“All the best stories are but one story in reality - the story of escape. It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape.” - AC Benson
The concept of escape is central to the development of the theme in my work, We escape the mundane reality and boring routine of our daily lives through our dreams and ambitions. We dream to be different. We dream to be truly alive, in such a way that we can look back at our lives on day and think that we have truly reached our full potential and made the most out of each opportunity. However, often it is people’s and sometimes even our own perceptions of ourselves that keep us in “the box” and that “clip our wings” and thus prevent us from reaching our goals. We often live up
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I loved how she made simple arts and crafts into exquisite works of art.
I had always wanted to thread a form of tapestry - in the traditional way my grandmother did it, but wanted to incorporate my themes of perceptions, dreams and reality. I thus decided on the image of a ballerina - always perceived to be graceful, gentle, quiet women who were not outspoken or loud, but just polite. I could resonate with this concept on a personal level as when I was little people called me “Nina pretty ballerina” (from the ABBA song) and I despised it and to break away from the name I did karate. The ballerina is a wonderful symbol of being stereotyped and placed “in the box”.
Pelletier did a piece titled “Flash Dance”4, I was greatly inspired by that represented two ballerina pumps worn on the tips with a trail of blood on material protruding from the back. This specific artwork made me think of the realities and difficulties of being a ballet dancer and all the physical and emotional strain they must take. This coincided with my theme in the way that it is not always easy to break away from the perceptions
When I was four years old I was introduced to a tall, petite, beautiful ballerina who spun around the room with elegance, and effortlessly captured the crowd with her stunning abilities. As a little girl, I sparkled with admiration and was inspired to be all she was, it was from that point on, that I ventured into an unknown world of art, strength and expression. Now being eighteen years old with about fourteen years of experience in the dance world, I have learned and developed the norms, values and practices of the culture, and the conflicting theory within it.
The applauding audience, the lights, sequins and feathers, the colorful, elaborate tutus, and satin pointe shoes capture the hearts of young girls. Where else can a young girl dream of becoming a princess, a swan, a dancing snowflake or flower, or a sugarplum fairy? Where else can she be a fairy tale character like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty? Where else can she be rescued by her handsome prince and collapse into his arms? Ballet is the magical world where these dreams can come true. Young girls and women can be all of these things, symbolizing femininity in a culture that teaches young girls to be and want everything pink and pretty.
This could either be a Grizzly Bear or a Kodiak bear. This sculpture is number 112 out of 1500.
While the speaker has succeeded in providing an enhanced image of the performer, the act of assigning meaning to the performance and the representation used holds the capacity to limit the experience. As the speaker continues to reconfigure her strip tease into a “[graceful] and calm” artistic dance, he makes a simultaneous attempt to distance himself from the crowd, making no mention of his gender or race directly (5). However, the speaker’s attempt to portray the dancer from objective eyes falters as his
Marigolds have always been her favorite flower. They reminded her of the stages she onced performed on. Staff members would decorate the stage with summer-bloomed dahlias and bright sun-colored marigolds, and tie silk ribbons to the bark of trees during celebrations. Crowds were surrounding her, cheering and watching her gracefully move her body across the stage. The light hue of her pink hair shined as the sunlight struck her like a spotlight center stage. She wore a pure white, flowing dancer’s garment which allowed her to move the way she wanted to. Her arms would stretch out as if she was reaching for someone’s palm, and her legs move as if they were made of the wind. Sometimes, there was a special someone; a pair of eyes that could see through the heart of her dance,
The concept of escape is illustrated in two works studied this year, explain in what ways and to what extent escape was portrayed. In the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand a repressive society crushes individuality and as a result happiness. The main character, Equality, must escape his society to find his individuality and discover his most powerful tool, knowledge in order to be happy. Similarly, in the novel Uglies by Scott Westerfeld a society where beauty is placed above all, individuality and subsequently happiness is crushed. The main character Tally, must overcome her preconceived idea of beauty and unleash her greatest tool, knowledge to gain her happiness.
It was once said that “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live”. Though this quote originally comes from a children’s book, the idea of fantasy being used to escape from a harsh reality is something found in numerous fictional works. The film Pan’s Labyrinth and the novel The Little Friend by Donna Tartt both incorporate the theme of escapism through fantasy as a method of coping with tragedy and show, through this theme, both the positive side of fantasy as well as the darker side.
Jaspreana Tobias, a young girl born in the vibrant city of New Orleans, Louisiana, was a child who had grew up around music and rhythm and soul. Born to a family where the last person who was not from New Orleans was born two generations ahead of her, one could assume the rhythm was in her blood. Since she was little and could feel the music, the young Louisianan danced and did so with passion. Though her family loves music and all its counterparts, Jaspreana is the only dancer in the Tobias family tree. In high school, Jaspreana, a determined dancer, tried out for her school’s dance team. Unfortunately she did not make the cut. As any young woman would be, she was disappointed in herself; heart-broken actually. In her mind, she had a great chance at making the team, due to her skillful footwork and elegant grace as a dancer. In her own words, the result of her not making the team was “devastating” as it shook her confidence to the core. On that day, Jaspreana swore she would never try out for another dance team ever again. After months and months of sulking and great disappointment, her love and passion for the art of dancing returned. Not only had it returned, it returned with a new fire which burned deep in her soul. Dancing was her passion and being a professional dancer had been her dream since she could ever even two step to the sound of a simple beat. Jaspreana practiced and practiced. She would dance and think about dancing from the break of dawn until dusk. Finally
The bronze material of the Dancer creates drama through shadow and light; areas where the fabric is pulled taught emerge into the foreground, while softer shadows send the pleated fabric into recess. Each fold and pleat evolves out of the movement of her body, no line or curve runs separately from the others. Tracing the folds of her clothing draws the eye to all areas of her figure: her foot extends from her hip, which is molded out by the veil, and the veil reveals her eyes which gazes back down towards her foot. Both her foot and head are titled outside of her center, but this is offset by the opposing motion of her arms held up on the other side of her body. Likewise, the dress and veil are gathered up in one hand to reveal her pointed foot, but flare out in an oval on her opposite side.
I have danced every year of my life since. I am humbled to say, that through long days and nights in the studio, sacrificing time with my friends and family, all of the blood, sweat, and tears, I have accomplished what I have been working for since I was a little girl waddling around swallowed in a big pink tutu. I was chosen for the lead role of Cinderella in the Danscompany of Gainesville’s “Cinderella Ballet.” This accomplishment is a reflection of my consistent and sustained work ethic. This tenacity is reflected in other areas of my life and will be a defining characteristic that I carry to
As section one develops, we see the woman collapsing to the ground before writhing at the foot of the cloth, the pressure pushing down on her, forcing convulsions, binding her to the ground. Exhibiting solely low and medium levels, conjointly with contrasting dynamics of sustained and vibratory or percussive movements, the woman reaches out to the audience, provoking involvement, and emotional attachment. Her determination and longing for freedom is oppressed as the representational movements manifest. The dancer ascends to an erect position, wrapping the cloth around her and stepping on it, binding herself to the ground. These introverted, constrained movements convey to the audience the dancer's struggle, particularly when combined with the myriad of literal and abstracted movements. The audience are shown her struggle against not only the symbolic interpretation of the ground as her work and the pressure placed upon her to work, but also the literal meaning of being bound and specifically the
I became a ballet student at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2014. Being a high school student here gave me the opportunity to expand my horizons and take in as much art as I possibly could. During my first fall at UNCSA, I attended the Emerging Choreographers performance and was privileged to see works created by fourth year contemporary majors. These stunning works showed me the possibilities that dance holds to truly convey powerful and meaning messages. One work in particular stood out to me. It was a piece that showcased five dancers all dressed in pedestrian clothing. At first it appeared to be a casual street scene but a the music progressed one girl began making incredible sharp movements as if she was possessed. She made tiny movements of her hands and feet all the while moving a great distance across the stage. The others started going off what she was doing and all moved together as one giant body supporting the girl in the middle. She continued dancing in the most amazing way have many small movements combined with huge movements that made her seem a thousand feet tall. Intrigued I spoke to one of the dancers about the intention of the dance. She told me that the
The art piece that I chose to critique is the sculpture of a figure kneeling down and getting shocked. It is located on campus near the Morris University Center(muc). When I first saw this sculpture it caught my attention immediately, because of how gruesome the piece was. I feel like I don’t have a good understanding of what the sculpture represents, but it seems like it would raise plenty of controversy, due to its erotic features. It seems like the artist was venting his emotions when he created his idea. The sculpture is fairly large in size, which makes it noticeable, among the other art pieces on campus. The sculpture media consist of wood and concrete, and metal mostly. The individual is keeling down toward the west and is supported
Imagine with me, a ballerina who dances in classical ballets with a professional company, and then “retires” to start a ballet school and mentor young dancers in order to give them training in the arts. She and her students are actively involved in serving children in inner cities and poor areas in America, as well as mission trips and providing children in impoverished nations the opportunity to experience dance themselves. This is my dream as a dancer; to not only experience the gift of dance with a professional ballet company, but to give others the chance to experience that gift for themselves. I have been training with Affirmation Ballet Performing Arts for seven years, and dance has grown into more than just a hobby that I enjoy. Dance is one of my most important passions and a way that I worship my Creator. This beautiful art form has become a dream that I hope to pursue for the rest of my life.
If you have some free time and have always wanted to visit an art gallery, a start is the Art Sacré exposition. Just do not expect high quality art. Running from October twenty-third to December eight-teenth at Les Salles de Gesù, the exposition features four artists depicting spirituality and inner self.