Tutu, before it’s a tutu
We’re doing another shoot today in the NYCB costume shop. Found this
upside down tutu, at the point before it gets tacked/flattened into
it’s more tutu-looking shape. The netting is really stiff, and its a
really round/ball-like shape… kind of reminded me of a scared animal!
Labrums, Cysts and Surgery oh my
Dr. Philippon talks to ESPN about A-Rod’s surgery this week
I don’t exactly follow sports news, but when you live in New York City and a superstar Yankee is seriously injured, chances are you’ll hear about it somehow.
Combine that with the fact that the injury is so similar to what I spent the bulk of my dance career dealing with, AND said Yankee is operated on by the same hip surgeon who’s table I was on twice,,, the story becomes infinitely more interesting (to me).
All I can add to the story is that A-Rod is definitely in good hands. Dr. Philippon has an incredible team that addresses every aspect of you recovery, from before you even go into surgery through the end of your rehab.
I had two distinctly different hip surgery experiences (one with another surgeon, and then the two with Dr. Philippon). His team has you on a stationary bike (with no resistance) the day after your surgery to prevent scar tissue from forming (as much as possible). When Philippon’s facilities were in Pittsburgh at UPMC (he’s since relocated to Vail) they had a heated pool where we could ditch our crutches and spend time walking back and forth, keeping our joints moving without the burden of gravity.
Further along in the process, they had us wear a floatation vest in the deeper end of the pool, and then made us run in place - getting up our heart rate but again, without the impact/shock to the joints. My pool partners at the time were professional football and hockey players… it was a unique experience.
Good luck with your recovery A-Rod!
Exhibition of Drawings for Dance, Theater and Opera at MoMA
Marc Chagall. (French, born Belarus. 1887-1985). Aleko and Zemphira by Moonlight. Study for backdrop for Scene I of the ballet Aleko. 1942. Gouache and pencil on paper, 15 1/8 x 22 1/2" (38.4 x 57.2 cm). Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest. © 2009 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.
A new exhibit just opened at MoMA (haven’t had a chance to see it yet but I’ll be sure to let you know when I do - it runs through August 24h) which features drawings and designs for sets, and costumes as well as lighting and mood suggestions for stage performances over the last century. Featured artists include Marc Chagall, David Hockney, Fernand Léger, Diego Rivera, as well as dedicated costume and scenic designers.
From Artdaily.org:
MoMA’s commitment to stage pictures dates to 1939, when Lincoln Kirstein, a colleague of MoMA’s founding director Alfred H. Barr, Jr., and the eventual founder of the New York City Ballet, gave his personal collection of performance-related books and ephemera to the Museum, establishing a Dance Archives that would, for a brief period in the mid-1940s, become a separate curatorial department. Though the Museum’s Department of Dance and Theatre Design (later the Department of Theatre Arts) was short lived, the Museum continues to collect theater-related work today.
While the works in the exhibition vary in emphasis—from those with roots in folk traditions, machine aesthetics, or the mass media, to others that question the architecture of the stage, make abstract forms three-dimensional, or envision a total artwork on an epic scale—they all reflect a desire to create something new, to work across mediums, and to unify the arts.
The most focus is usually put on choreography in a dance performance (you are going to see “dance” after all), but a dance, opera or theater performance encompasses so many creative aspects into one artistic experience… music/sound, movement/choreography, set design/architecture, costumes/fashion, lighting, theater… I’d love to see more exhibits or events that highlight and feature the many unique talents that come together to create an overall performing arts experience.
It’s too bad NYCB isn’t doing Firebird (check out my earlier posts from 2006 with the Chagall sets and costumes - post 1, post 2, ) or Orpheus (design by Isamu Noguchi) this season… would be a really great opportunity to connect New York City Ballet performances with a MoMA exhibit.
(corrected: NYCB is doing Firebird this season, hmmm…)
Adrian and Gina
This season we began creating short pieces on individual ballets in our repertory, which incorporate performance footage from multiple perspectives (including backstage wing or fly shots) plus interviews with artists (in this case Adrian - who was just promoted to soloist, yay! - and Gina) who are intimately connected to the piece and can provide some additional insight from an insiders point of view.
The idea is for the viewer to quickly gain an aesthetic sense of the ballet through visuals and music, establish a personal connection through the artists who are speaking about the ballet, and to have an initial sense of what they can expect or look for if they see the full piece in performance.
The above example features Jerome Robbins’ ballet Glass Pieces. Glass Pieces will be performed this Sunday the 29th - the very last performance of the New York Winter Season - which also includes Hallelujah Junction, Tarentella and Stars and Stripes.
More on Glass Pieces from a few of our friends:
Oberon’s Grove
Dancing Perfectly Free
MoMA Atlantic/Pacific
About to take a blogger/press tour of MoMA’s installation/station domination at the Atlantic/Pacific subway station in Brooklyn. Today is the opening…
See more info and a 3d video preview here.
More on Berliner
Digital Concert Hall rendering
I tried to post this the day of Berliner Philharmoniker’s live-streamed concert, but I ran out of time. Anyhow, here is a little run-down of the live show a few days after the fact:
At the start of the show they presented this image (above), which is how they have been representing the Digital Concert Hall’s “Any Place, Any Time” concept.
Do they have internet connections in the mountains? This image and the accompanying copy makes me feel like I should be able to experience the concert in this picturesque setting if I desired, but my guess is that that may not be possible just yet… at least not until they start streaming to mobile phones. Either way, it looks pretty cool.
The house is filling up… And so the concert begins…
Sir Simon Rattle
The conductor for the evening, Sir Simon Rattle, and others (including a cellist from the orchestra who said the desire for the concert hall came from the players) discuss the concept of the Digital Concert Hall and thank their sponsors.
This went on for quite a while, in the middle of the concert, but the length was partially attributable to the fact that everything was said in both German and then English.
I wonder if they will get into subtitles eventually… what about the people watching from Japan? 
Robots!
Box camera with robotic camera controls… got to play with ones like these at NAB last year. Really amazing stuff.
Unfortunately on faster pans, the image became a bit jerky, but not sure if that was related to the robotics or the video compression for the stream. Something to be considered when shooting something other than seated musicians.
The audience
Evidently the Berliner Philharmoniker often enjoys sold-out shows, which means there are people who want to go, but can’t, purely because they can’t fit in the theater. Now they can! (Kind of).
All in all, the concert was nicely shot, the picture quality was great (I was on Time-Warner Cable’s RoadRunner service) and the sound was very nice too (sound was streamed wirelessly to our airport, which was connected to a good amplifier with two small B&W speakers.). Definitely worth the 5 euros, and there really is something extra exciting about viewing the performance live - particularly one that is so far away.
What I wonder about is continued interest in the visual element, when we’re talking about a symphony orchestra. Without feeling a personal connection to the musicians or the conductor, the excitement and novelty of seeing classical musicians playing their instruments in HD could most likely wear off a bit over the course of many performances. I would venture to say that the most costly and complicated part of this presentation is the visual element (for both the presenter and the viewer), but the most essential and important part of this performance is the sound. If the visuals aren’t as engaging after seeing a few concerts, then why would an audience continue to choose video over a pure (and potentially less compressed, as it is not carrying video) audio stream? (Dont’ get me wrong, I am in full support of putting the audience right in the theater, both aurally and visually, I’m just asking the question.)
One thing I missed (which could also help make the case for viewing full video over audio) was any kind of special or additional content for the remote audience. I love when The Met shows you additional material on what you are about to see, before the show starts. You’re getting people even more excited for the show, even more prepared to enjoy it and connect with it… People may not seek out this kind of bonus material on your show on their own (no matter how much you try to make it available), but while the show is streaming, you have an eager and attentive audience and the ability to present valuable entertainment that might help them form a deeper relationship with and knowledge of your organization, your artists, your art form, and of course the performance they are about to experience. I’m intimately aware of many of the challenges and production resources required to create and broadcast this type of material, but I hope they (and future media streamers) will continue to find ways of incorporating some of these extra elements. Update: Looks like they are starting to build up this kind of material, which can be found on their main website here. Would love to see this content more easily accessible from the Digital Concert Hall site (maybe it’s there, I just can’t seem to find it).
And finally, at the end, an ad for Sir Simon Rattle’s CD of the Brahms work which was just performed. Assuming this was something negotiated with EMI for the ability to stream the work and/or Sir Simon Rattle’s performance of it?
Kudos to the Berliner Philharmoniker for venturing into this new territory (hooray!), and to their sponsors for supporting the project and therefore facilitating my remote viewing of the lovely concert!
Lincoln Center Update
Rendering of renovated Josie Robertson Plaza | Diller Scofido + Renfro
Work continues on the new Lincoln Center Fountain/Josie Robertson Plaza | December 2008
If you are in New York City now - slogging through the slushy mess - you’ll know these photos aren’t from today… but they were taken this past week.
Above, you can see the process on the renovated Lincoln Center Fountain.
Below, you can see the beginnings of the green roof restaurant/public space, an area which replaces the old 65th street overpass, where students and visitors can hang out and enjoy some fresh air between classes or performances.
Rendering of renovation with new grass-roofed restaurant | Diller Scofido + Renfro
Progress on Lincoln Center's Green-Roof Restaurant
Projection Genius
This is amazing! Think about a site-specific dance performance or installation with projection… larger than life, and relatively easy to reproduce another day. via Stefan
