Comments for The Arts in New York City

Comment on Music: Another Art Form by laura

laura — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:47:06 +0000

This is Laura A.

Comment on OPERA invitation to contribute your blog entry by naseeba

naseeba — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 02:15:48 +0000

Now that I have seen a live and full performance, I understand how you can refer to opera as a “universal language”. Even though we had subtitles, sometimes it was more important to pay attention to the stage, in order to notice the changes in facial expression, music, scene, lighting, and performers. You don’t need to understand all of the dialogue because you can get an impression of what the words mean or what the plot is about from observing the aforementioned things that all make up “opera”.
I was really impressed by the Marriage of Figaro. I thought I would have been bored, and operas are usually thought to be boring and repetitive. Instead, the singing really impressed me, from the range of the singers to their ability project in such a huge theater. I was also impressed by the stage, because the sets were intricate and the lighting seemed so real. In different scenes, there was different lighting that sometimes appeared to be like just like sunlight and created realistic shadows. Overall, seeing the opera was quite an experience and I wouldn’t mind seeing another.

Comment on OPERA invitation to contribute your blog entry by cameron

cameron — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:17:53 +0000

I was blown away by THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO before even a note was sung. Never, in any performance of any kind I have attended, have I ever seen such a realistic and elaborate set design. What caught me the most about the set was how realistic the sunlight appeared and evolved from scene to scene. In the first act, the sun was full and vibrant and unapologetic, much like the beginning of the opera. Towards the end of the play, as the sun set, we as an audience felt/took advantage of the need/opportunity to reflect and contemplate and react to the masterpiece that had been presented before us.
Because the performers seemed so distant from us (role specifically), it might have been hard for us as students to come to terms with the fact that the performers are actual human beings like we. I know this was difficult for me at first just because of how talented they were: they could sing (and roll the r’s like the dickens), act, dance, and transmit emotion so clearly and (seemingly) effortlessly, even to us up in the nosebleed section. I was doing as much admiring and adulating as I was viewing and thinking throughout the course of the four-hour opera, which was not a second too long. How many opportunities am I going to get to see such an acclaimed opera like THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO for no charge?
As to whether the opera can survive the gadgetry and incessantly decreasing attention spans of future generation, I believe that question to be quite silly. The answer is of course yes. As painting survived even with the advent of cameras/photographs, opera has and will continue to survive in spite of the popularity of other forms of entertainment like film and theatre (realism). Why? How many film actors can sing like the performers in FIGARO? Probably not many. How many opera stars can act like those same movie stars? Almost all; it’s part of their job, remember?

Luke

Comment on Love, Eros, or something else? by simone

simone — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 15:43:36 +0000

oops… that was written by simone

Comment on OPERA invitation to contribute your blog entry by stephanie

stephanie — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:14:28 +0000

I enjoyed the opera La Nozze de Figaro much more than I expected to. I thought the costumes were elegant and beautiful, the singers’ voices very loud, clear and impressive, and the sets powerful yet not overwhelming. I enjoyed the story, and the audience seemed to be as into the story as I was. I liked the fact that everyone laughed, cheered and gasped together, as corny as that sounds; it’s something that happens rarely on Broadway and even less frequently in movies.

I thought it was interesting to notice how, because most of the audience doesn’t understand what is being said, the singers have to act out their parts even more; if I couldn’t read what the characters were saying, to each other and aloud, I would have been quite confused. I think that had I seen an opera before this addition to the Met I would not have enjoyed it, and it wouldn’t have even been able to keep my attention. There were parts in the first act when I had to struggle to stay awake as it was. Between the synopsis (conveniently broken down by act) in the Playbill, “subtitles,” the singers acting and emoting while they sang, and my knowledge of Spanish, I was able to make out enough of the story to keep me interested.

Overall, I’m glad I had the opportunity to see such a famous opera with our class, because it’s probably not something I would have decided to go see on my own, and I would have missed out on a great experience.

~Stephanie

Comment on DANCE CLASS by stephanie

stephanie — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 03:37:25 +0000

The dance class was a lot more fun for me than I expected. At first, there were shared looks between students of uncertainty and awkwardness, as we got used to being barefoot, watching ourselves and each other move in unfamiliar ways; as the class went on though, the looks started to show enjoyment and amusement as people got comfortable with the movements and each other, and following the rhythm of the drums.

Our teacher very systematically taught us steps piece by piece, that seemed silly at first; it took me a while to start taking myself seriously watching myself in the mirror, since it’s not every day that white girls do traditional West African dance. Once I got into it though, the movements started to flow and really feel natural. Each step was not difficult to learn, but it took several tries of practice for me to master them, for the dance to start feeling natural.

This free expression of the body, the big, loosely structured movements of hands, feet, head and back was a contrast to ballet and tap dancing that I had taken classes in for nine years when I was younger– the restricted motions, still posture and “turned out” poses are still pretty engraved in me, so it was a conscious effort for me to dance in a completely different manner.

I couldn’t help noticing, as we were learning certain motions, similarities in quick sharp movements such as back popping and turning had striking similarities to hip-hop dancing– though the hip-hop culture is clearly very different from African culture, the roots of the current dance are clear when watching and performing African dance.

On the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed the class at the Alvin Ailey Center. Our teacher was patient and talented, and the the drums added to an excellent experience. This is probably something I will not have the chance to experience again, and I am thoroughly glad that our class was able to participate in the class.

Comment on Alvin Alley Dance Class by sean

sean — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:41:55 +0000

that’s me, Sean, btw, who published the last post

Comment on DANCE CLASS by Gia

Gia — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:52:11 +0000

“To see an African dance is to witness his cultural past and present…For the African, the fullest expression of art is dance.” When I read this quote from Lee Warren in his 1972 book The Dance of Africa, I couldn’t help but relate it to our dance experience at the Alvin Ailey Theater. The music and movements relayed to me – a girl living in the United States in 2007, totally removed from West African cultures and practices – a story enriched by tribal history and experience. Displaying the capabilities of the body with elongated arms, showing reverence for gods with hands together and knees bent, acknowledging the power of community by dancing together – all of this was conveyed to me within a two minute long dance. I think what I enjoyed most was learning a tribal past with my body as a primary instrument. Our teacher, our “textbook,” so effectively lead us through a series of movements embedded with experience and feeling. It was this richness, in my opinion, that strengthened the appeal of the dance. The experience has piqued my interest not only in West African culture, but also in taking more African dance classes, hopefully at the Alvin Ailey Theater.

Another interesting point to consider is the overwhelming universality of appeal music and dance have. To tell the truth, the dance experience reminded me of a lecture I attended at the New York Academy of Sciences last year. At that lecture, a scientist shared with us the incredible universality of emotional expressions. There are some facial expressions, he argued, that are recognized and understood throughout the world despite tremendous regional and cultural differences. Dance, I think, is another type of expression that can link humanity. I understand a number of students were unfamiliar with West African dance (and dance in general), yet a majority of us were able to respond to movement and rhythm seemingly foreign to us. The more I danced and sang, however, the more similarities I noticed between West African music and the 1970s disco beat. The dance we learned could easily be configured to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”!

On the whole, the dance experience was as fun and exciting as it was enlightening. It opened my eyes to a world of dance I would probably have never experienced. **I also noticed a Fitness Series class in West African dance on the Brookdale Council’s November calendar. I look forward to experiencing more aspects of the culture in a few weeks.

Comment on comments on dance evening by cameron

cameron — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 18:06:59 +0000

I personally loved “Para-Dice” more than the other two acts. Not having much experience/exposure in the ballet/dance category, I found the opening act of our lovely little evening out on the town to be mindblowing, engaging, eclectic, and more than satisfying. I don’t remember as much as I would like about the opening act, but I do remember that there were seven males and seven females dancing together most of the time, but occasionally breaking up and performing solo acts. The movements and gestures in “Para-Dice” were more strucutred, demonstrative, and deliberate than those of the other acts. Furthermore, the flow and progression of the dance was not hindered by meaningless dialogue from the dancers about roaches, mice, changing rooms, or any of that other jazz. The serious tone of the piece was maintained throughout. Also, the lighting of this particular piece was minimal, never blooming into even moderate brightness. This had a positive effect on me, as bright lights inhibit my vision of the performance and do not provide the mysticall allure that dim lighting provides. All of these are reasons I was drawn to “Para-Dice.”

Luke

Comment on comments on dance evening by dalya

dalya — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:47:00 +0000

When we went to go see the pieces of the Ballet Du Grand Theatre de Geneve, I definitely did not get what I was expecting. While sitting during the first two pieces, “Para-Dice” and “Selon Desire,” I was very lost. I did not really understand the point of just having the same repetitive motions all the time. If they were trying to portray a message, it definitely was not as strong as the message portrayed by “Loin.” What I didn’t like about what was going on onstage at times was that it was so chaotic. It might be because we were sitting close to the stage, but I don’t think so. There were so many things going on at once that it was difficult to know where to focus at times. I liked the part in “Selon Desire” when you had a few people on the stage. It made things much more graceful to me, not having to look at a lot of things at the same time. I just really did not like the repetition of “Para-Dice.”
“Loin” was by far my favorite because it was engaging. Each part was different. You had the people coming out in groups of two and doing these amazing sequences that looked so difficult yet graceful. The costumes were my favorite and it never got dull. I agree with Lou about what the message is, and I believe that “Loin” did a good job at portraying it in a funny, yet creative manner that did not overstep the boundaries of dance. Even though there was conversation, it was a part of the dance because of the movements they were doing at the same time. I was glad that they ended with that piece because it was, in my opinion, the best one of the three.