rxkat

[willstafford]

Facing the Music

BEN & IMO The Swan Theatre, Stratford upon Avon, Tuesday 2nd April 2024 Mark Ravenhill’s new play couldn’t be further from his first one (Sh*pping and Fucking), dealing with a rather rarefied moment in British musical history.  Composer Benjamin Britten has just nine months to come up with a grand opera in time for the coronation of Elizabeth II.  Along comes Imogen, daughter of Gustav ‘The…

[staticsnowfall]

michaela mabinty deprince (1995-2024)

🩰˚✧₊⁎

today, september 13th, 2024, the ballet world lost an extraordinary dancer and woman.

michaela mabinty deprince was born on january 6th, 1995, as mabinty bangura, in sierra-leone. she was orphaned, her parents passing to due to both direct and indirect causes of the civil war in her home country. she was demonized by her caretakers for her vitiligo, being called a “devil’s child”, and suffering from other forms of neglect and abuse. in 1999, deprince was adopted by an american couple along with another girl, and they were taken to new jersey, united states of america.

her hopes of becoming a ballerina had been planted when she found a ballerina on a magazine cover in her home country. she didn’t know of ballet at the time, but treasured the picture and dreamed of dancing. this dream blossomed into truth when she moved to the states, being put into ballet lessons soon after her arrival. deprince was a four-time participant in youth america grand prix, one of the largest ballet competitions in the united states. she was awarded a scholarship to study at the jaqueline kennedy onassis school of ballet, the associate school of american ballet theatre.

despite facing racial discrimination and other hardships in and out of the industry, deprince persisted in her dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer. in 2012, at the age of 16, she became the youngest member of dance theatre of harlem, and the next year, she joined the junior company of the dutch national ballet. she soon rose through the ranks, joining the main company and attaining the rank of soloist. she was the first dancer of african origin to ever join the company, and a shining advocate and role model for black women in ballet.

her other accomplishments include being an ambassador for war child holland, a dutch organization working to improve the wellbeing and resilience of children directly affected by war. she visited uganda and lebanon through the organization. she also appeared in beyoncé’s 2016 music video for ‘freedom’.

she will dance among all the stars in the sky. rest in peace beautiful michaela mabinty, you are already so missed. ♡

[thewhizzyhead]

how genderbending the warriors (2024) is done not for the sole sake of "bad-assery"

okay here we go feminist ramble time for our newest chick on the block: warriors. now i'll be honest, prior to listening to the album, when i first heard that the warriors main girls were originally dudes in the movie and the novel, i thought that the decision for the genderbending, in lmm's perspective, were from the following: 1.) girl power move in like a very basic meaning of the word "bad-ass" 2.) simply a twist on a cult movie about big gang bros loved by the film bros, and 3.) a way to have the schuyler sisters back together gjfkdfldf

but when i read more about warriors and its development and how lmm took inspiration from the gamergate controversies of 2014-2015 aka among the peak of gamerbro misogyny campaigns, that's when i realized that Oh Shit Is Serious - because adapting a story about a group being framed and targeted and harassed for something they are accused of doing without any substantial proof other than a man screaming "THE WARRIORS SHOT CYYYYRUUS" with 21st century misogyny campaigns in mind makes the theme of fighting back a lot more complicated and a lot more resonant, going beyond just marketing a cast you can call "badass"

take the hurricanes' quiet girls, for example. the hurricanes (concept album version) is the only gang that lets the warriors off the hook and with a stern warning: quiet girls don't make it home. here, the hurricanes berate the warriors for not saying shit or attempting to defend themselves from accusations they know well aren't true. THIS MESSAGE IN PARTICULAR is what stays and influences ajax, fox, and swan til the very end of their stories.

literally one song after this does ajax show how easily she resonated with the hurricanes' lesson by finally sticking with her gut and actually choosing to fight back against both the baseball furies AND against the sleazy undercover cop. the latter encounter is one of the instances that really solidifies the recontextualization of the story because in the OG movie, ajax (a dude) WAS the sleazy fuck up harassing a woman in a park - and now with the literal character switch, ajax goes from being just a rebellious gangbro dude bro into someone whose want to fight is warranted. such a want to fight is seen in fox seeing as fox is the first to comment on the quiet girls scene and that, in the concept album, she is the one that instigates the rumble against the police in union square - saying that she is sick of being afraid of them and their 'fuckin powder blue' colors (also notice how she is the only warrior that really does say fuck the cops i think that's cool BUT I'LL TALK ABOUT FOX MORE NEXT TIME)

to a less obvious extent, swan also gets the receiving end of this recurring theme - by the album's finale, the usually violence-averse caution-first interim leader becomes a lot fiercer in protecting her crew. but perhaps among what i consider to be the biggest recontextualized change in the feminist sense is MERCY and her motivations to join the warriors in the first place. according to the wiki, her attraction to swan and the warriors and um seeing the orphans as wimps is what led her to switch sides BUT IN THE CONCEPT ALBUM, mercy's motivation to become a warrior is deepened, rooted in admiration rather than attraction - wanting to be like those women who hold their head up high. and again, we see this in Sick of Runnin' when she takes part in the rumble, finding her bravery within their ranks as they fight back. here, mercy becomes less of a swan tagalong and more of someone that wants what the warriors have: pride.

of course now that i type this out i realize that warriors is not based solely on the feminist rhetoric as with their theme of hope amidst adversity, the story is more intersectional and rooted in community struggle and wanting for more than that. but nonetheless, i genuinely believe that the twt filmbros arguments on why the genders should not have been changed in the first place just for "woke" points is kinda like,,,very shortsighted because not only does the narrative of women narrowly escaping unwarranted accusations actually fucking fit, but the act of learning to fight back amidst all odds - be it that of disbelieving, predatory men or the power of oppressive pigs - stays resonant for women yesterday, today, and the days to come.

ultimately, warriors (2024) is not solely a tale of female badassery - rather, it is a tale of the need for such "female badassery" in the face of past and present realities, which is why it somehow fucking worked.

[fonteyn]

Swan Lake's entrance to the Black Swan pas de deux performed by Ekaterina Odarenko as Odile.

[thecutestgrotto]

Hello! Your grafics are the best! Was wonder if you can make som Swan Lake ones? Thank you muchly!

Sorry about bad language, English not my first language. 😣😣

Anon your English is great!! 🩵🌸

Swan Lake

[diioonysus]

vintage illustrations + my tattoo list

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Chloe Misseldine photographed by Sasha Gusov.

[ilvcilla]

I'm literally roxie

[jacks-weird-world]

🩰

🩰 ‧₊˚ ⋅* 🦢‧₊ ୨ৎ

[thephantomofanastasia]

Additional photos from the production of Anastasia the Musical at the University of Mainz in Germany.

Photo credit: vidhyavictoria on IG

[g3othermal3scapism]

MERCY, WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY, THAT YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL?

CAUSE I THINK WE BOTH KNOW THAT YOURE BEAUTIFUL

YOU’RE MORE THAN BEAUTIFUL (MORE THAN BEAUTIFUL?)

YOURE MORE THAN YOUR BODY,

YOURE MORE THAN THESE LIPS OR THIS FACE,

AND IF WE EVER SOMEHOW GET OUT OF THE PLACE,

THEN YOU’LL GO,

THEN WE’LL GO.

FIND SOMETHING NEW,

ITS ALL NEW.

MERCY,

THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THIS TUNNEL’S GOT NOTHING ON YOU.

[willstafford]

I can't believe it's not Buddha

THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA The Swan Theatre, Stratford upon Avon, Wednesday 22nd May 2024 Hot on the heels of the magnificent Bluebeard, Emma Rice and Wise Children are back with this adaptation of Hanif Kureishi’s seminal novel, with Kureishi himself co-adapting.  Set in the late 1970s at a time when Britain was in a mess and there was a surge in right-wing violence and ideology (sounds…

[staticsnowfall]

the famous fouettés of swan lake

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featured above is chloe misseldine, prima ballerina of american ballet theatre, as odile in ‘swan lake’.

the thirty-two fouettés in swan lake, and the embodiment of odette and odile as a whole are considered a stepping stone into a ballerina’s career as a prima. a debut is ultimately a test, a deciding factor in whether a company decides to promote a dancer or leave her alone. the fouettés of odile are difficult, requiring much strength, stamina, and training, performed during the coda after a lengthy pas de deux and variation. the legendary pierina legnani was the first ballerina to accomplish this feat in 1895, the fouettés being added just for her by choreographer marius petipa.

misseldine is the most recent ballerina to join the ranks of principal in the company: her promotion was on july 3rd, 2024, after her performance of odette/odile at the metropolitan opera house in manhattan, new york.

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footage sourced from @juliette_2626’s story on instagram, july 3rd, 2024, the met opera.

[thirdarabesque]

ABT summer season '23 presents Swan Lake🩰🦢

[emotionalshawtysinthisbitch]

i miss ballet💔

[rebelsafoot]

saw the second last production of the penelopiad starring jennifer morrison!! as someone who absolutely LOVES the odyssey, ouat, and house it was literally my dream performance the entire cast was SO GOOD!!! i dont think any experience will ever top this night i am so glad i got the chance to see this