Category Archives: performance art

Tosca: Highlights, Connections, and Improvements

Tosca was an amazing experience with some wonderful highlights. I must say, simply stating that I was going to the opera made me feel like a high class New Yorker, but being able to talk about and make comments on the opera Tosca was even better.

The most memorable aspect was the main character Floria. Her voice was absolutely beautiful and amazing, every time she sang I was left in awe. She clearly outshone every character in the Opera with her voice and range. I couldn’t help but think of her extraordinary lung capacity, during an intermission some tried to sing Opera, and one can tell it’s difficulty by giving it a quick try. The orchestra playing music for Tosca was also extremely memorable. I’ve never had much musical skill, so hearing such professionals play so beautifully was a real treat.

Sondra Radvanovsky (Floria) after killing John Del Carlo (Scarpia)

Sondra Radvanovsky (Floria) after killing John Del Carlo (Scarpia)

What made Tosca the most interesting were the connections I could make from my prior experiences. Over the summer I visited Rome and Vatican City: two big areas for churches. They were simply everywhere, just walking in unknown areas would likely garner a visit to one, so after reading the playbill and realizing that the first act was in the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle I decided to look it up. Honestly, the Church looks like every church in Rome (they all have a distinct lavish look about them) so I very well could have been there, perhaps I haven’t, but I did enjoy making the connection. The other connection I made was that of a video game: Assassins Creed II. It may sound odd, but a major part is set in Rome during the 15th century – yes the Opera’s setting is during the 19th century, but there were still some connections. In the video game, the main character’s family get caught up in political upheaval and he must avenge his father’s death against the powerfully corrupt religious men in the country. The plot does have it’s connections, but I was instantaneously reminded in the last act with the guard’s circular movements and I later realized that in the second act, the women who dressed provocatively looked extremely similar to the prostitutes in the video game.

Inside of the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle

Inside of the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle

Despite this ability for the Opera to resonate with me, I did have some problems with it – none of which have anything against the performers and the orchestra, for they were all absolutely fantastic. However, my problems lay with the actual plot. After hearing a synopsis of the play, namely that all the characters die, I expected something that mirrored my favorite Shakespearian play, Hamlet. Hamlet’s ending is grand and exciting with plot twists and action where by the end, everyone dies due to some turn of events likened to emotions of in numeral levels. However with Tosca I did not find this to be true. I felt as though the building climax was simplistic and easy to determine. Even without knowing her lover would die could I easily suspect it. Floria did kill Scarpia after all – did she not think others would find out? I thought her acceptance that a mock execution would occur was extremely naïve and inaccurate. Despite this one problem, I thought the Opera was a whole was wonderful, and going back to the Met Operahouse will certainly be something I do in the near future.

Spray Painter Artist


Going to school at Baruch, we are located in the heart of a cultural center that is New York City. With art being all around us, in New York, we can find all different kinds of street artists, from caricaturists to painters to this guy in the video! I was very impressed at how this artist was able to create beautiful paintings in such little time using only caps and spray paint. Im not sure what technique this is called or if it even is considered a technique but what ever it is, I still found it very impressive and would love to see it myself sometime in the city. When I first saw this video, I was amazed at this artist’s skill. I share it with you today in hopes that you will find the same amazement that I did.

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.

Tosca

The Opera, Tosca by Puccini was one to remember. First Opera I ever attended, one of the last days of my first college semester, and all on the day of my birthday. Going into the Opera while knowing that it was going to be a performance that would last around three hours, I became a bit skeptical and honestly was afraid that I might doze off and become uninterested. Thankfully however it became one of the best performances I ever attended. It was nice to see that even if the entire performance was an opera they were still able to add a bit of humor into all of it and give it a nice story. Being in Italian, I originally thought that I would be constantly looking at the screen with the English translations and thus fail to see what the performers were doing but considering that it took them quite a while to fully say each sentence, it all worked out nicely. Of course I don’t mean this in a bad way, I honestly felt that the performers did a fantastic job in executing their roles.

Presentation and location are both also major contributing factors in regards to shows like the Tosca as well. Both of these aspects were spot on, from the Lincoln center with its very classy and professional ambiance and general aura to the manner in which they conducted everything. Events like these are not only limited to the performance but rather the entire experience that you get from attending it. By having a very orderly and professional way of organizing the event, and treating the guests regardless of who they are with respect really made me appreciate the entire experience even more. Small details like the ones that I had mentioned are what make people willing to pay such large amounts for the tickets.

Alongside being an opera where the vocalists were absolutely amazing, I also have to give a lot of the credit to the conductor and the orchestra. They controlled the tempo of the entire performance and were able to give it added emotion through use of multiple musical techniques such as crescendo, vibrato, and an overall grasp over tempo. In regards to the organization of the performance I also really enjoyed the fact that they gave intermissions where they allowed the audience to stand up and grab some fresh air while utilizing the time to create completely different stage set-ups. In doing so I personally felt I was able to come back each time refreshed ready to watch the performance rather than looking back at my watch constantly waiting for it to end.

Overall this performance was one that I very much enjoyed and will truly remember. From the laughs I had during the performance to the ones I had during the intermissions, making the most out of an experience is what matters at the end of the day and I’m happy that I did. 

Complexions Review

I never would have thought that I would ever attend a ballet in my life, but I am glad that I can now say they I have. After Fun Home and out class trips, my expectations for the Complexions Ballet at the Joyce Theater were extremely high. After all, Fun Home was amazing, Meeting Greg Broom was great, and so on. Although, the dancers were amazing (even that may be an understatement) and the dances were very well coordinated, it fell below my expectations. That is not to say I did not enjoy it, I just thought I would like the performance as a whole much more than I actually did. Perhaps it was because they were not contemporary enough for me. It seems that the dances slowly progressed and became more and more modern.

 

It started off with a dance titled Moon Over Jupiter by Dwight Rhoden. The dance did have my attention for the most part, but that was mainly because it was the first time I ever watched a ballet. Their outfits were interesting and unexpected. Actually it was barely existent. I wonder why they chose those specific outfits for this dance. This number made me realize how much running and moving ballet really requires. To have to run off stage and run to their exact spot is very difficult but they executed it flawlessly. At times this dance was up beat but at many times it was slow, I was just wondering when they would move to the next dance.

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The second dance, Recur byAlejandro Cerrudo,  was slower than the first. I expected it to be faster. I just could not enjoy it. Although I do understand that the dancers cannot continuously do strenuous and quick dances. This must have been the time that dancers could relax more. Although it looked just as difficult.

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The third number, Innervision by Jae Man Joo, was much better. It was upbeat for the most part and the music was much more lively. Although it was ballet, it added more modern aspects. The movements were faster and the emotions on the dancers faces were not serious like they were in the other two. It kept me awake and engaged and that is what I felt a performance should do.

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My high expectation was probably unfair because it was the result of always enjoying our other class trips more than expected. My expectations for past trips were always much lower so that was likely the reason I always enjoyed them more. However, this was enjoyable and was a positive experience. It was when I realized that being so close to the stage is a strange experience. I could smell and see the sweat, hear  the movements, and see the emotions on the faces of the actors. Would I go to another ballet after this? Definitely, but I will pray they are more like the third number.

 

 

Complexions

Having never gone to an official ballet performance I wasn’t to sure as to what I should expect with the Complexions performance. Sure, I had seen performances on Television before but, all of them seemed to be in cartoons and more often than not depicted women wearing the infamous tutu that were complimented with pink tights and shoes. Despite having these ideas circulating in my head before the performance I decided to put them aside and view the performance without any other influences rather than the essence of the performance itself. The performance was taking place in the Joyce Theatre, a small theatre in respect to many of the others that I had been in before but, nonetheless, a nice and rather luxurious place.

After walking in and taking my seat within the performance hall I looked around and everything about the place looked like a broadway performance. From the seating arrangement to the deep red curtains covering the stage, the aura that the place created was appropriate for what was to come next. Once the lights dimmed and the curtains were raised a few people stood on the stage in a statue like composure all waiting for the cue to begin. Right from the start I knew that this ballet wouldn’t be one with tutus or pink ballet shoes and knowing that became far more attentive and interested than I originally was.

As the performance began, all of the dancers began moving and executing carefully choreographed movements which really made the performance and the entire idea of ballet come alive in my eyes. The amount of effort each individual was putting into the performance truly made it self known as all of them did actions that most people probably couldn’t even attempt to do. As they raced from one side of the stage to the other all in harmony with one another, the beauty of their effort and the performance began to reveal itself. With such swift and carful movements, all of which having to be learned by each individual within their team to make the performance that we so calmly sat down and saw, required an immense amount of effort. Knowing that and for them to make it so easily seen for us as their sweat literally shot through the air while all of them gasped for air, I realized that I had a new found respect for ballet. One that I never knew I had but after seeing the Complexions performance and the amount of work and devotion that went into creating it, it was one that was well deserved.

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!

Complexions

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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 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?