Macaulay Seminar One at Brooklyn College

1. Throughout the term we spoke about photography, paintings, music, and food, etc. Are there any other things that you think would be considered art and would like to discuss?

2. When thinking about arts specifically in New York City, what is different about the arts that make it unique to New York City. What makes the arts in New York specific and special to New York and how is that different to arts in other places and cultures?

Before saying anything about the performance itself, I would just like to comment that I very much enjoyed the evening (and the one of the Ballet) especially because it was so fun to spend time together out of the classroom and all dressed up. So thank you to everyone for that!

Before I saw Carmen, I thought all operas were like this: huge stage, spotlight on the center, a woman in a puffy, old-fashioned gown stands there, arms flared dramatically, singing for three hours straight.  While I like music and singing, that didn’t sound like my idea of a good time.  Thankfully Carmen was not like that.  Now, in my mind, the Opera is the classier mother of Broadway shows.  First-off, I loved the scenery.  Even though we were very high and far away, the detail was evident.  The circular shape helped unify the scenes and focus your eyes on the center of what was going on.  Maybe it also helped the acoustics, which were incredible.  The music was beautiful.  It was dramatic, quiet, creepy, sad, happy, exciting, and deep.  It really filled the whole space and it was cool that we could see the orchestra.  While I am sure the people closer to the stage heard the voices louder, the fact that we heard the singing so clearly without the aide of microphones is amazing.  I never appreciated the power of the human voice so much before.

The storyline of Carmen was not extremely difficult to follow as I was scared it would be since the amount of important characters was limited and the dialogue was not very fast (seeing as they repeated every word about ten times).  I found that I was mostly bored during the first two acts because they were very drawn out and didn’t really have much action.  I liked the third and fourth much better because they were more fast-paced and showed more character development.  I went from absolutely hating Carmen in the first three acts (which led to a very comedic commentary throughout, thank you Jeanette for putting up with me), to understanding her in the last act. By the middle of the fourth act, I was sitting at the edge of my seat, not just because I couldn’t see otherwise because of my height, but also for excitement.  I think Carmen redeemed herself in dying for her freedom and I liked that in the end, I could finally feel some positive emotions towards the main character.

** About Opera vs. Carmen specifically. Are all operas like Carmen? Do they all portray women in such a way? And men? Are they all so overly dramatic? Are they all so long?

While I genuinely like the art of dance, I was nervous to see if I would find Ballet exciting and beautiful. I had always assumed that the strict form and slow classical movements of it would make it slightly boring and less artistic. After seeing the Ballet, I found it to be better than what I expected, and I really enjoyed.  That is not to say that I found all parts equally exciting (the Sailors kinda stole the show for me), but I feel like I gained an appreciation for the form of Ballet; in that it lent to a certain beauty in the purity of movement that I hadn’t ever seen before.

I appreciated the variety of the ballets we saw.  I liked that they represented different styles; the first two ballets were the more conventional type (even within that category was the difference in that one was a series of solos and duets while the other was an ongoing story) and the last ballet was something I had never envisioned as something I would see at a Ballet.  I liked each type of ballet for different reasons.

The first two ballets showed off the beauty of the human body in a simple, innocent way.  The fluidity of the movements, especially when done in a duet, reflected such an agility and graceful strength that you don’t really see elsewhere.  The dancers moved like gravity didn’t effect them completely, as though they were connected by strings.  Although they followed a form and there was repetition of moves, I felt that it aided in unifying the performance and made it whole and polished.

The last ballet, Fancy Free ( the sailors on shore), was my favorite.  Now, if I hadn’t been looking out for the art in ballet, I would have also chosen this as my favorite, but probably just because it was more broadway-show-like and exciting in contrast to the ones before it.  However, while I did find it exciting, I also liked it from an artistic perspective.  I was amazed by how creative they were within the boundaries of ballet etiquette.  They made it less stiff, more real.  The music choice was more vibrant, but the movements were similar to the ones in the preceding ballets, albeit faster or more dramatized.  My favorite part was when the soldiers threw their heads back, downed their shots, and slammed the glasses on the table in sync.  I found it quite artistically pleasing 🙂

Prior to Thursday night I had thought that opera was simply a maximum of five performers singing (or yelling) at each other and possibly having some form of physical interaction. Consequently, I was dreading this opera. My only reassurance was the fact that I knew something would be entertaining with the Macaulay crew. Once the opera started, however, I was excited about it, too.

I enjoyed the storyline and the beautiful performance. After about fifteen minutes, though, I started to get bored by all of the repetitive lines. Norma posted that she found it frustrating to keep looking back and forth, from the stage to the screen, but I do not share the annoyance; I was able to look at the screen, then look at the stage until I got bored, and then return to the screen once more with the same lines before me: repetitive lines, which, in my opinion, did not convey deep emotion or anything intense that should give reason for such long repetitions.

I entertained myself throughout by commenting on the opera to those who sat next to me, and laughing from their responses to the opera, too. But in the end, I realized that the things we were laughing about really played a huge role in the opera as a whole. For example, we laughed at Carmen’s long dresses, because she seemed to not like them to reach past her knees; her long dress contributed to the death scene, as well as simply heightening her flirtatious behavior.

I really enjoyed the third and fourth acts. I felt that these two contained true passion and emotion, as opposed to the first two. I enjoyed the action and the complex plot, and I felt that these acts were not as dragged out and excessively lengthy. Mostly, in contrast to those of the first two acts, the “repetitive” opera, as I referred to it before, was not repetitive unreasonably. The opera here beautifully conveyed the emotion, and truly contributed to the feelings we were intended to feel.

Overall, I really appreciate the opera. I love analyzing stories and symbolism, and Carmen truly had what to analyze. Did I appreciate the three hours while I was sitting at the theater? Not particularly. Nevertheless, my experience as a whole was great, and I would consider sitting through another opera.

Like the ballet, this seemed to be a place for the high class who had time to relax. But as soon as Carmen started, I knew I was wrong. It was a place for everyone, a place for people to enjoy the operas of the world. It was a place where the cultures of multiple countries came together and became a part of American culture.

The story of Carmen was quite spectacular. As was the character development. Each person had a specific type of clothing that was chosen the show aspects of their role that wouldn’t be seen if they were wearing something else. The contrast of Carmen’s dress with the dresses of the cigarette girls was chosen to show that Carmen wasn’t just a pretty cigarette girl. She was the cigarette girl. She was the one that everyone wanted and the one that all the guys fell for. Even Don José, who was at first was in love with Michaela, fell for Carmen as soon as she met him. This made me slightly angry. How at first Don José proclaimed that he loved Michaela, he wouldn’t do anything against his mother’s wishes. But then as soon as Carmen comes, all those values go down the drain. I was told later that the red crevice that was present in the curtain was also present in the dress of Carmen. I don’t know if it carried a meaning but to me it felt as if Carmen was still there when the act was over and the curtain was closed. When the dancers came out of the curtain, it was like they came out of Carmen. It was as if they were what was inside of Carmen and they were waiting to come out. The dancers could have been the inner emotions of Carmen and they could have foretold what was going to happen in the life of Carmen.

Watching people perform in the ballet made me question a force that has been present in all our lives since birth- and before birth, gravity. I found it amazing how they were able to create the illusion of levitation when I’m sure that they were all human. When I entered the auditorium, everything seemed extremely high-class. It felt as if whatever went on in the theatre would be something that only the rich and wealthy of America would watch. Even the slightest movements from a person that looked as if they earned less money than one of the upperclass would warrant an apparent gesture to stop breathing. The first act was what I was expecting for the whole ballet performance. I believed that it would be a set of performers who danced to soothing music and forced the people to forge a story of what was going on. But then the music helped immensely with the first act. The use of different chords and different structural composition assisted the emotions that were supposed to be experienced with each act. Everything fell into place.

The second act was completely different. The costumes weren’t the stereotypical ballet costumes that I was aware of. And the stage was most certainly not a blank wall that had nothing to do with the story. This time, the performers were dressed in garb that accurately depicted the type of people they were in the performance. It assisted with character development. By wearing certain types of clothing, it made it easier to figure out what each person was and how that helped determine what they were doing in the story. The set also helped. It gave a sense of eeriness that something has gone awry. And since it was set in the night, it was made easy to tell that something bad was happening.

The third act was something I wouldn’t have expected if the person to my right hadn’t told me that I would like the last act the best. Like the second act, the third one had a set and clothing that helped it immensely. The sailor outfits created a sense of playfulness that helped the story. It made it more enjoyable. The bar made it seem like everything was playful. There was nothing serious going on. And ANYTHING could happen. But no matter what happened, the story was supposed to be funny and enjoyable. I liked this act the best.

1. Do you think every person is able to make some form of art?

2. Would you consider an “inventor” an “artist”?

Before Thursday night, when I thought of ballet, I would think about those dreadful lessons I had as a 7 year old.  My mother forced me into ballet, so I unfortunately didn’t have such great memories of the art. I unfortunately quit ballet, and moved on to hip hop for the next 10 years of my life. I really do love the art of dance; but, ballet was simply not for me. As Alex said, it’s one of the more strict forms of dancing. All I remembered was commands such as, “point your toes,” or “fix your posture!” However, I went into Lincoln Center very excited because

1) I am no longer 7 years old

2) I am not the one that has to point my toes this time (thank gd)

3) I’ve never been to Lincoln Center before

4) Ballet truly is a beautiful art form and this time, I get to enjoy it in the audience!

The first act, while beautiful, was very traditional and simply met my expectations. I went in knowing that I would be in awe at how long the dancers were able to support themselves on literally the tips of their toes. Their elegance was lovely and fluidity through their bodies was incredible. It actually made me wish I was a good ballet dancer when I was younger. I enjoyed this act very much but was excited to see the next because Professor Ugoretz had mentioned that it incorporated a story. The dramatic love triangle drew me into the relatable story and performance. It really captured my attention and helped me to appreciate the emotion behind the performance. The third act was definitely my favorite! I never expected a comedic ballet performance and I was so happy to have seen it. For a few seconds, I actually felt like I was watching a Broadway play (minus the singing of course). It was the perfect entertaining I needed to end off the night. I laughed hysterically and  was still able to notice the incredible talent of all 5 dancers!

In the end, I realized how perfect the setup of the show was. It started with a traditional elegant performance that’s purpose was to reveal the raw talent of the dancers. The second brought about a relatable dramatic story that caused the audience to be emotionally invested. The third brought laughter throughout the theater and lightened the mood after such serious performances. All three performances balanced each other out perfectly, making it an amazing night for everyone in the audience!

The three performances done on Thursday night were all so different, but all equally enjoyable in different ways.

I had never been to Lincoln Center before (I think, unless that is where my brother’s graduation was held… I can’t remember) so I was excited to be able to watch a ballet performance there. I honestly came to Lincoln center expecting to just see the stereotypical girly performance, but I was pleasantly surprised with something very different.

The first performance was one that I did enjoy, but probably not as much as some people. I do not know the techniques behind ballet, so when I was watching the dancers perform, I could only be in awe at how impressive their body’s moved and not so much how they would angle and carry out their movements.

The second performance had a very nice story line to go with all the dancing. It was enjoyable to see the two females and males inter-mingle with one another with their dancing. It was a very nice way to show how much the people wanted one another, even though it was as if they would only be able to see the other from afar.

The last performance was honestly so hilarious. I mean come on, watching those sailors fight one another for those girls was funny. The solo performances that they had put on were also so amazing, and I was shocked by the split that the sailor did. This may have been my favorite performance of the night. However all three were fun to watch.

Although I was too short for the seat I was sitting in, I really enjoyed the opera. It’s my second time attending an opera. Both times I found myself thinking that I wish I knew the language so I could just watch instead of going back and forth to reading the screen in front of me (which was especially annoying because I only needed my glasses for the stage, so handling them was quite bothersome when I wanted to read the words). However, I realized that most people in the theatre probably don’t understand the language (just my assumption), and thought that maybe it’s apart of the art… I don’t know.

Anyway… Regardless of those small complaints, I still enjoyed watching the opera. I like the story line. It’s pretty cool that the main character is a gypsy because it’s like the hipsters of our time (free love for everyone-peace). Their voices are amazing! The fact that they are able to sing the way they do is incredible!

Within the dialogue there were a bunch of references to previously said things. For example, in the very first scene with Micaela, the guards call her a bird that is flying away (out of the fence—like a cage)… They’re potential love interest just flew away. That was explained when Carmen started talking about Love as a bird that can’t be caught or caged. That was cool to notice.

Also, I don’t know how true or consistent this is, but Carmen first warned the men that if they love her, she won’t love them back (and beware). Don Jose didn’t love her back and that’s why she loved him (she loves the one who doesn’t say anything). Then he starts to voice his love for her and she starts to lose interest in him… She warned him!

Of course I have to mention the last act! The bull fight in the arena and the fight between Don Jose and Carmen were happening at the same time to play off of one another. It went even further to show that just as Carmen was killed, the bull was killed too… Or maybe Carmen was the bull. A wild thing that couldn’t be contained and was finally put to death. That was great!!

And shoutout to a lot of you—Alex and Ana Luiza in particular—for adding to the entertainment. 🙂