A Little Sunlight

All day I have been challenged with wanting to write something here, but have just stared at the blank space. A started my day off with a dance class and while it wasn't a class where I wanted to cry at the end; it did leave me feeling as though I am somehow getting worse instead of better. Sometimes it is hard to return to something you did when you were a teenager because I always think how I used to be able to do that, why can't I anymore? Then I get in my head and everything is downhill from there. My goal in class is to find a way to get out of my head and just dance no matter how awful my technique may be now. I think it will help me in more ways than just in ballet class.

In the last few minutes of this day I should try to remember something positive about this day. It was a sunny beautiful day and my daughter played in the sprinkler. Before I left for class my daughter was curled up in my dad's lap and they were reading the Little Mermaid. That made me happy.

The Thing About Being From Colorado...

 

Whenever people make a special item that is shaped like your state - you kind of get screwed. Sigh.

Of course, I do have a North Carolina shaped cutting board. And, in reality, I could say that all of my cutting boards are shaped like Colorado.

Find your state here.

(picture sources: Colorado, North Carolina)

Wednesday Dance Video

Deep End Dance from Conor Horgan on Vimeo.


Making Deep End Dance from Conor Horgan on Vimeo.
Sometimes I start to feel as though I just hate everything. But, when something good comes along it only feels that much better. I really love this short dance film. It has a fully realized concept and a very sweet story.  Most importantly it needs no dialogue.

Along with the short film there is also a making of documentary. Even though it is a little annoying when people make these for short films (particularly when it is longer than the actual piece they are referencing). I did love how the director called dance films "cinema at its purest."

It is not quite fair to call silent films silent because there was always sound in film it just wasn't synchronized sound that allowed for peoples voices to match the movement of their lips. Often, it is considered that the art of filmmaking was greatly hampered by the advent of talking pictures in the 1920s. Just prior to 1927 the camera was really free and being used in amazing creative ways. Once sound came along it forced productions into sound studios and, since cameras were so noisy, they were sequestered into boxes and rooms and treated as though they were a problem (instead of the tool of the artist). This hampered the experimentation and exploration that was going on and it is often thought that filmmaking has never artistically recovered from that moment.

I love the idea that dance films could become the new way of connecting to this gap in our artistic growth. It also makes it understandable why it is so hard to make dance films, and even simply dance moments in films, truly great.

Spring Snow is Beautiful

We have been having another spring snow leaving us with nearly a foot of snow. I know lot's people are not enjoying it as much as me, but I love spring snow. It comes down in huge flakes and covers the grass quickly. Trees become coated in white and everything is quiet. The roads stay nice and don't become dangerous.

This afternoon the sun is coming out in full force. The sky is blue and the snow is rapidly disappearing. Already the roads are completely dry and the icicles are dripping. For the rest of the week the temperatures should be in the sixties and by tomorrow snow will be a distant memory, perhaps for only a few days if I am lucky.

Ikea Booty

 We finally made it to Ikea. Yay! Now we will spend nearly all weekend trying to install and build everything. Hopefully by, err, Tuesday our house will feel more settled.

For one project we bought these Ikea stools that I am planning on spray painting gold and using a cushion top of it. The idea came from this tutorial though I am not planning on using lambskin. Both my daughter and I are  new proud owners of vanities, but we need some stools. For mine we have been using a really tiny children's stool for the past week and it works, but this will be better.

The bulk of what I got yesterday was for curtains (I know it is hard to see because everything is in bags). I have some horrible built in cabinets with a Murphy bed that I am planning on covering up with curtains. Anything should look better. Here's to a successful weekend for all.

An Ikea Visit...please

Ever since we moved I have been waiting and waiting to make it over to Ikea. Mostly I need some curtains. Right now we have these vertical blinds that my daughter loves to play with and destroy. Plus, I guess they look better than horizontal blinds, but not that much better.

First I waited for financial reasons there were other more important things to buy. Then I waited because we were perusing Craigslist for some items and since Ikea is now nearly an hour away I needed to wait until I had a better idea of what we would need. I never go to Ikea on the weekends because it is always busy and will drive me insane so I am limited to weekdays. Last week we went to Breckenridge, during the week, when I thought I might go and now it has been snowing all week and keeping me away. I thought for sure I would go yesterday until a warning disturbed a morning cartoon warning of blizzards - in the same county as Ikea. Ugh.

When we lived in Denver sometimes we would head over there just to hang out. We could eat lunch on the cheap and my daughter would host tea parties in the show room. Perfect for cold days when you can't go to the park and have visited the museum one to many times that week.

And now, I need to go and am being kept away. Am I pathetic that this is controlling my thoughts right now? Perhaps, but I would really love some $20 curtains in my living room. Sigh.

(picture source)

Wednesday Dance Video

Swan Lake from patrick weishampel on Vimeo.


BODY BEAUTIFUL from patrick weishampel on Vimeo.

As I consider some upcoming projects I have been looking a lot at dance videos. It is very rare for me to watch a dance video that I deem successful. Often times I get so bored I don't even watch the whole thing. I know that sounds harsh, but it is true. I really want to examine what I think works and doesn't work so I will try to examine one each week.

On a positive note I really like these promos for Oregon Ballet Theatre. They are short so they are easy to get through and the point is simply to get your attention and interest in hopes that you will buy tickets. Therefore they are not concerned with creating a piece that holds your attention. That being said what works really well is the editing. Often dance videos try to match all the actions and keep a continuous flow of the choreography, but in reality the editing creates rhythm in filmmaking. The editing really makes these work.