http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts Just another Walker Blogs weblog Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:53:46 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en If anyone wants to discuss Reggie Wilson and Andréya Ouamba’s The Good Dance: Dakar/Brooklyn, I think I’ll start things off with a question: What do you go to dance for—and to what extent did this dance give you that? And I’ll give a partial answer. One of the things I go to ... http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2009/11/14/reggie-wilson-and-andreya-ouamba%e2%80%99s-the-good-dance-dakarbrooklyn/ Where to begin with the sublime Good Dance? [caption id="attachment_1372" align="alignleft" width="332" caption="The Good Dance: Dakar/Brooklyn"][/caption] Before the performance began, I was comparing the stage to that of another Walker dance performance this season, Bolero Variations. Whereas the stage for Raimund Hoghe was more mysterious, undefined, and open, the stage for The ... http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2009/11/12/the-good-dance-lives-up-to-its-name/ I remember a quote from somewhere or someone that the best concerts should make you feel like you’ll never die. Whoever’s responsible for such wisdom is a kindred spirit of the Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle. This is more than just the feeling of seeing an amazing show, which everyone at the ... http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2009/11/08/life-death-and-boisterous-joy-with-the-mountain-goats/ (on behalf of Emily Hanson) The Red Detachment of Women: Art in the Throes of Change [caption id="attachment_1353" align="alignleft" width="450" caption="The Red Detachment of Women"][/caption] “One of the most powerful and moving ballets from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Instead of weak, fragile women dressed in fluttery tutus, women were depicted in ... http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2009/11/04/national-ballet-of-china-circa-1961-1972/ The McGuire Theater was turned into a sonic Icelandic outpost Thursday night as múm, Sin Fang Bous, and Hildur Gu∂nadóttir treated the audience to an evening that mixed awkwardness, dreaminess, and exuberance. Gu∂nadóttir opened the night, with a quirky, shoeless bounce to her step that was reflected in her 3 songs. ... http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2009/10/30/we-want-to-lock-you-in-our-house/ First off, The Walworth Farce is a great piece of theater.  What I experienced was specific, surprising, complex, and affecting.  For at least two hours after I left the theater I was on edge, slightly jumpy and uncomfortable, even with objects I found near me.  I've been trying to understand ... http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2009/10/26/walworth-farce-is-affecting/ Performing Arts staffer Emily Taylor stopped by the McGuire Theater yesterday as stagehands from the Druid Ireland theater company built the set for tonight's opening of The Walworth Farce. It's unusual to see a detailed representation of everyday life on this stage -- take a look at those authentically grimy ... http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2009/10/21/up-goes-the-london-flat-from-walworth-farce/ Next week we'll be treated to The Walworth Farce by Ireland's Druid Theater. Minneapolis is on the front end of a 209-performance, 22-city, 6-country tour of the world of a new play that is apparently "a blend of the hilarious and horrifying." It has received all kinds of ... http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2009/10/12/the-walworth-farce-is-coming/ Just went last night. Beautiful. During the first scene, I have to admit, my mind wandered a little. But I was completely drawn in by the second scene, and this lasted through the end of the show. I think mostly this was me getting used to the style (also, partly, the ... http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2009/10/03/ragamala-friday-night/ Check out Jay Gabler's review in the TC Daily Planet. Gabler comments on the difficulty of getting the full content and implications of the Ramayana from a brief summary. Right. . . I slogged through the Wikipedia entry without much success understanding the higher planes of the narrative. I can just ... http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2009/10/02/ragamala-reviewed/