College Essay

How has a piece of visual art, a performance, a composition, an example of design, a piece of literature or a film affected you? Please describe the work and explain how it affected you as a person and artist. The piece you write about must be the work of someone other than yourself.

A performance or piece of work that has affected me not only as a person but also an artist would be Skylar Boykin’s Young Arts solo. The National Young Arts Foundation or Young Arts is an organization that invests in artistic development of young artists in the performing arts and provides aspiring artists with scholarships, national recognition, and other great opportunities. Skylar Boykin competed with a modern solo, I was so incredibly moved by the quality of her work and was so inspired with the amount of creativity she brought to the stage. Skylar’s solo was different and definitely showcased her passion for the arts. Skylar’s choreographic work consisted of very organic movements that were so captivating for an audiences’ eye. Starting from the very beginning of her solo; her presence, the simplicity of the movement within the space was truly breath taking. What I feel when dealing with Skylar’s solo apart from other performances is that her utilization of the space was executed correctly. She wasn’t afraid to take chances with her movement and she made bold, daring choices about where the movement would travel in the space, Skylar’s choreography made a strong connection with her surroundings. It was truly amazing how she managed to reflect all of her emotion and passion in one performance, which I feel changed my perspective about dance and life forever. Dance is about taking chances and living in the moment. The beauty of the work is not always the perfection sought between the executions of the movement, but rather the reaction the artist makes the audience feel when the work is over. Skylar is a true performer and those are the qualities I wish to aspire.     

The Rightful King

Within The Tempest Gonzalo offers the idea of a perfect society. Between Gonzalo,Sebastian, and Antonio I definitely feel that Gonzalo would not only be the best king but also the most realistic. Gonzalo is portrayed as an extremely good natured character. He believes in the island in which they are located and believes that it is a sacred place because of their survival. Gonzalo is not just a positive character, he is the only lord who consistently tries to find solutions in the darkest of situations. Gonzalo is the one lord who actually has a healthy vision in terms of his Utopian society which demonstates his good natured personality. Gonzalo suggests the idea of all people treated as equals, a society in which no one will have the need to work. This emphasizes Gonzalo's honesty and innocence which establishes a more realistic attempt for a king.

       

The roles of power and authority, Act 1 The Tempest

Within the first act of The Tempest Prospero was overall the main character with consistent power. With his power he creates a storm in order to avenge his past and also manages to have authority over others. Prospero was known for his brilliant intelligence which emphasizes why his brother Antonio would arrange to have both he and his daughter Miranda killed. There is a sense of rivalry between Prospero and Antonio this resulting in Prospero's over protective behavior towards Miranda and her separation from humanity and the rest of the world. The idea of authority is highly demonstrated within The Tempest. Prospero gave Caliban the gift of both language and knowledge because of this Caliban is in debt, if not expected to service Prospero's commands; re-establishing the sense of authority throughout the novel.      

 

(Prospero)

 

(Antonio)

 

(Caliban)

Outside Reflection

Evening of Dance

The Evening of Dance show was filled with several incredible performances that shared both similarities and differences. A particular piece that drew my attention was Risk of Flight performed by Rep 1. I definitely felt that the choreography was very open and flowy but still had a range of strength within the movement. The choreography was very free but also precise, for instance in the beginning of the piece when the group of dancers are just still and then unexpectedly the dancer that is in the center starts to slowly move forward which initiates everyone else’s movement. The costumes fitted the piece perfectly; the color choices were very organic and neutral which made the piece have a greater effect as a whole. There was a duet within Risk of Flight which had great partnering work. The dancers worked extremely well together; there was a lot of weight transfer within the movement and a feel of the dancers being dependent of one another. The choreography made their connection stronger; there were a lot of extensions incorporated within the piece which definitely displayed the dancers’ ability of control and really maintaining their center. The second piece that I really enjoyed was Mercy also performed by Rep 1; Mercy is an extremely powerful piece. I feel that it differs from Risk of Flight in a way that Mercy has more dramatic movement. Although Mercy might differentiate from Risk of Flight both pieces do have similar qualities, for example the beginning portion of Mercy involves very subtle movement but very demanding like risk of flight. Mercy incorporates the use of buckets, at this point in the piece I feel is where the audience is fully engaged in the performance the quality of the movement incorporated with the use of buckets is so hard hitting, it has attack, and the dancers are at full force. The costumes for Mercy consists of a two piece sort of veil fabric and the dancers are required to have their hair wet, the costumes truly make the work as a whole come alive. Overall the Evening of Dance show showcased many professional quality works that where very enjoyable and exciting to watch.