Dance, Cirque, and Drag

Tonight I saw Sydney Dance Company's third work of the year - Aszure Barton's Sid's Waltzing Masquerade at Carriageworks. Once again, the choreographer and I share a taste in dancers. I was happy to see Reed Luplau featured, but disappointed that Annabelle was stuck in an ugly leotard without a moment to shine. This was definitely my favourite work this season, most likely because it was the most classically grounded. The dance styles were varied throughout and at no point was I lost in a sea of chaotic movement. I did, of course, miss seeing the Paul Taylor dancers perform (I might, in fact, watch the Piazzola Dancemaker clip right now!).

Stepping back in time: Last weekend (Oct 17) I went to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - The Musical. Priscilla, as you may know, is native Australian. And what do I like besides Australia? Drag queens! This was one of the most spectacular shows I've seen. The costumes were extravagant (Orlagh read there were 500 costume changes). The songs catchy and fun (all classics - not one original song). And where the movie features three cast members doing each number, the stage production, in classic musical style, brings out a whole cast to drive a point home.

And weeks ago now I went to see Cirque de Soleil's Dralion (Sept 27). I don't think it was as good as Corteo, which I saw in 2005 in San Francisco, but was still pretty amazing. The trampolines and the pretend audience members were particular highlights.

I should not forget to mention a small show I saw at the Belvoir Theatre: Homebody/Kabul (Sept 25). The first hour of it was a very impressive monologue by a mother. It then moved to Kabul (pronounced cobble in case you were wondering) and over the next two hours, told the story of her family members and their relationship with her and with each other. I liked the first hour best, but overall a good show.

So much Sydney and some Scotland

Sydney
July 15: My Fair Lady, Opera Australia, Opera Theatre
July 18: Billy Elliott, Capitol Theatre
July 25: Rafael Bonachela's 360 Degrees, Sydney Dance Company, Carriageworks
July 26: Australia vs New Zealand, ANZ Stadium

Edinburgh Fringe Festival
August 8: Brendan Burns, Assembly @ George Street
August 12: Before We Remember, Gomito, Bedlum Theatre
August 12: Assassins, Through the Window Theatre Company, C +3

My Fair Lady was fantastic. It had been sold out for weeks, but when I checked the day before the show, there were two tickets available. The singing was superior and the costumes were amazing. It was so fun to see an opera company perform a classic musical.

I enjoyed Billy Elliott, but wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as Dave. It wasn't Elton's finest score - in fact, I found a bunch of the music dull. There were some fun numbers and both miners and minors in tap shoes are tons of fun.

Rafael Bonachela and I agree on which Sydney Dance Company members we like best. It was clear in his 360 Degrees that he favours Annabelle and Reed, just like I do. I liked this one much better than Meryl Tankard's Inuk 2 (wouldn't take much), but wasn't incredibly excited by it.

For a cultural experience, I went out to the Olympic Stadium to see the All Blacks do the Haka - I mean, to see Australia beat New Zealand in rugby. I must admit that the Haka was the highlight for me and I would've been okay with seeing that a few times and skipping the rugby. The rugby was, however, fun. Go the Australia!

Andrew and I met in Edinburgh and then traveled around the Highlands for a few days. The Fringe Festival is on in full force and we three performances. First was an Australian-turned-Londoner standup comedian, Brendan Burns. He said some funny things. My favorite parts were those about Australian advertising and sports.

Friday evening we met a number of very drunk and friendly Scots. One group we stopped highly recommended we see Before We Remember. It was the story of an old woman recounting memories as she was dying. The staging of it was awesome. All the props and sets were string, garbage bags, and paper. They made some pretty cool things out of it. My favorite was the woman driving a car with a shawl blowing behind her. That doesn't describe it very well; you'll just have to trust me.

Last, but not least, was a production of The Assassins. I'd never seen it before. I like that each Sondheim play is so different than the others. And what a fun topic this was! American presidential assassins. I especially liked Charles Guiteau who attempted to assassinate Garfield in order to boost sales of his book. What fun!

I didn't have enough time in New York to see any shows, but there's more to see in Sydney when I get back!

SYTYCD

Saturday night I watched the "fast-food version of dance."  And I had a fabulous time.

After some pre-show martinis at home, Margaret, Dave, James, and I rocked up to the Sydney Entertainment Centre at Darling Harbour for the event of a lifetime (well, maybe just the year): So You Think You Can Dance (Australia) - ON TOUR.  Australia's Top Ten were there to perform some of our favorites (Singin' in the Rain!) and remind us of how fun Sunday evenings were a few months ago.  I got to get in touch with my inner 16 year old and show support for my favorite TV stars.

The fast food quote comes from Meryl Tankard in this Sydney Morning Herald article a few months ago.  You may recall I saw Meryl Tankard's Inuk 2 in March.  Though it may have been sophisticated, I didn't like it.  Some of the dancers in SDC are certainly more impressive, but give me Jack and Kate any day over a tribal screaming match.

I am looking forward to catching Sydney Dance Company's next performance.  I am also looking forward to SYTYCD Season 2!

Culture in Sydney

Compared to New York, there's little original culture in Sydney, but that's true for most places. I have found myself attending a number of dance performances - all a little different from the others. I need to do a few months of catch-up in this post:
Sydney Dance Company: Graeme Murphy's Berlin, October 2007 at the Theatre Royal
Australian Ballet, November 2007 at the Opera House (Opera Theatre)
Sacred Monsters: Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan, March 2008 at the Opera House (Concert Hall)
Sydney Dance Company: Meryl Tankard's Inuk2, 11 April 2008 at the Theatre Royal
Australian Ballet: A Jerome Robbins Celebration, 2 May 2008 at the Opera House (Opera Theatre)

Last night's ballet was fantastic. There were four pieces - two large group numbers, a duet, and a solo accompanied by a cellist. Though grounded in classical ballet, it was certainly modern. I particularly liked The Cage and A Suite of Dances. I also enjoyed going to Opera Bar both before and after the performance.

Jerome Robbins also reminded me of how much I disliked Meryl Tankard's Inuk2. The words "chaotic movement" describe the piece fairly well, I think. There are two dancers in the Sydney Dance Company that I really enjoyed watching when I saw them perform Berlin in October. The girl was great again, but the guy didn't get much more than a quick duet to show off. The piece was weird, involved fighting and screaming, and was generally uncomfortable to watch. Hopefully the next two visiting choreographers for the Sydney Dance Company's season will be better.

Sylvie Guillem< and Akram Khan were pretty amazing. She can bend in the most amazing ways! When asked her opinion of whether I should go to this performance, Eran wrote "Sylvie Guillem is a freak of nature. You should def see her" and Parisa went nuts on the phone. I agreed: freak of nature and definitely worth seeing.

Next week: Chess the Musical.

Cultural Catchup: Sunday in the Park with George

In addition to two performances of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, I saw Sunday in the Park with George at Studio 54 with Erika on Wednesday night. I put Sondheim to the test in this show, having loved Company, but not being taken by Sweeney Todd. Sondheim emerged victorious. The premise is George Seurat's painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte as the premise. The characters are the people in the park. The set was white walls on which they projected parts of the painting. It was brilliant.

Back in the Big Apple: Paul Taylor (x2)

I was in New York last week and played a little cultural catchup. The focal point of the New York trip was a Sunday matinee of the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Ever since I saw the performance schedule back in September, I knew I had to see Piazzolla Caldera on March 2. It was just as amazing as the first time (though not as surprising). That afternoon we (Andrew, Michelle, Evan, and I) also saw Equinox and Fiends Angelical. Both were spectacular and so different from Piazzolla.

When I met Parisa and Eran in Shenzhen in November, I had breakfast with the company at the hotel one morning. They all raved about Promethean Fire and said I had to see it, so when I saw they were performing that during my visit, I arranged to make a second visit to City Center with Meghan on Feb 29. That night I saw Aureole, Troilus and Cressida, and Counterswarm in addition to Promethean Fire. Definitely worth it. I was a little tired, so I'd like to see it again when I'm in better form.

I really love seeing these friends and their fellow dancers perform. Both the men and women are so strong, graceful, and athletic. Piazzolla is still my favorite, but each and every piece blows me away. You can see a clip of Piazzolla from Dancemaker film on the Paul Taylor website.