Wendy Whelan Conversations on "Restless Creature"

Every relationship has a story.  Dancers do not tell that story, but rather express it and work at getting their audience to feel it.

Go farther, do deeper.  My T'ai Chi instructor knew I excelled at learning and doing the form.  Once I had it precise, he exhorted, make it more precise.  Seek that kind of challenge.

A snake that becomes enchanted with the movement of smoke. 

I just want to spend time with you, artistically.  It's like dating, but not dating.  There is sexual energy between them.  

Wendy Whelan is arguably the finest ballet dancer of our time. She has danced with New York City Ballet for more than 25 years, and has mastered classics such as Swan Lake, Balanchine's masterful neo-classical repertory, and contemporary works by some of the world's greatest choreographers. 

Only at Jacob's Pillow this summer, she embarks on a new dance adventure and joins forces with four of today's top male choreographers in the world premiere of Restless Creature. Together with her collaborators, she will perform a vibrant suite of four contemporary duets each with its own distinct style and artistry, created by and danced with Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Brian Brooks, and Alejandro Cerrudo. 

Best Art Lesson Ever

Reference:  How to recognize the artists of paintings…

Lakmé and Mallika's "Flower Duet"

Under the thick dome where the white jasmine
With the roses entwined together
On the river bank covered with flowers laughing in the morning
Let us descend together!

Gently floating on its charming risings,
On the river’s current
On the shining waves,
One hand reaches,
Reaches for the bank,
Where the spring sleeps,
And the bird, the bird sings.

Under the thick dome where the white jasmine
Ah! calling us
Together!

Under the thick dome where white jasmine
With the roses entwined together
On the river bank covered with flowers laughing in the morning
Let us descend together!

Gently floating on its charming risings,
On the river’s current
On the shining waves,
One hand reaches,
Reaches for the bank,
Where the spring sleeps,
And the bird, the bird sings.

Under the thick dome where the white jasmine
Ah! calling us
Together!

Reference:  English translation of "Flower Duet."

I discovered "Lakmé" two to three years ago; watched this performance by mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca and soprano Anna Netrebko; and meant, as I remember now, to write a song poem on their famous "Flower Duet."  I simply bookmarked a couple of sites, and hadn't yet written that poem.

In the drama's first act, with the plot barely underway, the title character [Lakmé] and one of her servants [Mallika] pause by a river to gather flowers. Delibes gave them a duet, to help establish the opera's exotic atmosphere, and that "Flower Duet" (audio) has become one of the most familiar numbers any composer, in any genre, has ever written. You can hear it at the movies, on television shows, in elevators and shopping malls, and in all manner of commercials. Recently, it became a sort of TV theme song for British Airways ads, as the peaceful accompaniment to a jetliner floating through calm skies and wispy clouds. You can even download the number as a ringtone for your cell phone.

Reference:  "Lakmé," by Leo Delibes.

I flew British Airways quite a lot, when I was traveling overseas on consulting projects, and that theme song was such an evocative one for me.  What traveling meant to me - the people and places, the hotels and restaurants, the culture and language - floated in when I saw their commercials.  

French composer Leo Delibes scored a hit with his 1883 opera "Lakmé"

The story of the Brahmin girl Lakmé was based on a novel by Frenchman Pierre Loti, who had traveled in the Orient and brought back stories filled with exoticism. Librettist Edmond Gondinet suggested the story to composer Leo Delibes. Gondinet wanted to write a libretto specifically for a young American soprano named Marie van Zandt who had starred in another French opera, Ambroise Thomas's Mignon, in 1880. Gondinet gave Delibes a copy of Loti's novel, to read on a train ride, and Delibes loved it. He composed the score in a year's time.

Lakmé brings together many popular themes of opera in the 1880s: an exotic location — already in vogue thanks to Bizet's The Pearl Fishers — mysterious religious rituals, the beautiful flora of the Orient, and the general novelty of Western colonials living in a foreign land. Composers Jules Massenet and Giacomo Meyerbeer wrote operas with similar elements, and those dramas were also popular in Paris.

Someday I will write that song poem.  Someday I will watch this opera.

The "Flash" Behind the "Dance"

For a generation actress Jennifer Beals as Alex defined what it meant to be gritty and determined, athletic and sexy.  "Flashdance" came out in 1983, in the aftermath of John Travolta and the disco 1970s, and dance had a new face.  Apparently much of what Beals offered, though, was just that:  Her face.  We learned after the release that French dancer Marine Jahan was her body-double for several complicated dance segments and Jahan never received screen credit.

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Long before Natalie Portman's Black Swan controversy, Jennifer Beals was caught in a scandal about how much she had high-stepped it in 1983's "Flashdance." It turned out that the unknown Beals wasn't exactly a maniac on the floor—French dancer Marine Jahan had been used for the complicated choreography but hadn't received a credit at the end of the movie. In fact, as Entertainment Weekly reported when the collector's DVD of "Flashdance" was released, in addition to Jahan's moves, director Adrian Lyne used a female gymnast and a male breakdancer in a wig for Beals' "What a Feelin'" audition.

I imagine it is a tough casting call to find actors and actresses with the range of talent needed for music and dance productions.  So I imagine that if you do have that range, then you'd be in high demand for roles like that of Alex.

In any event, hats off to Jahan and others who stood-in for Beals:  What awesome dance sequences they performed!

The Intriguing Sketchbook of Bill Domonkos

Pete Moisan posted Why are these disturbing GIFs so beautiful? on Google+ recently, and we exchanged a handful of messages on it:

Here's the only one that I kind of liked [The Fly, below] in a collection that I found neither disturbing nor beautiful.

Yeah, I agree, too. These are like ideas an artist jots down in a sketchbook. Some look pretty half-baked and fall flat, but I'm intrigued by their possibilities. I'd be interested to see Domonkos create films from a couple of these ideas. For example, certain ones remind me of "The Others," "A Beautiful Mind," and "The Fly." 

Ideas jotted down in a sketchbook...I like that +Ron Villejo!

The following are the ones - by filmmaker, artist and animator Bill Domonkos - which reminded of those films:

In "The Others," the dead are photographed in black-and-white and do come to life

Citing the work of pioneering artists like Joseph Cornell, Marcel Duchamp, and Max Ernst as a big inspiration, Domonkos' fresh take on the Assemblage movement is a joy to behold. "I love movies," he tells The Verge, "especially early avant-garde experimental cinema ... All of the imagery and film footage I use was created before I was born. It's like being a time traveler of sorts; altering the past with the present."

In "A Beautiful Mind," John Nash sees streams of numbers and waves of equations

"I attempt to create images that move me in some way, either by the pure, abstract beauty of the motion or by the juxtapositions of the imagery. I hope that the audience will have a similar experience."

In "The Fly," a scientist becomes a fly after a fit of drunken recklessness

"They are more like ambient, frozen moments in time, no beginning and no end, opposed to the more narrative structure of my films. They are completely different animals, although the overall themes and technique are very similar."

The Art of Art Intersections

The art of painting dance, by André Khon

The art of painting music, by Andrius Kovelinas

The art of painting painting, by Francine Van Nieuwenhove

Real Life Disney Women and Girls

Ariel

Belle

Princess Jasmine

Snow White

Fa Mulan

Tiana

Jane Porter

Ursula

Esmeralda

Megara

Rapunzel

Cinderella

Princess Aurora

Pocahontas

Alice

Reference:  What Female Disney Characters Might Look Like in Real Life.

In one respect, artist Jirka Väätäinen broke the rules of animation and fantasy by rendering these Disney women and girls to a "real life."  These illustrations are not "real life," of course, but you have a sense for what I'm talking about.  This point is not a criticism.  Rather, I am continuously taken by what artists do with their imagination.  

Väätäinen endowed these characters with characteristics that Disney probably didn't intend or want.  Or maybe Disney did.  From the girl-next-door Ariel and Snow White, to coy Megara and naughty Rapunzel.  From awed Alice and bemused Cinderella, to the smoldering Princess Jasmine and Esmeralda.  It's an impressive effort, and the license to break rules is essentially what draws me to the arts.

From the oeuvre on his website, Väätäinen looks to be an impressive artist.

The Talented Piano Guys and Lindsey Stirling

The Piano Guys are easily a sensation on YouTube.  They're a pretty complete package, as far as musical entertainment goes in this sleek era of social media and creative technology.  For one, they cover popular and classic songs, from "Just the Way You Are" and "Rolling in the Deep," to "Over the Rainbow" and "Pachelbel's Canon in D."  For another, their music video production is superb:  great cinematography, dramatization, and sound system.  Moreover, they know to tap into the voluble Millennial generation by covering Taylor Swift and One Direction.    

The above rendition of "Mission Impossible" features another YouTube sensation - Lindsey Stirling - who draws on a similar algorithm, if you will:  musical prowess, coupled with creative imagination and deft production.  She has turned a staid violin performance into energetic hip hop and lively drama.  This video also includes their hilarious outtakes from the filming, so enjoy!   

The following trailer from "Mission Impossible IV:  The Ghost Protocol" is the springboard for their creativity:

Dancing with the Athletes

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So why are athletes embracing dance? Many believe that dance fundamentals can enhance athletic performance by increasing agility, precision, flexibility and timing. Although this concept isn’t exactly new (Roni Mahler was hired in 1984 to teach a 12-week series of ballet classes to the Cleveland Browns NFL team), pop-culture trailblazers like Grease’s Danny Zuko and High School Musical’s Troy Bolton have inspired a new generation of athletes, proving it can be cool to explore their artistic sides. 

Athletes can also benefit from dance’s rehabilitative and injury-preventive qualities. According to Shaw Bronner, who has treated athletes and is a physical therapist for The Ailey School and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, taking dance classes can actually accelerate an injured athlete’s recovery. “[They] often want to get back to the field prematurely, and dance allows them to work on certain skills that augment what they’re doing in traditional rehab,” she says.

Reference:  Boosting Athletes' Performance with Dance.

Add to that the victories of football legend Emmitt Smith, speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno and Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi on “Dancing with the Stars,” and it’s no wonder that greater numbers of athletes are hitting the dance floor.

Murad Osmann Follows his Girlfriend Everywhere

This is a brilliant concept by Murad Osmann and his girlfriend, and his photographs range from mysterious and whimsical, to romantic and erotic.  

Reference:  Russian Photographer Murad Osmann Instagrams Pictures Of Girlfriend Leading Him By The Hand Around The World.

But who is the sexy girlfriend, and what does she look like (i.e., from the front)?  

Reference:  Nataly Zakharova: Face Of Photographer Murad Osmann's Glamorous Girlfriend Revealed (PICTURES).

Tender Guitar Solos of Classic Songs

Bubble Dance of Victor Yu-wai Chiu

The first video above was posted on the Art & Dance page on Facebook.  The more zen-like pace of his hip-hop was truly fine counterpoint to the customary frenzy of the dance.  The bubble play was a creative touch.

He is Victor Yu-wai Chiu, and introduces himself nicely on his own Facebook page - i.am.yu.photography:  

Photography pretty much fell on my lap. When looking back at how I became a photographer it’s almost like it rained on me. I am a self-taught photographer, I used to play around with my fathers old film cameras when I was a kid, and I picked up my first digital camera in Montreal towards the end of 2004. I’ve never really stopped shooting since. I have worked as a brand manager, designer, dancer, brand consultant, bubble-artist, and as a creative director before taking the leap and committing myself as a full time professional photographer in 2012. Frankly, I’ve never been happier since.

Flora Hong

Izzy

Varia

From iamyu.

Deep Heartfelt Songs from Extraordinary Films

Three very different films:

1. One, a futuristic planet, where an age-old romance blossoms.  
2. Another, seemingly ordinary, that belies an unseen extraordinary.  
3. Finally, a supernatural horror, done stylishly as to be graceful, too.

Three very different love songs:  

1. The heartfelt "I See You," by Leona Lewis, from "Avatar."  
2. The brooding "Uninvited," by Alanis Morrisette, from "City of Angels."  
3. The haunting "Love Song for a Vampire," by Annie Lennox, from "Bram Stoker's Dracula."

I love all these films and songs.    

Femme Fatale "Amelia," by La La La Human Steps

As with many things, I stumbled onto this dance piece by fateful accident, perhaps just serendipitously or even synchronously.  "Amelia" is graceful, yet its sudden starts, abrupt stops, and awkward postures make me ask 'What's so graceful about this?'  I was so enthralled that, without having quite grasped its meaning, I simply took screen shots from the video:

Perhaps it's sexual play for this couple, which laced with violence, becomes a bizarre, tense, thrill-less encounter.  It's positively fatal.

Dance blogger Fatova Mingus wrote, in her article - with my hand against my throat (lalala human steps):

The antithesis of what it should be disguised as what is accepted but not really but maybe enough to pass but maybe not....the viewer, you and me, are left to decide individually. There's no target audience and I love that. It's the lobster dripping in butter held with deliberate inappropriateness between the elegant fingers of a stunning young woman in a $1000 see-through blouse unnecessarily opened enough to show off a nipple, sitting alone at the table of a crowded 5 star restaurant in Manhattan, with enough money to buy the joint - but who will leave without paying the bill. Just because.

We have different takes on this piece, but the grace and sexuality I picked up mirror the erotic innuendo of "lobster dripping in butter" and the outright eroticism of a visible nipple.

Have at it, and enjoy.