I can’t believe its over. Time flies out of nowhere. I look back and I am amazed at how far I have come this semester. I remember our beginning classes and thinking about the annoyance I felt when I heard that we were going to several performances throughout the year. I remember the confusion I had when Professor Healey used so many theater terms; I have not heard things like the avant-garde in my life. I was not a theater person at all and did not think that this seminar would be for me. I was surprised in so many ways that I did not know where to begin. What I did know was that what surprised me the most were the performances and how much I liked most of them. These performances affected my semester in many ways and changed how I began to see New York.
One thing that really surprised me was how much I enjoyed the Tales of Hoffmann. Before I went to the opera that day, all I thought about was getting home late over and over again. I was so pessimistic about going that I figured that I would not see anything great about the opera. I thought I would just be negative in my blog about it and call it a day. However when I saw the opera, I forgot that I had to leave at 11:30 because I actually enjoyed watching it. Although I did get home at one in the morning, it was worth it because it exposed me to a piece that was completely different from what I was accustomed to culturally. It was a piece that did show a love story but for me it exposed me to a way of life totally different than my own but still showed something that was relatable. How many of us are able to relate to some kind of love that we’ve had; I think that is why the opera was a success. You think that operas cannot relate to you at all and have topics that are one of a kind, but this is why I think the Tales of Hoffman was successful because it was relatable for me and the younger generation.
The opera affected me mainly because it made me appreciate the arts in New York City more. Before this time I just lived life regularly and would not care to go to the theater or anywhere else with any interest. I was pessimistic about going to any performance and didn’t really care about going. Yet, when I went to the opera to see a performance that attempted to connect with a youthful generation, it made me become more open to performances. I wanted to see performances that tried to connect with a younger generation to bring liveliness and revive the arts of New York city. Because of this performance, I finally realized the significance of my first seminar. It is for us to be exposed and spark an interest to the arts, the theater, plays, and performances. As a younger generation, the arts is in our hands. If we should watch it or not, will depend on us. By this opera, hopefully I might view some more in the future.
I know I am going to be one of many to say that my least favorite performance was the Ralph Lemon dance piece. I know in my previous blog I said that I was able to appreciate the piece more after meeting Ralph Lemon but for me it was not that entertaining. I think that the reason why I did not enjoy the performance was that I did not have a connection to the piece. I could not relate to the performance and I just could not find any sort of enjoyment from it. Whenever I watch something, one thing for me is that I need to have some sort of connection to it. I think one major thing for an audience to enjoy a piece is that they need to connect to a piece or relate to it somehow. It makes the audience enjoy it more and stay attentive to the piece as a whole.
That is why I could not enjoy Ralph Lemon. For me, the performance was showing how Ralph Lemon was in search of a personal goal. The goal was to achieve his ideal dance. How can the audience connect to something that is about a man doing something for him. There should be interacting going on between the audience and actors. I think that this is what makes performances enjoyable. I was not entertained which is why I was not affected by the piece. Yes it was complex and I do not think I can ever fully understand the piece, the dancing and especially the crying. It was a dance that I have never seen and unique in its own way. Maybe that is why I could not fully understand the piece, it was unique in its own way, something presented for the audience to wonder about.
It has been a great semester. A semester filled with trying new performances and stepping into the role of an artist. A semester that made us think about several issues and ideas that we have not thought about before. It was a great semester that allowed us to appreciate and hopefully revisit one day the arts of New York City.
