Remember to write you full name and class period on the first line of your entry.
Write at least 15 sentence about the performance of the ballet we see on Sunday. Besides writing about the costumes and the staging, analyze at least two of the individual dances and explain why you like them, describing details from the dances. The entire ballet is made up of many, many smaller dances. For example, each fairy has her own dance, Aurora and the prince have their own dances as well as their dances together, the bluebirds have their dance, and all the other fairy tale characters have their individual dances. Choose at least two of these and analyze them in detail.
Abbey Folsom
ReplyDeletePeriod 3
I thought that this was an amazing production of The Sleeping Beauty. It was amazing to see the differences in the scenery between the two operas we went to see there and then now the ballet. I loved seeing the different colors between the fairies to the costumes of the court people. Also I loved how after the 100 years of sleep you could tell that the production put thought into changing the costuming to match the changing times. Throughout this whole performance I was mesmerized by the dancing. My favorite dance was the vision the Prince had about Aurora while she was sleeping. When the Lilac Fairy first came in and introduced the Prince to the spirit of Aurora the Prince immediately falls in love with her. Which once he sees her, the Lilac lets him dance with her which was simply beautiful, from the lifts to the scenes where they dance together it was all so great. Then the chorus comes and starts dancing and providing a barrier between Aurora and the Prince. My next favorite dance was between the Prince and Aurora in the final act. This dance was so amazing. I think my favorite part of the dance between Aurora and the Prince was when she would run to him and he would lift her. I also loved their individual dances because it showcased how great they are at what they do. I really enjoyed watching this performance and would totally go and see it again.
Ashley Barnett
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I loved the ballet it was very well done. And the costumes were gorgeous! One of my favorite dances was between the two cats. Their dance was so cute and funny. It definitely added a more playfulness to the ballet which I really enjoyed. I also liked how it matched the one was saw online so I knew what was happening and why when all the extra characters came out. The cats also had a very fun and sneakily playful music that they danced to which I though was a nice touch. Another one of my favorite dances was the blue birds. I thought they had the most jumps and some of the hardest moves. It was very fun to watch them and their athletic ability is amazing. I liked how the orchestra made chirping sounds to mimic the birds. I also liked their outfits they were so pretty and the boy blue birds jacket was very pretty with the gold added. I really liked all the dances in the ballet but those two were definitely my favorite. It was a really good ballet and I’m glad I went to see it!
Arthur Gulledge
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The ballet was beautiful. From the costumes to the stage, and the dancing, it was played out so fantastically. My favorite two dances were both in the first act, with the fairies, and the princess. I liked how the dancing reflected the music, and was timed so well. The fairies seemed to float around the stage, doing big jumps, and were carried by the courtiers. They then had their own individual dances, which I though was very interesting. It showed how each fairy was unique, even though there were many other fairies on stage that weren't very important to the plot. The individual fairy dances were great, but it seemed some got longer dances than the others. The Princesses’ first dance really showcased how powerful a dancer she is. That one really showed me how strong ballerinas have to be, and to not get tired after a difficult move was really impressive. Her dance with the princes not only helped move the plot along, but it also showed what kind of person Aurora was. She danced with several princes, without favoring one, and took all of their roses, without denying any of them. My favorite part of that dance was when each prince twirled Aurora around, gently putting her down before the next prince would twirl her around again. I found it weird, though, if they were princes from different kingdoms, shouldn't they wear different outfits? Two of the fairies also wore the same color dresses, aren't there more colors they could’ve been, and if they were sisters shouldn't they've danced together in the individual dances? Overall, this is an experience for people who can play charades, and don’t want to read captions.
Andrew Park
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I enjoyed my first ever ballet(Sleeping Beauty). I felt that ballets are used to tell stories through body language that comes from the dances. One of my favorite dances was when Princes Aurora dances happily to the curse. In my opinion, that was one of the most intense moments of the ballet. Aurora turns 16 and the royal romance was set to begin and everyone in that part danced with stunning twirls. The moment lasted until Aurora ran into Carabosse's trap and fell. It was intense there because the music changed with the whole background as Carabosse made her dance to show her mission is accomplished. I enjoyed the transition where Carabosse revealed herself. It was an example of one of the beautiful mix of colors in a ballet. My other favorite dance was where Lilac Fairy led the way to the sleeping Aurora. That moment, equivalent to the actual story itself, was where romance was moving at its best. That part showed more vivid changes in terms of music, dance, and the colors. It was the difference maker of the re-rise of the happiness throughout the kingdom. Finally, one of the best parts of ballets is the mix between the music and the dance. It's real romantic dance to beautiful music. For those individuals who don't like reading words but love music and dancing, ballets are good for them. I got the feeling that ballet dancing is more professional than rapping to a song.
Madison Ferris
ReplyDeletePeriod: 4
First and foremost, this production of Sleeping Beauty was not one to be missed. It's such a bummer that the majority missed it due to the snow, because it was absolutely beautiful and a wonderful experience. It was my first ballet I'd ever been to, and I loved how they told the story so clearly, with no words! Just a side note, my favorite part were the curtains that were involved/ played different roles in each scene. At the start, they almost looked like you were looking into a book, or through glass. It still puzzles me how it looked so much like glass. I also loved the when the trees came down as an effect, and the when the witch was carried away in the air. It looked like she was really flying away!! My favorite character hands down was Aurora, she looked so beautiful in her pink ballerina outfit. She stole the show in my opinion, with her solo dances. She had perfect technique and was gorgeous! In her dance with the princes, she moved so elegantly, and danced with each one of the different princes. It was a beautiful dance! And then the other dance I liked was when the faeries were dancing almost in a kick line. They did this multiple times, but it was a very intricate dance. They danced in a way that it looked like their feet crossed behind their other foot, and then they did a little kick. It was amazing to me how in sync the faeries stayed together. I couldn't believe with so many different girls legs moving that they didn't trip on each other's feet. Overall, this ballet was excellent, you could really tell the time and energy that went into it. Everything was spot on and I am highly considering going back to more ballets like this on my own sometime soon! I am so glad I went today despite the weather. :)
Jessica Bruce
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Wow, this was a gorgeous production. I loved the costumes, they were so elaborate and the colors were just beautiful. The dancing was amazing and so graceful each act went by way too fast! My two favorite dances were Aurora's birthday celebration when all the townspeople were dancing with flowers and my second was the wedding dance between Aurora and the prince.
The birthday celebration was so beautiful. There were multiple couples dancing together with big flower arches. The couples would dance then the girls would consolidate and then go back to their male counterparts. At the end of the dance all the dancers came in really close and they held up a flower pole. It was such wonderful choreography and I loved the costumes with light, spring colors and the pretty flower props.
The wedding dance was really more of a bunch of really small dances. The couple started out together leaping and spinning. They had to rely and trust one another as Aurora was supported and spun by the prince. They used each other for balance. Then they each had a solo dance, again leaping and spinning all over the stage. At the end they came back together for the finale. I liked how the dancers made a wonderful pair and had to trust each other like a marriage. They also would separate but almost always kept their eyes on each other during the duets. Showing their love and faithfulness. The duets showcased both of their abilities and strengths emphasizing their individuality as well.
This was my favorite performance by far. The dancers were absolutely amazing with their balance, flexibility, and grace. The costumes were gorgeous in every hue from a deep royal blue to a pretty lavender with tons of detailing and sparkles. It was a great performance.
Isabelle Carson
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The Sleeping Beauty was a really great ballet. I absolutely loved the costumes and the stage. I could tell that it was a ballet with a lot of attention to detail. It was really cool that they had Carabosse and also the nymphs in Act II “fly”, meaning they were connected to some chords and strung up in the air. How they had the ivy “grow” was also a very nice detail that was added to the staging. One of my favorite parts was in Act II, where the Lilac Fairy showed a vision of Princess Aurora to Prince Florimund. This dance was beautifully choreographed. There were a lot of people on stage, all of which were dancing, but they knew where they had to be so it went well together. There were also some nymphs that were obviously younger than the others, which was nice to see more of a variety. I thought the part that was especially cute, was more towards the beginning, where the Princess kept beckoning the Prince over but then ran away. This made it seem more like a dream than a reality because the Prince could never get to the Princess. Another part that I was extremely impressed by was the blue birds, especially the male dancer. He was amazing to watch because of all of the crazy leaps that he did and making them look effortless. On the other hand I did not really like the woman’s individual bluebird dance. I have been taught this, and I felt there were some things missing in hers. Overall I really enjoyed this performance.
Laney McFarland
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I loved Sleeping beauty, ballet is an absolutely amazing art form. Its so graceful and beautiful, and i find it amazing how impossibly easy the dancers make it look. The dance that stood out to be the most was puss and boots and the white kitty. They took all the aspects of a cat and put it in a dance, which was so cute and silly. And it takes a lot of artist imagination to think up that. And I loved the idea of all the fairy tale characters living in the same world together. The other dance i really enjoyed was one of the fairies, I cant remember what the dance was called but she wore a yellowish orange dress and it was in the Christening. The dance was bubbly full of energy and the mood was so different from every other dance in the ballet. I felt like the rest of the audience would agree with me when i say the dance was humorous and a little bit silly, which is probably why it stands out classical ballet is normally very serious. Id also like to comment on the costumes and the sets, absolutely breathtaking! Overall fantastic performance!
Austin Stenberg
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The entire production was not enjoyable for me, as I am not a fan of dancing. I couldn’t follow who was who and what each person was doing. The colors of the dancers represented who they were. And what they stood for. The actors worked together to create these dances. During the celebration of the birthday, there was many couples dancing together in sequence around the stage. Then everyone came together to hold the flowers . All the flowers matched the colors of the dresses. Another dance was the blue birds. The male and female dancers worked together in sequence to perform all the movements. All the other performers stood around the outside stood around and watched the blue birds dance.
Mimi Gerhardt
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There's no question that this rendition of "The Sleeping Beauty" was absolutely phenomenal. It's been a couple of years since I've seen a ballet at McCaw Hall, and it was definitely worth the wait. This performance was extremely beautiful. It never fails to amaze me how effortless these ballerinas make the dance look! The costumes were, of course, stunning. Everything about the performance was on point and very lovely. One dance I really enjoyed was the dances with all of the fairies in line to give Aurora a gift. They were all so beautiful and had their own little "spice" to it. They were short and sweet and really had their own tone, showing the different gifts they came to bring the princess. Another dance I thoroughly enjoyed was when Princess Aurora and her Prince were dancing at the wedding. The two looked so deeply in love with just the movements of their bodies! I honestly loved watching the two dance together, especially because they moved so nicely together. The poses Aurora was able to make and withstand was unbelievable. She really made it look easy! The other characters surrounding the prince and the princess added to the affect, because they seemed to be in utter awe of the dancing as well.
Wyatt Smith P.4
ReplyDeleteI Thought the ballet was a good experience for me. It was a very enjoyable show. My two favorite dances was the two cats, and little red riding hood and the wolf. I think the main reason these were my favorite is because I liked how they were able to capture the actions of the animals they were preforming as. The way they danced complemented the animal they were dancing as very well. for example, when they wolf was dancing he was making his movements very sinister like and captured the rapey vibe the wolf gives off. Although the wolf dance was good, my favorite was the cat dance. They were acting like cats would. It was awesome
Sarah Porter
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I can honestly say that “Sleeping Beauty” was by far my favorite performance we’ve gone to. Though I’m not a ballet dancer, having dance experience definitely helped me to appreciate the ballet. I have seen Pacific Northwest Ballet perform at McCaw Hall a few times in the past, but I have never seen them perform “Sleeping Beauty” and I’m glad I got to today. In general, I was so impressed by how well they told this story, without using words, singing or acting, but solely in their dancing. One of my favorite parts was when each fairy had her own solo dance. I loved each one, even though they were all so different from each other. Some of these solos were very slow and soft, while others were louder and more intense, while even more were very light and fun for the audience to watch. Despite the differences between all of these, the one amazing characteristic I noticed they all shared was how graceful each dancer was. Another one of my favorite dances was the one shared by the Lilac fairy and the prince. I thought this part of the ballet was interesting because, between all of the story variations we read in class and the Disney movie version; this scene had not really been included. However, I thought that they danced so well together, and it did a great job of portraying the prince’s journey to get to Princess Aurora. Overall I loved watching this ballet, because of the beautiful costumes and sets, but most importantly because of how well the dancers captured the audience’s attention.
Bryia Madison
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My favorite dancer by far was the White Cat. I liked her costume a lot and I thought that her feline characteristics that shined through in her dance moves. Until I glanced at the program, I was confused at what the orange animal with a tail was, but they acted feline enough so I assumed that they were a breed of cat too. I really liked how well they danced together and the comical interactions between them during the last act.
The other dancers that I liked were the blue bird and her companion. I thought the two of them really flowed together. Their costumes were elegant and so were their dance moves. I just loved how she used her limbs as an extention of her body. Every move that they made looked so graceful.