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Daniil simkin was astonishing just now! Crowd gave many curtain calls! I won’t be home til late tonight & will then find links but for now look him up on youtube.
Update: Okay, here’s a Youtube of him dancing Flames of Paris, which I saw today (but the pdd today was with Sarah Lane); here is his Youtube ‘archive.’
Sadly, today is my last ABT performance of the fall season. I’ve been to two others in the last week that I haven’t had time to write about, but will do a wrap-up soon. Finally got a picture of Citizen (above) that shows the costumes I was going on about pretty well. And below is Company B, probably my favorite dance overall of this season, or at least one of my favorites.
Did you guys see Center Stage: Turn it Up last night? What did you think? There’s a discussion going on in the comments section of this post.
Okay I am off to my last ABT performance… Oh, don’t forget to turn back your clocks today, you guys. My main clock (that I rely on) automatically turned itself back an hour last week, since that was the old daylight savings time, and I was almost late for a performance…
So, eh, I thought it was actually pretty pretentious to be honest. (Come back, Louise Bourgeois!)
Once inside, they took all of your belongings (you had to check even your jackets and bags, so no cell phones or anything capable of recording), and gave you a set of headphones. Because each room is so small, you have to wait until Jeanne Moreau’s sexy deep-throated voice tells you you may advance. So, you may end up spending a lot of time in a room whose art you may be all that taken with…
First room had some “chandelier”- looking pieces of mobile art hanging from the ceiling that appeared to be made of plastic Christmas-tree-like ornaments, second room a big pit / bowl over whose sides you peered down into only to see some black and white images of leaves and vertebrae and butterflies and such projected onto the bowl’s sides sliding down into oblivion.
The third room was my favorite of the whole exhibit. It was by artist Leandro Erlich from Argentina. You walked through these curtains and sat on a bench and looked across at a wall. Almost the entire wall was obscured by a big black curtain. You were to focus on the bottom, where there was a glass floor, covered with what appeared to be fake mud and dirt. Strategically-placed water appeared to be puddles. Underneath the glass was a really quaint row of 19th Century, Parisian-looking apartment buildings. I thought it was cool because in the previous exhibit it appeared you were in the sky, above the clouds, watching items float down to earth. This one seemed to continue with that theme, except here you were on earth, stepping on all its mud and grime, and the city seemed to be below you. And yet the beautiful city was actually more pristine, not affected by the mud and grime of earth. But then Jeanne Moreau said something about reflections being truer than reality to her, so I figured we were supposed to feel we were seeing a reflection; we were not atop the city after all. Anyway, at one point, the ceiling lights dimmed. The little windows of the buildings lit up, like someone was inside, turning them on for nighttime. Sweet. At the end, the lights in the little windows spelled the Chanel logo. I thought, ew, how crass, you just ruined it! Then I thought, well, maybe the artist wanted you to question our consumerism, obsession with brands and conspicuous consumption. But then I thought, well, since the exhibit was commissioned by Karl Lagerfield / Chanel, no, they’re probably trying to get you to rejoice in that not question it.
Anyway, then we walked into a room showing a film projected onto a wall with a bunch of naked Asian women rolling around in Chanel jewelry. After that was another interesting exhibit – -my second favorite, by an artistic group from Russia known as Blue Noses. You looked down into these big boxes, opened like someone was getting ready to pack for moving — and projected on the bottom were these films of obese naked women running down the street chasing a red Chanel bag being pulled by an invisible hand. It was a ridiculous sight — I’m sure the artists were questioning consumerism here, right, how could they not be… But interesting thing was that the ambient sound for this one was Swan Lake music, interspersed with the sounds of cars and other street noises.
Then, there was a room with some disturbing pictures by American David Levinthal of naked women wearing gas masks, but the masks looked like they were made out of skin, out of the women’s very flesh. In this exhibit, Jeanne Moreau kept saying things like this is my skin, my flesh that I wear, or something or other. I’d have written things down if they’d have let us bring something inside to write with. Actually, I think it was Moreau’s voice and the rather goofy things she was saying (that were supposed to be taken seriously) that made me think the exhibit overall was pretentious. Because the art in itself … much of it was really pretty good — visually arresting and thought-provoking.
There were a few other rooms bearing things like a set of furniture, all items of which appeared to be made from Chanel bag material. A final room was kind of funny. There was a giant Chanel lipstick case inside of which was a giant powder compact, which was opened, and on the compact’s mirror played a film of some women with machine guns at target practice. They were shooting Chanel bags quite to pieces. A voice-over was saying something like “and you said you were pregnant?”
The pavilion is only in NY through next week, then will travel. Go here for more info. Here are some pics by Coolhunter of the inside, though they don’t have any of the exhibits I liked.
Here are some pictures I took of the outside.
Here, am exhibiting herd mentality by doing as everyone before me did while waiting in line: taking a picture when I got up to this lighter sheet of mirrored window surrounding this building outside the pavilion. I’m not even sure what that building was, now that I think about it…
Lovely fall day in Central Park.
Anyway, on the subject of architecture, check out David Hallberg’s pics of this awesome Frank Gehry building at Bard College. It’s like an ultra-modern thatched roof house. I love it! I’m also jealous his fall pictures turned out better than mine…
On an unrelated note, my Explore Dance reviews of the Dance Times Square showcase and ABT’s opening night gala performance are now up.
Sometimes it pays to be single.
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Got bumped to front of line for being femme seule.
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They’re saying 2 hour minimum wait, and this is still only standby. Don’t ever decide to do anything spontaneously in new york!
Zaha hadid art pavilion in central park
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It looks more like a space ship than a chanel bag.
Interesting decoration I saw on the street.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
Also, don’t forget, the night after Halloween, (Saturday, November 1) Oxygen cable network is airing the premiere of the new movie Center Stage 2, or Center Stage: Turn It Up. According to the network’s website, it’s scheduled to show a couple of times that evening, as well as the following Sunday and Wednesday. So you have plenty of chances 🙂
I’ve been doing some research on Tchaikovsky lately — mainly the period in the mid 1870s, which many of his biographers call the “crisis years,” when he was in his mid to late thirties composing Swan Lake among other masterpieces, marrying unsuccessfully, and having a subsequent nervous breakdown. Some biographers accuse others of trying to blacken his name and make him out to be “over-emotional” by “insinuating” that he was gay, which I find interesting that people consider such a suggestion an “insinuation” or an attempt to dirty a reputation, and assume that emotionalism and sexuality have anything to do with each other.
Anyway, here is a paragraph from a 1946 book on him and several other Russian composers by British writer Donald Brook that I find particularly amusing:
“There can be little doubt that if Tchaikovsky had married Desiree Artot (an opera singer who impassioned him), and if she had abandoned her travels and made him a good wife, he could have lived a normal sex-life, for there is every reason to believe that she did attract him physically. In the life of a homosexual there is often one woman who could bring the offender back to the paths of normality, though, alas! he is often unaware of the fact, or never ventures to make the experiment.”
Just shows you how unobjective nonfiction can be. Also, throughout the book, I don’t think I’ve seen so many exclamation points.
with this show now. I wouldn’t be at all upset if what had happened last night hadn’t had happened, if Carrie Ann hadn’t said those words. I really think she should apologize, to Cloris and to the public in general, because she really was reprimanding the public for voting the way they did. Assuming the results aren’t rigged… a belief many have expressed. Who knows, maybe they are — it’s very odd that Cloris stays on all this time, then, after the judges decide she should be off, wham she is… especially when you’d expect all her fans to come out and show their support to the max after those nasty statements by the judges.
In any event, this show has really worn on my nerves this season.
I’m sure I’ll get over it though, and will be glued to the TV next week 🙂
Anyway, for ballet people, here is a very short HuffPo piece I did on ABT, trying to gear it a bit to the more ‘political’ crowd.
Argh, I love how they introduced Lord of the Flies guy, Lord of the Flames, whatever his name is… — Michael Flatley — by announcing he’s grossed over $200 million between Feet of Flames, Lord of the whatever and Celtic Tiger, and is therefore “the most successful dancer in history.” Period. Not “financially, the most successful dancer in history.” Why is this country is so fixated on money? Haven’t we learned anything over the past several months?
Anyway, I just got back from my “representing the mentally ill client” continuing legal education seminar and am just now watching my tape. All I’ve seen is the last hip hop, which was excellent! I think Cloris did better in her solo (or side-by-side duet with Corky) than she’s ever done on the ballroom floor? Seriously — she had a real bad-ass bounce in her step I’ve never seen before. And she had those punches down! And I love Cody — he’s so cute — I love his opening … whatever those noises he made with his mouth close over the mike are called – -mouth noises. Lance blew me away too. Everyone did so well; I can’t believe it. Just shows how hard ballroom is that everyone can rock out with loose hips and bumping and grinding pelvises and then be all unbalanced on a traveling Cha Cha lockstep or side-stepping Samba voltas. Still, hip hop is so flipping hard for me.
Okay, watching the rest now, and blogging as I go…
Oh my gosh, Maurice and Cheryl’s Viennese Waltz was so beautiful! So smooth and dapper and gentlemanly, and fluid and precise footwork, and gorgeous gorgeous posture, and that quick turn, followed by the way he reached out for her. Ooh, Maurice, I’m in love with you this week! What? I can’t believe the judges — are they collectively on drugs?
Aw, Lance’s Jive was cute. Great jive kicks, great speed, cute slide, good precision in the footwork, excellent character. He sold it very well. I wasn’t in love with Lacey’s loud pink shoe bows though.
Wow, Susan’s Mambo really impressed me! It was a very pretty Mambo — maybe not hot sexy mama Mambo, but a pretty one; as Lord guy said, she’s the epitome of “elegance, grace, and beauty.” And he’s right; that’s Susan — she made it her own. Her dress was lovely and the red fire-y skirt really waved and flickered about well. Tony gave her some very fast fancy footwork and she pulled it off wonderfully. Her swivels were lovely and she completely twisted her whole body, which is hard. And really nice ronde de jambe en l’air (or air rondes, as I call them). Good job, Susan!
Well, Brooke’s rumba was lovely, but rumba is just the cruelest dance! It’s so slow and every movement, every hip movement so drawn out, that you can just see every flaw so clearly. Hers was a very lyrical rumba (meaning, straight, ballet-like posture, not a lot of organic hip movement), which is fine. Those were my specialty 🙂 though I was nowhere good as she is! Her toes weren’t pointed enough though and didn’t trace the floor enough — your foot is never really supposed to leave the floor in a rumba – -and her knees were too bent. Her lines were a little off. I know she has a foot injury… Gorgeous dip though, and some lovely stretches. It wasn’t perfect but it was very nice to watch.
I know at least some of you guys are going to hate me for this, but I think Carrie Ann’s comment about Cloris was really unfair. I’m upset that Toni Braxton was kicked off last week too, as I think — and said many times — I thought she was one of the best on the show — but it’s unfair to criticize and basically blame Cloris for still being here when Toni’s off. As if it’s Cloris’s fault?… Cloris is sweet; her Cha Cha was cute — and I think she’s really starting to try now. She obviously has limitations, but at this point I don’t feel like she’s trying to screw up and be a goof; I feel like she’s really trying to do the best she can. And, I linked to that NYTimes article on her last week — I don’t think it’s any small thing that Corky Ballas was in the Times, picture, name and all. The fact that a ballroom legend is in one of the biggest newspapers around… Has ballroom ever been taken so seriously? I mean, this has been a subculture. I feel like Cloris, in her own way, perhaps inadvertently, has kind of done more than any other celebrity on this show to change that… She has to be credited for that at least?
Cody is just so cute. I’m starting to laugh throughout his entire routines now, in a good way! His Samba was nowhere near perfect, but it was really really really good. It wasn’t a typical Samba, but who needs typical all the time? It was a welcome change. He’s such a good partner, such a good support for her. You can tell she’s really comfortable with him, really trusts him the way she throws herself into his arms on those dips and takes him so fast on those pivots. Those pivots (fast turns with partner in close handhold) are hard; it’s very easy to trip all over your partner’s feet. His footwork wasn’t perfect and his hip and pelvic action wasn’t all there, but some of it certainly was. He needs more turnout with his feet. He tries so hard and has such energy, and he’s the biggest improvement on the show. I’m really rooting for him at this point. Poor Julianne; I hope she’s okay. Did she say endometriosis? That’s serious, and she’s young. I mean, not life-threateningly serious, but I’ve heard it’s very painful.
I loved Warren’s rumba too. (I seem to have loved everything this week) He is really very musical — he moved perfectly on the beat — and his footwork was quick and sharp. He did a sliding door, which is an advanced step that is really pretty hard, and his footwork was not only perfect, but really sharp. Amateurs are usually soft and tentative in all Latin dances — and it really shows in the rumba since it’s so slow — but with each step he put his foot down with such decisiveness. He had some checks (where one foot is directly in front of the other, the front leg is straight, the back one bent, and weight is equally distributed) — and they’re kind of hard for amateurs — you can lose your balance easily — and his were pretty smooth. And he was wonderfully in character — soulful, smooth, passionate, strong, virile. Who cares if the technique wasn’t all there? I love it!
I meant to write about this yesterday but took the day off from writing when I got a pleasantly unexpected invitation from Lucky Broadway Girl to see a play! Imagine that: words, actual words spoken on a stage! Hehe, I used to go to plays all the time but kind of stopped when I got so into dance — had no time. Anyway, we went to see Love Child, off-Broadway, at the 59East59 theater, which I’d never been to before.
Nice space, for lots of small theaters — kind of like some of those buildings on far west 42nd street. The play was good and the actors (Daniel Jenkins and Robert Stanton) excellent — these two men played several different characters and they had to change from one to another in a split nano-second. No time for line flubs! And there was a little choreographed movement — sometimes they had to do a little series of turns to show they were going from one character to another. So there was some dance after all 🙂 Anyway, so great to finally meet Lucky Bway Girl!
The Dance Times Square showcase I won’t say much about because I’m writing a review for Explore Dance which I’ll link to as soon as it’s up, but just briefly: wow, their best showcase yet, or at least one of their best. Sabra and Neil from SYTYCD were there, each danced two solos apiece. Excellent solos, obviously. Neil’s were both kind of Movin’ Out style, white t-shirt and jeans, the first more beautifully balletic with lots of whipping fouettes and multiple pirouettes and big leaping jetes. He has a really beautiful line. Somehow I’d kind of overlooked that on the show. His second solo was more gymnastic with a few fun tumbling passes, which I guess is what he’s known for (not only on the TV show but he was also in Tharp’s acrobatic Times Are A’ Changin’). I personally prefer the ballet, but the crowd went nuts when he went flying 🙂
And Sabra danced gorgeously. Her first was this kind of cutely sexy Bjork-esque number in a pink and white baby doll dress, and her second a more passionate contemporary of the style you’d see on the show, danced in a vibrant purple unitard. She moves so well, and she dances with such passion and emotion and her form is so perfect; she has perfect ballet turn-out. This was the most up-close I’ve seen her and she really is a miraculous dancer; I can clearly see how she won the crown.
Still, to me Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manusova stole the show with their three Latin combo routines. They are such a splendid partnership — they’re both very good dancers, both quick, sharp, and precise, and neither tries to outshine the other; they actually work as a team, which is unfortunately becoming increasingly rare in ballroom…
And Michael Choi (a DTS teacher) and his professional partner Becky Melton did a luxuriant ballroom combo to Andrea Bocelli’s rich, luscious Con Te Partiro, one of my favorite musical pieces period, but particularly for ballroom dance.
It was a tribute to the Helen Sawaya Fund — a group supporting breast cancer survivors, and they (the member survivors) did a little Broadway-esque / ballroom number, all dressed in dazzling bright red gowns, with the male pros at DTS, all in dapper black tuxes. Mercedes Ellington presented them, and opera star Aprile Millo sang. Gorgeous voice — and she sang without accompaniment. Philip told me some interesting stories about her — she has a cult following and there are even some exhibits in the Met opera house dedicated to her! No wonder it was so packed in the house — opera divas with cult followings, TV stars, stars of the Latin ballroom world… And this was the most diverse it’s ever been — a lot of the numbers were kind of Broadway dance or contemporary dance combined with Latin and ballroom. They weren’t one specific style. So, the studio is branching out!
All in all, it was a fabulous night. As always, the students are loads of fun to watch, and to cheer on — both advanced and beginner. Elaine (full disclosure: my friend), who often steals the student portion of the show, ended it (with teacher Michael Choi) with a disco tribute to Donna Summer, and had the crowd roaring to its feet. This biannual showcase is always such a blast. It’s not ABT, you know, but it’s just a huge blast!
Tonight and tomorrow night I have law events, so may be little late with my DWTS posts, but will definitely tape, watch, and blog! I’m excited — I think — to see the contestants dance with each other. That’s what they’re doing tonight, right?…
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Theatre is totally packed. Was never like this when i danced!