"The Seagull" brings together theatrics, classical ballet and eccentricities

The Boris Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg's "The Seagull" was a roller coaster ride of emotions, lighting, sound and dancing.

The four soloists were incredibly talented, flexible and the enthusiasm and effort behind the movement was performed flawlessly. And just on a side note, the female and male dancers from Russia seem to be much more slimmer than the ballerinas I am used to from the Boston Ballet and such. I lucked out with a fantastic row G Orchestra Center seat that brought the dancing right onto my lap, and I had the opportunity to see all the facials and emotion, as well as realizing some of these ladies were almost skeletal but with ridiculously muscular forms.

It was crazy.

The level is clearly different than American ballet, and the motives and traditions are clearly very varied as well.

I want to get into more detail but need to find my program. The show plays through the rest of the weekend and I recommend ballet fans to check out student rush for only $10 an hour before each performance at Emerson's Cutler Majestic Theatre.

OK, I will get into more details tomorrow morning before work.

Student rush for "The Seagull"

I have just learned student rush tickets for the Boris Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg (Russia a.k.a. the world ballet capital) "The Seagull" will be on sale an hour before each performance for only $10! Each student id gets you two tickets.

I can't wait to see it tomorrow night.

My all time favorite musical comes to BOSTON!!!

My giddy nature is about to reach new heights as I have recently learned that my beloved MAJ (oh Emerson how well you book performance shows) will be playing "On The Town" literally my favorite musical of all time. No lie. I own the DVD and one of my best friends from high school, Hayley Skousen, bought me a framed poster from the Broadway show for my 17th birthday.

Saying it is my favorite is no small trifle because I love musicals. Unlike most of my generation.

The 1949 movie stars Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Vera Ellen (the fantastic and incredibly talented dancer also in "White Christmas.") That all-star cast made for a wildly entertaining story about three World War II sailors docked in NYC for 24 hours only wanting to find good times and beautiful girls.

It's a simple and fluffy love story, nothing too deep, except the best theme to apply to life which is to live every minute as if you were about to leave.

This show will be Emerson's 54th Annual Musical and I can't wait to see what these talented students have got. I know I saw I look forward to everything, but this really has got me hooked. "On The Town" is Directed and choreographed by Stephen Terrell and Marlena Yannetti with Musical Direction by Scott Wheeler.

Not to mention the tickets are EXTREMELY reasonable. Tickets are $21, $14 for Students and Seniors, and a mere $9 for EC Students, Faculty, Staff, Alums $9.

The show is playing:

April 19-21, 2007
Thursday-Saturday at 8pm
Saturday at 2pm

"The Seagull" transforms a written play into a dramatic dance show

The Eifman Ballet will be performing "The Seagull" March 28- April 1 next week and I couldn't be more excited.

I took Intro to Theatre last semester to fulfill a requirement, and have retained a significant amount of theatre knowledge and trivia to know that "The Seagull" is a massively important play written by the great Anton Chekov. Chekov is loosely considered a huge father of realism and definitely an important role in the development of that play genre. Boris Eifman choreographed the ballet version of the play drawing inspiration from the plays central theme of seeking unrequited love and shunning love that is given freely and profusely. I can't even begin to imagine how well this premise makes for a ballet.

Eifman's "The Seagull" will be the Boston premiere of this ballet and I couldn't be more excited. I plan to call the as I have come to lovingly refer to Emerson's Cutler Majestic Theatre to find out if they have student rush tickets, because we all know how well that worked out when I went to see Cirque Eloize.

This will also be the company's 8th United States tour and 5th Boston appearance, and this year marks the Eifman Ballet's 30th anniversary.

I can't wait to experience this company which has been described as "extremely theatrical" all over the Web and all around news articles.

The show runs March 28-April 1, 2007 Wednesday-Saturday at 8pm Sunday at 2pm and tickets range from $40-$80.

But if you have a student id, call to check if they have student rush the day before the show! It always pays off!

The Rainbow Tribe heads to Roxbury Community College

In the Boston Globe's "Sidekick" section yesterday, the front page featured a fantastic picture of dancers in mid jump and full enthusiasm.

The blurb explained that The Rainbow Tribe will be performing "Evolution: Celebrating 15 years of Diversity, Dedication, and Dance" with pieces that represent an "evolutionary path or milestone." The show began last night at 8 pm and will run through this Sunday, March 25.

The Boston-based non -profit dance company performs all different types of dance, including jazz, hip-hop, African, swing and Jazz just to name a few. The company formed in 1992 and "fosters a universal appreciation of all forms of dance" according to their Web site. They also advocate bridging cultural differences, unity and basically a great attitude toward humanity and dance.

Tickets for the show are $15, $10 for students, seniors and children under 13.

Coincidentally, RCC's Mainstage Theater is where the NUDANCO spring concert "Expressions" will be held on April 14.

Roxbury Community College, Mainstage Theater, 1234 Columbus Avenue, Roxbury Crossing, MA 02120

I definitely advise everyone to check out this unique dance event.

Up close and personal: BU's Amanda Rey is a driven dancer

To hear my audio podcast about Amanda's dance experience, goals and passion head to this site.

http://www.journalism.neu.edu/student_work/online_journalism2/documents/finaledit.mp3

It takes more than technique and great feet to be a dancer, and Amanda Rey has all the elements to propel her to dance euphoria. In essence, doing exactly what you want to do in the dance world.

2-minute tutorial on Ballroom Dance Styles

The ABC Web site for "Dancing with the Stars" has a great little page I just found.

The "ABOUT THE DANCES" page is filled with descriptions of the different types of ballroom dances that are featured in the show, and I believe they covered almost every single style, if not all of them.

There are "Fast Facts" and "Distinctive Moves" explained for each of the 10 styles of dance including Paso Doble, Quickstep and Jive (no, don't think of that "Born to handjive" sequence in "Grease").

With this trusty little guide, anyone can become a ballroom expert.

"Dancing with the Stars" Season 4 starts tonight!

Now, during the first half of the first season, i.e. Kelly Monaco and that awesome guy from Seinfeld whose name I can't remember right now battle of the television actors, I was hooked.

I watched those first three or four episodes religiously with my mother, and then completely lost interested.

I figured I'd give it another try this season, mainly because I can have another show to write about in my blog as I anxiously await the return of "So You Think You Can Dance" (sans me as a contestant).

The contestants on "Dancing with the Stars" which airs tonight at 8 pm on ABC are
Laila Ali, Billy Ray Cyrus, Clyde Drexler, Joey Fatone, Shandi Finnessey, Leeza Gibbons, Heather Mills, Apolo Anton Ohno, Paulina Porizkova, John Ratzenberger and Ian Ziering. You may recognize a former "90210" star, an 'NSYNC member and a beautiful model among others.

This show's premise is as comical as it is endearing to the American reality television-addicted public. B-list stars (who are usually very well known and very wealthy) get paired with professional ballroom dancers and learn all these intricate and dazzling steps from the Fox Trot to the Samba to Tango.

The costumes are flashy, the women are thing, and the hosts are perfectly tanned. It's just what America wants.

What I love about it is the exposure that the stylish, sophisticated and almost antiquated art of ballroom dancing gets. It's almost as if ABC is making America more cultured.

The awesome "Dancing with the Stars" site provides tons of facts about dancing, bios and photos of the contestants and the professional ballroom dancers, and an episode guide that will be updated after each show.

Tonight's two-hour premiere is sure to please audience members. Unfortunately, I will be at Loews Boston Common enjoying a free premiere showing of "Reign Over Me" hopefully seated next to Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle who are both said to be appearing for the premiere. Meanwhile, I won't be saying much as I nurse a sore throat and massively swollen gland back to the health.

To learn more about the show's history and this upcoming season read this.

I can't wait to get home after the movie to watch the dancing begin on-line.

Stress in my dance world

As the NUDANCO spring concert "Expressions" approaches at a rapid pace, faster than you can say "Boston has bipolar weather" I am getting nervous, anxious, stressed and out-and-out scared.

Although I finished teaching my choreography for my piece "This is the place," I feel like a month is just not enough time to clean up all the mistakes, perfect timing and formations and to fix the details. Of course I have learned in my years of dancing that in the end, everything comes together and for the most part, dances work out perfectly, because when you are on that stage something comes out, a personality almost, different for each dancer that explores a personal and beautiful form of the dance.

Because whenever you do a dance, or a dance move, it's never the same every time. Which can be a good thing.

The show is Saturday April 14 at 3pm and 8pm and everyone in the company is excited. The show itself should be great because of all the great pieces chosen this semester.

All I know is that I have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time, and with trying to order costumes, collect money for said costumes, choreograph a segment for the finale, write a bio and description for the program and organize all things involving the show with the e-board, it's going to be a long three and half weeks.

At least I'll be dancing through it all.

A quote to live by

My favorite line from the show was about rain and happiness, told by one of the female cast members in a pair of white angel wings, while looking up at the sky.

"Happiness is like rain; it comes instantaneously ... and leaves when it wants."

This show brought me happiness I can't even explain.

For information on this show playing at the Cutler Majestic Theatre go here.

"Rain=Happiness"

I can’t say I’ve loved every dance show or every theatre production I’ve ever gone to see. But Cirque Eloize’s Rain was wistful, whimsical, incredibly amazing and full to the brim with talent and tricks that made me and the audience members audibly “wow!”

The costumes were reminiscent of Paris and the beautiful French-Canadian accents of the cast were put to use singing in Italian, Spanish, French and English.

The premise of the show is a circus in rehearsal, making mistakes, having fun and little flirtations and intimate relationships that develop in the theatre. But this is a new brand of circus, the cast themselves even referred to their company as “new circus.”

One thing was certain, this show was definitely theatrical. In the sense of Theatricalism, which I learned about in Theatre Arts during the Fall 2006. Theatricalism is when the play tries to show that it is a play, addresses the audience directly and is “aware” essentially of its non-reality.

Stephane Gentilini is one of the most beautiful and funny men I have ever seen in my life. He is a native of France and studied at the National Circus School in Montreal from 1999 to 2002. He “narrated” the show in a way, describing moments from childhood, of remembering the first rainfall of the season and of some somber moments.

In the second act, the piece called “Tissue” was an incredible display of Spanish Web. Basically, there are two massive ribbons or “tissue” attached to the ceiling or on a bar high above and acrobats can climb and twist and wrap their way to beautiful positions and dangerous drops from top to bottom that are incredible to see.

There are moments that made me sad, and plenty of whimsy and fun and silliness and flirting to lift anyone’s spirits, especially in the awful weather we’ve had the past 24 hours in Boston.

From teeterboards, to tumbling and juggling, from a strong women act to a duo trapeze act that was physics-defying, all the pieces of the show intrigued. I was never bored, not for one minute.

Other numbers that stand out to me are the Aerial Hoop number which one of the female acrobats performed as if it were routine, as if she were just brushing her teeth. She spiraled and flipped in, out, above and below the Aerial Hoop and I was truly awed. It ended with her dipping her feet onto the stage where a pool of water had enveloped the entire floor of the stage and creating patterns in the air with the water.

The Finale was especially beautiful and fun with the cast swimming, joking and playing in the water, and eventually in the rain itself, because they did really make it rain on stage.

I recommend everyone to rush out and check out this show before it leaves town. There are two shows today and one show tomorrow, Sunday March 18. Student rush tickets are only $20, and I got there more than an hour and half before the show started (that’s when student rush tickets go on sale) and got second row orchestra seats and could see the expressions on all of the cast members faces.

I cried in the end. I told myself not to but tears were streaming down my face as I smiled and reminisced about what it was like to be carefree, to play in the rain, to not have the drudgery of adult life, complications, relationships and work.

The show is beautiful and I may be traveling to Montreal with my family for a week this summer. I can only hope Cirque Eloize is there, performing either Rain or some other new and incredible show.

However, after the show my mom and I were stuck at South Station for several hours and we didn’t get home until 1:30 am, even though the train we were scheduled to take was 10:35 pm. South Station had lost power, meaning no heat, no signals, ergo no trains. It was bad, but the show was worth it.

Spring Break Pictures (this sounds like a Facebook Photo Album title)

My friend Jenna and I driving to my house from Boston.

An intense and brief snow shower in Westford, MA.

Dinner at Mantra Dinner at Betty's Wok and Noodle

My spring break!

Spring Break '07 was filled with working at my part-time job at Coach in the Copley mall and getting the stomach virus and feeling absolutely wretched.

But I did enjoy myself in between working and being completely dehydrated for 24 hours straight.

It all started when I launched my spring break early to head to NYC and audition for So You Think You Can Dance? as I wrote all about in a previous post.

While in NY I had dinner at PF Chang's in the Westchester Mall in White Plains, NY with one of my oldest and very good friends from high school, Helayna. The next day an old friend Charli also came over and the two of us just chatted and caught each other up on what's going on in our lives.

My dad and I headed back to Boston Saturday morning and I went into the city and spend some time with my friend, Kerry and we went out to Thornton's restaurant and then to Suite, some crazy club in The Alley on Boylston. Not exactly my scene (think Euro-trash meets a ton of money and snobby people), so I headed down Boylston to meet up with Ricky and a group of his roommates and high school friends who were in Boston for the night.

The following day I went to a party in Lexington with my mom or my niece Rayya (my cousin's daughter, I'm an only child and will never "actually" be an aunt sadly) who was born in January and saw old family friends and such.

After that I jetted down to the city to see the closing night of Boston Ballet's "New Visions" and was immediately picked up by Ricky so we could rush to Canton for his ice hockey game.

By some miracle, I didn't have to work Monday, and spend the day relaxing and then went out to Mantra with Ricky and his dad for dinner during Restaurant Week.

And from 10:30 pm Monday night until 10:30 am Tuesday morning (half an hour before I had to be at work) I was very very sick, about every half hour.

I still went to work and stuck it out for a few hours since we were short-staffed but headed home as soon a replacement to cover me was found, five hours later.

I stayed in bed the next few days and worked again on Thursday.

On Friday one of my best friends from high school, Jenna came into the city late that night and we just relaxed, order pizza from Il Mondo (greatest pizzeria every in Boston!) and watched some television.

The next morning we headed to my house to grab Ricky's hockey stuff, have a quick breakfast at Rosie's Bakery on Route 9 and then I had to rush back to get to work, again.

That night I went out with my friend Lauren from dance and a large group of her friends for her roommate Christina's 21st birthday and it was a lot of fun, especially because I got a chance to meet some great new people.

The next day I again had to work, but headed back to Ricky's apartment to get ready to go to his hockey game at Matthews Arena at Northeastern with his mom and dad.

The game was a lot of fun and we went to Betty's Wok and Noodle for dinner, a place I adore, and that happens to take Husky Card.

So that was my week in a nutshell. Despite being sick I ended up doing a ton and seeing a lot of old friends, meeting new people and relaxing.

Also, I plan on adding pictures but the computer has let me down so I will add an extra post with my spring break pictures as soon as possible.

More "RAIN" news, and I'm not talking about today's forecast

The Boston.com calendar listing has a great description of the show that I plan on saying tomorrow night at 7:30 pm. Right now I am about to call the Majestic to find out if they have rush or student rush tickets. Here is the site.

The short article makes it sound like a dancer's dream, and a theatre-goers dream. I'm still excited.

So You Think You Can Dance Audition- you asked for it, now here it is!~

Margaret (a talented dancer who had three bananas all attached, as did I)and SYTYCD host Cat Deely sport the same vintage sweater coat. Margaret's belonged to her grandmother and Cat's is from a vintage store.



This picture is of Linda signing her release contract on my back.



Linda, Rachel and Me.



Rachel and me.



Rachel and Linda have been dancing together at the same studio for a few years.





SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (SYTYCD)

On March 1 I boldly went where no Dinah has gone before, haha, well at least not this Dinah.

I headed to the Manhattan Centre Theatre at 6:30 am to audition for the third season of the hit reality dance show "So You Think You Can Dance."

The experience was one of a kind, and I've always been a very confident dancer. However, while waiting outside in line, in the freezing cold on the streets of NYC (my birthplace) for five hours, I met people with tons of audition experience.

I have never auditioned for a show in terms of the "real world." I've auditioned for school musical and plays, dance teams and dance companies, but not in this professional way. And everyone around me already had the benefits of experiencing similar auditions, and rejections it seems.

Outside I met Cat Deely, the host of the show, as well as some very sweet dancers from Staten Island, Rachel and Linda, and Tabitha who had just flown in from dancing in Korea.

Around noon, my section of the line made our way into the auditorium to warm up, sit down and get even more nervous as we watched the producers cut down the competition in groups of 10. Basically, the audition process was not outlined clearly on the Web site, at all.

I expected to dance in a room in front of the producers to my own music, to my own set choreography and just wow them. Alas that did not happen as we were herded in front of them in groups of 10, asked to improvise to a song of their choosing. The songs in question that blasted in the theatre until my departure at 4 pm: Justin Timberlake's "My Love" and "Sexyback," Christina Aguilera's "Hurt", the Black Eyed Peas "Hey Mama" and "Pump it."


If I never hear those songs again it would be too soon. It was hard to determine what the judges wanted to see, until you realized a pattern. Only the absolute best and the absolute worst made it past round one. After all the show needs footage of bad dancers being told they can't dance by the judges.


So I did not make it past that first round, despite waking up at the crack of dawn, perfecting my hair (which actually turned out how I wanted it to despite weeks of disappointment because of the cold weather in Boston), putting on make-up, and rehearsing a craftily choreographed piece to Jem's "Come on Closer."


What I got was a new understanding of show business, my first REAL audition, and the chance to meet a ton of talented and wonderfully sweet people and to be a part of a much-loved television show.


Make sure to check out the audition specials of "So You Think You Can Dance" on Thursday May 24 and Wednesday May 30 at 8pm on FOX. You just might catch a glimpse of me in line, dancing, chatting, or who knows doing what other embarrassing stunt.

A little tid bit

Here is a great entry from the Celebrity Series blog about Cirque Eloize's RAIN.

Enjoy!

Looking forward to "RAIN"

The Boston Celebrity Series which brought us Complexions among other performing arts shows, has brought Cirque Eloize to the Cutler Majestic Theatre this week.

The run began yesterday and will run through this Sunday, March 18. I'm pretty excited to see the acrobatic troupe from Montreal because I've been dying to see a "Cirque du Soleil" or other group. And to be honest I didn't even know other companies similar to "Cirque du Soleil" existed. Much to my delight, they do.

The show is described as fun and reminiscent of childhood views of rain, the summer showers, getting soaking wet and playing outside.

In fact, during the finale, the cast performs onstage in a real downpour. I can't wait to see this! And I think I'm bringing my mom with me!

Through Friday the show will be at 7:30 pm, and there will be Saturday shows at 2 pm and 8 pm and a Sunday matinee at 3 pm. Tickets run $35-$60, and I just am hoping that they will have student rush tickets.

To find out all about Cirque Eloize RAIN, head to the site on the Cutler Majestic Theatre's Web site.

"New Visions" is an eye-opener

It was really a great experience to see a rehearsal of "Brake the Eyes" for free a week before the piece's world premiere and then see it on stage, with full costume, make-up and lighting.

The great thing about the piece was the incorporation of the lighting devices and their movement to the piece. They moved in an eerie, almost airplane-like way throughout the piece.

Larissa Ponomarenko, quickly becoming my favorite principal ballerina in the Boston Ballet, was phenomenal. The broken, dynamic and and sharp choreography of Jorma Elo was perfectly portrayed by Ponomarenko.

The pas de deux sections were crisp and perfect and were thought-provoking. At first, during certain duets, I thought that the two dancers were not in time with each other, when it turns out that Elo's choreography was specifically doing that to create a round, much like in "row row row your boat" when one person starts and the next joins in.

The costumes were reminiscent of Mozart's time, and the medley of music had a Gothic feel to it.

I hope that "Brake the Eyes" become a staple in the contemporary ballet community and throughout contemporary performances, as it should.

"Polyphonia" and the "Sonata" were also great pieces, colorful and full of unexpected movement.

The great thing about contemporary ballet is that it is beautiful while trying not to be. As hard as they try to make the movements fragmented and much more sharper than classical ballet, it is still beautiful dancing.

I can't wait until May when the Boston Ballet will perform Classic Balanchine and Giselle.

Until then I am trying to get tickets to Cirque Eloize, a Montreal acrobatic group started in 1993, Alvin Ailey which comes to the Citi Wang Center in April and "The Seagull", a ballet formed from the Russian play which comes to the Cutlet Majestic Theatre soon.

Stomach virus= not a good blog enabler

So I haven't been feeling too well at ALL, and I realize I am very very behind on my blogging.

A lot has happened in my own dance life as well as shows I've been to.

So here's a little preview of what's to come in blogs this week:

Dancelife Episode 8: the series (or season) finale. Even the Dancelife site didn't specify which it was.

My very own dance life took me to New York to audition for "So You Think You Can Dance" (plus pictures and some of the great people I met there).

Closing night at "New Visions", a great contemporary show from the Boston Ballet this season featuring a world premiere by Jorma Elo as well as two seminal contemporary pieces including "Polyphonia."

An encounter at Boston Dancewear, the only full-fledged dance outfitting and shoe store in Boston proper, leads me to realize I still want to do pointe despite having never done it as a child. Amy, a sweet, friendly and extremely helpful sales associate at the store, as well as a Boston Conservatory graduate helped me try on shoes and inspired me by telling me she didn't start pointe until she was 17 years old.


Plus there is much much more. Clearly I am extremely behind. So just try to be patient as I nurse myself back to health.

Dance Magazine's healthy eating tips for all dancers

According to an article in the newsletter I received from Dance Magazine, end-of-winter snacking and raw, cold days can leave you feeling extremely tired. Some of their healthy eating tips are things we are already know, and some might even surprise. I'm just glad I love green tea and Hershey's kisses.

"Try a hot cup of green tea. It has antioxidants that may boost your immune system and lower cholesterol."

Plus the article explains how substituting one thing for another can help you find a better way to eat. For example, swapping that regular latte with skim latter cuts the calories by more than half. Oil and vinegar make a much more healthy, and not to mention delicious and light, replacement for creamy dressings such as Caesar and Ranch which pile on way more calories than the salads themselves.

Another trick, which I have recently read about in Women's Health Magazine also is to curb a sweets craving by popping a few (no more than five) Hershey's kisses rather than a candy bar. It will give you lots of energy, fulfill that craving and not pack on fat and unnecessary extras.

Soup is not only a winter staple, but a great way to fill up when you are hungry with fewer calories. Plus it helps your body generate energy, especially when you are dancing and need every ounce of energy you have to give it your all.

I love these tips and have really opened my mind up to healthy eating in the past year. My mom raised me on purely homemade food that was delicious, nutritious and sans artificial anything.

But when I got my own money, had less and less time and more responsibilities, I reverted to the soda-chugging, fast food-buying, junk food eating in general habits I had been deprived of.

I blame my mother for feeding me so incredibly well and healthy that I fell off the bandwagon.

But with the help of her, Ricky, and Women's Health (whose subscription was a generous birthday gift that I am still benefiting from and enjoying) I have been eating a lot healthier, and feeling lighter and better about dancing and eating.

Plus here's my own tip, courtesy of all the nursing majors I dance with: Eat a banana to stave of foot cramping. IT WORKS! I eat a banana before every intense dance rehearsal and class and it really does work thanks to the ridiculously high amount of potassium.

I forgot to blog about dancelife

Being too busy with my own dance life I forgot to blog about "Dancelife" that new television show that is a big hit with dancers and reality TV buffs alike.

So on Monday's episode, Jersey was dead on at all of her auditions and got a national commercial for Skechers as well as a gig doing Omarion's new music video.

Unfortunately, the call times for both gigs were at the same exact time, and Jersey decided to go with the national commercial which would give her a ton of exposure. However, Omarion and his producers thought it was completely unprofessional of her to cancel on them when she already said she would dance for them.

Those kinds of things happen all the time, and "will continue you to happen the more successful you get" Blake told Jersey as they shopped for a new car for her, one that wouldn't keep breaking down all the time.

There was a ton of dancing in the show, which made me tres tres happy, YEAH!

And one little clip that was raw and real, at the car dealership really touched me.

Blake spun around and did a back batemont (it's hard to explain in words I just realized this instance, but you basically kick your leg up, and in this case, toward the back) to a full split. It was perfect and real, because he was excited.

I feel like myself as well as many dance friends end up dancing during random times, in various public places, and without self-consciousness.

Another great part of the show was the emotional dance solo at the end, this time Nolan's. And Nolan had plenty of reason to get out a lot of anger and frustration after blowing up at Blake, probably jealous of all of Blake's success. Nolan called him a "bitch" and basically explained he just didn't like him.

Nolan also came out to his father, dealt with finding a new apartment, and more disappointment at dance auditions.

His solo wasn't perfect or seemingly previously choreographed, because each movement was easily identifiable to different emotions he must have been going through.