The weekend was full of performances

By both my classmates and a professional company. On Friday, I joined several students, parents, and teachers in the audience of Ferguson Theater at the Straz Center for "On the Edge", the contemporary show our studio was putting on. It included younger level hip hop recital pieces, contemporary ensembles choreographed by our resident contemporary teacher; Glynn Owens, and solos by those of us who had contemporary pieces shown in the Youth America Grand Prix. It was a really great show. The hip hop pieces were cute, the ensemble pieces were enjoyable, and the solos were personally my favorite. Everyone performed fantastically. I mentioned before the importance of learning from one's peers, and there are few opportunities to do so better than in performances. In a show; improvement, competition, and perfection fall to the side, and all that matters is selling what's there. Doing as many pirouhettes becomes landing whatever number of pirouhettes you do, and concentration is hidden by a smile. Pleasing the audience is more important than pleasing yourself, and the determination to finish on a good note is the main focus. And my fellow students did that well.

Saturday night was spent in the larger theater, Morsani, at the Straz Center. As a privilege of being a trainee, we were given free tickets to watch the Joffrey Ballet perform three contemporary pieces. This was again a great learning experience. Observing some amazing technique and performing by the specific dancers was ofcourse fantastic, but equally interesting was observing the overall. What worked and what didn't. What lines looked appealing and what looked confusing. The effect of lighting and costuming. The first of the three pieces was an interesting piece which seemed to me to be about a woman's journey through life with unanimously costumed men and women partnering her or dancing around her. I really liked the corps dancing in this. The formations and cannons that the men formed and the way the lead woman interacted with them was unlike anything I've ever seen before. And a reprisal of the opening choreography at the end struck home for me as a great way to tie it up. The second piece was darkly lit, and all the dancers were costumed in green shirts and green or black tights. The general mood and music of the piece seemed imperial, like something from George Orwell's 1984. A society of uniformity leaping at the chance to express something unique. This was probably my favorite piece, but there was one major obstacle which stopped me from allowing myself to love it entirely. The music, though I liked it, was too repetitive. The monotony of the beat and accents flowed smoothly into an effect which caused one's consciousness to drift into a blank state, and it required concentration to take in the dancing. In contrast to the first dance, this was comprised mostly of women, with only three men. I would be lying if I said that as a male dancer I did not find watching men dance generally more interesting and educational, and the men's dancing in this was exquisite. There was one dancer in particular whose efficiency and strength was specifically impressive, and the duet between him and one of the ballerinas was breathtaking. The third piece was inspired by the Victorian era. The stage had huge, heavy velvet curtains draped across the back and sides, and the dancers were clad in white pettycoats and corsets. And while the classical music of this piece was my favorite of all the music in the show, the costumes were my least favorite. The men wore white shorts with white sleeveless pettycoats and they looked incredibly strange. And the women were in skirts so long that they hid the positions of the legs, and later in skirts that didn't look period due to their shine. The corps choreography in this was also my least favorite, with extremely repetitive waves and lines. Once the piece broke down into solos and pas de deux though, I was hooked. The main pas de deux was the most memorable partnering of the night, host to dramatic moments and breathtaking choreography.

Overall, the Joffrey Ballet's performance was really great. I didn't care for some of the repetition, etc. but as a whole, I learned a lot from it and enjoyed it thoroughly. And as I sit on my bed this Sunday night, updating the  story of my life, I feel only excitement for the week to come, because I will be able to think about what I've learned, and more importantly; apply it.