Author: Emily Weiss (Page 1 of 2)

In many of the history classes that are offered in our middle and high schools, students are exposed to a lot on the topic of black history. We learn about the origins of slavery and about the many forms of racial discrimination; we learn of the violence that a whole culture of people faced because of their skin color; we learn about reform movements and efforts against racial prejudices; we learn of modern day hate crimes and how old injustices still carry into today’s society. One thing though that, after reading about the work of Kyle Abraham and others like him in the past,  I realize we did not cover much in school was the way that some of these repressed people dealt with their struggles: by putting their focus and energy into dance.

I think it is a shame that “Black Dance,” an art form that really took off in the twentieth century mainly in Europe but more gradually became more accepted in the United States, and other positive aspects of Black-American culture are not integrated much in our history lessons. Despite living in a time of hate and repression, many of these leading individuals took their feelings and converted them into a form of physical expression. It was a way to bring the community together. I was able to learn from these articles, “Choreographer Kyle Abraham Discusses ‘The Water Shed’ and ‘When the Wolves Came In'” and “History of Black Dance: 20th Century American Black Dance,”  how dance, especially, grew in popularity amongst the black population during the 1900s. There is so much background that people don’t know about behind certain styles of dance or moves that makes them a lot more meaningful; many of them are even meant to tell a story.

I wasn’t sure what to expect before I watched the video, “Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion at the Modlin Center” but, like with most dance, the first thing I really appreciated were its visual elements. More than that, though, I can better understand how in person the viewers can connect with everything that pans out on stage. The fluidity of the motions between dancers and how it is translated to the audience is truly beautiful. I was better able to recognize smaller details of the message being depicted by the dancers as well and it made me think deeper about the emotion and times that these stories were based upon. As mentioned in the Life and Times article, ““The Watershed” derives inspiration from the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the 1960s and Civil Rights; “When The Wolves Came In” grows from Emancipation, as well, in addition to the 20th anniversary of the abolishment of apartheid in South Africa.” This is one example of the thick historical roots that can be discovered in dance.

As a separate lesson in history classes, then, I think teachers need to focus on the culture, customs, and arts that surfaced during the more negative time periods in history. As “Black Dance” has proven, there is always something great that can be made from terrible situations. With the repression and violence of the 20th century towards

Kyle Abraham

black people came the emergence of an exciting and new passion in the dance world that still resonates and is being expanded upon today. Maybe students could learn some history from one of these performances alone.

This gets me excited for the dance that we are going to see this Thursday. I have gone to ballet performances and a few other shows in the past but I have never witnessed anything like “Black Dance” before. I have high expectations built from what I have just read and watched and I think they will  be met.

Filled with death, fear, love, and sacrifice, Turandot is a whirlpool of emotions for its viewers. Though often to the extreme, this opera highlights certain aspects of humanity that can be seen in all individuals. We as humans can relate to the characters each in some way, or, at least identify the message they are meant to portray.

Liu is a big symbol in this story for loyalty. Committed to her master, as a slave, she first demonstrates this characteristic when she cries out for help as Timur falls to the ground. She is driven by her love for his son, Calaf. As a slave she knows that their love can never be, but she continues on anyway with the little hope she can have that something might become of her and her love. Once Calaf declares his love for Turandot and he is put in a dangerous situation, things take a turn for Liu. Put in a position where she or Timur will be killed if they do not tell comply with the guards and reveal Calaf’s name, Liu sacrifices herself for the ones she loves. To her, her love was worth more than her life. I find this an admirable tragedy.

In the opening scenes, Turandot orders for the execution of a young prince who failed to win her love over in riddles. She is introduced as seemingly cold and heartless. As the characters develop, we are able to see that Turandot masks behind her harsh actions a fear of her fate. She refuses to be forced into the hands of another man and has seen too many suitors die before her to have any hope left that she will find the right one. It isn’t until Calaf kisses her and takes away her fear that she finally accepts the feeling of love.

Calaf falls for Turandot through what most consider “love at first sight.” Determined to win her over, he answers the riddles correctly and passes the test that no other suitor has been able to complete. When the shock finally hits her and she refuses to marry him, Calaf gives Turandot the option of killing him if she can figure out what his name is by dawn. He, like Liu, is compelled by love and will do anything for it. But unlike Liu, he succeeds in winning over his love.

If we are not willing to risk and to sacrifice, no progress can be made. Unfortunately, Liu is an example of the danger that comes from the uncertainty of taking chances. She gave her all for her love and ended up dead. But, it does not always end this way. For both Calaf and Turandot, after their struggles, their lives end happily in love. I felt like these situations, although excessive, can pertain to ones in real life and that made me appreciate it more. I enjoyed reading this text and am excited to see it come alive on stage.

Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind, 1891, weaves through the interconnected lives of three adolescents as they face their own struggles with growing up in a world of condemnation. The main characters, Melchior, Wendla, and Moritz each have distinct personalities that lead them to their particular fates at the end of the play. Through Wedekind’s writing we are able to understand the importance of education and self understanding during such a vulnerable time in a child’s life. In fact, it was only the one individual, Melchior, who was most knowledged on his emotional/physical state and transition period in life, that ended up surviving. Although a gruesome close, Wedekind used such extreme measures to make this distinction clear.

Before going into the content, one thing I noticed about the structure of the play was that it lacked stage direction and imagery, and oftentimes parts of a scene that may be clear when acted out in person were not obvious in writing alone. One scene where this stuck out to me was the rape scene. Although it was implied through Wendla’s cries, Melchior’s crime was only hinted through the script. There were many scenes where I felt this was a struggle and had such direction of action been included in the text, it may have made the play a little easier to comprehend.

Wendla, a young woman on the brink of maturing, had just begun to play with the idea of emotional and sexual desire when we were introduced to her story. A product of her mother’s conservative mind and overprotective parenting, Wendla did not know exactly what these supposedly devilish feelings meant when she started to experience them. Her innocence, instead of keeping her out of trouble, is what instead could not save her from it. Worst of it all, her mother, because she is unable to accept her daughter’s actions, took drastic measures to undo the mistake Wendla had made and it was the abortion that she ordered for her that ended up killing her. Had Wendla been more aware of how to handle her situation with her pregnancy or with Melchior, she may have been able to change her own fate.

Moritz, Melchior’s more timid best friend, was also suffering with confusion and guilt over the feelings he had started to experience as he had begun to go through puberty. Inexperienced with sex and with becoming an ‘adult’, he ended up committing suicide because he could not handle the pressure of it. He was left with two regrets: not having been in an intimate relationship, and not making it into the higher class at school. Had he known how to cope with his emotions and known that it was okay to feel a bit lost, it may have be enough to save him.
The single one of the three individuals who survived the entirety of the play was Melchior. Although he also had his own bit of teenage disaster in his encounters with Wendla and his sexual conflictions, he was obviously more knowledgeable than his two friends. Even though he was capable of being at the top of his class, he played a bit of a rebel in school because that is what he wanted, and unlike Moritz, he did not put so much worry into his grades. Also, even though he ended up going to a Reformatory for his ‘explicit’ sex essay, he escapes and is able to recognize his wrongdoings and the final few paragraphs of the play describe his remorse and desire to correct himself. Rather than allowing his actions to lead to his demise as they did with the other two main characters of the play, Melchior learns and grows from his mistakes and leaves with some hope for his future.

Had Moritz and Wendla not been so sheltered or undereducated about their transition into becoming adults, the story may have had a different ending. As Wedekind shows through the struggles of the youth, knowledge is the key to success. The parental figures failed in educating their children about their bodies and the troubles they were going to face in the future and it ended up just hindering their development.