Pas de Deux

Extra Credit– Blogging the Disaster

kzemina — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:31:13 +0000

“Blogging the Disaster” is an unconventional way of making the world remember or better understand a particular devastating situation that the World endured. I chose to consider specifically the blog titled Choi’s Space. The effect of this project is pretty clear, the blog provided a way for people to gain a memory of an event that they did not personally experience. It is important that people remember the past, though we live in the present. The site provides a means of unconventional discourse as soon as the homepage appears. The statement “everything is in everything” which refers to the idea that all aspects of the world can be experienced by people regardless of the language they speak, immediately made me stop. I had never thought of such an idea, and it is true– while I personally have never been through the Rwandan Genocide, I hear about the events and experiences and cringe. I understand the experience regardless of the fact that I have no memory of my own of Rwanda. Another aspect of the site that broke the conventional method of writing was the series of logos that were included. Several different images are shown, designed to be a logo for the disaster of the Rwandan Genocide. One that caught my eye and made me stop was one with triangles inscribed in a circle. The triangles represent the ending of a culture, an effect of the disaster discussed. It is as if you are standing on a road and staring far into the distance, the farther the road is the closer the sides appear to be together. The road seems to form a point, hence the triangle. The blog states that it eventually loses visibility. This idea reminds me that we must never forget the events and disasters of the past. They must continue to be a part of our future. Rather than just blatantly stating this idea, the image was effectively used causing me as a reader to stop and consider rather than passively receiving the information.

As a reader, this “Blogging of a Disaster” was an extremely effective way to present an idea in a nonconventional method. The photos included, along side logos and different writings, caused breaks in the site and allowed time for reflection. This prevents the passive receiving that so often happens with typical articles or presentations of material. I like the logos and pictures especially. The view of the tunnel is especially effective in driving home the point of two parallel sides merging and disappearing in the future. It is a very effective antidote to the typical display of information. The author likely got an even greater sense of responsibility than I did as the reader. Composing the blog likely reminded the author of the importance of remembering the past and using it to guide our present and future. The fact that logos had to be designed took creativity and understanding of the situation which could only aide in the feeling of accountability experienced by the author.

Ballet the Equalizer

kzemina — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:21:59 +0000

Have you ever noticed how some things even the playing field? There are some things that really eliminate particular advantages so you can get to the point. Some things don’t depend on how wealthy you are, how quickly you can solve math problems in your head, or even what country you were born to. There are a few things in life that just don’t seem to care about your background, or even your future for that matter. Somethings are great equalizers. Ballet is one of those things. …But then again so is communism.

Elements.

kzemina — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:43:27 +0000

Contradiction?

Heart to Heart

kzemina — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:15:31 +0000

Aunt Stephanie got invited to take a master class at NYCB. Mama told her that she shouldn’t go. Aunt Stephanie and I both knew she was going to go. I think deep down my mother did too. My Aunt left to “meet up with some friends…”

I hear the door shut meaning that my aunt is back. I scurry to the stairs to meet her. She has a sparkle in her eyes and I know that she’s bursting to tell me all about her day! I bite my tongue to keep from squealing with excitement. After greeting my parents, my aunt proceeds to walk up the stairs and meet me anxiously waiting at the top. She grabs my hand and we hurry into my room and shut the door.

Aunt Stephanie smiles, she’s beaming. She tells me that she took class at the New York City Ballet. She danced with Nureyev and Makarova. She saw Baryshnikov. She is in awe of their dancing, her excitement makes me admire the professionals even more. I don’t care what my mother says, my aunt and I know the truth about the Soviet dancers. My mother is wrong.

Once Upon a Time.

kzemina — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:19:29 +0000

She showed me the blisters on her heels and the bunion at her big toe. She rubbed her feet– pointed and flexed them. Sitting cross-legged beside her I watched my aunt stretch forward over here legs. She had just come from ballet practice and she said her muscles ached. She still had the ring like markings around her ankles from the pointe shoe ribbons. It looked like the rim of a bottle. Her hair was slicked back into a bun. Her strawberry blonde hair was tightly wrapped resembling a cinnamon bun. I stretched my legs out in front of me and pointed my feet like I had seen her do just moments before. My newly painted toes were pink. I had no blisters. No bunions. I stretched forward over my legs and my freshly washed hair fell over my shoulder. I had no bun.

My mother was downstairs laughing with my Daddy. Her whole family was home. Protected. Secure. She had no worries, no concerns.

The Death of the Ballet Master

kzemina — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:56:07 +0000

The price of a ballet comes at the cost of the death of the Ballet Master. The one who composes and choreographs a piece is not the same one who witnesses and then interprets it. After a ballet you cannot ask the Ballet Master what he meant by his piece. You cannot inquire about what emotion was meant to be evoked or what message you should thus take from it. Those who watch the ballet and critique it are the ones who define the performance. All experience and background that the Ballet Master composes from is lost once the dancers reach the stage. At the point, it is up to the audience to decide.

Opposites Attract

kzemina — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:49:28 +0000

She was just like me…

kzemina — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:27:33 +0000

I met Natalia. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t even go to the ballet. I was walking. She was walking too. We were walking side by side. The two of us. Down the road in New York. Soviet and American. Side by side. We stopped at a crosswalk together. She smiled shyly at me, she said I looked like a dancer. I smiled back and sheepishly said thank you. The light changed. We crossed. We walked separate directions. Natalia was not an evil communist. She was a young girl. She was walking down the road in New York. She lived in here in America. She wouldn’t hurt me… She was just like me.

Is she scared of the communists too? After all she too lived in America. Is she scared of me? After all I had just recently grown to despise her for her nationality. Does she feel betrayed? After all she fled her country to come here.

Is she scared?

Tricked.

kzemina — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:12:05 +0000

So the Soviet communists are here. They’re coming for me. I have to leave but there’s nowhere to run to… I’m trapped. I can’t believe I fell for their tricks! Of course they would pretend to be involved in the arts, a cover up. Who would guess? I can’t believe they ruined such a beautiful art form! Makarova is a trader. How could she do this? She was never even that good anyway. Suzanne Farrell has always been my favorite. She’s a much better ballerina. And she is a good American girl. She would never hurt me… She’s just like me.

Something Missing

kzemina — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:55:59 +0000

What I love most about ballet is that it requires many different types of people to make up a truly great ballet. It requires petite dancers who move quickly and jump well. Tall dancers with long legs who move slowly and gracefully. It takes choreographers, and people skilled in lighting. Those who make costumes and sound technicians. All types of people are needed. Without even one person the ballet will lose some of its powerful effect. Something goes missing when even one facet of the ballet is neglected. It takes all types to put on a show. It takes all types. And yet sometimes people forget this.