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.
Monday, March 19, 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
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.
"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.
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
Friday, March 16, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
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.
The short article makes it sound like a dancer's dream, and a theatre-goers dream. I'm still excited.
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