While I hate to be the third person to comment on this performance, I thought it was so inspiring that I have to talk about it. I, like Liz, have not had the opportunity to see many ballets, and this one was very different than any I have ever seen. Although it was contemporary ballet, it was clear how much classical ballet training these dancers had.
One of the things I found so inspiring about this performance was how strong the female dancer was. Whenever you see a ballerina depicted, they are always beautiful and graceful, and insanely thin and frail. This ballerina was so strong, and every movement was done with strength. This made me think about what we talk about every ballet class, about all of the muscles that we are engaging and strengthening. Previous to coming to ohio state, i really didn't think about this-- it wasn't something my teachers talked about. We learned the steps, and the artistry, and were told to "pull up," but never discussed at length what this actually means. The fact that I have taken ballet for over ten years and am just now figuring out how to engage my hamstrings is not good. Watching this dancer has shown me just how strong ballet dancers are when they are working correctly, and has inspired me to work that much harder in my dance classes, as well as in strengthening outside of class.
Okay okay i guess i will join the band wagon and post about Radio and Juliet.
ReplyDeleteI honestly was truly inspired by the performance. It was exactly what I wanted to see when going to a dance show. I love to be able to sit back and enjoy pure movement. I don’t have to over think about any hidden meanings if I do not please to, I can just watch the magic of technically trained dancers pouring their souls out onto to the dance floor. I thought Radio and Juliet did just that and more. The male dancers were incredibly strong and masculine with their movement, and the only female was just as strong with her movement as well. I thought that the combination of non-traditional music for a ballet, the RadioHead Music, the video projections and the superb dancing the performance had some quality that I think everybody could connect with. Overall after seeing the performance I can see how a dancer can take all the technical background of ballet and add in their spice of choreography and the outcome is nothing short of beauty. also proving to me that ballet really is the foundation to all movement.
I, like Amanda, was greatly inspired by the female role in Ballet Maribor's production of Radio and Juliet. Although we were told that the cast was chosen to depict a "woman in a man's world," I could not help but sense the true female domination throughout the entire performance. I was very impressed with her powerful role, I think that this company's use of the contemporary ballet genre helped portray her alternative feminine character. This also helped me to realize the importance of strength in the ballet technique. The principle female dancer was both technically and physically strong; without both attributes she would have failed to resemble the dominating woman she was chosen to portray. I've also noticed more that such technicality and use of dramatic contemporary emotion may coexist as each performer successfully exampled, it just may take time to conquer both.
ReplyDeleteComment from Crystal Irvin:
ReplyDelete"I completely agree. There is something about watching someone do what you want to do, at a higher level, that is inspiring. I just saw Ailey II tonight, watching the strength of their movements made me think about the process they had to go through to get to that level. Their alignment and attention to detail in their positions, says that they sweated through many a hard class and pushed themselves in all areas of their dance studies. Watching them and loving how they moved made me want to push myself to become a better dancer."