Event #3 LA Breakers

"Real H.i.p.-H.o.p."

Healthy, Independent, People- Helping, Other, People

Every year I like to go to Venice Beach, California atleast once. This year I have already visited twice! Each time I go I always hope to catch the hipster dancer group "Style Proz Crew" now known as the LA Breakers. This group was featured on season 5 of America's Got Talent, and although they have great talent, unfortunately they were eliminated from the show. Surprisingly I am always able to find them down the strip on Venice Beach.

There choreography and dance skill is always very entertaining to watch. I really enjoy their break dance moves and transitions. The level of difficulty for this type of dance is very advanced and takes a lot of stregnth, practice, and dedication to do the types of moves these performers use. Not only is this group very talented choreographically but they also know how to enteract with their audience.

Note to any future audience members: you will need to keep an open mind, and refrain from being offended by any of their stereotypical ethnic jokes. In relation to original hip-hop, this group likes to use comedy to grab the attention of their audience. As you will see in my video clips some of the jokes may be offensive, but are not in fact intended to offend but to bring humor to common stereotypes. As an audience member I always anticipate what different racial slur or offensive crack at a race that the speaker will use next in order to grab peoples attention that are walking by, or trying to escape this public dance performance. As I recently just learned about in my Dance 101 course this style of dancing was originally known as "Clowning", in which the dancer is also attempting his roll as a clown or comdeian. Unlike authentic clowning, this group does not use face paint within their costume design.

What I really enjoy about this groups choreography is how they transition from difficult skilled break moves into a public action for dance. Once a large crowd has formed around the performers they then pull members of the audience onto the center stage to take part in a dance of their own, which will soon be followed by their grand finale. Along with comedy, this group also communicates that dance is their way of life. It is what they do for a living, and ask the audience for donations to help keep them off the streets and to prevent them from robbing anyones homes. They also express how dance is important for children and for a community.

I believe the unifying element of this groups choreography was the importance of dance and how it can be accessible to the general public. The central theme the performers were trying to convey was that dance, even hip-hop, which sometimes carries negative conotations, can be an outlet for many children. Dance can keep people from breaking the law, doing drugs, robbing people, joining gangs, etc. The dancers were successful at grabbing the audiences attention and keeping it. They did this through the chalenging and entertaining break dancing, through comedy, and through freedom of speech.

The choeographer used his body as well as the dynamic of group performance within the choreography. The music and the audience contributed to keeping the beat for the dancers. As the level of difficulty increased by the performers so did the level of energy from the audiences interactions. The mood portrayed during this time was that of comedy, laughter, humor, and happiness. The group utilized a big space on the pavement on the strip of Venice blvd., and also included the use of a microphone and sound system within their performance. 

As a whole I would describe the dancers to be energetic and carasmitic. They worked well together and had a great sense of unity. I recognized one of the dancers who communicated the most with the audience as a leader. It was evident that he has been practicing this routine for a long time and even stated that he has been performing it for the public for 10 years. All of the dancers in this group really brought the dance to life for the audience. They did this by working together and making sure the audience participated in the choreography. By the end of the preformance there was a unique relationship established between the audience and the performers. This relationship helps encourage the art of dance and its importance in society.

Below I have included several video clips I filmed of the LA Breakers street performance on Friday, October 25, 2013 in Venice Beach, California:

   

Event #2 Dance 101 "Dance in Alternative Spaces"

Anya Cloud has inspired her students within her Dance 101 course to develop, choregraphic, and perform group dance in alternative spacing. After having learned and studying different dance forms each student is developing an interest in the topic and you can see this in their performance of "Dance in Alternative Spaces."

The dances seen in these short clips are original works of art that were choregraphed, rehearsed and performed all within a short period of time during Anyas Monday, Wednesday Dance 101 class at California State University of San Marcos. You may not be able to tell by the performers but some of these students have never performed dance in this modern form before.

Being a student in the course, I was given permission by each dance group to record and publish these short videos. As you will see in the last video, I am also featured as a dancer. I have taken the liberty to name each dance for the sole purpose of this blog.

Group 1: "Goodbye"

Group 2: "In the Jungle"

Group 3: "Friends Are Like Circles"

Group 4: "Going Down"

Group 5: "Hammer Time"

Miya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision

Event #1 Trolley Dances

Trolley Dances

After watching and reflecting on the October 2013 San Diego Trolley Dances, I am left feeling comfortable and content with the form of modern dance. Before having any exposure to the history and style of this dance I would have thought MOdern Dance to be weird and awkward. It was not until this semester that I developed a respect for this style of dance and find it more interesting than I ever thought. The style of the dancers  reminded me of our Dance 101 class. I was able to connect with the dancers movement as they leaped through space and made contact between other dancers and really enjoyed the performance. I like how the performers reminded me of people I have come across in my life. They made me feel comfortable to watch their performance as they danced in such a public place.

I was completely able to perceive the choreography of this performance with an open mind because of my background knowledge and appreciation for not only dance but history of modern dance. I feel as though I was very capable of participating as an audience member as I respected the choreography and watched patiently with all my attention during the performance, avoiding playing on my cell phone, and having any unrelated conversations with my guest. I was so interested to hear that one of the performers was in fact deaf and was able to dance rhythmically along with the other performers.

The choreography to me appeared abstract, it was somewhat difficult to tell where they dance began and where it would end. I was very interested in the scenery and landscape the director/choreographer chose to perform his work. One of my favorite parts to this dance was the use of their surroundings and the influence of water.

Jeans choreography included male and female dancers dressed in white with a variation of color accents. You wouldn’t know by looking at the dancers that they were about to perform if you saw them individually, but as a group their outfits portrayed a sense of purity with a hint of corruption with left me feeling impelled to try to watch each dancer individually but as a whole at the same time. I found this task very difficult as my eyes wandered from dancer to dancer enthralled with the emotions and expressions on each individuals face as they would sometimes dance as a group or in pairs. This exposed art to the public in way I have never seen done before. I think the dance had a social implication stating that this form of art is not only for the wealthy upper class but accessible to the general population. Each move a dancer made and told a story of self expression that held much power and pride with a sense of longing for love or a connection deeper than I could understand.

I think the choreography in relation to the scene and location allows more people who may not typically be exposed to the arts to be able to watch and witness modern dance. This is great for people like me who enjoy the arts but typically can not afford to go to the theatre.  

I really enjoyed the use of the water in the dance. I thought it was neat how the performers took advantage of their surroundings and made it into an artistic expression. As the dancers moved through the space I was anticipating the use of the fountains. I was pleased when the dancers did infact use this in the choreography.To me the director chose to costume each dancer in white as if they were pure, clean and untouched. When the dancers performed in the fountain I related it to a spiritual meaning and thought it was appropriate for the dance.I really like when the one dancer changed levels and ended up on the ground laying in the water as another set of dancers lifted each other through the air.

The choreographer used all of the space in the scene. I think I now enjoy dance performances that are in a public setting such as this more than a typical stage with a seated audience. I was able to walk around the plaza and view the performance from different points of view. If I were having trouble seeing something I could simply walk to somewhere that I could see the dance at a better angle. Where as typically in a theatre I would be glued to my seat for the entirety of the show even if the seat I was in was not my preferred point of view.  The energy of the dancers was uplifting and it appeared to me that the audience really enjoyed the performance. I also like dances like this because as the show went on the audience grew and more spectators joined in to watch the dance. This dance to me was very joyful and the music included in the piece was also very uplifting.

My mood changed throughout the work but overall I feel as though it was intended to be uplifting and joyful. I recognized the purposeful relationship between the choreography and the elements of the costumes, sound and set design. Each aspect to this performance blended very well together and overall increased the aesthetics of the performance.

The dancers could be described as a variation of different ethnicities, cultures and lifestyles. I loved the diversity between the large group and felt like they all really blended well together to created a sense of unity among their differences. At times they were presented as a whole group, moving in unison. Often they would break into smaller groups while part of the group would perform and a set would break off into somewhat of a solo. Even within the group when there seemed to be chaotic moments the group utilized each others movements and talents that made this work particularly interesting. There was one specific dancer that I found to be very inspiring as she was deaf and performed the dance without the ability to hear the rhythm. she mimicked the movements in a way you would never know she couldn't hear. You could tell she was really paying attention to the other dancers while watching a variety of different places at one time. When asked during an interview about her intense concentration, which you could see on her face as she performs the dance Moss said, "I have to pay attention to everything, every detail. I have to watch how the dancers move in their space. I have to know where everyone is at all times on the floor."

Overall I was very pleased with the choreography and style of this dance. It appeared as though the audience also really enjoyed the performance as well. When the dance was through the dancers stayed to answer questions and comments from some of the audience members. You could tell from the audiences expressions throughout the performance that they were pleased with what they saw. I hope that in the future I can attend more public dance performances such as this. It not only leaves you thinking but also helps you to connect with the artistic world at a public level.

Note: Please be sure to include the following for your paper/project:

-          Title of the choreography: “Trolley Dances”                     

-          Name of the choreographer: Jean Isaacs                  

-          Name of music/composer: Tony Grant       

-        Name of costume, lighting and/or set designers:

-        Names of performers:

Angel Acuna

Jessica Curiel

Cicily Holcombe

JT Magee

Zahna Moss

Miah Noora-Nguyen

Nicole Oga

Ediran Pangilinan

Chasing Ice

Class 10/02/13 Johnathan Berman

Photographer: Todd Hido

Liquid Sky

Class 9/30/2013 Julie & Julia

Julie and Julia was a very humorous drama/comedy, starring Meryll Streep and Amy Adams. I first watched this movie in theatres when it was released in 2009 and then again for this VPA class. Julie Powell played by Amy adams has an interesting role as her character works as a telephone operator who answers calls from Victims of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York. In order to be happy she starts doing the things she loves most, cooking. She then starts blogging immatating the cooking style of Meryll Streep, and a unsuspected relationship develops.

More Than a Fence

In VPA 311 we took an on-campus field trip to go visit the student work that was being displayed in the Kellogg Library. Everytime I visit the library, I am always curious about the art that is being displayed. The theme of this specific showing was about fences/barriers. I recognized some of the art that I have seen in storage in some of the Art class rooms from the past semesters. The student artist that created these artistic expressions have been working on this art for a very long time, so it was exciting for me to finally see them all finished and up on display in the library. One of my favorite pieces is the image above of a Day of the Dead skull and the floural collection on the ground. To me this piece held much significance and displayed emtion and culture all in one.

Wasteland 2010

After I watched the movie Wasteland, I felt sad and ashamed with how often I take everything I have for granted. I know all to well that there are many of people who struggle and suffer and are forced to live in their own filth. I could never relate to the life of a landfill worker, and can't even imagine someone making a living doing the work depicted in the film Wasteland. When Vik Muiz approached the people in this specific location, the people were shockingly interested in sharing their lives and stories with the camera. The stories were mind boggling and very eye opening but what I loved the most about the film was the interpretation of Art in this very destructive world that Muiz then created. With out a doubt this film is not only inspiring as an artist but also brings me to feel humbled and thankful for the life that I currently live. I was also shocked with how the people who live in the worlds "largest dump" were able to show they were happy, maybe because this life is all they have so they have a great perspective, or maybe because their life is all they know. Vik Muiz not only brought talent but he also instilled a sense of hope and belonging to the lives of those in Rio De Janiero.

Frida

Frida Kahlo played by Selma Hayek in the movie "Frida" was a very inspirational story of the life, death and artistic development of Frida Kahlo. After a tragic accident you begin to see Frida develop her art and express herself through the median of paint.
What I enjoyed most about the movie is how the director pained out from an image of own of Fridas works of art into a live action scene remenancing on Frida's life. It was interesting to see her love fued with her husband Diego and his battle with infidelity  Strikingly Frida experiments with her sexuality and even has a relationship with one of Diego's mistresses.
This story is filled with much heart ache, and over coming of obstacles and how art is used as a self expression as well as a means of therapeutic remedy. Her art to me resembles her appreciation of her self as well as the deepening sadness that has unfolded into her life. Frida paints metaphorical pieces intertwining her relationship of self worth and of nature. Fridas art not only tells us a story but also expresses to us many feelings of sadness, hurt, loneliness, pain, and suffering.
The film was an excellent narrative of some important happenings throughout Fridas life. I would highly recommend watching this movie as it is as entertaining as it is informational.

Rabbit-Proof Fence

Before having viewed the film "Rabbit-Proof Fence" my knowledge of Australian boarders and history was dismal. This film conveyed a time that was very difficult for aboriginal peoples in this area. Children were torn away from their families and forced into servitude thousands of miles away. This film follows the lives of 3 children as they escape and travel a long voyage in attempt to reach their homes. I was inspired by their will to survive. I was shocked with what this true story had taught me: "Official policy between 1910 and 1970 in Australia allowed half-caste Aborigine children to be forcibly removed from their families and incarcerated ‘for their own' good in training schools where their were educated to become fitting servants for white families."

Mike Wilken- In class

On September 11th, 2013, Mike Wilken made a guest appearance in our VPA 311 class. It was very kind for him to come and lecture about the Native peoples of California. His attempt to preserve their traditions and educated others was very successful. I thought it was great he passed around an authentic basket that was hand woven by the Kumiai peoples. It was interesting to hear from a fellow classmate who shared how he shares the heritage of these Native people and his efforts to preserve their traditions.