Thursday’s event was my favorite event thus far. Seeing the ballet was an absolutely incredible experience. The way the dancers moved, the costumes, and the sets were beautiful and unbelievable. The first part of the ballet did not have a story and was a very traditional piece. The costumes were standard ballet tutus and the dance was what one would expect when going to a ballet. However, the way the dancers moved and twisted their bodies with such ease was mind blowing. I particularly enjoyed when the entire company was on stage. The shapes and patterns they formed showed the vision of the choreographer. Our seats were especially advantageous and helped us to see the picture the company was trying to create. Also, the chemistry between the male and female dancers looked effortless. In fact, everything the dancers did seemed effortless. Throughout the entire performance they had very emotional or smiling expressions on their faces as they did movements I cannot even dream of doing. The second part of the ballet had a story that went along with it, and the stage was completely transformed by the set and costumes. Although I found this part of the ballet to be a little boring, the way they were able to communicate the story without any words demonstrated true talent. The dancers were able to communicate emotions, events, and even thoughts through their facial expressions and their movements. The third section of the ballet was interesting to me because of the way they used costumes and a very simple set. When the dancers first came out on stage, I thought there costumes reflected different colors when the light hit them, but then I realized that the front was a purplish-gray and the back was a bright pink. Each pair in the duets had the male in a purplish-gray body suit and the female in the pink body suit, perhaps showing the differences between males and females. The company’s two-toned costumes showed that men and women are also very similar. The movements were very beautiful in this section of the ballet as well, and they were enhanced by the symbolism of the costumes.
One thing that I noticed and was interested by was the fact that none of the men were en pointe. While all of the women were en pointe, the men did standard ballet. It is because going en pointe is considered to be more feminine, or is there a better reason for this difference in technique?

This Halloween I did something that I normally don’t do on Halloween. This year, we attended the 9/11 and Vietnam Memorials. This trip was ironically appropriate to be doing on Halloween, but aside from the fact that both aspects of the day involved death, they both dealt with death very differently. Unlike Halloween’s rather irreverent approach to death, both memorials showed great respect for those who died in the 9/11 attacks and the Vietnam War.
The 9/11 memorial was a very beautiful place to be in, and that was what very unique about it. This memorial was an entire place and not just a wall made of stone. The memorial was built on the site where the two towers once stood. It consisted of a very large space with trees and two very large pools, representing the towers themselves. The pools were absolutely magnificent and thought provoking. Each pool had water flowing into a smaller pool and then into an even smaller pool that seemed almost bottomless. Perhaps this represents the effects that the falling of the towers had. The destruction of the attacks grew larger and larger as the moments passed, until the grief and horror seemed to be never ending, like the pit in the middle of each pool. Each pool also had the names of those who died in the tragedy engraved on their edges. The large number of names on each pool was extremely saddening, and it was really upsetting to see the phrase “and her unborn child” written next to many of the women’s names. Among all of the bitter and sad feelings I had from being in this place, there was also a sense of peace created by the beauty of the memorial. It almost seemed as if the beauty of the memorial tried to bring the souls of those who died, and their families, peace. One very large contributing factor to my feelings toward this memorial was the fact that I was alive when this happened, and I know people who were greatly affected by this atrocity.
Afterwards, we went to the Vietnam Memorial. This memorial seemed to be a bit forgotten. Unlike the 9/11 Memorial, there was no one else present, and it was not as well kept. Nonetheless, it was still beautiful. I was extremely affected by the letters written by soldiers included in the memorial. This aspect really helped convey the horrible effects of the war and what it was like to be alive during this time. This was especially helpful for someone like me, who was a bit detached from the event due to the passage of time. Another aspect of the memorial that was very compelling was the list of soldiers who died and their ages. Many of those who died were my age or a year older. They were just kids who witnessed the absolute worst aspect of life and human nature. The generation that held the future of society was sent off to be killed for absolutely no reason, and that was the most disgusting and saddening aspect of the Vietnam War.

Attending the Metropolitan Opera was one of the events I was most looking forward to this semester. I had heard about this event from upper classmen and how much fun they had when they went. I am very into musical theatre and always wanted to go to the opera so I was really looking forward to experiencing this very popular and different type of musical performance. I was also interested in seeing how different and similar it would be to a Broadway performance. Needless to say, I was not disappointed on Tuesday night! The opera was an absolutely incredible experience. Not only was the performance spectacularly done, but I also learned more about the culture that surrounds the opera. Unlike Broadway, the opera is much “fancier,” but can also be a casual event. People’s dress ranged from long gowns and suits to jeans and t-shirts. This was surprising to me because I had always thought the opera was supposed to very high class and fancy. During intermission, the food was very “upper-class” and included expensive chocolates and champagne.
The show itself entertained and intrigued me at the same time. Since it was a Shakespearean opera, I expected the costumes and sets to be very old-fashioned and geared towards the time period. In fact, the costumes and sets were extremely modern and quite abstract. The sets attempted to depict a forest scene in a very peculiar way. People entered and exited the forest through doors and trees were represented by a single branch going through the different sections of the set. Although I do not think the scenery was depicted very accurately, I do find it interesting to see this type of creativity in the opera. I expected the opera to be a very formal and rigid atmosphere, but instead was presented with an atmosphere that was quite avant-garde in some respects. The story itself was also very silly and included a lot of “slapstick” humor, which is usually not the typical reputation that the opera has. I also found it interesting that although the opera was in English, there were subtitles on the backs of the seats. This is never seen at a Broadway theatre and helped me to appreciate the use of Shakespearean language. I definitely would like to go back and see a more traditional opera to further my experience of this wonderful culture.

To be quite honest, I wasn’t particularly interested in going to the International Center of Photography. I didn’t really see the point in going to a museum simply to look at pictures. I acknowledge the fact that photography is an art form, and a very intricate one at that, but I feel that there are only so many ways one can look at a photograph. A “non-photographer,” such as myself, can appreciate and notice the photograph’s lighting, blurriness, depth, and colors but that is about as far as the appreciation may go. I do enjoy looking at pictures, but these pictures usually involve things that are relevant to me and are done in a very casual setting. With all do respect, the only point I see in having a photography museum is to acknowledge the talents of the many gifted photographers in the museum, who deserve as much respect and appreciation as any other artist. There is no doubt in my mind that the photographs in the museum were excellent, but I would rather appreciate them without having to go to a museum to do so. I do not wish to invalidate the existence of photography museums. They are just not an attraction that I see as valuable for myself.
One photograph that I particularly enjoyed was Nick’s Pizza by Zoe Strauss. I thought this photograph was absolutely incredible. At first glance, it looks like something one would see on a computer screen as part of a video game. When I saw the title, however, I was amazed to discover that this photograph depicted the walls and ceiling of a pizzeria. The picture is so up-close and so good that it almost doesn’t look real. The colors are so deep and sharp, and the fact that the corner of a restaurant can look so unique and interesting is absolutely amazing.

Tuesday was a jazzy kind of night! As you all know we had the wonderful opportunity of seeing some of Julliard’s finest perform in a jazz quartet. Prior to the event I had listened to jazz with some of my friends and thought it was a pretty cool genre. However, I felt that it sometimes gets a bit repetitive after a while. I was also a little apprehensive about the event because I wondered how we could just sit there listening to music for two whole hours without any lyrics, dance moves, or story. Needless to say, my apprehension was somewhat nullified upon seeing the show. I actually found it much more interesting to watch the performers play the music rather than listening to it on a CD. Their stage dynamic was very interesting and held my attention. Ron Blake, the saxophonist, was especially fun to watch when he performed. He was very expressive and even did a few “dance moves” as he played. I also didn’t expect one of the musicians there to be a sort of “MC,” but Carl Allen, the drummer, was very interactive and added a more casual and somewhat comedic aspect to the performance. One thing that we discussed in class that I wish I had known before seeing the show is that much of the music in jazz performances is improvised. I would have probably appreciated the show much more if I had known that the musicians were playing “off the cuff.” Hearing this piece of information did make me further appreciate Carl Allen’s drum solos, however. He is an extremely talented musician, and the way he played the drums that night blew my mind. My two favorite songs on the set list are Ah, Rio and Nutty. The music in Ah, Rio really captured the feeling of being relaxed and on vacation on a beautiful tropical beach, and the musical arrangements in Nutty seemed to be extremely intricate and unconventional. One last thing I would like to mention is the love that the musicians showed for the audience. I could really tell that they fully appreciated just us being there to hear them play, and there humble gratitude added to my already extreme respect for them.