Going to the Opera to watch the Tempest was a very extraordinary experience. Knowing the about William Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest and having read it as well, I was interested to see how they would present the play as an Opera.

While watching The Tempest, I was really impressed with the set design and concept of the Opera in an Opera house. However, at the same time I was confused to how the set had to do with the play. What really impressed me was Adriel’s singing and her flexibility on stage. I also enjoyed the acting and the costumes of the actors. I felt that they added a nice touch to the performance.

Overall, I thought that it was a really interesting as to how they converted the play into an Opera. However, I would have liked if the opera was broken up into five parts just like the acts in the play. This would have made the story line much easier to follow. Other than that I enjoyed watching the Opera.

A few weeks ago I was able to attend a cultural show filled with music and dancing. I got to experience Indian dancing at its finest. Since I believe art to be a form of expression, I believe that dancing can be considered a form of art. Also dancing can fall under the concept of “something hard done well” and made to look easy. Dancing requires skill and practice and even talent. However dancers make it seem really easy to glide across the stage.

While watching the performances at Brooklyn College’s Desi Club Night I was able to recognize the art of Indian dancing. Indian dancing is a lot of hand movement and eye movement. Wherever the hand goes, the eye follows. While dancing, the dancers have expressions that portray the feeling of the music that they are dancing to. This I believe is true art in that even the audience can feel the happiness or even sadness of the singer through the dancers move. It truly inspires me to get out there and try. The body movements seem so effortless and are done with such precision that I consider this to be art. Since we were unable to see a dance performance this year as a class trip I’m glad I was able to still visit one.

There were many photographs in the gallery that were very powerful and meaningful. However, the one photograph that immediately caught my attention is the “A black protest is chalked on wall outside the Johannesburg city hall by resentful Native.” 

In this picture there is a white man with his back turned to a wall that says “God is Black.” These words are handwritten in white chalk and boxed in. The wall seems to be in the center of the town as there are many buildings surrounding the wall. No one seems to be disturbed by these words or seems to take any notice of it.  There are many people out on the streets but no one seems to take notice of the wall. However, the people out on the streets all seem to be white, educated, wealthy upperclassmen that have no concern for the black minority. The man with his back to the wall seems to be headed somewhere a he is carrying what seems like a piece of paper in his had. He is right foot is forward as if he is walking away from the wall. Furthermore, the man’s attention is somewhere else as he seems to be looking into the distance opposite of the wall. The man is well dressed and seems to be very young. On the other hand, the wall may be old as it is slightly chipped and worn down. The wall on which the words are written on look somewhat like a tombstone.

The picture depicts the disregard for the blacks during the time period. The statement on the wall is such a bold statement and yet no one seems to paying attention to it. The man having his back turned to the wall is s a symbol of how the blacks were treated with disrespect.  The voices of the blacks were ignored and were not heard and therefore they suffered discrimination. The way the man is walking away from the wall could represent him walking away from justice.

Two Thursdays ago I was able to see the play Luz Catherine Filloux. The play portrays the social issues present in developing countries. A major social issue the play highlights is the struggle of women in poor families. The play portrays three women that were victims of rape. The two main characters are Luz and her human rights lawyer, Alexandra. Luz is a young woman that grew up by the garbage dump of Guatemala city with her grandmother. After she began working, Luz was abused by her employer. She kept quiet and was not served justice until Alexandra brought the issue to court.

Overall, the play had a interesting plot and portrayed many important issues facing the world. However, I believe the many story lines made the play hard to follow and somewhat confusing. Also, the side story regarding the businessman and environmentalist was not necessary and did not seem to have a purpose in the play other than present class distinctions. The playwrights purpose in including this story seemed unclear throughout the play. Furthermore, the fact that each actor/actress had multiple roles also made the story line somewhat difficult to follow. However, once the dialogue started it was much easier to identify most of the characters. Despite the confusion, the symbolism of the bird and the symbols of light during a dark time added a great touch to the play.

Overall, the play was interesting and very different from many other plays. The director and producers did a good job on the set as it portrayed both the chaos and the order in society. Furthermore, the actors did a good job in presenting the central idea of the play and making it somewhat realistic.

Its been 11 years since the tragic fall of New York City’s beloved twin towers. September 11, 2001 will forever be remembered as the day that hundreds of people were lost to the rubble that was once the twin towers.

Last Thursday I was lucky enough to visit the 9-11 Memorial that serves to remember and commemorate all those who lost their lives on this tragic day. The memorial consists of two pool; a North pool and a South pool. These pools are built in the dimensions of the buildings. Upon entering the memorial the sound of water rushing down fills our ears and drowns out all sound. The sound is peaceful and immediately draws our attention to the water. The water falls inward similar to how to the towers collapsed. The water is rapidly falling from the sides in a disorderly manner but calms down as it reaches the bottom only to fall down another opening in the middle. This signifies the attack. After the first plane crash there was silence and people thought that the attack was over. However another plane crashed into the second building creating commotion again. Similarly the water falls in a chaotic manner and then becomes calm only to be followed by another chaotic falling. Also, the rushing water is a common element of many memorials as it represents purity and serenity. Around the pools are the names of all those who lost their lives.

Furthermore, unlike many other memorials where the names are engraved into, the names are carved into the sides. I believe that this adds a much more permanent touch to the memorial. Just as the names are carved into the sides, this event has been carved into our memories.

Just before visiting the 9-11 Memorial, we visited the Vietnam War Memorial. This memorial had no waterfall but a large wall. On the wall were engraved letters to the families of the soldiers. These letters written by the Vietnam soldiers conveyed loving messaging giving their regards and ensuring of their safety for the time being.

These two memorials had a very peaceful and calming feeling. This peaceful feeling helped spark a connection and a sense of emotion for the victims of these two events even though I had not known them and therefore the artwork/architecture present at these memorials did just what it was supposed to do.