a diverse saturday.

this past saturday i had a pretty interesting day full of free activities. the first was the red bull flugtag. i had no idea how popular that event was, apparently there was over 80,000 people there. who knew that watching people push things off a pier would draw such a crowd. jamie, her roommate jesse and i got there about half an hour after it started and it was almost hopeless to find a spot that we could see. after a little searching we found a space where we could see bits and peices of the pier and the large screen. we watched about ten or so “human powered crafts” fall into the water. mostly we were amused by the horribly stupid skits that the teams would perform before pushing their crafts into the water. after that got old and the crowd became too frustrating we left.

after leaving the flugtag we said goodbye to jesse, jamie and i hopped on the streetcar and headed down the the sw waterfront for the ten tiny dances walkabout. the ten tiny dances set up ten performances all around the sw waterfront neighborhood with each performance lasting eight minute and starting at fifteen minutes intervals.

the first one we saw was call “wet?” by POV Dance. it was alright, a little to yogaish for me. i was impressed by the strength and grace of the two performers as they dangled and lifted themselves and each other over and around the railings and small fountain that was used as their space.

after meeting up with iris and isaac we watched “finding foundation” by KO&Co. five people using a four foot cube frame to perform around. i thought that the concept was interesting and the arrangements were good, it was just a little sloppy and a bit unfocused. i’d be interested to see a longer performance from them.

we then moved into a loading dock where the hand2mouth theater was doing “project x”. this was an interesting performance that had the audience filling out a questionnaire while the troupe sort of acted like cheerleaders prompting the crowd. i thoroughly enjoyed this one; it was amusing and informative. it reminded of the vis-a-vis society performance (look here under april 9th) i saw in seattle a while back. i’m definitely going to check the full show in a couple of weeks at milepost 5.

sojourn theatre’s “built: prologue 3″ was next.  this was part of a bigger performance that was started in a workshop earlier in the week. two people acting out a courtship in the kitchen, the backyard, the wood, a fountain and several other places. it was by far the most linear performance of the day, and one i’ll remember.

we then made our way over to a large dirt lot for two performances. first was “lack of current” by hot little hands. i really appreciated that they thought about the starkness of the environment and produced a slow and pensive performance with a slow drum beat and a single woman with a unique outfit that involved a set of antlers under the skirt. i would like to see more from them.

the second lot performance was by rhiza A+D. billed as “architect’s draw”, when the performance started we were told that we about to see “telephone sketch #2″. we watched four construction workers walk across the lot where one of them strapped on a wooden frame with pink twine unfurling from the shoulder. one worker guided two other while they hammered posts and twisted the twine around them. when they were done they were left with a landscape off telephone poles with pink wires. it was certainly the most conceptual piece of the day. isaac said that it was “oddly satisfying” and i have to agree. it was the only performance that left something behind and caused the most discussion.

the final performance we saw was another one of the sojurn theatre’s “built: prologues”, i don’t remember which number it was though. this time there were four women, with one of the searching for acceptance. at home we’ve been watching mad men, and this performance reminded me of the divorced neighbor’s struggle to belong in sixties suburbia. that piece could be expanded on for a whole show about the desire to belong. something everyone can understand.

we were all performanced out by this point, and we were starving, so we went to bambuza, a vietnamese place in the sw waterfront. all off us ordered vegetarian dishes and ended up get the pork equivalents. also iris ordered her pho without cilantro, yet it came covered with it. once we all got the right dishes it was all delicious. i would totally go back for the food, i just hope the have the service issues sorted out.

thanks to jamie, jesse, iris and isaac for accompanying me on that interesting and entertaining day of free events.

indoor summer activities.

mad men : set in the sixties with dashing men in sexy suits and women in torpedo bras. also its a damn good show, somewhat reminiscent of the good seasons of six feet under. we are in the middle of the first season, trying to catch up since the second season already started. this show really makes me want to drink scotch.

picture from vanity fair

eureka : the second season of this somewbuhat cheesy sci fi show is just out on dvd. while this show is far from perfect, it has a very quirky buffyness about it. and i have a bit of a crush on jack carter.

americas’s best dance crew : since watching this show i have become an authority on dance crews. i’m rooting for fanny pack. i recommend following the link this youtube video dosen’t do them justice.

project runway : the last season of on bravo. i loves me some project runway. hands down the best reality show that will ever exist.

wall-e : utterly charming, amazingly grand in scope, i almost cried (people were crying all around us).

the dark knight : i liked it more than batman begins, but all i can say is “meh”.

they smashed it.

the second episode of america’s best dance crew was a little boring.  due to too much product product placement in the announcements and introductions (thanks tivo) the performances are still too short.  i’m looking forward to when the group’s can do longer performances.

iconic - still my favorite, despite this somewhat unoriginal performance, i loves me some broadway influence. they have to work on their costumes though.

kaba modern - they are the obvious winners, by far the most together group

jabbawockeez - i hate the masks, but i give them credit for staying so in sync.

quick edits ruin everything.

mtv’s new reality show america’s best dance crew appeals to me on the same level as cheersploitation films, and they throw in the reality show elimination fun.  of course mtv has to ruin it with quick edit and too short dance numbers.  the judges are jc chasez from nysnc, lil mama a hip hop “superstar”, and shane sparks, a choreographer, who i only know because he was on so you think you can dance.  the host is mario lopez, i’m happy that someone who started out as the drummer on kids incorporated has made it so far in life, and doing more than staring in made for the hallmark channel movies. don’t ask me why i know that.

the redeeming value is that the crews choose the music and choreograph their own numbers.

my favorite crews

iconic - bob fosse set to hip hop.

kaba modern - just plain good

status quo - they danced to marky mark!

i don’t like this group, but i feel i should post them because they’re on roller skates.
breaksk8