Urban Ballet: Nutcracker

Tonight was a fun night. Angie, Meg, Autumn and I went to see Nutcracker at the Urban Ballet Theatre in Manhattan, New York. The tickets were only $15 and it was a really nice and small theatre; the only negative point was that I think the heat was on high and it kind of smelled like a Hot Yoga room. If you don't know what that smells like, try out a class in a very poorly ventilated studio and you'll have an idea of how putrid the smell can be. lol

The ballet itself was very well done. It definitely had an urban feel to it; the mannerisms, the attitude and some of the situations all had an urban tone to them. There were times when they overlaid a hip hop beat on the Nutcracker classical piece and danced hip hop in a ballet-ish way. Interesting and entertaining.

There were a few parts that really had us laughing in our seats so we decided to re-enact them once the ballet was over. I'll describe the scenes here so that when you see the videos, we don't look like complete fools.

Scene 1 - Antonio Banderas look alike with a beer gut and a cape!
Original:

• One of the characters in the play was a magician with a big cape and a big belly to match. He looked a little like Antonio Banderas just not as good looking. He wasn't at all in the physically fit condition of a dancer but he definitely knew how to work his cape; he kept running around the stage fluttering the cape.

Re-enactment:

• Cast: Angie (Antonio); Meg (little girl)

Scene 2 - Nutcracker vs Rat King - painfully long death
Original:

• In one of the scenes there was a party of rats that were fighting against a party of nutcracker dolls. It was one of the scenes where there was hip hop music in the back ground. At one point a gigantic rat (the leader of the group, I presume) entered into the scene and started going crazy. After a mock fight with one of the dolls, he finally got stabbed with a sword. However, instead of dropping to the ground and dying, he somehow seemed to get a sudden burst of energy that allowed him to prance around the stage before he finally died.

Re-enactment:

• Angie (nutcracker doll); Magna (cat - should have been a rat but for some reason we kept thinking he was a cat when we were doing the re-enactment...oh well)

Scene 3: Out of sight
Original:

• This was actually a very beautiful dance. The scene opened with a few background dancers doing some tribal dancing which was followed by a very beautiful dance between the lead male and female dancers. The female dancer had a veil over her face for quite some time while the male dancer was lifting her around. It was a very soft and sensual dance. Our version was nothing of the sort.

Re-enactment:

• Meg (female veiled dancer); Magna (blind-folded back up dancer and lifter)

Scene 4: Ribbons Ribbons Ribbons!
Original:

• A solo dance for one guy with a bunch of ribbons that he would pull across the stage. Very pretty and also very flamboyant.
  

Re-enactment:

• Magna (flamboyant soloist who is in love with ribbons); Meg (ribbon end); Angie (ribbon end)

Overall a very fun night with the ladies. I have a tendency to get crazy when I'm out with friends; this is a very good example of what people end up doing when around me. Let that be a warning to everyone out there - if you aren't the type of person to have fun..crazy fun..keep your distance or just be a spectator! lol

Off-Broadway Experience

Yesterday, my good friend Sekou McMiller invited me to go see his performance in the Off-Broadway show, Celia. They have two versions of the show: one in English and one in Spanish. Yesterday's version was in Spanish. So, unfortunately, I didn't understand all of the dialogue. Jareau, the Spanish-speaker that he is, did help to translate some of the important parts and it was pretty easy to follow otherwise. The show was really well done: the dancing was simple but I guess it fit the part with regards to the dancing that actually occurred back in the days when singers were on stage. Xiomara, the woman who played the older Celia, was fantastic. Her voice and the costumes and wigs they put on her really made you feel like you were at a real concert and not just a play.

In addition to the feeling of watching a really good show I was also feeling really ecstatic and proud for Sekou. I met him in May 2002 at about the same time that I met one of my other really close friends, Jason Pacheco. (Sekou had long dreads at that time..lol) Over the years I got to know him better and he was the first person to not only see the potential in me but to help me exercise it. The first time he did that was in December 2004 when he came to Toronto, Canada and taught me a performance to perform that same weekend. I was sick and everything but he pushed me to do it and it turned out really well. After that, he coached me through my first solo spins workshop in January 2005 at the Salsa y Control Anniversary party in Boston, USA. Since then, everything has been uphill, or downhill (whichever is better). I've always enjoyed working with him and watching him perform and excel is always a source of inspiration for me. He is, by far, one of the most talented, ambitious and perserverant dancers that I know. And now, to see him in an off-Broadway show puts a huge smile on my face. It's great to be able to call someone like him a friend.

I've gotta go watch the English version now so I fully understand the story.

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