My position on the "See the Music..." talks affixed to certain programs is neutral. Nevertheless, the one at the start of Saturday's matinee "All Robbins No. 4" program proved arduous and vexatious. After relating some amusing personal experiences and providing the audience with a few intriguing facts about Ravel and his music, Andrew Litton eventually began what suddenly loomed as an interminable discussion of the "Piano Concerto in G" which included snippets played by himself on the instrument. Unlike his case, this piece--atypically--was familiar to me long before attending a performance of Robbins' ballet at NYCB, and I consider its second movement among the most hauntingly beautiful music ever created. (The section during which Robbins has the ballerina execute bourrées forwards and backwards is a supreme musical expression of the pathos of human existence.) Analyzing it before a performance is, to put it kindly, superfluous. …show more content…
Maria Kowroski with her superlative form in the pas de deux which is the heart of Robbins' work, however, saved the day! Observing this artist masterfully weaving her spell to the strains of Ravel's unforgettable music made all my previous irritation promptly disappear. Nor should the value of Tyler Angle's highly skilled and dependable partnering ever be underestimated.
A mysterious, hypnotic quality in Debussy's music; using the front of the stage (beyond which the audience--significantly--is located) to represent a mirror; the splendid recreation of a brightly lit and exquisitely colored dance studio; the simple yet alluring costumes; the adorable, gentle kiss on the cheek--all of these made Afternoon of a Faun spellbinding and a work which beckons one to dig deeper into. Both Sterling Hyltin (bewitching with her lush blonde hair loose) and Chase Finley looked fabulous, and danced and acted
Stewart’s choreographic revolution began when he combined movement with rapid and fast rapid techno music which modern audiences relate to. ‘Birdbrian’ has been described by Katy Evans an author as a “heart stopping, eye popping, tempo changing, absorbing one hour and fifteen minutes of pure genius amazement, a truly theatrical and demanding performance that’s funky, fast and furious”. The use of chorographic techniques used, Stewart persuades the audience to not look away. The slow motion, stillness, turns and jumps, cannons, duet works, contractions, high releases, dynamics and zombie like movement all give into gravity and this was shown throw the something floor work. This piece was the first of Stewart’s as Artistic Director to tour internationally. The intensely physical and powerful work represents his trademark modern style, which involves jerking, glitching, abrupt and fast powerful movement making the performance intriguing to watch, the dancers appear to have a sense of power as they come across to be strong. The dull lighting creates suspense and excitement that combined with images projecting over the dancers. The shell of the choreography reveals balletic and classical duet work. The costuming of ‘Birdbrain’ are black legging and simple white T-shirts. In the section where a lady is walking across the stage with point shoes. Is symbolistic of it being a reconstruction of a classical ballet
When the show actually began, it started with a digital green timer on the wall counting by the second, accompanied by Mr. Jones sitting at a desk with a desk lamp. He began to read a story as a single dancer in a pink long sleeved top danced beside him. This dancer was definitely the most memorable mover of the company due to her exquisite fluidity within her movement, as well as the desirable synchronization between her movements and the words of Mr. Jones’s voice throughout the piece. As the performance carried on, the other dancers performed various solos, duets, and quartets, of modern movement while Mr. Jones’s stories carried on.
Trio M, a pliable collective co-led by pianist Myra Melford, bassist Mark Dresser, and drummer Matt Wilson, made an appearance at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola in the heart of New York City on March 30th to perform a repertoire of old and new material. The group is active since 2006 and has plans to record their third album of originals very soon, which will follow up the ones already out there: Big Picture (2007) and Guest House (2013). Since all three bandleaders contribute with their own compositions in an equal share, the outcome is a compound of different ideas, tones, atmospheres, and rhythms served up with a forward-thinking attitude.
For several years, Maria Kowroski has been the de facto senior ballerina of NYCB. (All three women who could have laid claim to the appellation were plagued with injuries during their final years with the company.) This contributed greater poignancy to all the recent performances of the pas de deux from After the Rain, performances which were among the highlights of the season. Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel is a repetitious, but powerful and spiritual composition to which Wheeldon created apt and irresistible choreography. The beauty of Kowroski’s long limbs and extensions, as well as her noble demeanor were evident throughout this run. Ask la Cour partnered her superbly.
Marigolds have always been her favorite flower. They reminded her of the stages she onced performed on. Staff members would decorate the stage with summer-bloomed dahlias and bright sun-colored marigolds, and tie silk ribbons to the bark of trees during celebrations. Crowds were surrounding her, cheering and watching her gracefully move her body across the stage. The light hue of her pink hair shined as the sunlight struck her like a spotlight center stage. She wore a pure white, flowing dancer’s garment which allowed her to move the way she wanted to. Her arms would stretch out as if she was reaching for someone’s palm, and her legs move as if they were made of the wind. Sometimes, there was a special someone; a pair of eyes that could see through the heart of her dance,
On November 5, 2016 at 7:30 pm the Civic Orchestra played in the Stocker Center at Lorain County Community College. They played three pieces all by different composers. They also had Janine Porter singing one of the pieces.
The beginning of the piece displayed a consoling blue backdrop as a highly arrhythmic, syncopated, and convoluted music composed by Paul Hindemith began to emanate. A bright yellow stage lighting, done by Mark Stanley, accentuated and illuminated the two principle female ballerinas, Rebecca Krohn and Abi Stafford. At first glance, the two dancers appeared to wear what looked like conventional ballet costumes, designed by Ben Benson, but not much after, one could notice the unembellished, simple, flary dresses that displayed each and every muscle of their body. Their
The concert I chose to listen to and write about is Wynton Marsalis & the Lincoln Jazz center orchestra at the BBC program, this orchestra is led by Wynton Marsalis and 15 of the finest soloist, ensemble players and arrangers in jazz that was founded in 1988 and became a touring big band for jazz at the Lincoln center. There is no specific reason as to why I chose this performance but I’m glad I did, sitting listening to this music selection it’s peaceful and relaxing to listen to.
Eliasson’s use of lights panning over the audience cause its spectral image to appear on the stages reflective, coloured scrims, which in turn integrates the viewers with the happenings on stage. The artist’s use of several mirrors and reflective scrims make the audience question reality. Sometimes they will see the dancers in front of the mirror, but they soon realise that the ballet is in fact playing out in the mirror. In a sense, the dancers are simply helping the play – from the perspective of the mirror – to unfold. As with many of Eliasson’s past works, the idea of this set is to bring the audience to work. They’re not just looking, they’re also made to think and wonder, “Am I seeing the dancer, or the reflection of the dancer.” One would argue that this notion in itself is a very interesting exercise because the audience is not really invited to this ballet to consume, passively. They are put to work in way finding through, what is essentially an optical illusion. The advantage of this interactive engagement is that perhaps the audience will physically sit in a state of intrigue and curiosity. When one is emotionally engaged with a subject, the body is physically drawn slightly
On the 27th of April, I attended an open rehearsal for the New York Philharmonic at the David Geffen at Lincoln Center. Going to the David Geffen Hall for the first time, I came with high expectations on the size of the place. The venue wasn’t as big as I thought it would be, but it was big enough for the standard orchestra size. The setting of the place as I entered was quiet and serene, with the spotlight on the orchestra and conductor Alan Gilbert. In order to fully enjoy the performance no phones or speaking were allowed when they performance went on. The audience followed this rule with conviction, and made it easier for a “new comer” like me to try to understand the pieces that were being played. One thing that impressed me with my fellow audience members was that fact that they were able to identify the pieces
On November 16th, I attended a Porter Robinson and Madeon concert at Echostage in Washington D.C. Porter Robinson and Madeon are both electro house, dubstep, synthpop, and EDM (Electronic Dance Music) music DJ’s, who have decided to collaborate and tour together. Doors opened for the concert at 9 PM, with DJ’s Robotaki (Ro-bo-ta-key) and Danger opening for them. Robotaki focused more on house music, while Danger was more heavy drum and bass electronic music. Although, the opening DJ’s varied in their style of music, they helped to set the mood and prepare the crowd for the main event.
The spring show Broadway and Connections was on April 20th and 21st. My ballet class was in the first act, Broadway. We did our variation to the song “Music of the Night” from the musical Phantom of the Opera. We were the corps de ballet for the pas de deux. This paper is my critiques on my performance in this show after performing and seeing it on video. First, the focus is on my performance as a whole.
In the third section Ms. Donna Wood looks like an African goddess and her body has an unexpected gracefulness. Even stage color was bright reddish, warm atmosphere around the dancer, like a sunrise in the morning. Stage would fill with colors. Music and performer are singing together. A sound of music tempo gets faster. She has the happiest face ever, no pain and no slavery. She jumps, she swings her leg and arms, and even she pulls her dress up and shows her leg an entire dance. Sound and lightening create the environment and good mood. She uses high level of dance than in previous two sections. She moves in between melody. I liked how she uses
With fall breezes in the air individuals storm into Morgan Hall to witness the much anticipated ARDT dance performance. After having much focus on plays, it was refreshing to experience a different form of artistic expression. The dancers were able to keep my attention from start to finish, and the show proved to be my favorite production thus far. The performances were obviously well rehearsed and put together. Throughout the show I paid close attention to facial expression, the fluidity of movement, and the overall message of the performance. With these critiques in mind the opening lyrical piece entitled “Point of Contact” from the first half, and the final lyrical piece entitled “Falling” from the second half were my favorite pieces.
I had never heard anything like pianist Andrew (Andy) Lee’s piano recital, which was performed in the University of North Florida’s (UNF) Fine Arts Center Recital Hall. This performance made me think of the Antonin Artaud, and how Lee’s performance was strange and unsettling. Before I presented my concretion to the class, I read from The Theater and it’s Double. Reading Artaud helped me make a connection between Lee’s work which is titled, November. Artaud writes, “We must believe in a sense of life renewed by the theater, a sense of life in which man fearlessly makes himself master of what does not exist, and brings in into being” (13). The reason I made this association because I felt as though Lee was daring in creating a piece that had