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JUSTIN PECK |
Ok here are some of the shots (by the talented Gwyneth Muller) that did not make it onto the initial ‘Mama G’ post. Some are too funny to leave out, while others are simply just too frightening to stop staring at . Enjoy
A NBA basketball player’s Tendu Efface
Disgruntled Mama G (make-up removal process)
Gwyneth [the flower] and Me [the, uh, er, drag queen?]
There you have it.
Laugh, Cry, Eat, Drink, Be Merry
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JUSTIN PECK |
I’m currently working on a presentation on a comparison of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire for my Dance Criticism course I am taking at Columbia University. I’ve stumbled upon this clip from the film The Ziegfield Follies of them dancing side by side, and figured it would definitely be worth sharing with you all.
I love the vibe of nonchelance they have in relation to dancing with each other. The witty banter present in the song and the healthy competitive vibe present allow for an interesting scope into the comparison of the two legends.
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JUSTIN PECK |
To those of you who aren’t familiar with New York, Fairway Market is as much an NYC staple as Tompkins Square Park, STEPS on broadway, the Chelsea Piers, and Time Square (Okay fine, definitely not as well-known as time square—but that’s probably a good thing, as Time Square is simply one giant cesspool that is tourism). For those of you who are familiar with New York, you might know how frantic, chaotic, and jam-packed Fairway Market on 74th street of the Upper West Side can be (we all know not to even bother with going on a Sunday, as Fairway then feels very much like Time Square during its rush hour—and what true New Yorker would have any interest in experiencing that?).
The truth is, everyone simultaneously wants a bargain as well as quality. That’s exactly the idea behind the creation of Fairway, to provide quality food products for cheap. Unfortunately, this combination causes every New Yorker [and their mother] to aggressively flock to it like pigeons around a crazy homeless man with plenty of stale bread to spare. (In fact, I’ve even heard stories of little old ladies coming to Fairway on Sundays with brick in their purses to use as combat weapons against the vast seas of people. Truthful? Who knows…)
New Yorkers: have no fear, because I have found the solution—the market surreptitiously placed a few subway stops north that is FAIRWAY UPTOWN!! (cue the heroic music). I discovered it one glorious day while accompanying one of my fellow dancers of the New York City Ballet (Tess Reichlen) to do some down-home grocery shoppin’.
Now, contrary to popular belief, 1 in every 5 dancers do eat! I know, I know, comes as a shock to many, but its very much true. So therefore, grocery shopping for me, and Tess, and any other dancer out there is an obvious necessity. The beauty that is Fairway Uptown is that it maintains having all the great quality food for cheap, AND is about 3 times as big with about half the amount of people as the normal Fairway on the Upper West Side. Let me just put it this way: its big enough and empty enough to accommodate a perfect execution of coupé-jeté leaps down the cereal aisle. Which gave plenty of space for some crafty dancer photo-ops…
The infamous Freezer Room—an entire room that is refrigerated. I loved how they provide coats for walking through it
Barefoot conTESSa??
Beauty. Grace. Line. Heal-click.
That’s about it for now. What I meant by this post was just to let y’all know that I’m currently enjoying all the little things in life, thanks to the long summer lay-off that comes with dancing for City Ballet. Also, these past 2 weeks I have participated in the New York Choreographic Institute, which I feel was very well received by its private audience. I had a lot of fun collaborating on a new ballet created by Stuttgart Ballet dancer Douglas Lee. The NYCB rehearsal period officially starts back tomorrow, thus resulting in the rate of my life to shift from horse-and-buggy pace to NASCAR pace. Deep breathes…
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JUSTIN PECK |
Hey Readers! Alright, so I guess most of you know that I was Matt’s “mystery” guest at Fall for Dance last night (Wingers of the world, UNITE!). So yeah, we have a fun time watching the variety of dance that the festival had to offer. Also, they totally opened up the nose-bleed seats at City Center (which was where we sat)! I’ve never seen that happen before.
Matt and I—maybe a step up from the ‘Golden Girls’ photoshoot from Matt’s post (Maaaatt! You told me that if I dressed up as a 70-year-old woman, you would keep those photos private!)
One thing that I noticed was the immense support the audience seemed to have for all of the acts throughout the evening. I’m not sure if it was because of the tickets being just $10, or maybe because the entire audience truly loved every piece (somehow unlikely), but either way I think its great that there was such unconditional support from the audience. From a performer’s point of view, it really does make a huge difference and gives off a satisfying feeling of accomplishment.
Anyway, enough chatty-talk, here’s my recollection/review of the evening:
An Evening of Dance Tapas, for just $10
By Justin Peck
October 5, 2007
Each Fall For Dance performance at City Center showcases several dance companies back-to-back over the course of one evening. At yesterday’s performance, the Festival continued to present an exciting, wide-ranging variety of high with the low, sweet versus spicy, and even downright fresh as opposed to dieing-on-the-vine.
The evening began with Ligeti Essays, which was danced by the Armitage Gone! Dance Troupe. It was a series of modern dances set to Gyorgy Ligeti’s music that had poetry spoken along with it. The setting was an empty white stage with a blank, white tree mounted off-center, all of which conveyed a “Waiting for Godot”, existential type mood. The choreography, which includes a series of typically contemporary solos and pas de duex, was oriented towards expansive movement, but very often fell short of reaching its potential.
Following Legeti Essays, Inventing Pookie Jenkins, a solo danced and choreographed by Kyle Abraham, was performed. The solo was danced to rap music by Dizzee Rascal. The choreography combined an eclectic mix of hip-hop, ballet, and street dance. It began in silence with an adagio variation and progressed towards wholehearted movement involving Abraham’s entire body and soul. Although Abraham has some interesting conceptual ideas involving the fusion of multiple dance forms, the piece itself lacked the essential structure necessary for a dance act to be wholly effective.
If the first two pieces of the evening had any sort of main purpose in relation to the evening, it was to frame and accentuate the final dance of the first act. After the Rain, performed by Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company (Christopher Wheeldon’s new company, which is independent of New York City Ballet), was powerful and memorable. The piece consists of a contemporary pas de duex set to a serene adagio by Arvo Pärt.
Craig Hall and Wendy Whelan floated through the pas de duex with a true viscous quality. Although Jock Soto cannot be replaced (it was choreographed by Wheeldon specifically with him in mind), Craig Hall performed well as a tender partner and provided grounded support for Whelan at all the right moments. The only shortcoming was that the entire first half of After the Rain (the “rain” section) was excluded, thereby eliminating the significant, chaotic set-up prior to the tranquil pas de duex.
Act II began with Spanish Dance by the Trisha Brown Dance Company. It is set to a Bob Dylan rendition of “Early Morning Rain” by Gordon Lightfoot. Five girls stand in front of the lowered stage curtain swaying back-and-forth to this Bob Dylan song until they reach the right stage wing. The piece itself was light, breezy, and simple, although it didn’t convey much of an idea with respect to exactly what the strengths and overall style of this company is. I would have preferred Trisha Brown selecting a piece that more compellingly showcased her company.
The final dance of the evening was by the Noche Flamenca & Soledad Barrio. The piece, titled Martinete y Solea, was a sensual flamenco dance that took the audience on a journey through Spanish culture. These flamenco dancers were gushing with talent and could easily give Savion Glover a run for his money. The music, accompanied by Miguel Perez on the guitar and vocals, was very much fiery and alive. Adam Gabel provided effective lighting that made the entire venue feel more like a Spanish night club then an Opera House. Martinete y Solea was a perfect closing performance for the evening’s very much mixed smorgasbord of dance.
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MATTHEW MURPHY |
What kind of blogger am I when I show up with a worthless camera? That was the thought running through my head at intermission of my final Fall for Dance performance tonight. I promised a big surprise guest, and I can only halfway deliver. The surprise is that it was none other than our very own Justin Peck, City Ballet Corps Member and newfound friend. Normally I would have a fantastic photo to accompany this post, but my camera was drained of all battery. So instead you get us as the Golden Girls. I don’t know why, that’s just what ya get.
(Scared yet?)
I’m not usually one to invite people I’ve never met to join me at a show, but my instincts for inviting Justin were right on. He’s every bit as intelligent as he seems to be in his posts and we had a great time swapping stories about our respective companies.
I decided that I’m going to leave the major reviewing of the evening to him, but I do just have to say a few things. After years of buildup, I finally saw “After the Rain,” and it was every bit as beautiful as I could ever hope from a ballet. Wendy Whelan is quite simply, other worldly, and she is presented so gorgeously by Chris Wheeldon’s choreography, I would have gladly watched it over….and over….and over again. What I loved most was that “After the Rain” was unlike anything I expected. I didn’t realize it was a more contemporary pas, but I fully understand why it is one of Wheeldon’s most cherished works. It’s in a world, remarkable.
On that note, I’m retiring for the night. Haven’t been able to sleep well recently so if this post makes absolutely no sense…forgive me. Please forgive me for burning the image at the top of this post into your brain as well.
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