The Metamorphosis at The Joyce Theater

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The breathtaking event that took place at the Joyce Theater tuesday night in New York City was a unique interpretation of Kafka’s novella “Metamorphosis”. The Royal Ballet Production team displayed Gregor’s repulsive transformation and his family’s reaction to the tragedy. I think Edward Watson, who played Gregor, is an amazing and elegant dancer who has a special ability to vividly communicate with an audience through flawless movements. I witnessed a seemingly disgusting and saddening book displayed beautifully through dance. Simon Daw, the stage designer, showed stark attention to detail with his ominous lighting and and pale white walls which brought out the abhorrence of Gregor’s new appearance. Overall I was extremely impressed with the performance as a whole, and was surprised with how much i truly enjoyed it.

Metamorphosis Performance Review

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The Royal Ballet’s production of The Metamorphosis allowed me to experience how dance can successfully convey a story. Franz Kafka’s story about a man’s sudden transformation into a cockroach introduced me to a completely different style of fiction. The ballet dancers’ abilities to convey the meaning of the story through intense movement showed me how unique a performance can be, especially with the interesting sound effects. I thought the show was able to extract a lot of the feelings from the book onto the stage, which made it much more enthralling and entertaining. I witnessed how Gregor, the transformed cockroach, interacted with the various members of his family through dance. I viewed the performance as a way to understand how Gregor’s relationship with his family developed into something much deeper and complex.

Metamorphosis Review

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Tuesday night’s breathtaking performance at the Joyce Theater of Arthur Pita’s surreal ballet of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis was quite memorable.  Edward Watson’s unique portrayal of Gregor Samsa, a troubled working man who becomes a nasty vermin, is riveting, complex, and demonstrates a ridiculous amount of contortion.  Moving across the stage like a horrendous vermin to the spooky tunes of the composer Frank Moon and chilling lighting effects by Guy Hoare, Edward Watson brings life to Gregor Samsa.  The supporting cast do an excellent job as their characters attempt to deal with Gregor’s transformation and the pure fear they express at the wake of his presence.  Arthur Pita does a fabulous job in choreographing the ballet as each character dances across the stage in their own distinct way: Gregor crawls around like an insect; his sister parades around the room with traditional ballet; and Gregor’s father gracefully moves across the stage with a sense of masculinity.  If you are interested in watching a superbly directed Royal Ballet Production that is unique and avant-garde in its delivery, look no further than Arthur Pita’s rendition of Metamorphosis.

iMovie Tutorial

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Here is a useful, step-by-step power point tutorial for using iMovie, created by former Baruch ITF Amanda Favia. It covers most of what we reviewed in class this week (or will review in class, for you High Cs and Thundercats) and is a nice resource to refer to in case you need a refresher. I also want to emphasize – especially for the Nerdy Birdies right now, but eventually for all sections – how to complete your video when you’re finished editing. When you’re entirely sure you’re video is ready to go, you need to click ‘File’ and then ‘Finalize Project’. This will give you the final video file to post to youtube or vimeo, and then to the class website.

Download (PPT, 3.36MB)

The Metamorphosis at the Joyce Theater

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The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a short story of a man who spent all his time financially taking care of his family only to wake up one morning as a repulsive bug. The performance at the Joyce Theater achieved the perfect mixture of sticking to the main point of the novel, while keeping the reader on the edge of their seats with new twists. Stage designer, Simon Dav, did an excellent job situating the kitchen next to Gregor’s room because it allowed the audience to experience two different perspectives at all times. The director, Arthur Pita, was able to portray Gregor’s experiences of a new body and the unconcerned family’s reaction to the problems of their son.

Metamorphosis at the Joyce Theater Review

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Last night, I had the opportunity to see “The Metamorphosis” – A Royal Ballet Production of the Franz Kafka novella of the same title at the well-known Joyce Theater. Principal dancer Edward Watson stole the show – which was directed and choreographed by Arthur Pita – with his incredible rendition of Gregor, the man-turned-cockroach.  This man moved his body in ways that seemed humanly impossible, and needless to say it was a unique experience. The music, by Frank Moon, and stage design, by Simon Daw, are also worthy of praise and they certainly complimented the production. In addition, the rest of the cast did an incredible job placing me into the Samsa residence, dealing with the major crisis of my family member transforming into a bug. Overall, “Metamorphosis” exceeded my expectations and I genuinely enjoyed Pita’s interpretation of the story.