Coming from Staten Island, I definitely wish the museum had more to offer. I think cost wise it would have been more entertaining to have a set amount of time on the two floors, security following us to each floor, rather than just closing off the other floor.
The experience was quite nice overall, seeing all the other Macaulay kids across the campuses. I was able to meet new people, as well as see the people I previously met at the orientation days. I wish there was more events that brought together all the freshman class, unfortunately very unlikely.
The artworks on display were interesting to say the least. There was an assortment of meaningful, political, artistic, and beautiful art. Whilst some were…questionable, they all had some sort of meaning as to why they were painted. At least thats what the museums walls said, but how true can all those really be. I mean who really asked Louis Rémy Mignot about his painting Niagara in 1866. Crazy to think that every piece of artwork has some rich history and deep meaning, yet who really gets to decide that if the actual artist was dead hundreds of years prior.
That’s what I will never understand about museums, why can a painting not be exactly what it is. Mignot’s waterfall could just be a pretty memory of his that he painted for quick cash. Deciding meanings on artworks that were created by someone else seems inherently wrong. Especially once it gets spread across millions of platforms all sharing one random persons thought on this painting. Artwork does not exactly need any detailed explanation, yet museums always have one. It takes away peoples ability to connect in their own ways with these paintings.
That is mainly why my favorite part of this experience was walking through the glass shelves filled with items. They focused on the dates, not even giving the items a brief description. It helps the visitor understand the talent and ingenuity that must have been part of the creation, without assigning an unrelated deeper meaning.
Honorable mention; The doors by Christian Marclay. The never ending constantly looping film of decades of films cut and pieced together to create a collage of people jumping through time shown by doors. Being created in 2022, It was surprising not to see any new films. Although it never clarifies which films were used, most were in black and white whilst even the ones in color were at the latest from the 2000’s.
Never thought I would be in the splash zone in a NYC theater, perhaps a water park but a theater? I will never forgive the pair directly to my left announcing that before the performance. Especially not his elaboration in regards to a previous experience and the way he described it… I hope he wasn’t too disappointed when none of the sweat from any dancers landed in our direction.
Starting the afternoon strong with an accordion player, a spy game, and the strong desire to go home to my warm fuzzy pets, the trip to the Joyce theater was rather pleasant. Avoiding the rain on the way there was rather nice and sneaking into the train station felt most definitely wrong.
The performances were quite impressive, I loved the first groups outfits especially. The dance itself was entertaining and whilst not the best in regards to their performances, it was a good start for my experience. Emily especially was extremely wonderful in both dance sessions one and two. The male lead in the second set was also very talented, his performance through dance as well as his facial expressions was very entertaining. Although I was a bit worried every time he spun that I would get splashed, Diana and I were spared for this moment.
The third and fourth dance were performed beautifully, technically advanced and entertaining. I did wish their costumes were more; the plain colored spandex was a tad bit boring compared to the first groups large tutus. Although I wish their costumes were more, it did not take away anything from their dance. It was like I could not take my eyes away from watching them; especially once finding certain dancers to focus on based on their usual stage positions and presence.
Overall, I really enjoyed this experience and I hope we have more opportunities to visit theaters and performances similar to this trip. Maybe next time Accordion man will agree to follow us around and back, I did begin to miss his background noise once returning to the ferry terminal. The Italian show tunes lady was quite interesting… her loud music being interrupted throughout by her telling people where they can put tips and or where to follow her online. I was relieved once the gates opened and we could leave. And finally, my kitties and pups were very excited for me to return home and immediately take a nap like I was an 80 year old grandpa, all taking different spots on my bed and face whilst still finding ways to kick me.
On Sunday, October 12th, a bunch of us went to go and see the Arpino dance show in the Joyce theatre. While heading to the show I had my low expectations and was not excited to go really since I had little interest in things like these. I am never interested in shows of any sort like musicals, theatre, etc. But this was a dance show so even with my prior premonitions I still had no clue what to really expect from this. Some people travelled on their own to the theatre but I went with majority of us on the ferry there so we could all travel together. The public transportation wasn’t that bad as I thought it would be but it was a Sunday so it wasn’t super crowded and complicated. We didn’t really face the rain as much until after the whole show and a little right before hand. Before arriving we walked by this really cool car that had graffiti on which I felt like was art. It was really out there and took a lot of us by surprise when we first saw it. I thought that the concept of the car was really cool and described what NY is.
Arriving there I unfortunately sat directly in the first row which blocked a lot of my view from the stage which sucked since certain parts of the show had props and/or had instances where they used all of the stage and I couldn’t see everything especially when they were far in the back. When the show began I was completely taken away from what I saw. There were 4 different acts total but each act was really amazing (besides the first one I didn’t really like it as much as the other 3). Besides the stage blocking a lot of my view, from what I saw I really liked the show especially some of the music that they were using. My favorite act was the last one since they had 3 mini acts in one and the music choice was really cool. This show really exceeded a lot of my expectations and made me glad that I went overall. This is a picture from the last show that was really cool and what I felt like described the mood of the show. It was fast, shiny, and expressive. It is a blurry image of the beginning part of the show where the dancers where moving their hands a lot before starting to dance.
After the show some of them left with Lisa back on the ferry, others went to go on their separate ways back home or away but a lot of us decided to go out to eat afterwards. We didn’t know where to go at first but we decided that we wanted to go to Dave’s Hot Chicken in Midtown. On our way to Central Park that is where the rain started to hit us and it was hitting hard. A lot of us had umbrellas but even still that wasn’t helping against the rain. I had just used my hood since I knew that my umbrella wasn’t going to do anything in the end. On our tumultuous journey to Dave’s Hot Chicken we finally arrived and got our food (after a long wait) we took our food and went to the McDonalds right next door to eat since they had an upstairs section and a lot of tables.
I enjoyed my food and finished everything since I was starving but others took theirs home. After we ate we figured out how we are getting home. We split up into 2 separate groups with 3 of us going to a bus stop for the SIM4c and the other group went to go to the SIM1c. I couldn’t say for their group, but my group was struggling a lot when heading to our bus stop was a big hassle since this was in the peak of the rainstorm. On our way there the umbrellas was actually useless to use since it was insanely windy and rainy. We kept laughing about how bad the rain was and got lost a little bit since the gps wasn’t working for one of us so I took initiative and brought us to the first bus stop at Central Park to wait for the bus. While on the way we saw a couple other art galleries that looked really cool since it had a lot of figures and other art. It looked really expensive though but the art pieces were cool to see from the outside.
The art was way different from the ones we’d normally analyze it reminded me of designer fashion in a sense. Still seeing all the different art pieces was really cool.
To end the day we got on the bus and had a nice 2 hour bus ride due to the rain causing a lot of traffic in the city but was cool since we were talking to each other the whole time and had fun since the bus wasn’t packed. Overall I had a good time during this trip and cant wait for the other trips we go on for this class. I found it really interesting and learned to be more open to different experiences.
On Sunday we went to the Joyce theater to see a performance. I had never been to a performance in a theater like this so I didn’t know what to expect. A positive is that even though the weather wasn’t that nice, it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. When we got to the theater I had a seat in the very first row. This was kind of annoying because I had to look up to see the different performances but I was able to make do. When the actual performances started I was pleasantly surprised with how it was. It had three couples coordinated by color who were dancing. Something I realized was how physically fit you have to be to do something like this. There was so much running around and being so close we could hear the heavy breathing of the dancers. The second performance was also really good. This one had more of a story line to it. It had a guy playing double bass and I thought this was really cool with how skilled he was at it. Whenever the dancers got close to the edge of the stage, we could see the beads of sweat fly off of them and they got dangerously close to our seats. This wasn’t very cool but I don’t think I was hit. The third performance was the most simple, being just two people, but it was just as good, if not better than the first two. The two dancers had really good synergy in the underwater scene. The final performance was probably my favorite one. This one had different parts in it because of how many people were involved. The music during this was my favorite part of the whole show, especially the music during the second act of this final dance. I really loved how it sounded. All in all it was a fun experience and I’m glad I went, despite thinking I wasn’t going to enjoy it at first.
To be perfectly honest, I don’t have the energy to come up with a funny hook or witty remark in my current state. I just hosted the second Zoom meeting I’ve ever had, and talking at or to people exhausts me. Forgive me for my poor time management, Ms. French. I’m going to follow my usual structure (commute, experience, exit and reflection), but with a slight twist: I’ll break down my thoughts on each of the four (six? Was the sequencing defined by music style?) performances individually and then give my overall take. Let’s get into this.
The commute was nothing unusual, to be quite frank. I do normally venture out into the city once a month or so..because that’s what normal people do…, so the SIR and ferry ride kind of blurred together. I did manage to meet someone from our class, which was nice and briefly woke me up from my tired Sunday slumber. As per usual, I wounded up being multiple hours early, so…I did a normal person thing and rode around on the 3 train that was going via the 1 line for some reason. I barely made it back in time to Chelsea to go to the theater, and ended up having to walk in the rain. I wound up going inside and somehow almost getting lost in the theater, which, for some reason, has a reception room smaller than my closet. I stood around, confused, but eventually waddled my way outside, where everyone appeared out of what seemed like thin air. After a grueling 10 minutes of waiting out in London weather, we went inside and then proceeded to wait a half hour, in which time I checked my phone no fewer than 12 times. To be honest, I didn’t care much for being sat (sit? sitten??) in the second row right in front of the stage, as, throughout the show, I ended up having to constantly raise my neck and stare up like a stairway to heaven just appeared before my very eyes. On my thirteenth-fifteenth time looking at my phone, everything around me darkened and the show began.
The first show, at least in my eyes, was a quintessential European-style ballet in which men danced with women and vice versa. Not much was left to be desired in its wake, as the bar was low and there’s very little you can ask of a “generic” ballet performance. The music was the blandest thing I ever heard, even when I appreciate classical music regularly. (especially Beethoven and Tchaikovsky) I mean that with no disrespect to the writers or any musicians involved, I just genuinely could barely sit through the music without snoozing. The ballet itself was pretty impressive, but there was nothing that stood out to me. It followed the conventions of everything I thought was ballet, and I think every single dancer was pretty solid.
The second performance. Yes, that one. What was I even looking at? I still don’t know. I didn’t even try to process it afterwards, just because it was so contradictory to every other performance that it resulted in an aneurysm every time it crossed my mind. It sounded like if cavemen were brought back and then given 40 kilograms of Adderall. I had to stare down the paper I was given upon my entrance for no less than half of it, just out of sheer embarrassment and out of a need to keep myself from giggling like a toddler who just chewed on a crayon. If I had to provide any thoughtful analysis, it would be that it was purposely placed to succeed the most typical, Victorian era ballet before it immediately blew up all standard conventions about said ballet. It felt a lot less authentic than anything I’d ever seen, and it reminded me of a kind of drunken, raw state that completely removes any filters people may have. Also, I feel bad for that giant violin for being played like a set of juxtaposed rubber bands.
I honestly really liked the third performance, and I have no clue why. It did not speak to me and barely kept me from leaving the room out of confusion and a complete loss of critical thought following what preceded it. It reminded me of something more out of Disney except perhaps a little dicier or suggestive. The coloring was amazing, however, and the choreography was still excellent. I can’t opine much on the third “segment” or performance, as…I just liked it. It was calming, and even if a little too graphic at times, still let me stay in that chair after the preceding torrent of zoo animal noises.
Now, initially, I liked the third performance more than the fourth, just because the fourth felt incredibly drawn out. However, after deep consideration, I regret to inform you that I have changed my mind and will be moving forward with another candidate at this time. (Internship applications are getting to me, sorry). I found the choreography (dozenth time I’m using that word at this point, sorry for the redundancy) to be something truly remarkable, and the core strength of everyone involved really shined through in this performance. I never truly appreciated how much preparation went into this or any other dance performance until I saw the amount of strength certain dancers had; it was, honestly, something out of this world. The music itself was something to be enjoyed, just because it was so different from whatever I listen to on Spotify as I try to get through my homework. My point that it was long, regardless of how good the music and coordination was, still stands. The concluding part of the section in particular barely let me stay in my chair, and it felt quite repetitive. In spite of that, I can confidently say that I liked the fourth segment the most, just because it showcased what the dancers were best at.
Overall? I’m still confused as to why so many contrasting styles were meshed together in this Austria-Hungary-esque amalgamation of performances. Maybe the point that the director(s) were trying to prove is that art can manifest itself in countless different ways, and that it can’t fit into a single binary. Or they were just trying to keep the audience awake. (In that regard, they certainly succeeded) After the show concluded, I went outside and waited for no apparent reason with a bunch of my peers before marching to the 1-2-3 subway station. I somehow had the energy to constantly gaze out of the window of a moving train after all of that, even if there was nothing besides tunnels, stations, and the occasional street jester juggling rats. The ferry back was unremarkable, and I ended up gouging down on some chips. That’s it. I barely remember it to be honest, just because I was so dazed after being trapped in a dark room listening to possibly ai generated classical, noises from 28,000 BC, Disney but slightly more suggestive, and Near Eastern folk music. It was not worth a rainy Sunday, but you have to work with what you have at some point.
I unfortunately took no pictures besides the 3 train I rode back and forth to City College on beforehand; enjoy. You know I was there.
Also, why did they move back and forth and keep bowing like a group of nutcrackers at the end? Were they trying to farm applause? With that core strength, they may actually deserve it
I thought we have to be at the theater at 1pm as it says on the syllabus, so I went early on the ferry. Then I waited with a classmate for the whole group. We went to see a dance performance.
There were four performances. I would rank them this way:
1 – first one
2 – fourth one
3 – third one
4 – second one
It seems that I liked the ones that have more people in them. It honestly makes sense since the more people there are in a performance, the more spectacular performance usually is. The second performance also was weird. Overall, I would say the performance was ok.
This trip took a significant chuck of my time, but I am not frustrated with it because it was interesting to see something I haven’t seen before.
The journey starts on a cloudy filled day. The ferry trip was super fun with Lisa and getting to find out that Dunkin was now on the ferry (not really good for my wallet) was so fun. As we walked to the theater I won’t deny the coffee I was sipping on did make my stomach hurt but it wouldn’t be a real coffee if it didn’t. We also saw a really cool car and stopped to ask is this art?
As we got seated in our front row seats my anticipation grew faster and as the lights dimmed I couldn’t imagine what would happen next. I’ve never been do a ballet but I love seeing live performances. The first dance was really fun for me. It had a lot of movement and expression and was super colorful and over had a really fun story from what I could tell. The second dance I didn’t really like it had notes of one sided love but overall wasn’t really funny to me and rather worrying due to the sweat from the male dancer but I can’t blame him he was doing way more than I was lol. The third dance was truly captivating. It was like watching a sweet love story and the under the sea theme was very beautiful to see. We also met the lady from the dance and she was soo sweet.
The final dance was by far my favorite though. It had a sort of Arabian nights vibe and was really beautiful. The glittery outfits and headbands and hair jewelry was really stunning. I also really enjoyed the music. Getting to see some of the dancers from other dances and see how passionate they were, made me really happy for them. It also made me wonder how they figured out dance was for them. Were they starving artists? It all made me wonder how it felt to be under those lights and preforming.
We ended the day with a stressful hunt for food. After not eating anything except an ice coffee anything sounded good. I went to Dave’s Hot Chicken and had the besttt hot chicken sandwich I had in a while. On our way to the SIM Anjali, Jayson and I stumbled upon 2 art galleries and they were so cool and had a bunch of modern art. After a long walk we made it home on a very fun SIM trek home.
On Sunday, October 12th, we took a trip to the Joyce Theatre to see a ballet performance. I had gotten to the theatre by ferry and train with a group from the class, including Lisa. The commute was enjoyable, and the weather wasn’t too bad.
When we arrived at the theater, we were given our tickets and proceeded directly to our seats. I had gotten a seat in the middle of the second row. I would say I had a really good seat, but I would have enjoyed sitting two rows back. Even though I knew we were going to see a ballet, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed the show.I loved seeing the talent of the dancers on the stage and watching the stories they told. I would say that each show was better than the last.
While watching, my favorite performance was the third one. In this performance, the dancers looked like a mermaid and a merman. The description of the dance says that it was an “ode to Ondine – a young man on the beach, enamored with a shadow from the sea in the guise of a beautiful creature.” The dancers did an amazing job portraying it. I also really enjoyed the second performance because it was very funny, from the way they acted during the piece to the general size difference between the dancers. The leads in the second and third performances had incredible strength and amazing lines. Overall, all the dancers were incredible and had such amazing talent.
I also have to mention the last performance because, just like the others, it was incredible. This performance had a lot more dancers, and they seemed to have more experience. This number was centered around a female dancer who had so much talent. Her lines were amazing, you could tell she is very strong, and from lots of the moves she did, you could tell she is very flexible as well. Everyone in this dance did an amazing job moving with the beats of the music and staying with each other.
At the end of the show, we had left the theatre and were able to talk to the female dancer from the third performance. She was so nice and humble about her talent; she looked surprised that we even went up to her, but I told her how incredible I thought she was, and how her lines were amazing, and I could tell how strong she was. I even told her how I am also a dancer, and she was interested to know where and what style I was into, and even recommended a place that holds great classes.
Then, before heading home, a group of us went to grab food and got Dave’s hot chicken, and that was really good. Overall, I really enjoyed this experience, and I would love to go again.
Another Sunday calls for another Macaulay Honors Seminar trip, and this time, I was able to experience a dance performance. Just like the other seminar trips I had experienced, this was something brand new to me, and it was definitely worth spending 20 minutes searching for parking (I should have taken the train but whatever). I will not lie, though I had never been to a dance performance or a ballet, I had many expectations. I fully believed it was going to be lots of dancers and other complexities. Although most of the performances only featured two or three performers at a time, it definitely blew my mind and exceeded my expectations.The commute to the Joyce Theatre was great (Thank to Mrs. French :)). When we were waiting outside the Joyce Theatre, I was imagining what the dances would be like. I imagined lots of pirouettes and spins, or whatever they are called. When we finally got inside the theatre and sat right in front of the stage, I was amazed by the huge curtain that was hung right in front of us. Once the show began, I was already amazed by how the curtains lifted, so I knew this was going to be an amazing experience.
The first performance was absolutely incredible. I loved the synchronization and the movements and choreography. Everything had complimented each other very well. The performance, titled Confetti, was definitely in my top three of the whole experience, especially since the movements with the tambourines were so satisfying and the couples were so talented!
The next performance was Valentine, which was very humorous and quirky, which I was not expecting. It almost felt wrong for laughing but it was very funny. This performance saw two performers in a setting of a boxing match, but it was very confusing to see if they had hated each other or if they had some attraction for the other. The solo bassist was also very funny, as they were making the whole experience so much funnier with their expressions and noises. Although it was really funny, I didn’t really find it as pleasing as the other ones, so it had to be considered my least favorite.
During the intermission, I felt like I had experienced a couple different lifetimes at once. There were so much conversations happening around that me that I managed to converse in every single one of them, and the conversations have had to be some of the funniest ones I have had so far with my friends. After watching those two performances, I definitely didn’t know what to expect with the final two performances, as the first two were so contradicting and different from each other.
As the curtain lifted for the third performance, Sea Shadow, I already knew this was going to become my favorite one. The lightening and the stage design was stunning. The two dancers, which had performed a romantic scene, seemed to have lots of chemistry, which really added to the atmosphere. Reading the playbill, it was interesting to learn that it was a performance representing a man on the beach becoming attracted to a shadow, which he saw as a beautiful woman. This was my favorite performance, as the stage design to the small details in the choreography were 10/10.
Lastly, the final performance of the experience, was Light Rainwhich was a very beautiful piece, which I had taken it to be a beautiful representation of human anatomy and human nature. I loved the opening sequence, with all the dancers raising their arms, making such a beautiful and powerful design and pattern. All of the performers had so much energy and emotion in this dance, which added onto the experience. Another part of the dance that I loved were the noises that, in a way, added onto the movements and made them stronger. I really enjoyed this one, however some parts did feel repetitive. I remember telling Mrs. French that I enjoyed this specific performance because “there was so much to look at,” which really fueled my brain.
Overall, this experience was very fun! Although the commute back was a little bit wet and windy, the whole experience was something I could look back on and appreciate, since all the performances were beautiful in their very own ways!
I am not one for dance; whether it be contemporary or traditional. I do think the dancers put in a lot of work; they condition their bodies to dance and perform for hours a day, they have to have the strength and flexibility, and the agility, to move as they do, and it likely took them a life time of commitment, skill betterment, and perseverance to get where they are, and I appreciate and admire their effort and their loved for the preservation and celebration of culture and tradition, but I felt nothing more from the dance itself.
I recognize their talent and love for what they do, but I myself am not too intrigued by dance beyond the momentary spectacle of a difficult move or a grandeur sequence.
I did see some appeal in the feeling of watching the dance because I was tucked away up high in the corner of a dark theatre in the center of a big bustling city.
I didn’t hate the dance, they were clearly all talented and I wasn’t completely bored, but it may have been better if I wasn’t sick.
