I had this ooober (I like that spelling for the drawn out effects haha) random inspiration for this post. i was cleaning up after dinner and I was putting away the salad looking at the carrot strips and it hit me! I was gonna write about my food oddities/thoughts.
First off, I hate carrot strips. If I'm gonna eat a carrot I want the satisfaction of a juicy crunch! None of this strip stuff. It's too much like garnish, there for looks not for taste.
My other one is raspberries. I adore raspberries. The tiny box they come in is simply not enough. I always eat them in one sitting (odd phrase. I mean you can sit for hours...) My oddity with them is that I like to brush them softly against my lips to feel the softness of the fruit before eating. No I'm not sitting there rubbing them across my lips repeatedly like a freak, just touching them to my lips to feel them then eat them. (ok weird I know, it kinda reminds me of robert from everybody loves raymond with his habit of everything he ate touched his chin first. now I'm sure you're thinking who is this girl?? people, just watch the show and you'll get it)
My third is chocolate. I was reading in blog somewhere that europeans think american chocolate is basically chocolate flavoring, not actual honest to goodness chocolate. I have to agree. The more I eat quality chocolate, then I eat some "normal" mass produced typical grocery store chocolate and its horrible. It's so fake. It's like comparing diamonds to cubic zirconia; it's almost sad.
There you have it folks. A glimpse into the randomness of me. But I like it and wanted to share. Because I love you that much.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Stompy Jones
Been meaning to write, just didn't have any inspiration! So I will write about my fabulous evening at the Verdi Club.
The set-up: It was the day before my close friend Emmy's birthday and some friends of our has told us (more her haha) about this place in SF where you can go swing dancing. They give you a quick lesson in basics then there's an open session from 9:30-12am. So we got a group together and dressed up and got ready for a swingin good time. Me being the formal trained trainer was hoping to catch the lesson but we left too late and we showed up for the last 5mins before the open session started. So I just jumped in on the side in hopes of catching a lil something. I did, but I basically totally made up a hoppy version of it haha.
Then open session started and right of the bat a handsome tall guy named Michael asked me to dance. I told him I didn't have a clue so pardon me. He was kind and patient and taught me some moves. We danced for a couple songs so I could kinda get the feel for it. It was so refreshing to just dance with a kind older guy (mid thrirties?) who just loved dancing (ok yes he was gay but I also danced with other non-gay men who were also there just for the love of the good time of dancing)
Then I danced with a guy who was just interested in getting a feel if I was interested in him (I was not) and he was a horrible leader. I had no idea what he was doing and I couldn't follow his rhythm and I tried to slow dance sway to the best of my abilities. Needless to say we didn't dance again that evening.
It was interesting and fun dancing with several different men, how they would lead (or not lead) and act with me. One was a very experienced dancer and knew I wasn't so he just smiled and kept spinning me around haha. Others were just keep it very simple and stick to the basic steps and just help me. Others did their own thing so I just stumbled along. One guy I was convinced just wanted to make me dizzy, he spun me around so many times and then we danced around in a circle. Hated it. Plus he pulled me so close I was actually sucking in my stomach so not to touch him any more than I had to.
My friends and I danced and laughed the night away. I definitely will be coming back here again.
It was interesting to note how seemingly subtle (or obvious) moves/stances/positions I did when not dancing would make me "welcoming" or not. If I was standing up, with my hair down, and on the sidelines I got asked. If I was sitting, chatting with me friends, and with my hair up I only got asked like once. Amusing.
Club Verdi is in an awesome place, right at the point on the border of SOMA, mission, and potrero hill. Plenty of free parking. The space is modest but perfect for the event. You walk in and it's got the slight 50s dingy feel, similar to a bowling alley. It's not shabby but it's not oooo nice. You can tell it's been around but it's clean and well kept. There's a bar and a bar space to the immediate left, couches and chairs to lounge on while you sip. Men's bathroom after that (smart..)
Then you walk straight into the ballroom space. It's spacious and welcoming without being overwhelming. There's a stage that's set up higher for the band to place (stompy jones, a fantastic swing band)
A huge fan at the entry way to keep the room ventilated (It worked, never got overly hot as is the tendency is most SF venues especially when dancing, music, and people are involved.)
Toward to back on the left side of the ballroom you veer a left up the stairs into, BEHOLD the women's lounge!
Ohhh man this place was heaven for all women and especially to someone like me (I rate places on bathrooms. Not solely but it's a huge factor to me)
There's a couple couches for lounging, recovering, and gossiping. The bathroom is set up beautifully and is kept amazingly clean and well stocked. There's a couple of private stalls (more like your home toilet where you just shut the door) and a few regular bathroom stalls. Oh man so much space and cleanliness and toilet paper. I was in heaven!
So go to Verd Club on tuesday nights at 9:30 (or 9pm if you wanna catch the beginner's lesson) $10 (12 if you go for the lesson)
This is a great easy date night idea or just a fun clean time out.
People are very friendly and warm. All kinds of people from youngsters (ok well 20 somethings) to the older folks (like 50 somethings) You can dance with other people or not. Dance to the band (which was never overwhelmingly loud) or wait for the big band DJ'd music.
You can do as you please (within reason people) and have a good time. Virtually creeper free too! (there was like 2 there throughout the duration of the night. but they were harmless)
Go and experience it!
The set-up: It was the day before my close friend Emmy's birthday and some friends of our has told us (more her haha) about this place in SF where you can go swing dancing. They give you a quick lesson in basics then there's an open session from 9:30-12am. So we got a group together and dressed up and got ready for a swingin good time. Me being the formal trained trainer was hoping to catch the lesson but we left too late and we showed up for the last 5mins before the open session started. So I just jumped in on the side in hopes of catching a lil something. I did, but I basically totally made up a hoppy version of it haha.
Then open session started and right of the bat a handsome tall guy named Michael asked me to dance. I told him I didn't have a clue so pardon me. He was kind and patient and taught me some moves. We danced for a couple songs so I could kinda get the feel for it. It was so refreshing to just dance with a kind older guy (mid thrirties?) who just loved dancing (ok yes he was gay but I also danced with other non-gay men who were also there just for the love of the good time of dancing)
Then I danced with a guy who was just interested in getting a feel if I was interested in him (I was not) and he was a horrible leader. I had no idea what he was doing and I couldn't follow his rhythm and I tried to slow dance sway to the best of my abilities. Needless to say we didn't dance again that evening.
It was interesting and fun dancing with several different men, how they would lead (or not lead) and act with me. One was a very experienced dancer and knew I wasn't so he just smiled and kept spinning me around haha. Others were just keep it very simple and stick to the basic steps and just help me. Others did their own thing so I just stumbled along. One guy I was convinced just wanted to make me dizzy, he spun me around so many times and then we danced around in a circle. Hated it. Plus he pulled me so close I was actually sucking in my stomach so not to touch him any more than I had to.
My friends and I danced and laughed the night away. I definitely will be coming back here again.
It was interesting to note how seemingly subtle (or obvious) moves/stances/positions I did when not dancing would make me "welcoming" or not. If I was standing up, with my hair down, and on the sidelines I got asked. If I was sitting, chatting with me friends, and with my hair up I only got asked like once. Amusing.
Club Verdi is in an awesome place, right at the point on the border of SOMA, mission, and potrero hill. Plenty of free parking. The space is modest but perfect for the event. You walk in and it's got the slight 50s dingy feel, similar to a bowling alley. It's not shabby but it's not oooo nice. You can tell it's been around but it's clean and well kept. There's a bar and a bar space to the immediate left, couches and chairs to lounge on while you sip. Men's bathroom after that (smart..)
Then you walk straight into the ballroom space. It's spacious and welcoming without being overwhelming. There's a stage that's set up higher for the band to place (stompy jones, a fantastic swing band)
A huge fan at the entry way to keep the room ventilated (It worked, never got overly hot as is the tendency is most SF venues especially when dancing, music, and people are involved.)
Toward to back on the left side of the ballroom you veer a left up the stairs into, BEHOLD the women's lounge!
Ohhh man this place was heaven for all women and especially to someone like me (I rate places on bathrooms. Not solely but it's a huge factor to me)
There's a couple couches for lounging, recovering, and gossiping. The bathroom is set up beautifully and is kept amazingly clean and well stocked. There's a couple of private stalls (more like your home toilet where you just shut the door) and a few regular bathroom stalls. Oh man so much space and cleanliness and toilet paper. I was in heaven!
So go to Verd Club on tuesday nights at 9:30 (or 9pm if you wanna catch the beginner's lesson) $10 (12 if you go for the lesson)
This is a great easy date night idea or just a fun clean time out.
People are very friendly and warm. All kinds of people from youngsters (ok well 20 somethings) to the older folks (like 50 somethings) You can dance with other people or not. Dance to the band (which was never overwhelmingly loud) or wait for the big band DJ'd music.
You can do as you please (within reason people) and have a good time. Virtually creeper free too! (there was like 2 there throughout the duration of the night. but they were harmless)
Go and experience it!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Dance Anywhere
I just recently participated in a worldwide event called dance anywhere and I wanted to share my experience/thoughts on it
First off you can get an idea of what it is by going here: http://www.danceanywhere.org/
Basically the idea is, on a chosen day/date people around the world would stop and dance at noon (noon here, so noon equivalents elsewhere) to celebrate dance and to bring a bit of dance into our lives.
The concept is a bit vague I realize. What actually never hit me before was that this is actually happening worldwide, we are dancing together at the same time. At this idea was brought up by a lady by the name of Beth Fein. Interesting that a simple idea can reach worldwide. It never ceases to blow my mind
I like it for dancing is good, sometimes we do need to be told to dance. There's actually been times where I felt discouraged and down in the dumps and I just danced it off. It was silly jiggles and shimmies and hops while trying to be quiet (it was 11pm and I was doing it in teh confines of my messy room while the rest of the house was sleeping) but it completely liberated me.
God did ordain and create dance. We actually do need to dance. It liberates us. It makes us let go. It makes us celebrate.
So that's why I have participated in dance anywhere.
Last year I danced at the berkeley art museum out on the grass on a beautiful spring day and it was I think a couple weeks after my surgery. I was nervous because my last memory connected to dance is a bad one for after a dance class I came home and ended up in the ER (I know it had nothing to do with dancing but you know how memories get strangely attached to things) and I was wearing a diaper (hello depends!) and and and....I was just so darn nervous
I ended up dancing for a half hour easily. It was beautiful. It was wonderful. It was creative. It was liberating. It was a time to escape and just focus on what I was doing. I noticed the green grass and the blue sky and the sun. I involved all of those aspects (not to be all hippie....but I WAS in berkeley you know haha) I apprecaited the beauty of it.
This year I danced in the ferry building. It was a rainy cold day. I was a bit nervous this time because I hadn't danced at all in over a year (since the last dance anywhere....) and I know the ferry building always has people in it.
But I enjoyed it. Honestly not as much as last time just because I felt like I was kinda just moving my arms and doing some random movements. But it did feel good.
And this year I got some pretty pictures of my dancing from it!! yaaaaaaay haha
So maybe make it a daily or even a weekly thing. At noon (or whatever time) just stop for a minute (most likely will end up being 5....) and dance. Nobody has to know. it can be utterly ridiculous (because that's the most fun!) But you might just need it....
here's a pic of moi dancing:
(I'm the one in the back)
Photo credit: David DeSilva lightpaintsapicture.com
First off you can get an idea of what it is by going here: http://www.danceanywhere.org/
Basically the idea is, on a chosen day/date people around the world would stop and dance at noon (noon here, so noon equivalents elsewhere) to celebrate dance and to bring a bit of dance into our lives.
The concept is a bit vague I realize. What actually never hit me before was that this is actually happening worldwide, we are dancing together at the same time. At this idea was brought up by a lady by the name of Beth Fein. Interesting that a simple idea can reach worldwide. It never ceases to blow my mind
I like it for dancing is good, sometimes we do need to be told to dance. There's actually been times where I felt discouraged and down in the dumps and I just danced it off. It was silly jiggles and shimmies and hops while trying to be quiet (it was 11pm and I was doing it in teh confines of my messy room while the rest of the house was sleeping) but it completely liberated me.
God did ordain and create dance. We actually do need to dance. It liberates us. It makes us let go. It makes us celebrate.
So that's why I have participated in dance anywhere.
Last year I danced at the berkeley art museum out on the grass on a beautiful spring day and it was I think a couple weeks after my surgery. I was nervous because my last memory connected to dance is a bad one for after a dance class I came home and ended up in the ER (I know it had nothing to do with dancing but you know how memories get strangely attached to things) and I was wearing a diaper (hello depends!) and and and....I was just so darn nervous
I ended up dancing for a half hour easily. It was beautiful. It was wonderful. It was creative. It was liberating. It was a time to escape and just focus on what I was doing. I noticed the green grass and the blue sky and the sun. I involved all of those aspects (not to be all hippie....but I WAS in berkeley you know haha) I apprecaited the beauty of it.
This year I danced in the ferry building. It was a rainy cold day. I was a bit nervous this time because I hadn't danced at all in over a year (since the last dance anywhere....) and I know the ferry building always has people in it.
But I enjoyed it. Honestly not as much as last time just because I felt like I was kinda just moving my arms and doing some random movements. But it did feel good.
And this year I got some pretty pictures of my dancing from it!! yaaaaaaay haha
So maybe make it a daily or even a weekly thing. At noon (or whatever time) just stop for a minute (most likely will end up being 5....) and dance. Nobody has to know. it can be utterly ridiculous (because that's the most fun!) But you might just need it....
here's a pic of moi dancing:
Photo credit: David DeSilva lightpaintsapicture.com
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Silent Screen
Not intentionally trying to turn this blog into a dance review place buuut I gotta tell you guys about the pieces I see!
Especially when it's by my favorite company in the world annd it was the first time I've seen them live because the company hasn't toured to the US in over 10yrs.
Who am I talking about? Nederlands Dans Theater.
Uh nederlands? Ok ok also known as Netherlands dance Theater. better now? Ok
They came to Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley which honestly I was a bit surprised. Having never seen a show at zellerbach I was skeptical, after all, it's in berkeley, not exactly a mainstream art place, and it's on a campus! But much to my surprise the theater is huge, the seating is ample and comfy (with leg room! sheesh theaters, no wonder people don't wanna go to shows, they barely have comfy leg room for people!)
While the lobby had much to be desired with being flat and sparse, it was made up for by a beautiful auditorium. I think it's a better space in the warm weather for there's more than enough room to mingle outside. Bathrooms are perfectly sized and clean and well stocked. (I have a thing about bathrooms ok? They add or subtract points to a place for me personally)
My ticket was for row ee and I only saw a row e, so I sat there, however during intermission I wandered further up and saw after row a there was a row ee. and guess what? It was a front row seat!
Now I realize I sound a biit dumb (I am blonde...) because I did click on a seat to buy it online so you'd think I would already know I had a front row seat. I didn't, ok? But after moving up to my rightful seat I sat by a delightfully sweet couple who were former dancers. She was perfectly at home in the theatre and I loved it. she was chatty without chatting my ears off, that's always nice. Meeting with new people who are kind and genuine even if it was just during intermission. They honestly made the viewing that much more pleasurable. I hate the awkward glances at the people next to you or in the row.
Anywho dancing, right?
NDT presented Whereabouts Unknown and Silent Screen.
Whereabouts Unknown is by NDT's main choreographer (til now) and former director Jiri Kylian.
Kylian is my absolute favorite choreographer ever. His clever yet almost obscenely simple use of movements can only be described as genius. Whereabouts is a piece that is influenced by our ancestors, (natives, aborigines, etc)
I'm gonna be honest here, as thrilled as I was to see the piece (especially since I had the chance to dance a piece of it many years ago through SF conservatory of dance) I didn't "get" it.
You know what I mean? You know how you see some works of art, dance, music, photography, etc and you appreciate it's beauty but you just don't get it? It makes no connection? That's how I felt about Whereabouts. However one of my old teachers said, sometimes you don't have to get it. You can just appreciate it for the beauty that it is, like watching a sunset.
But there were some definite jaw-dropping dance sequences and I basically had a dance orgasm because the dancing was so raw and fierce and just animalistic. I just struggled because the influence (the "story) and the dance just didn't flow seamlessly. It just seemed to be a beautiful dance piece with a bit of a "native" influence to it
Silent Screen is choreographed by Paul Lightfoot and Sol León who are NDT's resident choreographers.
All I can say about this piece is HOLY CRAP!
It starts off witha couple facing a huge panoramic screen shot of the beach. You hear the waves crashing and everything. It feels like you're actually looking at people from behind at the beach.
The start dancing and it's sweet, very beach feeling dance. Then the screen transitions and so does the dance style. Everything keeps transitioning until you're in the middle of this very absurd and theatrical scence which feels a bit like insanity. Lightfoot/Leon's choreography boggles the eyes and mind for the dancers seem to do humanly impossible movements and yet here they are doing it! The words Alice in Wonderland came to mind for it's a bit like that; you're taken on a journey, you don't know why these absurd things are happening, or why more dancers came out but you know you feel alive and are experiencing every little thing. There's one pause where it was very serene, I thought if this is the end, it would be almost treason to stand up and clap for the moment called for absolute stillness and almost holiness. It went on however after than and then it almost retrcaed it's steps back and ended up back at the beach. A metaphor of a life perhaps? Only a theatrical version?
We all stood up with thundering cheers and applauses, naturally they deserved a standing ovation. It was the first show actually that I felt compelled to stand right up and clap and cheer wildly.
It was wonderful. Refreshing. Obscene, Absurd. Amazing
Especially when it's by my favorite company in the world annd it was the first time I've seen them live because the company hasn't toured to the US in over 10yrs.
Who am I talking about? Nederlands Dans Theater.
Uh nederlands? Ok ok also known as Netherlands dance Theater. better now? Ok
They came to Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley which honestly I was a bit surprised. Having never seen a show at zellerbach I was skeptical, after all, it's in berkeley, not exactly a mainstream art place, and it's on a campus! But much to my surprise the theater is huge, the seating is ample and comfy (with leg room! sheesh theaters, no wonder people don't wanna go to shows, they barely have comfy leg room for people!)
While the lobby had much to be desired with being flat and sparse, it was made up for by a beautiful auditorium. I think it's a better space in the warm weather for there's more than enough room to mingle outside. Bathrooms are perfectly sized and clean and well stocked. (I have a thing about bathrooms ok? They add or subtract points to a place for me personally)
My ticket was for row ee and I only saw a row e, so I sat there, however during intermission I wandered further up and saw after row a there was a row ee. and guess what? It was a front row seat!
Now I realize I sound a biit dumb (I am blonde...) because I did click on a seat to buy it online so you'd think I would already know I had a front row seat. I didn't, ok? But after moving up to my rightful seat I sat by a delightfully sweet couple who were former dancers. She was perfectly at home in the theatre and I loved it. she was chatty without chatting my ears off, that's always nice. Meeting with new people who are kind and genuine even if it was just during intermission. They honestly made the viewing that much more pleasurable. I hate the awkward glances at the people next to you or in the row.
Anywho dancing, right?
NDT presented Whereabouts Unknown and Silent Screen.
Whereabouts Unknown is by NDT's main choreographer (til now) and former director Jiri Kylian.
Kylian is my absolute favorite choreographer ever. His clever yet almost obscenely simple use of movements can only be described as genius. Whereabouts is a piece that is influenced by our ancestors, (natives, aborigines, etc)
I'm gonna be honest here, as thrilled as I was to see the piece (especially since I had the chance to dance a piece of it many years ago through SF conservatory of dance) I didn't "get" it.
You know what I mean? You know how you see some works of art, dance, music, photography, etc and you appreciate it's beauty but you just don't get it? It makes no connection? That's how I felt about Whereabouts. However one of my old teachers said, sometimes you don't have to get it. You can just appreciate it for the beauty that it is, like watching a sunset.
But there were some definite jaw-dropping dance sequences and I basically had a dance orgasm because the dancing was so raw and fierce and just animalistic. I just struggled because the influence (the "story) and the dance just didn't flow seamlessly. It just seemed to be a beautiful dance piece with a bit of a "native" influence to it
Silent Screen is choreographed by Paul Lightfoot and Sol León who are NDT's resident choreographers.
All I can say about this piece is HOLY CRAP!
It starts off witha couple facing a huge panoramic screen shot of the beach. You hear the waves crashing and everything. It feels like you're actually looking at people from behind at the beach.
The start dancing and it's sweet, very beach feeling dance. Then the screen transitions and so does the dance style. Everything keeps transitioning until you're in the middle of this very absurd and theatrical scence which feels a bit like insanity. Lightfoot/Leon's choreography boggles the eyes and mind for the dancers seem to do humanly impossible movements and yet here they are doing it! The words Alice in Wonderland came to mind for it's a bit like that; you're taken on a journey, you don't know why these absurd things are happening, or why more dancers came out but you know you feel alive and are experiencing every little thing. There's one pause where it was very serene, I thought if this is the end, it would be almost treason to stand up and clap for the moment called for absolute stillness and almost holiness. It went on however after than and then it almost retrcaed it's steps back and ended up back at the beach. A metaphor of a life perhaps? Only a theatrical version?
We all stood up with thundering cheers and applauses, naturally they deserved a standing ovation. It was the first show actually that I felt compelled to stand right up and clap and cheer wildly.
It was wonderful. Refreshing. Obscene, Absurd. Amazing
Saturday, March 5, 2011
A mix of everything
Since today is a lazy day (because everybody else is busy.....haha) I thought I'd update and tell you guys my thoughts on the ballet I saw last night. I saw program 3 of San Francisco Ballet which consisted of Yuri Possokhev's "Classical Symphony" Helgi Tomasson's "Nanna's Lied" and William Forsythe's "Artifact Suite"
Now I've heard of Yuri's work a bit and was kind of curious to see it since he is SFB's resident choreographer. Honestly.....it was huge let down. It did have some very pretty moments that were unexpected in the use of certain movements but on a whole the piece felt like a newbie choreographers exploration in pushing the boundaries of classical ballet which a lot of choreographer's do however his felt like a classroom exercise (personally I've taken numerous classes like that) with movements that felt overly contrived and were in there just because they were "cool tricks" and movements that looked sloppy and rushed. It may partially have to do with the dancers not being very clear but I felt it was the choreographer's weakness that caused that to flail arms and do weird body twists that were an obvious take from swan lake just "modernized" plus the music was just there was a random backdrop, had nothing to do with the choreography.
Now Tomasson's Nanna's Lied I was very curious to see because I've heard of it so often and had never seen it.
It's a very interesting piece. Not quite what I was expecting; I was thinking it was gonna be a modern day interpretation but instead it was a bit of a period piece. It's the story of a girl named Nanna and her loss of innocence. Tomasson isn't an amazing choreographer who wows you but he is good and can evoke feelings and does the story justice by implementing the right movements to spur the right emotion. I didn't care too much for the way it started for it starts off bare and almost randomly, it just jumps into the story, I wanted more of a journey with Nanna. but my friend with me discussed it and he said, "I got it, it was a very simple beginning. It starts off with a girl a new big city who doesn't know her way around. Then some prostitutes come by and invite her to join them but she says no. then a guy comes along and takes advantage of her"
Which is the basic storyline. Sarah Van Patten is a gorgeous dancer, not the most emotional but is adept enough to where she evoked the right feelings with her movements.
There was one dance scene where it felt like an obvious "filler" because Nanna (Sarah Van Patten) dances around and for the most part it just seems like choreography with some random emotion filled movements as opposed to telling the story of her emotions. But the piece ended on a good note.
Now I was highly anticipating seeing Artifact Suite for I am a huge Forsythe fan (almost anybody who knows and appreciates ballet in today's world is a fan of his, he is today's version of Balanchine by changing the dance world and having a influence on every modern day choreographer)
The first half is a tad jarring, the dancing is actually a bit slow (Forsythe is usually frentic) and I surprisingly didn't care for it too much. Perhaps I can blame the dancers this time (wow I sound mean! haha) but the 2 main couples who danced center stage were a bit of a yawn. I could barely see half the movements due to the shadows caused by the lighting and they just seemed to be executing movements as opposed to really stretching and pushing the boundaries. I was actually more interested in the corps since they were doing interesting arm movements guided by a "drill instructor" in unison in different formations across the stage. Now the jarring thing is randomly a dark black curtain would slam down loudly in the middle of a section only to go up again revealing a new formation of the dancers. Then there was a long pause where even the house lights dimmed back on. then the second half....ahh yes! The Forsythe I knew and loved. Frentic movements that almost put you in a trance after a while (it had that effect on me! it was a glorious wonderful weird sensation where I felt the dancing would go on forever and I had no problem with that) interesting formations combined with beautifully simplistic movements that charmed you.
Elana Altman who was "drill instructor" had some moments where she dances by herself in more modern style choregraphy and I felt like she was too balletic, a typical view of a ballet dancer who tries to do "modern" dancing, it produces a strange almost awkward effect.
Nonetheless the ballet was wonderful and satisfied me at the end and had a most glorious ending that crescendoes and then releases. Wonderful
(Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith in Artifact Suite) (found image on google)
Now I've heard of Yuri's work a bit and was kind of curious to see it since he is SFB's resident choreographer. Honestly.....it was huge let down. It did have some very pretty moments that were unexpected in the use of certain movements but on a whole the piece felt like a newbie choreographers exploration in pushing the boundaries of classical ballet which a lot of choreographer's do however his felt like a classroom exercise (personally I've taken numerous classes like that) with movements that felt overly contrived and were in there just because they were "cool tricks" and movements that looked sloppy and rushed. It may partially have to do with the dancers not being very clear but I felt it was the choreographer's weakness that caused that to flail arms and do weird body twists that were an obvious take from swan lake just "modernized" plus the music was just there was a random backdrop, had nothing to do with the choreography.
Now Tomasson's Nanna's Lied I was very curious to see because I've heard of it so often and had never seen it.
It's a very interesting piece. Not quite what I was expecting; I was thinking it was gonna be a modern day interpretation but instead it was a bit of a period piece. It's the story of a girl named Nanna and her loss of innocence. Tomasson isn't an amazing choreographer who wows you but he is good and can evoke feelings and does the story justice by implementing the right movements to spur the right emotion. I didn't care too much for the way it started for it starts off bare and almost randomly, it just jumps into the story, I wanted more of a journey with Nanna. but my friend with me discussed it and he said, "I got it, it was a very simple beginning. It starts off with a girl a new big city who doesn't know her way around. Then some prostitutes come by and invite her to join them but she says no. then a guy comes along and takes advantage of her"
Which is the basic storyline. Sarah Van Patten is a gorgeous dancer, not the most emotional but is adept enough to where she evoked the right feelings with her movements.
There was one dance scene where it felt like an obvious "filler" because Nanna (Sarah Van Patten) dances around and for the most part it just seems like choreography with some random emotion filled movements as opposed to telling the story of her emotions. But the piece ended on a good note.
Now I was highly anticipating seeing Artifact Suite for I am a huge Forsythe fan (almost anybody who knows and appreciates ballet in today's world is a fan of his, he is today's version of Balanchine by changing the dance world and having a influence on every modern day choreographer)
The first half is a tad jarring, the dancing is actually a bit slow (Forsythe is usually frentic) and I surprisingly didn't care for it too much. Perhaps I can blame the dancers this time (wow I sound mean! haha) but the 2 main couples who danced center stage were a bit of a yawn. I could barely see half the movements due to the shadows caused by the lighting and they just seemed to be executing movements as opposed to really stretching and pushing the boundaries. I was actually more interested in the corps since they were doing interesting arm movements guided by a "drill instructor" in unison in different formations across the stage. Now the jarring thing is randomly a dark black curtain would slam down loudly in the middle of a section only to go up again revealing a new formation of the dancers. Then there was a long pause where even the house lights dimmed back on. then the second half....ahh yes! The Forsythe I knew and loved. Frentic movements that almost put you in a trance after a while (it had that effect on me! it was a glorious wonderful weird sensation where I felt the dancing would go on forever and I had no problem with that) interesting formations combined with beautifully simplistic movements that charmed you.
Elana Altman who was "drill instructor" had some moments where she dances by herself in more modern style choregraphy and I felt like she was too balletic, a typical view of a ballet dancer who tries to do "modern" dancing, it produces a strange almost awkward effect.
Nonetheless the ballet was wonderful and satisfied me at the end and had a most glorious ending that crescendoes and then releases. Wonderful
Monday, February 21, 2011
Hock It
(Title name is inspired by a The Blow song title)
So while I'm suffering from cabin fever (tha's the correct term for being in the house all the time and nowhere to go right??)
I though I might as well post a little postie
Surgery went well! Can't really call it surgery as they only dilated my bladder buuut the news now is is that the urologist is referring me to UCSF (since they're top of the line) so we'll see what happens there. I don't really have any news/details with that so I'll keep you posted after I know more. However I must say, despite continual frustrations with the medical community I am extremely grateful that after working through the system (or rather it working me and me patiently running it's course.....) I can be referred to UCSF with county paying (I believe...) and not have to pay. I'm so so grateful I can go through county and not have to pay a dime and do (eventually) get what I need. I do think our taxes pay for this (don't they? for county hospital? and why am I always using parentheses in my posts? apparently I really like them. hope that's ok for you!)
So what I was trying to say is I'm thankful oh so much and I will gladly pay taxes for that
In Other News:
I've been daydreaming quite a bit lately. It seems a bit more so than usual. I mean more about like what I'm gonna do to generate some sort of income. Granted I think babysitting/nannying will always be my core but I have this desire to do everything. and random different little things. Like sell my pictures. Own a dutch bakery in SF. Learn to quilt and possibly sell them. Do something with chocolate.
All these crazy odd random delightful things. I know one thing for sure, I was born to be unconventional. I don't think I'll ever really have a 9-5 job. And I like that. But if only I knew how to do the rest.
We'll see what happens.
One thing I will say I'm gonna start with selling my pictures (ok side note, I almost always end up typing me for my, I like the whole irish "me lad" way of typing but now it's just a weird habit)
So I'm venturing on this whole selling pictures that I take. I'll be trying it through etsy so I don't really know of any other venue.
I haven't really started anything yet, just looking around and looking/taking pictures. I've found a place I'm gonna try to print my pics and we'll go from there!
So while I'm suffering from cabin fever (tha's the correct term for being in the house all the time and nowhere to go right??)
I though I might as well post a little postie
Surgery went well! Can't really call it surgery as they only dilated my bladder buuut the news now is is that the urologist is referring me to UCSF (since they're top of the line) so we'll see what happens there. I don't really have any news/details with that so I'll keep you posted after I know more. However I must say, despite continual frustrations with the medical community I am extremely grateful that after working through the system (or rather it working me and me patiently running it's course.....) I can be referred to UCSF with county paying (I believe...) and not have to pay. I'm so so grateful I can go through county and not have to pay a dime and do (eventually) get what I need. I do think our taxes pay for this (don't they? for county hospital? and why am I always using parentheses in my posts? apparently I really like them. hope that's ok for you!)
So what I was trying to say is I'm thankful oh so much and I will gladly pay taxes for that
In Other News:
I've been daydreaming quite a bit lately. It seems a bit more so than usual. I mean more about like what I'm gonna do to generate some sort of income. Granted I think babysitting/nannying will always be my core but I have this desire to do everything. and random different little things. Like sell my pictures. Own a dutch bakery in SF. Learn to quilt and possibly sell them. Do something with chocolate.
All these crazy odd random delightful things. I know one thing for sure, I was born to be unconventional. I don't think I'll ever really have a 9-5 job. And I like that. But if only I knew how to do the rest.
We'll see what happens.
One thing I will say I'm gonna start with selling my pictures (ok side note, I almost always end up typing me for my, I like the whole irish "me lad" way of typing but now it's just a weird habit)
So I'm venturing on this whole selling pictures that I take. I'll be trying it through etsy so I don't really know of any other venue.
I haven't really started anything yet, just looking around and looking/taking pictures. I've found a place I'm gonna try to print my pics and we'll go from there!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Random wonderings
I just felt the need to write a post even though I have no specific topic in mind. Hope you don't mind! I've been pondering what on earth I'm gonna do as a career! I mean I had always planned on choreography/dancing and since the bladder issues that went down the toilet. I mean there is still a very slight possibility but I just put that idea away, didn't wanna waste time hoping and wishing for something that just most likely won't happen. I'm content to just be a housewife buuut I need a husband for that and I don't even have a boyfriend yet. Now that could just all change within a year but you know, who knows?? I love the whole etsy idea, it seems a bit more me, more independent and creative but the problem is I don't have anything marketable. I like photography but don't know too much, though that's just an excuse honestly. I'd love to sell quilts and blankets but don't how to yet. I haven't found any learning sources. I did have a vague idea of taking bible verses and writing them up to be pretty word art basically and maybe even framing it. I do always have the old standby of babysitting/nannying so that's nice. I'm just curious to see where this road of life is gonna take me. It's thrown some loops that's for sure. I honestly do not wanna go to college. I have no real reason to, and for some reason I feel I'm to "make it" in the world in an unusual way, by unconventional dare I say uneducated way. Nothing against education, it propels people forward. I just don't feel like it's for me.
So some updates on me; I have a bladder surgery coming up next week. Relieved, nervous, and oddly excited haha. We'll see what happens this time around.....
So some updates on me; I have a bladder surgery coming up next week. Relieved, nervous, and oddly excited haha. We'll see what happens this time around.....
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