Monthly Archives: December 2013

Complexions Contemporary Ballet Review

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On November 26th, we went to go view the Complexions Ballet at the Joyce Theater.  Prior to our seeing the performance, Professor Eversley discussed with us some background information about dance and what we would see at Complexions, which fell under the category of contemporary dance.  When we got to the theater I was shocked at the seat we received which was in the first few rows. From all the live performances that I have attended (which is not many) I have never been that close to the stage. The performers were incredible and I can only imagine how much rehearsing, practicing and physical endurance the dancers had to put their bodies through to perform that flawlessly and be able to move in certain positions like that.  As I watched the performance I began to take notice on what we discussed in class and how Complexions ballet and contemporary dancing was very different from traditional ballet, which is what we think of when we hear the word ballet. The performers here were very mobile and and in terms of technique, there was a lot of strong leg movements. Sitting so close, we also were able to see the sweat flying off their bodies as they danced. Along with that, with every dance piece that was performed, the dancers  poured their hearts out and give the audience 110% of their effort. I could really feel the passion and tension of the performers based on their body language. Overall, Complexions was an incredible performance and an experience I will always remember

Fuerza Bruta

 

 

 

Over Thanksgiving break, my mother and I saw a show called Fuerza Bruta. It was a show that I have never even seen something similar to. First of all there were not seats and the whole show is done while you stand around the moving “stages”. The first stage was a treadmill that used a conveyer belt affect to show the mundane routines of everyday life. Then the staff redirected out attention to the walls and rolled out a foil curtain with dancers hanging from the curtain pole. While we were being told where to look, the treadmill was moved out of the room. Another stage looked like a box and the performers danced inside of that. Fuerza bruta literally translates into brute force. The dancing has a lot of loud bangs and heavy footwork. Nonetheless, it’s unimaginably amazing. I would recommend this show to anybody. If you go, try to get the rush tickets 2 hours before the show because they are much cheaper than the original priced tickets.

Buddha

Seated Buddha Shakyamuni

I went to the Rubin Museum with my art class last week and we went on a tour that described Buddhist art to us. I want to share the iconography I learned about that is seen in all depictions of Buddha. There is always a top knot which is said to hold his curls and it is called a ushnisha. The gem in between his eyebrows is called an urna and it symbolizes his third eye. The positioning of his fingers and hand convey messages and his hand symbols are called mudras. He has elongated earlobes because he used to be a prince and wear heavy earrings. Lastly, his feet are usually crossed and that is called the lotus position. Now you will be able to spot a Buddha before even reading the title of an artwork!

P.S. Baruch students get free admission into the Rubin Museum and its only 15 minutes away from Baruch.

Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary at MoMA Review

René Magritte’s exhibition titled “The Mystery of the Ordinary” at MoMA was my favorite exhibition of the semester. I’m really intrigued by surrealist painters and their visions. Salvador Dali was one of Magritte’s largest inspiration and this is see in the artwork. The Menaced Assassin shares a common characteristic of Dali’s paintings, which is the melting affect. The dead body on the read sofa, the black jacket on the chair, the spine of the chair, and elongated legs of the man next to the music player all look like they are very heavy and are being pulled down by something unseen.

The Menaced Assassin

My favorite painting in the exhibition was The Lovers. A man and a woman are exchanging a romantic kiss but with white cloth over their heads. This painting reminds me of a forbidden love that has been exposed. I interpreted the painting like this: Maybe these two lovers were being unfaithful or maybe these two lovers couldn’t be together because of their families. Whatever the reason, they weren’t supposed to be together. Someone exposed them and the white clothes remind me of what is put in people’s heads before they are hung. The man and the woman will be killed because of their forbidden love. Even though death awaits them, their love doesn’t stop. They are sharing a kiss as intimate as it would be without a cloth dividing them.

The Lovers

Another interesting paint was Not to be Reproduced with featured a man looking into a mirror. The mirror give a reflection of the back of his head instead of the front of his head, which is what is supposed to be seen. The mirror gives the proper reflection for the green book in the right corner because the text appears backwards. For some reason this man doesn’t have a face or maybe he just doesn’t want it seen. After all, the title is Not to Be Reproduced for a reason.

Not to Be Reproduced

UPDATE: Beyonce’s video for “Mine” has scenes with lovers coverings their heads with white cloth, like in “The Lovers”. Link for video below.

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/videos/id.15063/title.beyonce-f-drake-mine-

Complexions Review

Complexions Contemporary Ballet at Joyce theater showed me a side of ballet I was oblivious to. Instead of appearing soft and delicate, these dancers were stomping their feet and used the dancing techniques we learned about in class. While I found it difficult to follow the storyline of the acts, I was still able to form my interpretations of their dancing.

The dancers wore nude costumes during the first act which I thought symbolized a type of birth. They were revealing themselves to us in this performance. Instead of focusing on the colors or designs of the costumes, I focused on the dancing since the costumes were minimalistic. This scene had a dark atmosphere which I had not previously experienced at a ballet.

I thought the second act had something to do with a heart beating. Everyone was in skeleton costumes and the background music was just one beat being repeated. As the beat sped up, so did the performers. Their bodies also were pulsating in synchronization with the music. It was an innovative way to show the conscious movements, the dancing, of the human body with the subconscious function, the heartbeat, of the human body.

The final act was my favorite because it was dedicated to happiness. The music was had lyrics for the first time in the show and was upbeat. The dancers pranced freely around the stage and wore bright colors to show their cheery mood. There was also a part where they had couples dancing together but I think they would switch partners. I’m not sure if this was supposed to a statement or just a way to create more movement but I interpreted it as a statement. The dancers found joy dancing with each other and interacting.

I was excited to have such great seats. We were so close that I could see the sweat coming off the dancer’s bodies and hear them breathing. I think even seats in the back would’ve been good for this performance. Since it was a group performance, seeing the dance from a distance would allow a better perception of how the group functions and effects each other.

MoMA – Margritte – THE MYSTERY OF THE ORDINARY

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On November 19th, we went to visit the MoMA. This was my first time visiting the MoMa so I was not sure what to expect when I got there. After getting settled, a group of us went to check out the Magritte exhibit, which features paintings by René Magritte from the year 1926 – 1938. As I read the description outside the exhibit, I was a bit curious as to what his style would look like. The description was that Rene Margritte developed key strategies and techniques to defamiliarize the familiar. It also said that he was a surrealist and how he wanted to overthrow what he saw as oppressive rationalism. When I first walked in I began to understand what they were talking about. I noticed many abstract paintings like people kissing with cloths over their heads, wooden planks, scenes and all different kinds of paintings. I also noticed a lot of paintings of dismembered human body parts and of people with certain features exaggerated. Another theme that I noticed was the display of many cut-up paintings. One example was L’ÉVIDENCE ÉTERNELLE, a portrait of a human body that was cut up into 5 different sections. According to the description, it was painted in 1930 and appeared in many early Surrealists exhibitions. “The fragmentation underscores the tendency of the human eye to focus selectively rather than comprehensively in its vision.” As I continued to explore the Margritte exhibit, I came across a painting that should be familiar to all of us. It was The Key of Dreams, which is also on the front cover of our book Ways of Seeing by John Berger. Embarrassingly though, at first I did not recognize or acknowledge it to be the same painting but after Professor Eversley approached me and pointed it out, I began to realized where I had seen that painting before. Overall, the exhibit was very interesting and for my first time ever coming to the MoMa, I was quite satisfied with what I saw tehre.

Tosca Review

 

Tosca was the first opera I ever saw and I have mixed feelings about it. We had seats that were close to the stage which kept me paying attention since I could see the actors’ emotions. Following the plot was fairly simple once I remembered to turn on the translations, but I do think it alters the experience. I find that translating art, in this case lyrics, from one language to another changes the meaning. The emotions are lost in translation and English has a lot of filler words which distract from the point. Regardless, at least I was able to follow along with the show.

The sets were really beautiful throughout out the show. The first set was supposed to be the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle. I thought that the huge painting was a nice visual element to look at since most of the stage was empty. The second set was Scarpia’s apartment which looked just like I envision a classical Italian apartment; lots of reds, dark colors, and a painting. The hidden door on the right side of the stage was really cool since it shown extremely bright when it was open. It was a clever idea to have it look so icy since it was a torture room. The final scene was supposed to be the Battlements of the Castel Sant’ Angelo. The building  on stage gave a realistic depth to the stage. All the set designs were enriching to the context of the play and set the mood for the scenes.

The actors in Tosca were super talented and must be dedicated to their careers. the notes that they are able to reach can only be reached with a lot of practice. Each actor commanded the stage with their voice even though the stage was big enough to swallow them. Tosca has a simple storyline but the delivery of the actors made the show. Although they were a bit overly dramatic for me, it is the opera afterall.

Lincoln Center architecture!

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Hi everyone! Hope you all had an awesome time at Tosca! I know I did! I passed by Lincoln Center but never had any reason to actually enter the area. It was absolutely beautiful! The Christmas tree was an awesome touch too! The fountain was the prettiest part. I loved how it was in the center of Lincoln Center. Do you guys see what I did there? Haha. Also, I love the bird eye’s view. It looks completely different from up here! I never noticed the design of the circles and all of it leading to the center when I was down there. The fact that Lincoln Center is in the middle of a modern world makes it more mysterious behind its closed, glass doors. I hope to see many more plays/operas in the future!

Don’t underestimate the places you go! Especially in New York City! Have an awesome break, I’m going to miss you guys! 🙂

The One and Only Tosca

Tosca, the name is so simple but the opera behind it is so complex. The opera was situated in none other than Lincoln Center. It looked great outside too, but I underestimated how big it was inside. The opera hall was huge and grand, with rows of balconies lining away all to the top to the ceiling. The chandeliers were quite pretty, but the amazing part was that they moved. They retracted back into the ceiling when the opera started.

Giving a very brisk outline about the opera, I thought Tosca was something I had never seen before. Granted I never saw an opera before, but this was unlike any production I had ever seen. The orchestra meshed really well with the singing from the cast; it resonated and mirrored the setting around the characters or what the characters were actually singing. A great example of this is the motif that occurs with Angoletti; it was distinguishable, frantic, and a panicky tune that played whenever Angoletti appeared onstage or was even mentioned. The cast was great as well; they performed their lines flawlessly. Tosca, in particular, did a great job of portraying a jealous yet devoted diva to Cavaradossi.

In the end, I was stunned by the performance. There was nothing in my life that could measure up to this opera. It’s so much of a surreal experience when you are actually at the opera, as opposed to watching it via video. The applause was well deserved at the end; I clapped enthusiastically  throughout the cast’s as well as the conductor’s bows. I also clapped for the orchestra, who silently left the stage without bowing. It’s a shame, because they really did a great work with the music in Tosca. I walked away from the Lincoln Center into the cold and brisk night, but inside, I was bubbling with excitement of the drama that can only happen in Tosca.20131211_223916

The NYC Christmas Tree

Rockefeller Center is the home of New York’s very own festive holiday tree. Over the last 80 or so years they have set it up with decorations and lights for all of New York and the world to see. I got the chance to go and see it over the previous weekend and as always, it was as spectacular as ever. Lights encompassing it completely and the fact that its huge makes it a nice and iconic sight to see. I’m sure everyone has seen it in the pass but there is something about it that keeps people like me coming back. I wasn’t even going to originally stop by but, after seeing it in the side of my eye it basically drew me in and I figured I would go get a better look. For New York this tradition is in itself a way for the whole city to collectively show their festive side. Everything around you can be considered art depending on one’s perspective and the Rockefeller Center tree is just another example of how this can be done.

Botched Holiday Songs