It has been a long time now, so although it’s getting late, I am posting to update and let everyone (all one of you who check this periodically) know that I’m back and will have much more to say, much more often. Take care all!
- Austin
I haven’t posted for a while, however, I have been very busy working, and not being sick (well, maybe the smallest little bit sick… for three weeks). So, you will find a few new posts going up, over the course of the next several days. The preview is: the first real snow in the city, my job at NBC and 30 Rockefeller Center, and an ABT ballet class experience… almost. I’ll put the topics on their actual dates, so they will probably appear below this post.
This was the first time in 75 years, that New York City has been without any measurable snowfall for January, according to the National Weather Service. That is one of the things that made it extra special to see the city in a beautiful white today. I was up at Rockefeller Center when it first started to come down, just outside the skating rink… see the little flakes?
I’ve started working for NBC Universal now, which is great to have some money flowing in, and still leave time to dance, perform, write, and “other”.
Above: New Gap ad that just went up outside my office (used to be a different hot girl, but I’m told we’re lucky because before that it was a “non-hottie”).
I took a trip to 30 Rockefeller Center to get my ID card, so that I could get into the building and into my office without having to wait like a troll at a crossing, pretending to look busy and talk on a cell phone or something, until someone goes through the door.
If you don’t know, 30 Rock (as they say) is the main office of NBC and, for me, the best place to meet people in the production and performance parts of the business (corporate execs right next to SNL stars… works for me). My boss (and cousin… nepotism can go a long way baby) is often in contact with the Presidents of Bravo, Sci-Fi, and Focus Features, so who’s to say that I won’t end up in those meetings soon?
While I was at 30 Rock, on business, I decided to make the most of it, “on personal”, by checking out Radio City Hall, the Ice Rink, and what I thought was an empty office near the top of the building.
The empty office I went to, on a non-stop ride of 800 feet that made my ears pop, was the first place I used my shiny new security card to get into; I simply wanted to go as high up in the company as my access would grant, and as fast as possible. Once I’d arrived, I found it very exciting to “slip” (walk) past the “guard” (receptionist) at the entrance to the 65th floor, and “duck out of sight” (meander) into a vacant office. I could hear what was probably a very important meeting with the heads of GE, going on one room over. In actuality, I had ended up on the opposite side of the Rainbow Room, a very fancy restaurant. I was probably in some unused banquet room.
Even though my fantasy of being a secret agent were a little off, my adventures through 30 Rock ended on a good note; the view was amazing, I had fun (always a requirement), and I didn’t have to pay for a really expensive dinner. Although, I still wonder why there was a big meeting going on next to the room I was in, with one HUGE, fancy, corporate table, and a bunch of old guys in suits… *SHRUG*
Even though you both aren’t sure if you really want to take an extra class that day, you somehow decide that, even though you might let yourself down, it just doesn’t feel good to let BOTH of you down.
Below: In Times Square, walking home with Jill, after class.
Today I took a really wonderful ballet class from Dorit Koppel at Broadway Dance Center. She has had teaching residency over at Alvin Ailey and has trained NYC Ballet dancers, and Boston Ballet dancers, but far more important to me than any of that was the fact that she teaches a really great class.
If a dancer has been trained by a truly “unfettered eye”, in what would perhaps be a deliberately slow paced, aligned, and clean technical style of dancing, then they will often discover that once in the professional world of dance, finding a teacher that understands and works with these principles can be an overwhelming task, to say the least. Just like professional dancers, dance teachers come from all walks of life and all senses of “good taste”. For example, the faux pas (which very literally means “false steps”) of a typical professional dancer are often displayed through broken wrist lines, tense or uncontrolled port de bras, unlengthened legs, forced turn-out, and hyperextended releasing into the back.
Being that every professional dancer has had years of training, and that many can end up with these mannerisms, attests strongly to the fact that, when it comes to judging classical technique and training, there are more than a few perspectives on what looks nice, and in the end what actually best allows a dancer to freely dance, and dance, and dance.
There are obviously many teachers in the profession with slightly flawed ideals and somewhat less acute eyes, so when you find a good teacher, it can very easily feel like you’ve discovered an old friend. From the very beginning of plie, there is a sigh of relief when you are given time to actually sink into the movements and feel your body and your placement again. Soon you are led through each course of the barre as if home for the winter holidays, with a deliciously prepared hearty and healthy feast that warms you from the inside out. No more of those McOddal’s fast paced, meals on the go; or the strange, new, posh “delicacies” that barely provide enough nourishment to get from table to door. This is the unpretentious, real thing.
In essence, by the end of class, I had very much decided to make a point of returning to Broadway. However, the true icing on the cake (and not that cheep imitation stuff either) came after the class had applauded and given thanks (as is customary in the culture of dance), and I had gone up to introduce myself. After giving my name and answering where I was from, she gave me the wonderful compliment of very simply saying “You have been well trained”.
I suppose it’s not that far of a stretch to imagine that when someone feels as if they’ve found a friend away from home, after working together for a short period of time, that ‘friend’ could sometimes, very possibly, end up feeling almost the same way. Besides, isn’t that the kind of an experience that every “really great class” should be?
Went to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and took a few pictures with my phone. I took the subway uptown to the museum on Saturday, and while the pictures don’t do any of the art justice, you can see my comments and get a little more information on the photos by clicking “View flickr photo page” below:
I can easily say that when asked “have you seen anything MORE modern than that?” I had an instant reply of “No”. To add to this, I also said “I usually enjoy more variety to the structure of choreography, and more emotion from the music, that’s what motivates and moves me… but I’ve got to say, that was really good”.
Having heard nothing of any performances nearby, I happened to be passing by the St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, the oldest Christian worship site in New York City (17th Century), and decided to catch the last performance of “Twilight of the Oceans” on Saturday evening, the 12th of January.
The Danspace Project company had been performing for the last five nights and I had apparently missed every one; though I often walk past the Church at least once a day. Having artistic residency at St. Mark’s, Artistic Director Daniel Leveille, created “Twilight of the Oceans” as a one hour long piece of choreography to recordings of Beethoven. The dancing consisted of extremely quick movements with immediate stops, but to the surprisingly melodic and flowing music compositions. This seemingly common technique, used often in modern choreography, was effective in its communication of emotion, and also in its use of repetition and lighting, which slowly lent its audience members into rather enjoyable trance-like states. However, as much as I was impressed by the ability of the piece to connect its audience to the real emotions of the performers, within “the moment”, rather than to the practiced and rehearsed emotions of a “show”, I also found myself eventually longing for more variety in the dancing. That said, the choreography was well connected to its music in that there was very little contrast between emotional highs and lows, or tension and release.
The most surprising element for “Twilight of the Oceans” was certainly in its use of the body’s form - namely, its naked form. As the program progressed, one by one, and often in pairs, each member of the company entered the stage completely in the nude. Many times the dancer would enter in silence, with long pauses of several minutes, where he or she would stand in total stillness before the music would begin. The effect was profound in that after only a short period of time in quiet observation of, admittedly mostly the sexual parts of, the body, one found that there was no more interest in the controversial or “forbidden” aspects of the dancers full form than there was for any other part of the body. In essence, all parts were now ‘created equal in the eyes’ of the observer. For all of this to take place in the sanctuary of the Christian Church, was also a wonderful addition to the credit of the Bowery, and to the non-sexual nature of the performance.
The final result of Daniel Leveille’s choreography, and the dancers of Danspace Project, was a beautiful work of art that transformed its audience members perspective into a seemingly higher state of consciousness about life and our human experience; while releasing the great burden of social consciousness that can often continually weigh on our freedom without us ever even realizing. Until, that is, an opportunistic experience like one of these.
Another choreographic work from Danspace Project, entitled “Potemkin Piece”:
I’ve now been in NYC for one FULL week. More to come when I have a little more time.
I was kind of blown away by Central Park… I mean, it was windy.
It really is amazing that I came all the way to New York and then went to one of the most famous Arenas in the world to see… THE RODEO. I certainly didn’t know what to expect, but everyone I was with decided that it would be a fun event, and I knew that if nothing else, I could at least get to say the line I started this article with.
Above: Outside Street Teaser for the Main Event.
However, the rodeo is really no different than any other sport - if you don’t know much about it, it is fantastically boring. I had to find a way to shake things up a little, so while the rest of the crew I was with decided to go meet some friends in another section, I took the opportunity to transfer to a different spot myself.
When I finally settled on a seat that looked clear, and got down to it, I found myself sitting in the middle of the family, friends, and workers of some of the riders; some of whom gave me the waaaanderin’ eye. None the less, I was happy to be right up front, where all those behemothly oversized bulls burst out from the gates. Fortunately for me, I had also sat down next to a pretty upbeat guy who, when I asked what he was writing in, said “I like to do a little judging of my own…” he paused and then held out his hand “I’m Lee, I used to Ride, but now I pull for the other side”. I asked him what he did and he told me that he helped some of the bull owners raise their big bucking giants.
Once my new friend Lee and I got into the intricacies of the game, I became fascinated. There are four judges, two on each side of the arena, who score the bull and the rider (50 points for the rider and 50 points for the bull). There is also a fifth judge who makes rulings on the replays, if there is a challenge on the scores. The interesting part is that the rider has to work with the bull to make it look as if he is both in control AND having the hardest ride of his life. Scoring anywhere in the nineties is almost unheard of, except in these pro games, so I started to get into the game when I discovered I had a home team bull who was named “California Dreamin”, and together with rider Brendon Clark they came in with a total score of 90.50, “OOooh, ya’ll gots served”.
After that ruckus, Lee told me something that made me think I might want to call myself ‘a Rider’ someday; the prize money. If a bull isn’t ridden, meaning that the bull is tough enough to kick a rider off in under 8 seconds, then the prize on that bull gets added on to the next night. Sometimes a rider could be getting on a bull that’s worth $80,000.00, and win it all in one night!
The games came to a close and I wished Lee well. I was now being texted <– which my word processor is telling me isn’t actually a word. I didn’t know it then, but the night had just begun… they were ready to “go out”… Ya, but I think I’ll leave that for another story.