Reflective Writing:
Question 1: What have you learned from the Arts from participating in this class?
Response: Irrevocably significant, the Arts have demonstrated themselves to be an integral part of our daily lives, which this Fine Arts class clearly conveyed. From visual art, to dance, to music, to theatre/film, I have been swept away by the sheer beauty of these media in their various forms and nuances. Beginning with the bare bones of establishing our in-class definitions of the central Artistic Elements--such as line, shape, theme, and color--and transforming to dancers within the realm of mimicry, and orange-peelers with shoe-less feet (as well as becoming critical listeners to a variety of music styles, and presenters of thought-provoking works)--we certainly have come such a long way. Therefore, I trust that we, as members of Tess Boone's enthralled and devoted class, will continue to nurture our respective minds and spirits with the uplifting (and sometimes dystopic) nature of Art, as it is.
Question 2: What did you learn about the communicative potential (the feeling or meaning) of the arts by viewing a live performance?
Response: Touched by the poignant portrayals of the Arts in practice during various live performances witnessed this semester, I am forever changed. Never again will I undervalue the efficacy of seeing performers in-action, and I will persistently observe such works as often as time and funds will permit me. The irreplaceable need for the Arts in a self-fulfilled and -actualized life is prevalent. The feeling and meaning that engage the audience during a live performance are provocative and revealing of the true state of being that we, as individuals and collective members of the Human Race, possess. In point of truth, a thoroughly engulfed audience member becomes one with the stage, and is able to transpose his/her innermost desires and hopes and needs onto the canvas that is the resplendent creation before the Anthropos of us.
Now, a poem I have written to highlight the pervasive relevance of artistic expression:
~ I Remember Life ~
I remember days
—Not years, not periods of boredom--
But days.
Dripping, pouring
In
Out
Clinging to the seams
Of woven bands in
Memory’s music box.
Tickling Sunshine’s
Glowing soft-spot
Until he shines
Brighter
Still.
I remember smiles
—Not frowns, not expressions of indifference--
But smiles.
Dancing, jumping
Up
Down
Searing into my eyes
With absorbent vessels in
Sight’s habitual scrapbook.
Saving the Tooth Fairy’s
Voluminous record book
Until she works
Merrier
Still.
I remember life
—Not surviving, not methods of existence--
But life.
Tearing, screaming
Soft
Loud
Whispering to oxygen
From gasping lungs in
Nature’s turning wheel.
Giving God
His never-ending profession
Until He beckons
More
Still.
~ ~ ~
Response: Irrevocably significant, the Arts have demonstrated themselves to be an integral part of our daily lives, which this Fine Arts class clearly conveyed. From visual art, to dance, to music, to theatre/film, I have been swept away by the sheer beauty of these media in their various forms and nuances. Beginning with the bare bones of establishing our in-class definitions of the central Artistic Elements--such as line, shape, theme, and color--and transforming to dancers within the realm of mimicry, and orange-peelers with shoe-less feet (as well as becoming critical listeners to a variety of music styles, and presenters of thought-provoking works)--we certainly have come such a long way. Therefore, I trust that we, as members of Tess Boone's enthralled and devoted class, will continue to nurture our respective minds and spirits with the uplifting (and sometimes dystopic) nature of Art, as it is.
Question 2: What did you learn about the communicative potential (the feeling or meaning) of the arts by viewing a live performance?
Response: Touched by the poignant portrayals of the Arts in practice during various live performances witnessed this semester, I am forever changed. Never again will I undervalue the efficacy of seeing performers in-action, and I will persistently observe such works as often as time and funds will permit me. The irreplaceable need for the Arts in a self-fulfilled and -actualized life is prevalent. The feeling and meaning that engage the audience during a live performance are provocative and revealing of the true state of being that we, as individuals and collective members of the Human Race, possess. In point of truth, a thoroughly engulfed audience member becomes one with the stage, and is able to transpose his/her innermost desires and hopes and needs onto the canvas that is the resplendent creation before the Anthropos of us.
Now, a poem I have written to highlight the pervasive relevance of artistic expression:
~ I Remember Life ~
I remember days
—Not years, not periods of boredom--
But days.
Dripping, pouring
In
Out
Clinging to the seams
Of woven bands in
Memory’s music box.
Tickling Sunshine’s
Glowing soft-spot
Until he shines
Brighter
Still.
I remember smiles
—Not frowns, not expressions of indifference--
But smiles.
Dancing, jumping
Up
Down
Searing into my eyes
With absorbent vessels in
Sight’s habitual scrapbook.
Saving the Tooth Fairy’s
Voluminous record book
Until she works
Merrier
Still.
I remember life
—Not surviving, not methods of existence--
But life.
Tearing, screaming
Soft
Loud
Whispering to oxygen
From gasping lungs in
Nature’s turning wheel.
Giving God
His never-ending profession
Until He beckons
More
Still.
~ ~ ~
Dance Analysis: EarthWorks at the South City Campus Grand Theater
Ellen Drummonds
Instructor Tess Boone
Theatre 1090
MWF from 8:00 a.m. to 8:50 a.m.
18 November 2012
Introduction:
An intriguing commentary on the colorful, vibrant, and often primitive ways of Mother Nature and her many facets, and an avenue for donating canned goods to charitable organizations, this dance performance was rich with texture and several other artistic elements. Directed and partially choreographed and costumed by Tess Boone, and performed by the gifted and talented SLCC Dance Company, this series of pieces began with the opening “From the Dust We Came . . .” (raw and primal) and closed with “Rite of Passage” (fast-paced and carefree). The audience was left captivated by the next sequences of the storyline that so effectively conveyed the mysteries and revolutions of the Homo Sapien’s journey throughout life and time as a creature of Planet Earth.
Dance Descriptions and Interpretations:
"Fire”
Ubiquitous anticipation and excitement were experienced within the Grand Theater as Utah Aerial Arts performer and choreographer Trisha Paulos enticed the audience with two long curtains of blood-red wrapped betwixt her extremities. All the while, an enrapturing, suspenseful musical work by Benoit Jutras played in the background to complement the effect. Doubtlessly, as Paulos twisted and turned within the passion-invoking folds of the curtain as she suspended herself from the stage’s flies above, we, as the watchful observers, could not take our eyes away from the scene for but a moment. The crackling fire on the large screen behind her only added to the penetrating drama that encircled the embodiment of the room and gave more meaning and efficacy to the piece and its title.
A decidedly noticeable element within “Fire” was the employment of color, as mentioned above. The vivacious texture of burning passion and sweet intoxication entwined within the dancer’s immersion in the very essence of RED as she coiled herself within in with snake-like precision, smoothness, and slinky-ness--was palpable. Moreover, the line of her legs as she spread them open and glided them together reminded the audience of this feat of magic and a nod to the Cirque du Soleil. The arms and hands provoked the similar reaction of the traveling eye. When she dropped herself at the end, we all (including her, I am sure) prayed she would be safe from doom, as she silently represented a flexible insect dangling above the proverbial flames, awaiting inevitable annihilation in the midst of her engrossment within the enigma of Fire and its smoldering irresistibility.
The energy of this piece was engulfing. As Trisha climbed higher and higher on the rope-like drapery, we experienced the fear and metaphorical connection of Fire as a symbol of the inescapability of its all-encompassing and -consuming (and dangerous) beauty. One may wonder if, taken too literally, the performer could have been viewed as a pyromaniac! (But let us not analyze this to death *cackle*.) The varying vibrations of this artwork join together cohesively with the contrasting, water-based-theme of “Immerse/Emerge” and within the program ensemble, itself. One may interpret that “Fire” acts as an analogical realization of the potential for humankind to discover a new, enshrouding element directly post-creation, after man rises “From the Dust We Came”.
“We Are . . . In It”
Describing this emotive piece in words is no easy task. The initially visually interested observer first focused upon the stage and dancers Jersey Reo Riemo and Breeanne Saxton, possibly reminded throughout of a Mia Michaels creation from the well-celebrated TV show So You Think You Can Dance. Trevor Price and Four-tet was chosen as the musical piece for this division of the overall production. Noticeably, with the male on top of a sturdy white table, sitting in mesmerized and beleaguered fashion, with the woman below, waiting upon his next (potentially unpredictable) deed and silent word--the dance proved to be a revealing tale of gender roles, societal pressures, and the inner turmoil always endured by those (un)lucky lovers caught within each other’s mutual confusion and inevitable misery.
A series of feeling-driven and fluid, yet often abrupt, movements and shapes comprise this dance. The carefully and passionately choreographed (by Sofia Gorder) repetition of lusting and frustrated gestures highlights the bright and bold color of Breeanne’s orange costume-blouse, in contradiction to the monochromatic starkness of Jersey’s dress shirt and slacks. The orange stands out as a reminder of the fierceness of love and the often-dimming nature of relationships bound to battle inevitable failure. The levels utilized in the piece, with Breeanne finally reaching the top of the table before being cast down by despair again--alongside her lover, holding his hand resignedly as the lights cease and the piece comes to a halt--personify the vivid lucidity of a man and woman plagued with the lack of balance and harmony in their union. The energy is vitalized by the couple’s inundating chemistry and mutual desire to make their experience together worthwhile. But it seems society, or family, or some outside source has interfered, and the circularity of the line and shape, as they longingly wrap themselves around each other and rapidly separate, demonstrates this. The raw and disparate vibe extended to the audience is further emphasized by the man’s mustache--possibly showing that, with his work attire, he is a businessman who may be divided by his office duties and time alone with his girlfriend/fiancee/wife--as well as the woman’s messy ponytail and her long, semi-unkempt mousy-brown hair. Indeed, this is a work of genius, because the elements of the dance are carefully chosen, and the deliberate instrument-playing of the music further enhances the desperation and yearning felt between these two characters as they struggle for their love’s survival in such a harsh and cold world.
Conclusion:
A portrayal of the “Metamorphosis” (one of the dances) of life and irreversible evolvement, EarthWorks is rife with the elusive grandeur of Time and its irremovable place in our world as a fortified force of war and peace, despair and harmony, dark and light, winter and summer (and the in-between), the natural elements, and the unending succession of existence. It is one possible answer to Why Man was Created and His/Her Relevance to the World--simply that, with all these artistic elements’ cohesion, the answer is but a mere question.
Instructor Tess Boone
Theatre 1090
MWF from 8:00 a.m. to 8:50 a.m.
18 November 2012
Introduction:
An intriguing commentary on the colorful, vibrant, and often primitive ways of Mother Nature and her many facets, and an avenue for donating canned goods to charitable organizations, this dance performance was rich with texture and several other artistic elements. Directed and partially choreographed and costumed by Tess Boone, and performed by the gifted and talented SLCC Dance Company, this series of pieces began with the opening “From the Dust We Came . . .” (raw and primal) and closed with “Rite of Passage” (fast-paced and carefree). The audience was left captivated by the next sequences of the storyline that so effectively conveyed the mysteries and revolutions of the Homo Sapien’s journey throughout life and time as a creature of Planet Earth.
Dance Descriptions and Interpretations:
"Fire”
Ubiquitous anticipation and excitement were experienced within the Grand Theater as Utah Aerial Arts performer and choreographer Trisha Paulos enticed the audience with two long curtains of blood-red wrapped betwixt her extremities. All the while, an enrapturing, suspenseful musical work by Benoit Jutras played in the background to complement the effect. Doubtlessly, as Paulos twisted and turned within the passion-invoking folds of the curtain as she suspended herself from the stage’s flies above, we, as the watchful observers, could not take our eyes away from the scene for but a moment. The crackling fire on the large screen behind her only added to the penetrating drama that encircled the embodiment of the room and gave more meaning and efficacy to the piece and its title.
A decidedly noticeable element within “Fire” was the employment of color, as mentioned above. The vivacious texture of burning passion and sweet intoxication entwined within the dancer’s immersion in the very essence of RED as she coiled herself within in with snake-like precision, smoothness, and slinky-ness--was palpable. Moreover, the line of her legs as she spread them open and glided them together reminded the audience of this feat of magic and a nod to the Cirque du Soleil. The arms and hands provoked the similar reaction of the traveling eye. When she dropped herself at the end, we all (including her, I am sure) prayed she would be safe from doom, as she silently represented a flexible insect dangling above the proverbial flames, awaiting inevitable annihilation in the midst of her engrossment within the enigma of Fire and its smoldering irresistibility.
The energy of this piece was engulfing. As Trisha climbed higher and higher on the rope-like drapery, we experienced the fear and metaphorical connection of Fire as a symbol of the inescapability of its all-encompassing and -consuming (and dangerous) beauty. One may wonder if, taken too literally, the performer could have been viewed as a pyromaniac! (But let us not analyze this to death *cackle*.) The varying vibrations of this artwork join together cohesively with the contrasting, water-based-theme of “Immerse/Emerge” and within the program ensemble, itself. One may interpret that “Fire” acts as an analogical realization of the potential for humankind to discover a new, enshrouding element directly post-creation, after man rises “From the Dust We Came”.
“We Are . . . In It”
Describing this emotive piece in words is no easy task. The initially visually interested observer first focused upon the stage and dancers Jersey Reo Riemo and Breeanne Saxton, possibly reminded throughout of a Mia Michaels creation from the well-celebrated TV show So You Think You Can Dance. Trevor Price and Four-tet was chosen as the musical piece for this division of the overall production. Noticeably, with the male on top of a sturdy white table, sitting in mesmerized and beleaguered fashion, with the woman below, waiting upon his next (potentially unpredictable) deed and silent word--the dance proved to be a revealing tale of gender roles, societal pressures, and the inner turmoil always endured by those (un)lucky lovers caught within each other’s mutual confusion and inevitable misery.
A series of feeling-driven and fluid, yet often abrupt, movements and shapes comprise this dance. The carefully and passionately choreographed (by Sofia Gorder) repetition of lusting and frustrated gestures highlights the bright and bold color of Breeanne’s orange costume-blouse, in contradiction to the monochromatic starkness of Jersey’s dress shirt and slacks. The orange stands out as a reminder of the fierceness of love and the often-dimming nature of relationships bound to battle inevitable failure. The levels utilized in the piece, with Breeanne finally reaching the top of the table before being cast down by despair again--alongside her lover, holding his hand resignedly as the lights cease and the piece comes to a halt--personify the vivid lucidity of a man and woman plagued with the lack of balance and harmony in their union. The energy is vitalized by the couple’s inundating chemistry and mutual desire to make their experience together worthwhile. But it seems society, or family, or some outside source has interfered, and the circularity of the line and shape, as they longingly wrap themselves around each other and rapidly separate, demonstrates this. The raw and disparate vibe extended to the audience is further emphasized by the man’s mustache--possibly showing that, with his work attire, he is a businessman who may be divided by his office duties and time alone with his girlfriend/fiancee/wife--as well as the woman’s messy ponytail and her long, semi-unkempt mousy-brown hair. Indeed, this is a work of genius, because the elements of the dance are carefully chosen, and the deliberate instrument-playing of the music further enhances the desperation and yearning felt between these two characters as they struggle for their love’s survival in such a harsh and cold world.
Conclusion:
A portrayal of the “Metamorphosis” (one of the dances) of life and irreversible evolvement, EarthWorks is rife with the elusive grandeur of Time and its irremovable place in our world as a fortified force of war and peace, despair and harmony, dark and light, winter and summer (and the in-between), the natural elements, and the unending succession of existence. It is one possible answer to Why Man was Created and His/Her Relevance to the World--simply that, with all these artistic elements’ cohesion, the answer is but a mere question.