Last weekend we had gone to see two performances, Stepz at Brooklyn College, and Avenue Q on broadway. Stepz was a tap dancing show, and before I had actually gone to see it I did not have very high expectations for it. However I was proven wrong, the performance was spectacular. I did not love the opening song, but it kept getting better and better with each number they performed. I loved how creatively they used the wooden steps in their dancing, the hollowness of the steps allowed for a different sounding taps to be made on each step and even the sides. Some numbers were even funny, like the one mocking ballet, yet not a word was said. I was amazed at the performers skills, I did realize that you can do all this with only tap dancing. I like that they focused on just dancing rather than trying to make it into something else by adding play elements, in my opinion that would have taken away from the show. I was able to focus on just their dancing skill, as the matter of fact, my favorite number was the one without music at all, when the two male leads only created sound with their shoes. Stephen brought up a good point in a conversation we had, the audience clapping after each impressive move was distracting, as one of the main points of tap dancing is to be able to hear it.

The next day our class had gone to see Avenue Q. We got the most amazing seats in the second row, right by the stage. I have heard about the show before, and only good things, so I was excited. It was a very entertaining play, it was funny and the songs were catchy. One of the things I liked about it was how some of the characters were played by people and some by puppets, and that whoever was holding the puppet also made facial expressions and acted as well as controlled the puppet and spoke for it. On a few occasions, the actor who spoke was not the one holding the puppet and that has been interesting as well how well the actors have handled it. It was a new experience for me because I had seen plays and I had seen puppet shows before, but this was a mix of the two. The show, touching upon themes so current at this time and place (modern nyc), had some good messages, especially one of tolerance. In NYC we have the unique opportunity to be surrounded by people of every culture, and if we choose to embrace it rather than sticking to only your own, it can be a very rewarding experience.

Once the show was over, we were told to remain in our seats. The rest of the guests left, we were the only one left in the audience, and were wondering as to why we were told to stay. Soon the stage manager and the cast came out, and we got to ask them questions. It was very unexpected but great to have that opportunity. They were really nice and had said some interesting things about the performers perspective.

Even though this did take up my entire weekend, going to these two performances was ultimately a good experience.