Missy | March 26, 2007

Living in a tree house with an 85mm lens

Ballerina-turned-documentarian Kristin Sloan is creating weekly segments that provide a behind-the-scenes look at the production of a new version of Romeo and Juliet at the New York City Ballet. It’s not all about dancing; we’ll get a look at fight choreography, costume design and other creative teams, and she’s been given carte blanche access to the process. The official site is here. (Warning: audio default is on.)

In other dance stuff, I tacked this link on a previous post but I doubt anyone noticed: William Forsythe dancing a solo. YouTube comes through again! It gives the viewer a good feel for his aesthetic. I’m unsure of the date or who filmed it, but I kind of dig some of the closer-in shots, which are unusual since dance is a full-body activity. I also think both the casual and less casual observer might initially wonder, how the heck does one teach or remember this stuff? You must believe me that his feet are (mostly) working within conventional dance vocabularies. For all its commotion, however, there’s a gentleness in his hands that, well, you can’t teach.

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Missy | March 24, 2007

Tulips, from the bodega on Joralemon & Clinton

I bought myself flowers partly in celebration of spring, partly to compensate for the fact that I took an unfortunate spill on 6th Ave on the first day of spring. (On that very same day my sweetie had it far worse, on a plane with what turned out to be the onset of the flu, a row away from a husky airsick guy. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine what I mean by ‘airsick’.) Not a week earlier, I witnessed a guy in a suit practically do a backflip before hitting the ground, but he had crap weather as his excuse. I had only flats (flats!) with a super slick heel and an apparent need to attempt the long jump over an intersection. (Did you know the world record long jump is nearly 30 feet? I’m certain I came close to clearing the women’s record of ~25 feet.) I have learned that it takes only one person to ask, “Are you okay?”–even if you are or if there’s nothing that person can do anyway–to settle one’s mortified ego.

(Meanwhile, I have verified that, despite recent improvements in the weather, it is nowhere near warm enough for a tank top and knickers–I mean actual knicker pants, not underwear. I think I ought to even close some of my windows.)

Next weekend my friends Lane and Anne are getting married in DC. I met Lane through blogging back when he was clerking in Alaska and, later, in person at a DC blogger gathering (I miss those things) just as he was starting to see Anne. That was, uh, 2003? Okay I’m feeling old, but congratulations to them and hello DC! I’ll see you on Friday.

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Missy | March 10, 2007

Pedestrians in DUMBO, Brooklyn.

Oh wow: I clicked to the Washington Post today to see that the gun ban in DC has been overturned. Naturally, I then clicked over to Radley’s site, a more reliable source. Good news.

If I’ve got your blood about boil now (unless you’re one of my libertarian acquaintances, in which case you are cheering), here’s more: There are signs for a lost cat on a nearby corner. I stopped to read one yesterday and got as far as the cat’s name: Mao. My first thought? “Oh, what a PUN-ishing name. Reject your oppressors, kitty, and run free!”

By the way, if I ever have a pet, his or her name will be Steve McQueen.

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Missy | March 1, 2007

Bodies with one arm, Downtown NYC

I often bristle at art that is overtly political. I bristle at anything that risks being too simplistic and reactionary to attend to the complexities of the subject matter. (Hmmm. My fondness for abstract work is starting to make sense…) However William Forsythe, a true intellectual whose dance works have become increasingly ambitious and elaborate–more multi-media theater than strict dance–has managed to sidestep an overdose of anti-war rhetoric and scorn in Three Atmospheric Studies, which is not to say that the piece is vague about its politics.

The work relates confusion over what, exactly, is happening during a war, despite our seeing and reading so much about it. But this isn’t so much a statement about the media as it is about our disconnection from grief and loss amid something so large-scale as war. And man, there are moments where I was absolutely terrified. There’s a chilling segment in the second act of a woman who has lost her son (she claims he was arrested but I’ve read somewhere that he was actually shot–and we see this abstractly through the crafted chaos of dance in the first act) and as she attempts to communicate events to a translator, the whole exchange slides into warped confusion and turmoil as her voice begins to distort in a way that matches the jarring limbs and odd ribcages of Forsythe’s choreography on her body. The effect is quite upsetting. In the third act, layers of text fall atop one another, most alarming are the screeching vocal distortions. I can think of no other instance in my memory where creative sound design has so forcibly shaped the mood of a live performance. That said, I found the last piece to be the weakest of the three, dancing around (har har) mockery of Americans (which is really just a cheap shot because it’s so easy to do, particularly when the target is the current administration) and then ending too abruptly. Oh, but so exhilarating to watch!

[UPDATE: AHA! YouTube comes through. Here is a solo performed by Forsythe himself, demonstrating his aesthetic as it has developed to date. It has such an improvisational feel, how does one teach it or remember it? And yet his feet are often doing something that fits within conventional dance vocabularies. ]

I also got to see Eric Bogosian’s Talk Radio starring Liev Schreiber, currently in previews (read: at half price). While the play is just fine and the supporting cast ranges from first-year-drama-school (Stephanie March) to spot-on (actors voicing the call-ins), Liev owns this show. Ever since I saw him as Laertes in Almereyda’s Hamlet, I concluded that I could listen to his voice all day, every day, it is so rich. But having watched him in a live environment twice now, it is his timing that really stands out. (Unfortunately, I’ve never seen his Public Theater work at the Delacorte because, well, because I have a job and could never stand in line for tickets.)

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