CH 9 - Dance

For this section I chose the popular Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker. My sisters and I all performed in this play for our middle school theater groups and it is a beautiful ballet professionally as well.

 

The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on Sunday, December 18, 1892.

I can see in the dancers many of the elements of line, form & repetition throughout the performance and how they utilize fluidity as well as sharp movements to portray whichever emotion they are trying to get across to the audience through the succession of scenes.

CH 8 - Cinema

For this weeks post, I didn't have to think hard at all. Very rarely have I watched a movie that has struck me as hard as this one did and I don't think I'll ever forget it.

About Time is a narrative used to tell the story of a young man searching for love and essentially the meaning of his life.

 

This ending scene says all and even watching it back to pick this youtube video gave me goosebumps. They might have had something to do with my love for Ben Folds' song "The Luckiest" which is playing. But the message of this movie is something that most people go through life never learning.

 

CH 7 - Theatre

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and Hippolyta.

I've always enjoyed this story when I first read it in high school and years later when I saw it performed on the stage. Shakespeare uses sharp witted comedy and incredible writing in this work. Probably why it is one of his most performed plays across the world.

CH 6 - Literature

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I chose Lord of the Rings books for the entry for this chapter because I am a massive LOTR nerd, lover, whatever you want to call it. Love the books, love the movies, I love it all.

The Lord of the Rings is a high-fantasy novel written by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II,

The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling novels ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.

Ch 5 - Music

This song/music group is one that holds a lot of value to me. This has always been a special song between my father & I.

Simon & Garfunkel would generally fall under the rock&roll section of the chapter. Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They are best known for achieving success in the 1960s with many hits and many of their songs were written/used in the movie "The Graduate." I love their style and how they play with beautiful harmonies that clash and release and powerful lyrics to make very moving music.

CH- 4 Architecture

The neoclassic Romanian Atheneum, constructed in 1888 by French architect Albert Galleron, is home to the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra. There are elements of cantilever components; comprising of a overhanging beam supported on one end. Stone material was the element used, my guess would be for the optimization of acoustics.
I found the structure beautiful and artistic with such fine detail and use of stylistic architecture.

CH- 3 Sculpture

          

Angel statue in the graveyard of Trizic, Slovenia on the gravesite for Leland Stanford Jr. This is a Full round sculptural work. It is three dimensional intended for viewing from any angle. This piece has an obvious meaning and focal point. Losing their child at a young age, this sculpture is intended for relief of grief that children are in the arms of the angels after passing from this world. This sculpture just struck me in a way that was beautiful and in keeping with my beliefs that although it is a tragedy for anyone to lose a child, it is comforting that they are in God's hands.