singing and dancing

Fair warning - I am no theatre critic, so my vocabulary to describe my impressions/experiences of the NY Broadway scene are limited...

By the middle of the week, I was exhausted from spending all my days on my feet looking at things hung on walls, so I couldn't exactly wrap my head around going to yet another museum, even though I really wanted to. I did, however, still want to get student/rush tickets for Evita. Why Evita? It was one of the few interesting-sounding musicals playing this week. That's about it, I knew nothing about it. However, I made it to the box office a bit too late and couldn't get a ticket, so while refueling with a snack at the Times Square Starbucks, I realized I still could make the Newsies rush ticket lottery if I hurried. After elbowing through the crowds of times square at high noon (more people than you'd think), I made it to the lottery with 1 min to spare! There were only 30ish people waiting for tickets, so chances were good, but one never knows with ticket lotteries! I ended up getting one, which was awesome! and the show was excellent! I didn't really know the story, nor had I seen the movie, but the show was fun, entertaining, and well performed. They got the Tony award for best choreography for a good reason - all of the actors were incredibly athletic and excellent tappers. I thoroughly enjoyed the 'King of New York' tap scene, which if you have a few minutes, you should watch here:

While waiting for Newsies to begin, I made my way to the NY Public Library, as they always have the most interesting exhibits in the hallways and I do love the Rose Reading Room. I will say, though, that after the quality time I've spent in our Reading Room here at the UW, I do prefer the architecture and grandness that is present at the UW, but both are incredible to spaces to spend time in. The library always has some exhibits going on and this time they was a photography exhibit, Echoes of Silence: Philip Trager, Early Photographs, 1967-83, that contained some incredible images of NYC.

The next day, I made sure to get up extra early and found myself again in Times Square, waiting for an Evita ticket. It apparently was one of the most popular musicals last year and stars Ricky Martin (yes, that Ricky Martin, the latino pop star), so I thought I would check it out. Weirdly, I got the same exact seat number as the lottery ticket for Newsies! The show was excellently performed, however it left me confused as to why a musical like Evita was created, because it seems to celebrate a women who was highly manipulative and didn't actually help her country much, if at all. The actress who played Eva Peron was very good and the creators moved the story in time with her costume changes  - she came out in a different wig almost every scene - as we barreled through her whole life story. Martin's character of Che also confused me, until I realized he's kind of the narrator. I actually looked up the story line in wikipedia during intermission because I was confused enough during the show... I'm sure other people will appreciate the show more than I did, but it was still an excellent Broadway experience. The crowd here was distinctly more mature and fluent in spanish than the Newsies crowd!

Also, though technically it wasn't on Broadway, I took advantage of a $7 Tuesday night ticket+popcorn deal at the East Village Theater and took myself to see Les Mis! It was most excellent and I actually really like the way it was shot - with the extreme close ups - as it doesn't seem to me to be a musical that has a large need for a stage. The actions all seemed somewhat limited (no group dancing here), so the ability to see the emotions playing across an actors face was much appreciated. I'm guessing that should I ever see this in a traditional theatre, I may not be as emotionally affected, because I'll probably be on a small budget and won't spring to get good enough seats to see the actor's faces.

5-3-2-1

5 museums
3 bakeries
2 Broadway plays
1 dance performance
lots of delicious food
an exciting, exhausting week

That basically sums up my whole week in NYC over break, but if you're curious, keep reading for more about what I saw and experienced while in town!

I decided that I would attempt to go to every museum that I could in the week that I was there, so I began with the American Museum of Natural History. I took too many pictures, so I'm trying out a slideshow, but you can also see the original pictures here.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

And after spending 5 hours there, I decided that this museum is best with kids, as it is an excellent introduction to cultures and animals and history that you might never encounter in real life. Since I've been to a number of excellent zoos, I was a little bored by the number of taxidermied animals, but it was incredible to see so many of them! I didn't really know what to expect before coming to this museum, except that everyone said I should make time to go see it. I was slightly overwhelmed by the amount of stuff there is to look at and did not do the museum justice by any stretch of the imagination. I did determine that you could leave the museum and come back in the same day, which is really nice if you get hungry in the middle of the day and want to go the Shake Shack around the corner. I highly recommend the planetarium show about the stars, narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, it was excellent. I didn't love that the museum charged for most of the special exhibits, so I didn't get to see any of those, as I wasn't really interested in any of them to shell out another $6+. While you can pay whatever you want for the normal museum admission, if you're willing to pay full price you can skip the line and either get tickets online or at a kiosk there. The suggested student price is really reasonable, but if you're going to only pop in for an hour or so, paying the full price of $20+ is not really worth it in my opinion. Of all the exhibits, the dinosaurs never cease to amaze me - it still boggles my mind that I was staring at real fossils and not just someone really skilled with plaster of paris. The gemstone exhibit made me laugh - if you read closely enough in one part of the showcase, you'd actually learn about what the kids in my intro to MSE course learned about crystal structures and classifications! I do like that you can pop in and out during the day, so that if you need food, you can dash over to Shake Shack and get a delicious (minorly overpriced) burger and then continue winding through the museum.

After the Natural History Museum, I dashed across Central Park to quickly look at the Museum of the City of New York - I highly recommend this one if you're ever in the area. I don't think they have any permanent exhibits, but the ones I got to see were very interesting and the one I missed also looked great! I originally went there for the DD and Leslie Tillett exhibit, as they were incredible textile designers, but I also found a number of other interesting exhibits, all focused around NYC.

 just look at those awesome prints

They had a short film playing about the history of the development of the city, Timescapes - why it is planned out the way that it is and how different neighborhoods developed, died and redeveloped with time. The other interesting exhibit was one about the different types of activists and their causes in NYC, spanning time from the first Quakers to the nurses who revolutionized public health to the current day bicycle activists. With lots of little snippets of information and a few historical items to look at, it was a nice exhibit - not too much information overload! This was probably my favorite image, that gal on the end just makes me laugh:

I ran out of time to see the World's Fair exhibit, but oh well! I'd say you only need ~2.5 hours to make it through the whole museum, so it's easy to slip in on a day when you're out in the city. Oh! I just found that they have a sweet haute couture online exhibit! I find online exhibits a bit strange, but those thoughts are for another day.

The next day was a bit slower, but I made it out to Queens for the first time! I had found the Museum of the Moving Image online and it looked really interesting (also it promised a look at some sweet posters that were at the Hobbit's NZ premiere), so I hopped a train out there and spent a solid 2 hours wandering. They have a great core exhibit that introduces you to much of how a movie is made, including a large collection of old movie cameras, TVs, and sound systems.

I will say that after watching all of the extended extras on the LOTR DVDs, not much of the information was new, but it was cool to try dubbing over some lines from the Wizard of Oz and to see how a live sports broadcast is 'directed'. They also had a place for you to try out stop-motion filming, which is great for small children, but I had fun as well :) I made a short 4 second 'movie', but apparently waited too long to download it and it exists no more! The LOTR posters looked like giant versions of those bookmarks that I used to have - that were kinda 3D and if you looked one way and moved your head the image changed a bit. Oh wait, I still have one of those - NASA produced a sweet one for phases of the moon! The Museums screens movies throughout the day, but I did not stay for one (Puss in Boots was playing) and they seem to have space for 2 traveling exhibits. When I was there, they were featuring a history of sorts of video game consoles called Spacewars. I am absolutely horrible at gaming and the few games I tried out just reinforced that fact.

Old (Original Nintendo) or New (Wii), arcade style or not, I'm just bad at it. I couldn't even figure out how to use the Atari console they had available. Oh well, it was still interesting to see and play the first video game created! They were also showcasing the new Pixar film, The Guardians, and had some really interesting character development mapped out, as well as a featurette about how the movie was created, highlighting the extensive use of motion-capture for each character. Overall, I was surprised to learn the museum was over 27 years old, as the space and exhibits definitely felt fresh and modern. I was glad to have gone earlier in the morning, however, as the museum filled up with loud small children after lunch! A side note, but I was struck as to how Queens is apparently developed - there seemed to be a main road, and if I wandered off it more than a block (happened by accident when I was trying to find the place), it was a very different place. Reminded me of Yakima in a sense, but not quite.

Also in Queens is apparently the Indian area of NYC, as I wanted to try to find the Sari Palace for some pretty sari material. I found it and picked up some beautiful material, but I'm pretty sure I was one of 3 non-indian people I saw the whole trip! There were lots of sari places, but Sari Palace was the only place that actually gave you the prices for each style (that I could see) and since I was only looking for material and not to get a sari created, it worked for me! I'm still designing what I want to use the material for, so no pictures yet :)

not biking

has been harder than I expected. I keep wanting to ride my bike, but then I remember there is ice on the roads in my hometown. And that my bike is still in Seattle. I refuse to ride a stationary bike and I'm so tempted right now to get a trainer for my lovely road bike, but I think my roommates wouldn't be too happy with a bike in our living room :)

Anyways, here are some funny bike (and pedestrian) related haikus I stumbled upon while procrastinating on finishing my DOE fellowship application:

also. watch this video. it's strangely fascinating. and scary.

3-Way Street from ronconcocacola on Vimeo.

I would also like to point out that in NYC, people stand in the street while waiting to cross. You could clearly pick me out as a non-new yorker when I was in the city a few week ago because I stood on the sidewalk. In seattle, our streets are too narrow to stand in the road! alas, I found myself the day after I returned to seattle waiting in the street more than once.....

Alvin Ailey {NYC Day/part 3}

Finally, at the very end of Wednesday evening I was able to see on of the most incredible dance performances I have ever seen - a rep of three pieces by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. For some reason, Ailey II came to Ellensburg a number of years ago and I remember being very impressed with their dance, even through it was so different from my own preferred style of classical ballet. I knew I did not want to see Nutcracker – performing in 5 times made it surprisingly uninspiring to watch (besides, I don’t think they do student rush tickets), and none of the broadways shows that offered student rush tickets really stood out to me. I’m not quite sure what brought it to mind, but I had a faint recollection that Alvin Ailey was in NYC. The best bonus – student rush tickets were only $10 during the holiday season. Ten dollars for one of the most engaging evenings of dance?!!!! This quickly became the most important must-do for my free day.

And what a performance! The theatre (the New York City Center) was built in such a way that our seats gave a steep sightline, but they were close enough that we could make out facial expressions and other nuances without the aid of binoculars. Hannah asked the ticket guy for centered seats, which is always a plus, and I actually do prefer balcony seats, patterns and specific spatial movements are always more impactful when viewed from up high.

{Hannah thinks the theatre is a converted Jewish (?) theatre, mainly because of the motifs present on the walls/perccenum arch – star of David, protective hands, etc. It was beautiful!}

The set of three pieces was diverse and engaging, ranging from telling the story of a Haitian painter to a piece set entirely to gospel spirituals. It so happens that last night’s run was probably the best set for the week (on a Wednesday – weird) because it included the full cast of 50 dancers performing Revelations.

The first piece, about the Haitian painter, Hector Hyppolite, was entitled The Prodgial Prince. This piece had very distinctive costumes, with both Haitian and African influences. There was a strong storyline that was generally followable, though there were some characters I did not understand - like a masked man in a costume covered in long swishy rustling grass-like stuff, reminiscent of Nick Cave’s Sound Suits, just not as tall. They mixed in some projections of what I assume is the actual artist’s work at the end and the lighting in general really set off the piece and aided in telling the story. Sometimes I forget about how important the non-dance parts of the performance are to creating an engaging environment.

The second piece, called Forgotten Time, showcased softer movements and lots of remarkable partnering. Being a modern dance company, all of the dancers are built distinctly different than the classical dancers I usually see (basically modern = way more muscular, both men and women) and the ease of how they partnered was inspiring to watch. It never looked like anyone exerted any effort to life another person, guy or girl. The men made it look completely easy to just lift a female up sideways, swing her upside down, and then pop her up around his shoulders. Again and again and again. The moments of stillness also stood out to me, which I only appreciate now because I have watched my own performances and wish that I could re-perform them, incorporating brief moments of stillness. It really just anchors a piece and allows the audience to keep up with dance, otherwise I find myself sometimes overwhelmed with movement. I also really liked the fact that this set of pieces began and ended in silence. Just listening to footfalls on the marley, the swishing of arms, thuds from the jumps, and the coordinated exhaling was, in a way, very peaceful. The set also ended and began with the same patterns and movements, giving this interesting cyclical feeling, almost like a day had passed and we watched them dance through the day, starting with sunrise and finishing with the sunset. I don’t honestly know what the inspiration was for the piece or the actual story they told through the movements (it was not detailed in the program) but I thoroughly enjoyed the pieces. 

Forgotten Time from AlvinAileyAmericanDanceTheater on Vimeo.

And Revelations. Wow. I got goosebumps during every single piece. That doesn’t usually happen (it happened when I saw PNB perform Wheeldon’s After the Rain pas de duex earlier this year, but it rarely happens). I was engaged, encouraged, invigorated, and just plain excited through these pieces. They made me want to find a dance studio the next day and get back in class. The dancer’s energy was incredible and felt all the way up in the balcony – I just don’t know how else to explain this breathtaking experience. The emotional spiritual music combined with the powerful artistry of the company dancers created a phenomenal and thoroughly engaging performance. Fortunately, Alvin Ailey has allowed much of their work to be taped and (maybe unfortunately for them) many of the pieces have made their way on to the internet. While the experience is not nearly as remarkable as seeing the pieces performed in person, you should take time to watch these clips: (if you only want to watch one, watch the last clip)

 gah. I still get goosebumps and all emotional when I watch those clips…

You should also see the company perform if you EVER get a chance. I looked, they are not coming to Seattle this coming year, but next time they do – want to join?

A Day in NYC {part two}

MoMA was next on my NYC to-do. I’m pretty sure most of my family wouldn’t enjoy this museum (maybe my dad), but I really liked most of it! I really didn’t have a plan and with limited time, I didn’t get to see everything (somehow I managed to miss seeing Van Gogh’s Starry Nights L) but I did get to see the font exhibit that I had read about!! (I’m somehow on MoMA’s email list….) It was a part of their installation called Standard Deviations: Types and Families in Contemporary Design which encompassed more than just the fonts, but the basic idea was iterations of similar things. For example, they had a bunch of old Macs, all derived from the original one and a Smart car, which apparently you can replace the outside color by just ordering new plastic pieces. I really don’t think I’d fit well in smart car. The wide range of fonts they chose to showcase was also interesting, as was learning more about the history of each font. Yes, I’m a nerd - I also enjoyed watching the Helvetica documentary…you should watch it as well!

 

{fonts!}

I also stumbled upon their de Kooning retrospective, which had way to many galleries and I accidently started in the middle when it was arranged chronologically. I was not able to take pictures, but here is an example of his work:

 

{I actually really loved this piece, which surprised even myself}

Much of it was really really abstract, though one informational wall did say that he felt it necessary to put in at least one faintly recognizable shape (a house outline and a solitary finger in one piece) to kind of ‘anchor’ the viewer. I found that I just enjoyed the colors that he used and didn’t try to over analyze any painting. Many of the works were very large and I think they would be wonderful in a house that has large blank walls, bringing color and interest into a space without strictly defining it.

After spending only ~2.5 hours in there, I grabbed another subway to Cooper Union to see the installation by Celeste Pfau, Hannah’s friend. Called The Moss Phase, it was kind of a confusing exhibit for me, mainly because I didn’t even know the title at the time, let alone any background, but I really liked one particular installation:

It evoked this image of a family tree in a very dynamic fashion and I was fascinated by the faces hanging, softly illuminated from the dropped lightbulb.

I was also reminded of my roommates, Kali, Jenni, and Steph, when I saw this tent:

Not only would they go in, I felt that they would create a very similar space.

I was most impressed with the repeated leaf prints woven throughout the exhibit, the detail and fine features found in even the smallest prints was fantastic! I wanted all the little cards on the wall….

Next came the adventure of finding B & H Dairy, this Ukrainian place Hannah said I had to try. Now, if you know me and my lack of initiative in trying new foods, you might be surprised that I actually found this place and ate exactly what Hannah told me to get. There are a large number of Ukrainian places along the same street and I almost when to the wrong one, but it looked too nice to be the place Hannah described. B&H place was very much a hole-in-wall and the man who probably owns it clearly recognized me as not knowing what I was supposed to do/order. He kindly gave me a menu, but I had neglected to write down what exactly Hannah told me to get, but apparently the ‘something like dumplings?’ description was sufficient. I also got the hot borsht – a beet based soup, which unexpectedly came with Challah bread. There was so. much. food. And I wasn’t even that hungry, but I knew I had to try it before I left town.

{pierogies, borscht, and challah bread}

The bright red borscht was surprisingly good, I would totally eat it again. Not sure I could every make it, but I liked it. The challah bread was delicious, of course, but even better when dipped in the soup. The dumpling things, called pierogies apparently, were interesting. I got them fried (the guy asked me, ‘do you want them steamed or fried? Healthy or….good?’ I laughed and said definitely fried. I love fried foods….) they were these little fried cakes stuffed with a variety of things. I couldn’t bring myself to try to saurerkraut-mushroom one, mainly because I don’t like either of those food items. I did try the potato, cheese, and spinach perogies, of which I like the spinach ones the best, probably because they also had onions in them J. The potato was also good, but was kind of a lot of drier items with the outside part being of a similar texture. The cheese was my least favorite – I really didn’t like whatever cheese they put in it, but Hannah likes those, so she got them when we met up for the Ailey show J. Overall, it was a really good meal and I’m am really tempted to try to find a place in seattle similar to it (and the indian roll place!) but am pretty sure I’ll be unsuccessful. 

After quickly eating as much as I could (I finished both the borsht and the bread), I hopped another subway north and went to the Ailey show! Ailey show is going to be the whole next post :)

A day in NYC {part 1}

Apparently, my take-home final didn’t take as along as I expected – I budgeted two days for it and I got it basically done in one (of course, during the remainder of today I’ll be going back over it, but there are a limited number of ways you can answer questions about sol-gel reactions….) Wednesday, then, I was able to run around NYC a bit and see some things that I hadn’t seen in past trips. Most likely, if you’re reading this now, you saw my various pictures from the day, but here is everything all together in one place (well, three posts) + more pictures!

After a late-ish start, I hopped on a subway to Times Square - I must mention here how thankful I am for public transportation. I know many people don’t like it, but the fact that I could inexpensively, quickly and pretty efficiently get around a city I am visiting is just fantastic. I also really enjoy how frequently trains come. I have spent enough time waiting in the cold for one of the three buses from school to my house in Seattle that I appreciate the consistent flow of trains through the subway.

Though my first goal was to find the NY public library, I did need breakfast and I walked the wrong way at first (that happens quite frequently, actually, even with a smartphone…) so I ended up at Starbucks. Yay for consistency across the country.

(the worst moment of my morning - realizing I left my nice camera at home. I only had my iPhone for pictures all day long :( )

{some random building near bryant park - I liked how it curved upwards}

{New York Public Library! I always get so lost, yet somehow manage to find the reading room}

I found the library, got lost trying to find the reading room, but then found it eventually. I never actually go in the front door, so it usually wind up stairs and down different hallways until I end up at the beautiful reading room. Pretty sure that even if I had a map, I couldn’t find it directly. I also usually find the front door when I leave, so that’s even more confusing. I also don’t know if there are any other spaces besides the reading rooms for the public to access, because that’s all I’ve ever found. I do always enjoy the exhibits the library constructs in their hallways to the bathroom and the exit - last time was this awesome exhibit called ‘Radioactive’ about Marie Currie, based off of the book Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout. This time they were showcasing ‘New Contemporary Art,’ which involved a surprisingly large amount of ‘Untitled’ pieces, but they were very interesting to look at.

{I’m not entirely sure I was supposed to take pictures, but these were a few of my favorites}

While at the library, I made my plan for the day: Check out Ailey tickets at the NYCC (next post will describe that awesome experience); go to Uniqlo (a shop Guy highly recommended); complain to Urban Outfitters about my inability the other night to order things online due to their website getting stuck in a cycle during checkout/see if they could order what I wanted and give me free shipping; visit the Central Synagogue; go to the Museum of Modern Art; travel to lower east side to see Hannah’s friend’s gallery exhibit at Cooper Union; eat at this Ukrainian place; possibly get falafels next door; and then go to the Ailey show. For some strange reason, I initially didn’t think this would take up the whole day. Ha. I ran around and around and around and got to almost everything on my list!

{I should probably mention that I saw giant ‘sale’ signs in the H&M outside the library and stopped in….I found some awesome heeled boots that I then proceed to wear them for much of the day. Probably not the best idea as my feet hurt at the end of the day, but I like them! And I could see even better over all the crowds – they have a small ½” platform with a ~4” heel…..}

After checking with the NYCC and Urban, I went to find the Central Synagogue. Now, I’m not Jewish, but it is a beautiful house of worship and I can appreciate that (+ the Jewish heritage of my Christianity). The Central Synagogue has a once-a-week tour at 12:45 on Wednesdays. Kind of random, I know.

{from the front; from the back}

The ‘tour’ really just took place in the main sanctuary and focused mostly on trivia about the building, so here are some fun facts I picked up:

-       style of the building is called ‘moorish revival’. It’s very colorful and pretty.

-       There are 69 shades of color on the walls. Everything is hand painted using stencils, no wallpaper here! (also, my MSE/symmetry-seeking mind was going crazy with all the patterns in the building. I love patterns.)

-       The pillars are made of cast iron – weird, I know, but they could build up the patterns on the pillars by welding on smaller pieces and then paint over them.

-       The tiles are made of color clay, so that when they get worn down, the color won’t fade/wear off. After there was a terrible fire that destroyed much of the church (including the organ), they were actually able to get the manufacturer to reproduce the tiles for them, 130 years after they were originally created. They are so well placed that you can’t pick out the old from the new tiles.

After the tour, it was lunch-ish time. I stopped at street vendor that had a line both when I passed it on the way to the synagogue and when I came back, so I figured it had to be good food. And it was! Or maybe I just really like lamb gyros…. 

I had also seen this ‘public space’ when I was rapidly trying to find the synagogue, and so I wandered back there and found an atrium-like space with tables and chairs, open to the public. It was great! I also noticed many people stared at me (all day, really) which was kind of unsettling, but I figure it’s just a new Yorker thing to do. Or maybe I really looked out of place, I don’t know.

 

{Public Space}

 More NYC soon!

{city girl}

Apparently I'm more of a city girl than I thought.

Wandering through the deserted Cambridge, MA on the MIT campus Saturday morning was weird. (apparently MIT students don't get moving on a Saturday until ~11 am....) 

It was a city, but there was nobody outside. And the streets were so clean! There were joggers - lots and lots and lots of runners - but no one just out for a stroll with their family, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. Maybe they're all just too used to the sun and fair weather? It really threw me off all day! I guess I expect Ellensburg to be quiet because it's a small college town, and I envisioned Boston as place thriving with people. Maybe it was the area we saw, maybe it was the time of day, I'm not sure. 

{we did find plenty of east-coast hipsters (not a flannel in sight!) in Flour, a delicious lunch spot!}

{not that hannah and adwoa are hipsters, but this picture was taken in Flour :) }

all I do know is that I felt incredibly more at ease with the lights, cars, and people wandering around when we got back to New York that I did the whole day in Boston. 

{view from the 13th floor in Columbia's engineering building - look at all that city!}