Arty highlights from Berlin!

1. East Side Gallery

Probably the most famous piece of art in the city, this is the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall still standing. When it fell on November 9th 1989, this part of the wall was left standing and artists from all over the world travelled to make their mark on it.  Riddled with colourful, industrial, motivational, and political quotes and images, the artists have left Berliners with a beautiful piece of history to lighten those dark years when the city was split.

2. Jewish Memorial

The full name of this sculpture is 'Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe' which could be deemed harsh by some but quite fair and necessary to most that know anything about German history.  Having looked it up before I went to Berlin I wasn't too excited about it, but the truth is photographs do not do it justice at all.  Designer Peter Eisenman has created 2,700 concrete slabs arranged in a grid pattern at varying heights and widths.  This memorial was not built to look at, and visitors are encouraged to enter it to gain the full experience.  The floor is also varied throughout, taking visitors on a long, confusing tour of concrete, at times towering above one's head which creates the desired effect of anxiety - even though you can clearly see the exits all around you.  The journey is powerful, and for some reason sadness radiates from the coffin-like blocks at the entrance to the towering grey rectangles looming in the centre.

3. Panorama of The Ancient Metropolis at the Pergamon Museum

The Pergamon Museum is one of many on Museum Island, and the only one we had chance to go into. It revolves around two huge artworks - an ancient Greek/Roman altar, excavated and rebuilt completely in the museum, and a panorama painting by Yadegar Asisi.  The latter was by far the most interesting, as the altar was rather underwhelming after witnessing the panorama first.  The huge artwork, sealed together in a giant cylinder shape, paints a scene from the ancient city of Pergamon in 129AD.  On entering you have to climb quite a few floors up to the central viewing gallery, but it is all worth it once you get up there.  Music and clever day-night time lighting turn this almost into a cinematic experience, as it is easy to imagine the characters in the painting going about their daily lives.  This panorama style artwork was truly awe-inspiring, and I doubt I will ever see something similar in my lifetime.  Unfortunately, photography was prohibited, but I do have some snapshots of the altar.

Turn Festival

 3-5 May 2012. Contact Theatre, Manchester

Turn Festival has been hosted by Contact this year, as a Green Room Legacy project.  With a selection of  unknown talent from around the region, Turn has something for everyone, including the chance to perform your first Wedding dance, watch a wrestling match in an office, and witness a young girl give in to her most impulsive thoughts. (Most unforgettably emptying a bowl of noodles all over herself).  Unfortunately I couldn’t attend all three nights, but here are a few of my highlights…

Emma Lansley and Eve Stainton created the perfect opening to Friday’s evening’s performances.  Better Because I wear Vintage offered a light and humorous approach to the current trend of wearing dated clothing and acting kitsch.  A Conversation: Part 1 offered an intelligent response to psychological topics such as sanity and obedience.  Mainly using text to open the duet, the piece then developed into some interesting, fluid movement.  I hope this is a work in progress by Hannah Buckley and Dwayne Antony, as it left me wanting to see more.  Moving on to my absolute favourite – Work Songs by the dangerologists.  On paper, this piece explores ‘masculinity in the office [and the] mindless drudgery and hopeless alienation that is the normal working day.’  In physicality, it is so much more – the two male dancers produce a comical, physically brutal performance, which escalates into a violent conflict.  The performers have amazing acting ability, and deliver truly convincible characters, which most of the audience could probably relate to.  This piece will no doubt inspire many people to leave their monotonous office jobs and start living.

Hofesh Shecter

Hofesh Shecter – Political Mother. 27/4/12 The Lowry, Salford.

The programme states ‘Shecter’s first full length work burst onto the world stage in 2010 and since then has been an unstoppable force, touring the world to great acclaim.’  This is due to the mesmerising ensemble pieces, consisting of raw, committed movement and powerful images.  Exploring themes of power, oppression and conformity – which are a common trend recently – the dancers take the audience on a painful journey to subjection and back again, in which the choreographer allows the dancers’ individuality come to light.

The element that sets Politcal Mother aside from many other contemporary dance pieces is the choice of a live band and the bold style of music.  The musicians are such a part of the staging, and make up almost half of the performers, that Shecter has made a whole performance genre of his own.  The daring, deafening music dramatically increased the atmosphere throughout the piece, and continually created the tension.  It is fair to say that without the rock music/ gig element, the dancing would be rather underwhelming.  Having said that, Political Mother is still an undeniable masterpiece, and I doubt the ‘unstoppable force’ of the piece worldwide is about to slow down.

The Black Keys with Band of Skulls

7/2/12 Manchester 02 Apollo

Band of Skulls – No nonsense, no crowd-pleasing.  No facades or fabrications.  No pyrotechnics.  Let the music speak for itself.  Kings of Leon with a female, quirky addition.  Dirty riffs.  Grungy guitars.  Dark, dingy atmosphere created for an un- reactive crowd.

The Black Keys – Flashing lights.  Mixing it up.  Place the drummer at the front, why not.  More dirty riffs.  Seductive rock rhythms.  Toe tapping, head nodding, melody singing stuff.  American rock stars who attract an unlikely diverse audience.

Two up and coming bands who offer something completely unique to the British music scene.

We are all in need of....

A motivational quote!

I don't usually do autobiographical posts, but I feel at a dead end recently and have a feeling many people are with me.  So I am spending my morning wallowing, wondering why it is that everything I try to achieve, every job or audition I attend always comes back with the same answer.  I'm always the understudy, I was just "pipped to the post", I've made the reserve list.  I wish someone could pinpoint what I'm doing wrong, but they never can - everyone else is just somehow better.

So a friend advised me to read a sort of 'self help' book - which I admit I had reservations about.  It's called The Success Principles by Jack Canfield, and some of the stories and quotes in there really have kept me going.  Here's mine for today:

"No" is a word on your path to "Yes."  Don't give up too soon.  Not even if well-meaning parents, relatives, friends and colleagues tell you to get "a real job." Your dreams are your real job.
-Joyce Spizer



[Coincidentally, whilst writing this I got a call for an interview.  No doubt I'll still be reading a bit of Jack when they decide to reject me and say I'm next in line if another position comes up.]

Dance Fragments

8/12/11 The Hat Factory, Luton

The triple bill began with Sarah Levinsky’s Plastic Island, which constructed a landscape of plastic carrier bags centre stage.  The piece consisted of four female solos, each entering the stage and interacting with the bags to create different relationships.  Each dancer displayed a sense of individuality within their movement, and the most impressive element to this performance was the realisation that all the dancers were improvising.  As the night’s pieces were all works in progress, Levinsky had decided not to set anything at this stage of her investigation.  Plastic Island delivered an intense, alienated atmosphere which transported the audience to another world – or foreign island as the title insinuates.  The sculpture of carrier bags added connotations of mass consumerism and environmental issues, and I predict the concluding product to be captivating.

Kolesk Dance’s Julia Cheng  followed the first piece with her solo, Hat & Ball.  Whilst Cheng has an undeniable original, interesting movement style and stage presence, the choreography completely lacked sophistication.  The title left nothing to the imagination – the piece centred around a hat and a ball for choreographic inspiration.  However, the solo received good feedback from the members of the audience from a non-dance background, who could relate to the non-narrative style and enjoyed the hybrid mix of dance styles that Cheng always delivers.

The Hat Factory saved the best till last as Helen Parlor ended the night with her new work Close/Distance.  This piece of dance theatre used interesting characters to give a voyeuristic insight into the minds of those people who live nearby and we pass regularly in the street – but don’t bother to interact with.  The performers delivered well executed lines to enhance the dancing narrative, and all gave incredibly believable performances.  It was hard to believe that this piece was also in the early stages of development, as the relationships between the dancers seemed so natural that one would presume they had worked together for years – when in fact in reality it was just ten days. Close/Distance was dynamic and thought provoking, and I am waiting with baited breath to watch the final production when it tours next year.  

Odissi Ensemble - Shades of Love

17/11/11 The Hat Factory, Luton

Having never experienced an Asian Dance performance, I was an eager audience member anticipating Odissi Ensemble’s debut showing of Shades of Love.  So were plenty of others, as the crowded theatre in Luton’s Hat Factory was buzzing with excitement.  As the dancers enter the theatre in darkness, the anticipation rises with the jingle of the bells around their feet.  This leads into the first of seven individual dances, in which each one tells a different story, and the bells induce a rhythm that always matches perfectly with the music.

The style itself is definitely separated from the stereotypical Indian dance that is now commercialised.  The intricate and unique isolations are delivered by the dancers with such precision, along with a great sense of musicality towards the choreography.  The dances also demand a high level of expression within the face, and at times the dancers are literally miming situations, to engage the audience in the story.  Some could find this a bit too literal, but I thought it was conveyed well and gave a context to the pieces that needed it.  Other sections did not have a set theme and relied mainly on the musical –bodily connection; yet even in these pieces strong relationships between the dancers were evident.  The classical choice of colourful costume, jewellery and make up added to the glamour and culture of Odissi and complemented the choreography beautifully.

As someone who generally leans towards contemporary dance, it was so refreshing to see this antithesis dance form, and I enjoyed it for its differences.  The current trend in dance theatre is to strip the dancers down – emotionally and physically – in regards to costume we often see neutral colours and a lot of bare skin, coupled with emotionless, serious faces.  In Shades of Love the dancers were often smiling, allowing their genuine happiness to shine through to the audience – and this was uplifting.  Odissi Ensemble are aiming to increase the profile of this niche Indian Dance style, and with audience members describing it as magical I think they are on they way to success.