WARNING: Contents may be NSFW
If you like your holiday entertainment REALLY naughty, and live in the Northeast, treat yourself to The Slutcracker. This is a burlesque show featuring top-notch talent and choreography, with acts such as pole dancing and hula-hoop.
The story stays pretty close to what we're all familiar with, except that in this version, Clara is given the gift of a pink vibrator who comes to life, turning into a man in a pink suit and little round hat.
I know there are many out there that balk at the idea of stripping as a legitimate art form, but in burlesque, the issue is not how to take your clothes off, it's how to take them off creatively. It creates a sense of mystery and drama--"what's going to happen next?" Burlesque acts are as much about being clever and funny as they are about being sexy.
So if that sounds like the way you'd like to spend your evening, and you're in Boston or Montreal, go check it out. Below is a little video from their website--make sure the kids aren't behind you, then take a look!
Showing posts with label The Nutcracker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Nutcracker. Show all posts
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Alternative Holiday Entertainment- Nutcracker Style (Part 1)
As I mentioned in my last post, most people love traditional holiday entertainment to get them in the spirit of the season. As my co-worker describe it, people have "Christmas Programs" they go into, the traditional things that they can do to get themselves in the mode--baking cookies, decorating the tree, going ice skating, etc.
But some people are not really the traditional type. Maybe they find conventional holiday fare too schmaltzy or saccharine, or maybe it's just too...well...conventional. Why can't Christmas be edgy and modern?
These are the kind of people who would love Mark Morris' "The Hard Nut". I remember this playing on PBS when I was a kid taking ballet classes in the early 90's (yay, PBS!) I think my father recommended it to me, being a man with an eye for the strange and awesome.
The Hard Nut takes "The Nutcracker" out of an upscale Victorian European parlor, and puts it in a middle-class American living room in the 1960's. It's much more comical than usual, with Barbies and G.I. Joes taking the place of Columbina dolls and toy soldiers. Morris adds a healthy dose of androgyny and cross-dressing with a man playing the family maid (in toe shoes), and men AND women in tutus as the snowflakes.
The show isn't played entirely for laughs, though; the most beautiful pas de deux in the show is danced by Drosselmeyer and his nephew, The Nutcracker, slowly discovering his restoration.
In the second act, most productions head straight to the Land of Sweets and set up camp there. The Hard Nut actually goes into the backstory of Princess Pirlipat, and how the Nutcracker came to be transformed in the first place.
Another interesting stylistic feature is the concept art by American comic artist Charles Burns, who usually falls under the horror genre, and addresses themes such as adolescent sexuality (very appropriate for this tale).
The show is still performed every year, but if you can't get to Brooklyn, the DVD is available on Amazon.com. Now go stuff your stocking!
**EDIT: In an odd moment of synchronicity, the New York Times posted an interview with Mark Morris on their website a few hours after I posted this: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/arts/dance/03hardnut.html
But some people are not really the traditional type. Maybe they find conventional holiday fare too schmaltzy or saccharine, or maybe it's just too...well...conventional. Why can't Christmas be edgy and modern?
These are the kind of people who would love Mark Morris' "The Hard Nut". I remember this playing on PBS when I was a kid taking ballet classes in the early 90's (yay, PBS!) I think my father recommended it to me, being a man with an eye for the strange and awesome.
The Hard Nut takes "The Nutcracker" out of an upscale Victorian European parlor, and puts it in a middle-class American living room in the 1960's. It's much more comical than usual, with Barbies and G.I. Joes taking the place of Columbina dolls and toy soldiers. Morris adds a healthy dose of androgyny and cross-dressing with a man playing the family maid (in toe shoes), and men AND women in tutus as the snowflakes.
The show isn't played entirely for laughs, though; the most beautiful pas de deux in the show is danced by Drosselmeyer and his nephew, The Nutcracker, slowly discovering his restoration.
In the second act, most productions head straight to the Land of Sweets and set up camp there. The Hard Nut actually goes into the backstory of Princess Pirlipat, and how the Nutcracker came to be transformed in the first place.
Another interesting stylistic feature is the concept art by American comic artist Charles Burns, who usually falls under the horror genre, and addresses themes such as adolescent sexuality (very appropriate for this tale).
The show is still performed every year, but if you can't get to Brooklyn, the DVD is available on Amazon.com. Now go stuff your stocking!
**EDIT: In an odd moment of synchronicity, the New York Times posted an interview with Mark Morris on their website a few hours after I posted this: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/arts/dance/03hardnut.html
Monday, November 8, 2010
Actual 3D: So real, it's like they're right in front of you!
On my drive home from work today, I spotted a billboard stating:
"This Christmas, See The Nutcracker in 3D!"
It was an ad for this mostly live-action children's film, and as I sat at the traffic light staring at it, I came up with a much better idea:
Why not attend an actual live performance of The Nutcracker? Even if you can't afford to attend New York City Ballet or Boston Ballet, there's likely to be a non-professional company in your area that puts on a lavish, high-quality production. If you do see an amateur company, you can be sure the dancers you're watching are passionate about practicing their craft, because they're definitely not doing it for the paycheck.
So, this holiday season, take off the plastic 3-D glasses and go support your local arts community. See some real live talented human beings performing in front of you.
"This Christmas, See The Nutcracker in 3D!"
It was an ad for this mostly live-action children's film, and as I sat at the traffic light staring at it, I came up with a much better idea:
Why not attend an actual live performance of The Nutcracker? Even if you can't afford to attend New York City Ballet or Boston Ballet, there's likely to be a non-professional company in your area that puts on a lavish, high-quality production. If you do see an amateur company, you can be sure the dancers you're watching are passionate about practicing their craft, because they're definitely not doing it for the paycheck.
So, this holiday season, take off the plastic 3-D glasses and go support your local arts community. See some real live talented human beings performing in front of you.
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