concentrate on anymore. However, after a few minutes of silence I began to focus on the heavy breathing of each dancer. There was this one part when the dancers ended an act by breathing heavily in sync with each other and facing the audience and I found this part especially captivating. Another part that I particularly remember was when at the end of one dance all of the dancers walked all the way up to the front of the stage and just stared into the audience. Their methods of engaging us was different than most shows that I’ve seen. By causing slight awkwardness and discomfort with us – the audience, is the dancer able to capture our undivided attention. However, despite the silence, the second segment of the three part ballet was my favorite.

Compared to the first and second parts, the last segment of the ballet was lively and upbeat. However, I did not find it particularly memorable. It was fun to watch but compared its previous counterpart it was more predictable, making it almost boring. Overall, this ballet was a good experience and definitely helped spark my interest in the art of dance.