If you miss the sunrise in the mornings, you can be sure to catch it watching Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. From February 17-22, this Colorado dance company graced The Joyce stage once again. Three New York Premiere's and a off-kilter Forsythe piece, Aspen has taken bright light city by the jugular, skewing their own interpretation of neon locales. "Petal", Aspen's first number choreographed by Helen Pickett, was even more seasonal than its title's implications. As the black curtain rose, the stage was lit with the most magnificent yellow the East coast has seen in a while. This candy-yellow displayed an immediate gleaming warm tone, bringing dreams of sunflowers and crayons to life. The company became the rays, extending and twerking like the battery of our world. Philip Glass's music thrusted the eight dancers to their breaking points; Wiggling their ankles and whipping pirouettes (both on and off Pointe) with the audacity of the Aspen mountains, Santa Fe has come to be seen and heard.
Todd Elmer's incandescent lighting is like the perfect day; beginning with a welcoming sunrise, dimming at noon alongside the charming viola's, and imitating an astonishing sunset with bright pinks and purple hues. While the dancers run less than enthusiastically, it's hard to pay attention to anything else but their muscles. Enhancing uniform, juicy calves and web-woven back muscles, Elmer aids in scintillating way past the box office.
Aspen might possibly be replicating "Aspen Yellow" in "Petal"- providing accessibility of the western mountains to their New York audience.
"Chameleon", choreographed by Itzik Galili, reminded me of my days at The OSU Gesturing Factory. There sat, on 5 bright green, modish chairs, positioned in a straight horizontal line, five ladies of the company. "Chameleon" is a woman, the women are chameleon's- shape-shifting and squeezing their faces to fit every mold a man could possibly want. Wearing nothing but black leotards with sheer v-neck's and satin Pointe shoes, the women hardly ever left the chairs; yet their physical engagement put Venus and Mars theories to rest.
At a particular moment, the women could have been mannequins, poised and ready for window shoppers, they puckered their lips and pointed their toes to impress. Yet, the next crux would disgust the female lizards, issuing the shaking of heads and knee-displacement- as if to echo their own aghast expressions. Lauren Alzamora was the queen of reflections, sitting and dancing right in the center of the five reptiles. Once you watch her it's hard to distract your gaze. Alzamora's body language, facial expressiveness, and pure technique is enough to make Balanchine come back from his grave- may he R.I.P. Ms. Alzamora's is the bait, and we are the fish being reeled in by her dark stare and poignant extension. Her body is that of a Olympic swimmer turned dancer, etching her muscles in the black downstage space.
"Chameleon" reminded me of the beginning of "Sugar", choreographed by Ohio State alum, Adriana Durant. In "Sugar", the dancers gestured as if staring into a mirror, fixing stray hairs and lip-gloss stains. Both Durant's cast and Aspen Santa Fe dared to ask the question, "Who is the fairest of them all?" Though the quintet refrains from acknowledging each others presence, their is a certain level of comparative-ology that ensues throughout Galili's vision.
A note on "Slingerland Pas De Deux", a duet created by William Forsythe in 2000 (Aspen's third piece): I have never seen such a cool tutu in my life. Forsythe take the picturesque image of a ballerina and contorts the colors of the bodice and materials of the skirt to work within his twisted world. His demure pink and washed-out orange hues are mellow and dim- like the color bled from the costume rack before the show. However, the muted colors do the dancers only justice, illuminating their technique and relationship. Forsythe's tutu dances with the dancer in increment waves, as it is sewn and crafted to do just so. Appropriately removing the stiffness and snobbery from the ballet, Forsythe makes a statement on the culture and tradition with just a skirt. As Ms. Katie Dehler's foot goes for an arabesque, her skirt tips the opposite way- balancing her proportions and imagery. I think the Cheshire Cat would have something to say about this.
Check out Aspen Santa Fe's last piece of their program, "1st Flash":
I have this bag. It's black imitated leather, big and slouchy. We will call this bag Barbara.
I bought Barbara sometime during my sophomore year in college. She was calling my name from the shelves of Urban Outfitters, too pretty to pass up.
Barbara was so dependable, always holding what I needed, or might need, or decided what I needed. She was a loyal shoulder-clinger, carrying books upon books, mints and sweaty clothes.
One day (sometime in 2007), Barbara broke. The weight of English Literature bibles, Harry Potter, and plaid sweats was just too much. She snapped on her right side, damaging her long, cord-like arms. It was a sad day for the two of us, and I wasn't ready to let Barbara go. I decided she needed more time on this earth, so I tucked her in a corner spot in my room (Junior year of college), and waited for the perfect seamstress to mend her wounds.
Her recovery was long and painful, but Barbara finally came back to life this past summer/fall, 2008! It was a glorious day, and I celebrated by filling her space with lots of irrelevant papers and nick-knacks. I couldn't have been more happy to have my generic big black purse at my side once again. I took Barabara everywhere, as if she had never left my accessory table. She matched with everything, glistened brightly in the sun, mellowed out in the bar, once again never losing my life necessities.
Barbara was number 1 for my purse options. Even thought she prefers not to make public appearances at bars, she could easily blend in- working both the day and night scenes. A month ago I had to break it to Barbara that her "typical" look wasn't cutting-it anymore. My new job required more space for my laptop, and needed a zipper to protect my favorite machine from the rain. Barbara could not accommodate either, so she decided to hang on the back door- awaiting re-usage once again
See the thing is, Barbara started to fade slowly after her shoulder healed. She was looking more and more tired- peeling on her sides, showing up raggedy in public- her dependency was waring. B's skin would even shed onto my hands, at times making my public appearance very embarrassing and somewhat confusing. Instead of swinging Barbara on my back, I had to hold her like a young child- afraid she would break at any moment.
Barbara couldn't keep up with my new lifestyle- what with work and fancy New Yorkers to impress- her weathered face was out of style. I had to break the news to Barbara today. It's tough to let go. I told her she was a great companion, and thanked her for all the good times we shared.
Barbara now sits next to the garbage can, waiting to be swept up by dirty gloves. There was no other way to do it. But I don't doubt for a second that she'll be the most stylish bag New Jersey's landfill has ever seen.
I love hearing a song and it taking me back to a time that I either, played it on repeat for an entire season, remember being in a specific location by myself, with a friend, or walking, or was headed to some sort of "event".
My six favorite songs to remember (today):
1- Wilco, "Side With the Seeds"- walking on Summit to class, Fall 07
2- Dana Fuchs, "Don't Let Me Down"- in Dirty Tammy breaking futons w/ Anton, Fall 07
3- M.I.A., "20 Dollar"- driving downtown to the bars, Spring 08
4- Hot Chip, "Out At The Pictures"- driving to my Senior Concert w/ Toaster, Spring 08
5- Guns n Roses, "Sweet Child O' Mine"- w/ Schwartz, London dorms, Summer 07
6- Def Leppard, "Pour Some Sugar on Me"- in the Gateway parking lot w/ Cara, Fall 07
I love how ITunes gives you the availability to see when you last listened to a song. It's like instant memory flooding. It can bring you back to the/a day that you might not remember, but by the song you were listening to, you can recall what your mind was emotional associating with-if you associate your moods with music.
For example: "Home Life"- last listened on 11/20/07 3:28 PM
Now, I'm listening to that song currently, and I am stunned that it's been that long-as I remember the exact lyrics, tempo, vibe, and melody. It's funny, 11/20/07 was right before Thanksgiving break for college students. Thus, I must've been channeling home from Ohio, and getting excited to fly out for visitation. I had these "home songs" that would get me pumped for going back to NJ, like Coheed's "Devil in Jersey City" and (a guilty pleasure) Phil Collins' "Take Me Home".
Now, 02/15/09, I'm home- living the home life- which will soon change in 2 weeks. However, I only came across this song via Party Shuffle, and then felt like listening to the entire album. "'Cause it's Sunday and nice out", I thought. However, possibly sub-consciously in my cognitive mind I wanted to/felt a reason to play this exact track and then analyze it. And now I'm analyzing the analysis. Interesting observation.
Additionally, the other songs on Heavier Things, like "Come Back to Bed", was listened to at a later date: 07/28/08 7:05 PM. Why did I listen to a track this past summer, but not play "Home Life" (which FYI is the next track after "Come back to Bed")? I could have just decided to stop listening to JM, or there could've been a reason why in July- after I just moved back home from college-I didn't play "Home Life". ITunes is like a music journal, if you take the time to notice.
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