Our Conforming Culture

This video "Fearful Symmetries," performed by the Pennsylvania Ballet, brought an interesting perspective to contemporary American Culture. The piece reflected the under lying desire to fit in with everyone around you. In society today, people are constantly trying to blend in. A person feels comfortable conforming to American culture over finding individualism. When I was going through high school I felt the pressures of conformity. I wanted to be popular; and the only way to achieve that was by blending in. I thought being like everyone else would result in having more friends. I learned what makes you different is what others find attractive. By conforming you are creating relationships under false pretenses. People are not drawn to your ability to be like everyone else: people are drawn to your unique qualities. These attributes are the foundations of our personalities.

about. 

The piece, "Fearful Symmetries," was choreographed by Peter Martin. The title alone relates to this theme in contemporary American Culture. After watching the piece I understood the immense power symmetry can have. This made the comfort conformity has so clear. The dancers open with a leap combination across the floor. Each female is linked by the hand with a male dancer. One couple moves from stage right to left and the other in opposition; synced together in perfect harmony.(0:20-0:22) The precision in their movement showed the desire to blend in together. The groups wanted to match the other. The dancers continually grow in size on the stage. Every time they build the amount of people. In American culture there is power in numbers. The more people who follow, the easier it is for one to conform. This dance made me see how our culture views individualism. In our society it is more acceptable to conform.

In one section of the piece there are eight dancers on stage; four males and four females. The dancers crossed each other with patterned movement in the shape of an "X".(0:33) There arms were in diagonal lines. One extended upward and the other one to the ground. They used a pas de chat to travel across the floor; switching the arms simultaneously.(0:34) Each male dancer stayed close to the female partner, mimicking the movement. (0:34-0:37) This section showed how conformity is portrayed in relationships. In American culture today, relationships with a partner of the opposite sex are the norm. All the movement was the same implying each relationship was the same. The last section of the dance was the most powerful. Dancers did a sissone to stage right with their leg extended in arabesque.(1:22) Their arms were in a 90 degree angle; the left arm shooting up towards the ceiling.(1:22) Next, the dancers switches weight and direction and quickly moved to the opposite diagonal.(1:24) Their leg was extended straight in front of them. The arms matched the angle of the leg; depicting a linear shape.(1:24) Last the dancers switched weight again by turning.(1:26) The leg was stretched on the floor as they did the low drag.(1:27) This movement repeats twice. There were approximately 25 dancers on stage moving together. Every angle and detail matched. Watching these weight shifts happen in unison really showed the power a group can have. It was clear by the end why our culture has an underlying desire to fit in. The power behind numbers intimidates individualism.

Relationship Endeavors

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HaDe6rOxJw

The dance, "Alice in Mia-Land" by Mia Michaels was an exceptional piece. It reflected the functions of relationships in contemporary American Culture. Relationships have evolved into a new being over the years. In the past they were valued for their dedication to one. It was frowned upon to cheat, lie, or be open with a partner. In todays society people are more promiscuous and daring. Divorce rates are up to fifty percent. A relationship has the freedom to experiment with others. It is normal for most college students to have multiple relationships, with different partners. In these situations the significant others often know about one another. My senior year I experienced this first hand. I was able to have an open relationship with my boyfriend; who was venturing off to college. We both dated other people and enjoyed ourselves while we were apart. If we had an opportunity to be together, we would at leisure to us. I felt like the girl in the pink dress of Mia's piece. I had my opportunities open with anyone I chose; however, when roles were reversed it was not so pleasant. 

The story of the dance represented relationships vividly to me. In the opening of the dance Alice(the girl in pink), is the center focus. She is lifted above by a table and chair, while the other dancers surround her on the ground. The dancers then grab the legs of the chair and rotate Alice around in a circle.(0:05) This represented the start of a journey filled with connections. She was then pushed to the end of the rectangle table lunging forward into the space. Most of her weight is distributed on one man tugging back and forth. (0:15) She then pushes backward waving to the man she just left on the other side of the table as she glided across.(0:20) All of this movement gave me the sense of a relationship going on.

The dance then continues with contact movement showing different aspects of the relationship. At one point a male dancer lunged forward on one knee gesturing an embrace.(0:36) In this same moment Alice was sitting on another male dancer. His arms wrapped around her shoulders holding them; keeping her away from the other in front of her. (0:36) I interpreted this as the confusion in relationships of our culture. With so many options it is difficult to decide what is right for you. Alice then moves from one dancer to the next; making contact every time until they diminish in a circle around her. (0:46-1:06) She is experiencing all the new range a relationship offers in contemporary culture. The end of the piece has lifts with the support of all dancers; Alice as the focus. She is plunged forward into the audience and then upward into the sky.(1:37-1:40) This showed the peek of her experience with all the opportunities in relationships. In the very end she is buried behind the table; with all the dancers piling on top. (1:46) This was like a disappearing act. From the movement of the bodies overlapping, covering alice, gave me the sense of defeat. The way relationships are in society today, do not always have the best out come in the end.

Storm

 On September 10, 2010 I performed in the Philly Fringe Festival. The performance was held at the Performance Garage on Brandywine Street in Philadelphia, PA. It was an honor to be dancing Renee Banson’s (a local dance artist) choreography. The piece performed was called, “Storm” and involved a collaboration from musicians and visual artists.  Watching Renee work and create dance as art was an inspiring experience in its own. Every detail from the music, to the costuming and props were important. The piece had a cast of six in total; five dancers and a soloist with a prop.

 The work was fast paced and required immense stamina. I could feel all the muscles in my body burning with heat. Every movement felt comfortable like muscle memory, as I glided across the  black marly. The choreography  included everything from jumps, to flat-backs, to table tops, and more. In the middle of the piece the five dancers  were all spaced evenly around the edges of the stage. Everyone focused on the middle of stage and began in parallel plie with their hands above their head. Articulating through the spine, we rolled down and up with our eyes focused on the soloist (center stage).  Next we flipped the torso forward into an attitude back. Bringing the body upward again, the cannon started. I held for four counts and extended the leg in second position, stretching my arms directly above my head. I reached up and over in a circular motion-- switching my weight onto the standing leg. From their the phrase ended, dropping all my weight forward into a swing release. It  was the strongest section out of all the choreography in the piece.

 The Performance Garage, in Philadelphia, PA, was a three foot high black marly stage with a white scrim. There were two sets of lights on each side, and the wings were created by rolling mirrors. The audience in this space were tightly packed. Each person sat in an individual chair,stacked in rows, on  four story risers. This created a homey atmosphere while dancing. You could see the faces of the people watching the performance. The audience members could feel the heat of the blue and white lights as we danced.  Our costumes shimmered in the light and one could hear the whipping of the fabric as we turned. 

 Dancing this piece, in a well known art theatre of Philadelphia, was an exceptional experience. “Storm” came together as a work of art. At the end of the number you could feel the excitement in the audience. Dancing with each other for six weeks as performers caused us to become an excellent cast on stage. Every dancer took inspiration from the other to have improvement in their own performance. Renee Banson created beautiful art and I was so privileged to be a part of it.

Live-in the moment of the performance

Laugh-at your mistakes on stage

Love- every moment you get to perform

A Day In My Shoes

The morning light trickled through my blinds at eight o'clock this morning, calling me to awake from my bed. Class didn't start until 11:00 AM so I pulled the satin down comforter over my head and curled into fetal position. My alarm went off at 10:00 AM; it was time for my day to start. I woke up brushed my teeth, got dressed and toasted a cinnamon raisin bagel. The light was burning through my window now and I could feel the weight of the long day ahead. Wednesday morning always starts with classical ballet training. My hair is fastened in a secure twist and I must arrive fifteen minutes early to begin warming up. I can feel my muscles burning through my pink tights and sweat trickling down onto my velvet black leotard, as we begin warming up at the bar. The class is tedious causing strain on my body. The instructor assigned us a combination for our pointe shoes. I stretched down through the floor elongating the leg into second position. I then rolled through the foot taking a plie in fourth to prepare for my turn. I felt myself whirling through the air with my arms securely in first position. I landed the turn in a tight fifth position reaching in all directions to maintain stability. My core stomach muscles were being used constantly during this phrase and I could feel myself improve with every try. Class ends at 1:00PM and I have a quick break to grab a bite. The warm cream of broccoli soup I bought for lunch melted in my mouth. I tried to savor every moment before running to the next class. The day was long running all the way across campus to the Psychology building in the blazing heat; just to make it back to the Center For the Arts building for two more intense dance classes. My day finally ends at 7:00 PM after rehearsal for “Swan Lake” the classical ballet. I trucked my bags and worn out dance clothes back to my apartment to eat dinner, relax and do my homework for the next day. Life as a Towson Dance Major isn’t easy, but when it is your passion it is always worth it.

Live- through your expression and accomplishments in dance.

Laugh- with your friends at lunch.

Love- relaxation after a long day of hard work.

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