Author: makeshabalkaran

Review: Steam Festival 2017

makeshabalkaran

Steam Festival 2017

As a Macaulay student, one investigates the world around themselves by gaining insight through the: sciences, technology, engineering, maths, and the arts. Thus, we as students were given the opportunity to showcase our discoveries through the 2017 STEAM Festival.

To be quite frank, I dreaded the day of the festival, as among this event was a plethora of papers and exams to study for. So, the event itself seemed like it would be a waste of time, when measured up to the other tasks I had to complete.

However, I was rather pleasantly surprised. The festival was incredibly interesting, and was- as the name describes- a festival, for us students to display a portion of what we learned through the semester. It was intriguing to see the different approaches that the students from other Macaulay classes in Brooklyn College, as well as, the other colleges, took to presenting their projects. Some people made rather interesting displays, others videos, and poster boards. This was only the arts section however. As I ventured to the presentation boards of the science students, I was able to not only see what lays ahead of me as a Macaulay student, but also, the pressing issues or innovations that the upperclassmen discovered needed recognition or further research. I also, really enjoyed making the super cute buttons! 😉

If I had one criticism however, it would be that I would have liked the program to be a little more organized. It was a little hard to distinguish between the upperclassmen and the 1st year Macaulay students. Maybe if all the 1st years were on one floor and the upperclassmen on the other, it would have been a little better- in regards to the recognition of the sciences versus the arts. Also, I think that name tags, especially with the name of the student and their respective campus would have been a good idea, so that we could connect with one another a little better. Other than this, I thought that the STEAM Festival was a huge success, being its first year, and I certainly enjoyed it!

The Rubin Museum: Review

makeshabalkaran

The Rubin Museum: Sights and Sounds

The Rubin Museum was one of the most rewarding experiences I had during this entire semester. At first I was super exhausted, because of all of the exams during the week, and truthfully dreaded going somewhere after classes. I was truly proven wrong. This museum, even to someone of another faith-me- made me not only appreciate the art of Buddhist culture, but the religion itself. First of all, the gift shop was amazing! I wasn’t ready to leave, and I was kind of underestimating the rest of the museum at that point, but I was soon taken in a completely different direction, once i got the sight of those amazing stairs. The fact that the used the structure of the museum itself as a part of the display of sound in Buddhist culture, was absolutely ingenious. I also found, those mantras in the walls pretty cool as well.

Apart from the beautiful art and structures that really encased the peacefulness and tenets of Buddhism, my favorite part-apart from the gift shop- was the Om room. As college students, just 1/2 an hour in a lecture and bring our blood pressures up higher than it should be, especially if there are exams and quizzes to follow. However, that room, filled with the voices of not only monks, but also regular people who just wanted to participate, was so peaceful, so healing. I felt the good of humanity manifest itself from the 5 minutes in that room, and I would surely visit just to experience that again.

The museum was so much more than a museum, it was more than art or sculptures, and it was more than learning- more than adding to the known. It was an experience to feel and to become, in that moment, part of something unknown.

*[Image Credit: Google.com]

MoMA: Review

makeshabalkaran

Thoughts on the MoMA

Our trip to the MoMA was a rather interesting one- to say the least. I had rather high expectations, in terms of the art, however modern art was, and still is, a new field of perspective for me. I do appreciate the interpretive quality of modern art, but the simplicity itself can be difficult for regular civilians like myself to really-truly- appreciate. I did enjoy the layout of the building, and the modern interior design, which offered in its own way, a blank canvas for the artist’s works to be placed. However, what I disliked the most was the rush. I feel like the MoMA is a place for someone to find a particularly compelling piece of art that they could just stare at for 5 mins to 30 mins, trying to either understand its  value or trying to understand the artist’s mindset. Instead, we were brought to see the most “important” portions, that being said primarily just Rauschenberg’s work, and then just walked through the rest without getting a chance to really indulge in the museum itself. We did assume that they rushed us, and the other visitors out because investors were visiting, but, at the end of the day, we wanted to enjoy the museum and the art..so that wasn’t very fair….:( But, if I could go again I would, to try and experience it once more.

*[Image credit: Google.com]

Turandot: Story Analysis

makeshabalkaran

Analysis of the Story of Turandot

*[Image credit: Google.com]

Turandot follows a classic fairytale tragic/forbidden love story. We find a prince in search for a beautiful and powerful princess, even though she may kill him in his pursuits.

As portrayed by the performance, the story of Turandot is divided into three acts, the first two of which build up to the climax and end in cliffhangers; with the climax and resolution in the third act.

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Act 1
Here, the celestial Princess, Turandot, is our woman of beauty, who has a cold heart especially towards men, because of the tragic betrayal that a man caused her ancestor. She devised to protect her purity by declaring, “Any prince seeking to marry me must answer three riddles. But if he fails, he will have to die.” Our story’s hero, is Prince Calaf, who falls in love with Turandot at first sight. And becomes determined to try and answer her three riddles. Though strongly urged against by his father, the banished king, Timur, his slave girl, Liu, and the advisors Ping, Pang, and Pong.

Act 2

The act opens with the interesting advisors, Ping, Pang, and Pong who dread Calaf’s decision. They tell of how much pain and depression they’ve had to endure since the suitors came seeking for Turandot’s hand. Each advisor has a home that they wish to return to, they rant and drink, before being called to the palace for Calaf’s trial. Following, Turandot makes her appearance, and begins to ask Calaf her three riddles. Calaf evidently successfully answers her three riddles. While all rejoice, Turandot becomes furious and refuses to marry him, Calaf ends the scene by proclaiming that she answers a question of his, is she can learn his name, then he will give his life up.

 

Act 3

Turandot orders that someone learns his name. Her people catch Liu and the king. They both deny knowing his name, before Liu proclaims that she is the only one with knowledge of this secret. Turandot tries to force Liu to tell his name, but Liu confesses her love for Calaf, and that she would rather die. Before she is scared into telling his name, she kills herself as sacrifice. After, Turandot remains alone in guilt, to confront Calaf who is furious at her. But, he cannot cease his love for her, kisses her, and gives away his name. At the break of dawn, it is finally time for Turandot to proclaim her victory as she learns his name, but, in a turn of events, she says instead, “His name is …Love”, as she acknowledges defeat and marries him.

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I thoroughly Enjoyed how immersive this Opera. The story itself could have been a little confusing if I had not read the libretto, however, even if i did not i would have gotten that feel of excitement because of the incredible cast members. The only thing I did not appreciate in terms of the story was, apart from its interesting notions, it stuck with that cliche love story ending, which kind of wasn’t very cohesive. One character I really appreciated was Liu, but she only appeared for a little section of act 1 and 3 and died in act 3, then was thus forgotten! But, all in all, it was an incredible and unforgettable performance!

Torch Song: Props

makeshabalkaran

Props in Torch Song

 

 

Even upon entrance one can already see the props on the stage ready to be utilized by the performers.

– The Plethora of props included items such as: hangers of dresses, wigs, chairs, baskets, books, lamps, a non-electronic landline phone,makeup, sewing machine, pillow with a rabbit, rabbit figurines, lots of rabbit props!

-We open to a messy drag queen’s dressing room

-A huge light sign that says TORCH SONG hangs above the stage; 1971 light utilized to create the scenery; international stud light to create a setting

-There empty stages in both scenes with the International Stud Bar, showing the lack of need of props; only the rigor of the actors

-We can see plates/bowls; bottle of brandy; wine in the act with Ed

-We also see a lot of shared props which also adds color to the play:

–>A huge bed to be used as a stage for more than bedroom scenes.

–>sharing of newspaper between scenes

-We are able to see more props in the scenes with Arnold as compared to Ed.

*[Image credit: Google.com]

Fall for Dance Review: Individuals vs. Groups

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Individual/ Group Dances Observation

With widened eyes and hands that cannot seem to cease clapping, this night is one that I surely will never forget. Now, looking back, I wondered, “well…how different could a group dance be versus an individual dance, it must carry the same story, the same feel, just a different amount of dancers, right?” Boy, was I wrong!

The two primary groups that stood out in terms of this distinction between the group and the individual were The Miami Ballet and Dorrance Dance Company. Two extremes of the world of dance as considered today. The Miami Ballet provided a classical and gentle take on dance, connecting music with movement precisely. However, the Dorrance Dance Company portrayed modern tap dancing, with dynamic and eccentric dances clashing and melocially adding to music, intertwining with it through the means of dance and movement.

Funny enough, each group attracted me for the opposite reason!

The Miami Ballet was overall delicate; the music and movement portrayed a traditional method of storytelling through dance. The groups tended to be more whimsical, prancing around the stage, the men with happy smiles on their faces, lively and joyous they were. My favorite however, were the individuals. The individual ballerina, the sole duos, they told a different story. They were solemn and somewhat acrobatic. This amazing sense of emotion flowed through their limbs as they danced. Nevertheless, developing this pattern of dance: quirky traditional ballet followed by melancholy and encapturing ballet.

Contrastingly, the Dorrance Dance company portrayed this dynamic street-style dance.Each individual portrayed their own personality while meshing together as a whole. The movements of the groups were rather in sync and spectacularly choreographed. They nonetheless exhibited feeling and mood as a group without muddling. They mirror in movement and use their bodies in magnificent ways to create incredible free-form movements. On the other hand, duos and solos as the individual portion, stood out from the group to tell their own stories, with their own set of emotions. Solo movements intertwined with one another and carried distinct individualism from the group. not to mention, the solos portrayed darker/heavier feelings than the happiness/lightness of the group dance, along with sharper almost “spazzing” movement.Thus, the group dances in this case turned out to be my favorite portions of the performance due to the incredible synergy and happiness/freedom they evoked. 

All in all, the performances not only opened my eyes to the uniquely beautiful movements of the dancers, but to dance in general. Dance itself is such an art, from the emotions of the individual to the cooperation of a group, dance is not JUST a collection of choreographed pieces. Dance is feeling, dance is unique, and dance surely is something to Fall For.