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.  

 

 

 

 

Victor's anagnorisis and catastrophe relating to human condition

Within Chapters 21-23 there are several events that demonstrate anagnorisis and catastrophe. Anagnorisis is a moment in a work when a character makes a critical discovery, this is shown in the novel when Victor's father visits him in prison. Through this event Victor becomes aware of the importance of having friends and family as a support system. In a sense anagnorisis relates to the human condition because of the fact that anyone can encounter a discovery at any point in their lifetime. Catastrophe is emphasized within Frankenstein through the death of Elizabeth. Victor's creation murdered Elizabeth on their wedding day. Victor's complete devastation and rage towards the monster definitely suggest the catastrophe within the story.

Symbolic significance of Clerval, and foreshadowing in Ch.18-20

In chapters 18-20 of Frankenstein Henry Clerval represents the good scientist who had a great appreciation for nature. He also represents the meaning of companionship because not only did he travel to England with Victor but he was always there in Victor's time of need. In chapters 18-20 the monster is feeling isolated and has asked Victor to create a female monster. Victor who is currently feeling guilty about the death of William and Justine is completely terrified of the decision he is about to make but is sure of his love for Elizabeth and has no choice but to agree with the monsters deal. Although Victor recognizes that creating the female creature is an abomination and clearly a crime against humanity, he begins to grow impatient and wants to begin the experiment to be free from the monster forever. While working on the female creature foreshadowing takes place; Victor sees an image of the person he used to be within Clerval. After Victor's understanding of the possible outcome of his decision, he destroys his work completely which makes the creature angry. Because Victor did not fulfill his part of the deal the creature tells Victor that he will be there on his wedding day. Throughout the chapters Victor states "Clerval is watching over me" with that statement the reader can conclude Clerval's death.http://www.literaturewithlindsey.com/projects/blogs          

Chapters 15-17 of Frankenstein relating to Paradise Lost

The overall theme of chapters 15-17 in Frankenstein I feel is Paradise Lost, Paradise Lost is used as a sort of guide for the monster. This suggests the idea of the monster trying to understand his purpose in the world and uncovering who or what he is. The creature identifies himself within the character of satan in Paradise Lost but there is also a reflection of Adam within the monster. The relations that the monster finds with these two characters demonstrates the sense of isolation and anger they each have towards their creator. A definite comparison between the characters would be that both Adam and the monster experienced betrayel and neglection while satan and the monster both evoked contempt and tried harming other people. As chapters 15-17 develop I feel that the creature experiences remorse, there is some what of a desire he has which is to be human but some how the creature itself still has a demonic feature. In chapters 15-17 there is an emphasis that Victor only created the monster for a necessity, its almost as if Victor never truly cared for his creation but needed it as a method to feel superior. The creature later tries to make Victor realize that he is the cause for his destruction, the monster is seeking revenge because he now understands what his creator did. The idea of good becoming evil is highly enforced. http://www.literaturewithlindsey.com/projects/blogs