Angel A

So the gang got the awesome opportunity to go and see the fascinating foreign film "Angel A" at Studio on the Sqaure. It was a French film with English subtitles (which drive me crazy just for the record). It originally debuted back in 2005 but only recently came to Studio on the Square. Although it was a very interesting story about second chances what struck me the most about the film was that it was in black and white. Now how many years have we had the technology to make films in color?... Like a million at least! However, this work of art did not need color to radiate its beauty. Without color in the background it gave a lot of focus to the actual story and people involved in it and did not allow the audience to wander their minds into the background. We as the audience were given a blank coloring book with crayons and were allowed to make things any color (way) we wanted to. It made me think of the "Wizard of Oz." If you think about it the most important things in the movie are when it is in black and white. It is the parts in color that are exciting and interesting but when it comes down to it the power of black and white showed reality vs appearance (fiction). The actual beauty of the movie was in the black and white. It made the movie the movie unique and showed to the world that color is not everything.

Ballet Wild Style

On 9/8 Ballet Memphis put on a very nonconventional performance titled 'Momentum IX.' It was definitely no "Swan Lake." It was more like "Swan Erotic." The first thing that it was missing that is traditionally seen in a ballet performance was classical music. The Memphis Ballet dares to be different and chooses to dance in a fairly traditional way to nontraditional music. Songs by artists such as Eric Clapton were rocking through the night. You gotta love it. Then all of a sudden in the last piece not only was the music rockin' but suddenly the dancers stripped themselves down to practically nothing other than diapers and panties. The Gibson Lounge quickly turned from the ballet venue to a live version of "Debbie Does Dallas"... well maybe it was not quite so bad but it was no Sesame Street move. Speaking of the Gibson Lounge that defied another traditional thing you would visualize when you think of the ballet. The venue was not a theatre but a freaken bar where people were taking huge advantage of the liquor! Overall I found the perforance to be quite unique and very enjoyable. It was truly remarkable to see their painting in motion.

Africa Comes to Memphis

Memphis, a city known for its place in the world of arts via music. But music is not the only art to thrive in this evergrowing city. All of the arts flourish here. The first arts excursion I went on when I got here two weeks ago was seeing a powerful and interesting art show at Marshall Arts Gallery. This show was curated by Sir John Weeden. I was particuclarly impressed by a collection of paintings depicting sushi in obscure shapes and colors. Sushi is one of my favorite foods to eat and it was just so fascinating to see how a food can be played with and worked with creatively in a work of art. Wow now I am hungry I think it is time to go to Sekisui.

Living in New York I am fortunate to see a ton of Broadway plays, however, much to my disappointment I never have seen The Lion King on Broadway. Last week, I had the tremendous fortune and opportunity to go and see the national tour of this Broadway blockbuster in Memphis. After nearly ten years on Broadway The Lion King is still running strong and performs to a soldout audience almost every night. I know this is gonna sound kind of pathetic but I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE Disney fanatic (I have been to Disney world four times in the past five years) and to see this masterpiece of a work of art was a huge deal for me. From the moment the curtain opened wide my heart began to thump with tremendous joy and excitement. The song Circle of Life literally touched every single audience member sitting in the Orpheum. Whether it was via the costumes, the choreography, the lyrics, or the authoritative voice of the character Rafiki pierced through my soul, not a single attendee could deny the exhilaration they felt on that stage. We all know the story of The Lion King and despite a few changes here and there from the movie the story was nearly identical. The power in this show was in the costumes, choreography, and scenery. To see how the Orpheum theatre could be morphed into an African plains land was unbelievable. Oh I just can't wait to see king again!!!!

I have also been doing a lot lot lot of rehersing with Rhodes Singers (in anticipation of our trip to Russia SO EXCITED :) :) and Master Singers.