Moby Dick Master Class
Anthony Ligon
June 19, 2010
Greetings everyone. This morning I had the chance to join the master class for Moby Dick. I can honestly say that I enjoyed myself. Conor Lovett (the guy who played Ishmael) had the group do these wonderful exercises to get us started. We all introduced ourselves by saying our names, but I found it a bit interesting the way we did it. Usually when I'm in a group, we say our names then say a little about ourselves. Conor had us say our name, then say where the name came from. I liked that a lot! I also loved the part of the class where we had to walk around the room and imagine as if we were in a different place. Conor also gave us some great tips that I can use before a performance. I guess it was just one of those things where you just had to be there...
-Anthony Ligon.
Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba
Neal Fudge
June 17, 2010
This is Neal speaking on behalf of the West African performance, Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba. Everything was different about these artists. Their musical instruments seemed as if they were carved out of wood, which caught my attention. They performed and danced a routine which most bands don’t do anymore. That made the show enjoyable. Their upscale rhythms gave the music a different feel. From the drums to the guitars, all of the instruments they played were outstandingly combined because of how they made one instrument correspond with the next one. The artists enjoyed the audience’s company and vice-versa. The performance was absolutely outstanding. I must say, West Africans know how to put on a show!
DANCING ACROSS BORDERS
Chrystal Dickey
On June 13, 2010, the Festival Fellows and I went to see a film called Dancing Across Borders. It was about how filmmaker Anne Bass discovered a sixteen-year-old boy named Sy from Cambodia that amazed her with his natural talent as a dancer. It was a great opportunity for Sy because Anne helped him follow his dream. I thought the film was good, but it mostly showed people talking about how great a dancer Sy was a lot more than you saw him dancing. I also thought that the film was more of how Anne was the one who made him who he is, like saying if it wasn’t for her he wouldn't be who he is. Don't get me wrong, I mean, she did a great job but would have liked to see more of just him and the kind of dances/techniques he did in his country.