Category: Literary Arts

REVIEW: Joy, Despite

Natalie Steers Leave a comment

Despite having done some research and being really excited about attending a poetry event this semester, I went to “Joy, Despite: Poetry Night in Ann Arbor” not really knowing what to expect. I knew it featured Ann Arbor teens and I had researched the headliners Kyndall Flowers, Dylan Gilbert, and Zaphra Stupple, but that was all. It completely surpassed any expectations I wasn’t aware of having, to create a night of joy.

As Marty Roper said in the opening statements, this show was about “transforming pain into purpose”. The result of this transformation left me alternating between emphatic snaps and thoughtful contemplation of my own interlocking identities; it is my opinion that this is the sign of good, if not great, art- when I, as a viewer, become so invested in a work that I begin to internalize and apply it to my own life. This experience left me honored to be in a space with these wonderful artists and their families.

Pieces touched on topics of class, race, gender, anxiety, depression, access to clean water, and ethnicity. The bravery and vulnerability these teens harnessed in expressing their stories was humbling and inspirational. All these amazing works culminated in a final piece together that pulled phrases and topics from each work performed that night. They were woven together in one huge final spoken word piece about diversity and power. The result hung in the air and remains with me a day later.

This experience and the feeling of having witnessed something genuine and unique, from people at most 4 years younger than myself, lead me to do more research on The Neutral Zone- the program that worked with all these artists to bring this show about. Here is a brief history of the group from their website:

 

“In 1998, a group of Ann Arbor teens gathered to discuss the need for a place where teens could congregate after school and on weekends. From the very beginning, they felt this place should be more than just a hangout; that is could be a safe place to make new friends, mix with youth from different backgrounds, explore new ideas, learn new skills and do it all in a setting that was teen friendly and teen driven. Teens wrote the mission statement and the first grant proposal to the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and, with seed money in hand, enlisted parents and friends to turn an old brick and timber warehouse into a teen center.”

Visit their website to learn more about ways to get involved and upcoming events!

 

PREVIEW: Joy, Despite

Natalie Steers Leave a comment

Poetry Night in Ann Arbor has been an event for 18 years now. But in my four years of living in Ann Arbor, I had never heard of it until I happened to open (and actually read) one of the all too frequent “upcoming event” emails that find their way into my saturated inbox. For some reason this one I didn’t immediately delete and now, I’m so excited to share a few details about the upcoming Poetry Night in Ann Arbor that I’m going to attend!

The title for this year’s performance is “Joy, Despite”. Their Facebook event describes this idea as: “The despite is obvious- despite hate, despite division, despite racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia. Despite natural disasters and man-made disasters. How do we love ourselves and each other?”.

The performance will feature local artists Kyndall Flowers, Dylan Gilbert and Zaphra Stupple. All of whom have won recognition within the community as excellent artists of their craft. In addition, 10 youth poets will be showcased in performances of spoken word and music. Located in the Keene Theater in East Quad, this event is sure to have something for college students and Ann Arbor residents alike.

Basic Info:
When: Saturday 11/11, 7-9pm
Where: Keene Theater
Tickets info

PREVIEW: Ragamala Dance Company

Neha Srinivasan Leave a comment

The Ragamala Dance Company is a group that performs the South Indian classical dance bharatanatyam. This performance will be based around the game Paramapadam (from which Snakes and Ladders originated) as well as the 12th-century Persian epic The Conference of the Birds. The board game will be represented by paintings projected on the floor, done by Chennai-based visual artist Keshav. “The live music for Written in Water is composed and performed by Amir ElSaffar, interwoven with original South Indian Carnatic compositions by Prema Ramamurthy” (UMS).

I have never been to a bharatanatyam performance with live music before, and ElSaffar’s music is a really beautiful blend of different styles. Furthermore, the fact that they are blending visual arts, music, and dance is so exciting. I can’t wait to see how they blend those types of art into the Hindu and Sufi traditions that form the context of the performance. The performance is Friday, October 20, at 8pm in the Power Center. Tickets are available at ums.org.

(Photo credit: Bruce Palmer/UMS)

REVIEW: L’etat de Siege (State of Siege)

tintinj Leave a comment

I want to say I was mindblown. But I left the theater mostly confused and somewhat annoyed.  Some comments:

I liked the metaphors: “Black horses of love.” “Summer is here.”” Winter is coming. (wink wink) ” My brain wore new clothes each time a supertitle spat out a line of beautiful poetic imagery. Each of these metaphors added new dimension to my understanding of different concepts. I can taste the salt of the sea when I hold “freedom” in my mouth, for example. Whenever I hear “repression” in my polsci class, I’m reminded of the claustrophobia created by Plague’s rule over the people. “Love”, to me, clings like the primeval, earthy smell of manure.

I liked the setup: The black garbage bag-like material that was spread across the stage created an eery sense of suspense: its supposed to CONCEAL something in or under the floor. And yes, Death and Plague showed up from underneath. The weirdly detached voice recording of a man in the beginning of the performance was a pleasant “addition” to the performance. He didn’t seem to show up after the first few seconds but it was entertaining for a while. The videos shown above the stage complemented the themes of the play. When the governor was speaking and the screens showed his silently screaming face, it gave a Big Brother-esque vibe to the play.

This is “Death” talking.

But I just didn’t enjoy the performance:

 (a) Maybe it’s just the times. I wasn’t able to enjoy it because it was not relevant to me. I don’t “see” the problems that the performance seemed to be harping about. But maybe that’s just because the play was written during World War 2 when totalitarian and fascist governments really did make cities feel more like coffins.

(b) Maybe it was just too “romantic” for me. I don’t know. One of the messages I got from the play was that one must be able to forget the fear of death to initiate regime change. Hm. It seems to particularly glorify this romantic martyr mentality instead of, I would say, the more important pragmatic coordination needed to create a successful revolution (it’s almost polsci midterms, so I’m reviewing my notes simultaneously). I know the play is not a handbook, but I’m also questioning its appropriateness in our time, when populists who appeal to emotion are starting to take the reins and terrorists are able to convince people to die for their cause by painting visions of heaven.

Diego can run away with Victoria, giving the city to Plague. Or he can die for Victoria to live.

(c) I didn’t understand the “jokes”. It made me salty.

 

REVIEW: ENSPIRED

kebishop Leave a comment

While EnspiRED is a fashion organization, they described the showcase last night as their annual multimedia event.  The purpose was to highlight the work of all artists around campus, making last night “more than just fashion.”

There were two paintings and a photo print making up the display part of the event, while the majority of the night consisted of live performances.  There were no labels on the visual art but I got a photo of the canvases near the door.

Chase Garrett, a poet, was the first live performer.  It was a political narrative preaching optimism even though the state of America is less than favorable at the moment.  It seemed to resonate with the audience, who was very responsive throughout the evening.

Next was a singer/guitarist, Jake Lemond.  While he reminded me a little of The Lumineers’ main singer, he was unique with his stage presence and skill with the guitar.  He played three songs, most of them alternating between a Travis pick-style verse and a strummed chorus.  There was a lot of strum pattern and vocal variation which made each song different.  He even used harmonics at the end of his last song!

Dennis London, another poet, came next.  His first piece was a rap in the middle of a song played over the speakers.  His second was, in my opinion, a love poem.  He called himself a “photographer by day” and talked about his newly-published book.  The book is about how happiness is earned.  The motivational speech he gave at the end of his performance seemed to be a snippet of that message.

After that, the dance group Ambiance performed.  They were an all-female group.  Their performance was an interesting mix of modern dance, showcasing fluidity of movement and form.  They also incorporated some ballet movements into the piece (which I only recognized because of a history of dance class I’m taking this semester) as interludes between dance exchanges.  I was sitting near the back, however, so it was difficult to see what they were doing sometimes as there was a lot of groundwork.

Unfortunately, my phone died during intermission and I was unable to take notes for the second part of the night.  It was, overall, a very cool experience.