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https://humanitiesmoments.org/files/original/381/beckanne_sisk_swan_lake_HM.jpg
272eed7ac5997fd6465d6864252a7576
Text
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I heard about Humanities Moments through my English class at Mountain Heights Academy.
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Becky Krusi, 18 years old senior at Mountain Heights Academy; full time dance student in the Professional Training Division at Ballet West Academy
Date
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February 2019
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“Swan Lake” by Ballet West, lead performance by Beckanne Sisk
Description
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<p>Sitting on the red velvet seats at the stunning Capitol Theater in Salt Lake City, I was so ready to see the ballet Swan Lake for the first time. Not only was I watching one of my favorite ballets, none other than Beckanne Sisk herself was performing, a principal with Ballet West Academy and a gorgeous dancer! Swan Lake is a timeless love story that mixes magic, tragedy, and romance all into four acts. It features Prince Siegfried and a lovely swan princess named Odette. Under the spell of a sorcerer, Odette spends her days as a swan swimming in a lake of tears and her nights in her beautiful human form. The couple quickly falls in love. But now the sorcerer has more tricks to play. This brings his daughter Odile into the picture. Confusion, forgiveness, and a happy ending with Siefried and Odette together forever round off the ballet. A single prima ballerina (a principal like Beckanne) plays both Odette and Odile. It is one of the most challenging roles a dancer can take on in her career.</p>
<p>When I saw Beckanne performing Odette and Odile, there was one single moment in time that has forever left an impact on my mind. To be completely honest, I don’t remember much from the three hour ballet! Going into it I thought the legendary 32 fouettes and wild turning would stick in my mind or the high controlled extensions of her legs, but in the end it was a seemingly simple movement that stuck with me. It was towards the end of the ballet and Beckanne was down-stage in the right corner and was turning around to run to her prince. She fearlessly placed her toe and went up into a fourth pique arabesque rounding the corner as she floated. Though this step may look quite simple, the years of training, the blood, sweat, and tears that go into making simple steps like this look easy is so great! It seems like there are over a hundred things to be thinking about when doing a pique arabesque, but Beckanne’s mind seemed to be free in that second. The way she held onto that moment and the power within the music, it was like a connection of everything coming together at the same time. I breathed with her. I felt suspended in time. I felt alive! I wanted to stay there forever and capture that feeling to put it in a bottle! In a way, that is just what my mind did. When I think back on this moment, I can actually feel what I felt then now.</p>
<p>I’m writing about this today because I wanted to share how a seemingly simple movement can be huge for someone! I have dedicated my life to ballet since I was 14. It is hard and it is painful, but nothing else makes me feel like how I feel when I’m in ballet class or performing something I’ve worked hard for. I’ve still got a ways to go, and you never stop working or improving. But since my experience here with Beckanne Sisk as Odette, I want to put in the work it takes to be that good so that I can reach someone's soul the way she touched mine. This is the beauty of ballet, and the reason we sacrifice so much to train. You need to be that good first in order to really affect someone. Think about any skills! It could be baking, sports, painting, music, etc. If you really want to leave an impact, you first have to put in the time it takes to be phenomenal then continue finessing from there. My passion is ballet, but it has become more than that to me. I’ve made these dreams become reality and that is continuously my goal.</p>
<p>I encourage you to be passionate and to stick to something you love! It could even be multiple things. But remember that you won’t love it everyday, and sometimes things can get unbearably hard! But never forget why you started in the first place. Beckanne Sisk reminded me that night of why I love ballet, because you can reach people’s spirits. It’s a different kind of communication rather than words, so it hits differently. It’s a language that I’ve spent years learning yet ironically you don’t have to know a thing about it to feel what Beckanne made me feel. Thank you for letting me share my humanities moment with you today.</p>
Title
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The Impact of a Seemingly Simple Movement
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impact-seemingly-simple-movement
Arts
Dance
Inspiration
Performance
Performing Arts
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https://humanitiesmoments.org/files/original/346/Modern_Dancer_HM_Image.jpg
694d3a9679c46c2c65ce16722cbe9fdf
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From my colleague Craig Perrier
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Angela Linker, Educator
Date
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1980s-1990s
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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Description
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Throughout my childhood and teenage years, my mother and I frequently drove into the city of Detroit to attend an event or performance at one of the many beautiful cultural institutions. Scattered throughout the downtown area, theaters and art galleries stand out against the backdrop of urban decay. She always found the perfect artistic experience to highlight something I was studying in school, or to show me the endless possibilities of creative expression. She required that we dress up, which often meant that we had to go shopping in preparation for our outing; so many fun memories. Since it was usually just the two of us, she taught me all the best places in the city to park, and how to look “tough” when we walked down the street to our destination. I remember wondering why we needed to look tough, not yet having lost the trust of humanity that accompanies childhood innocence.
It was during these excursions that I developed a love for the city. I love the way it smells. I love the way the buildings remind me of a time that I can only read about in history books or stories. I love how it embraces its gritty reputation without apology. I love how the neighborhoods reflect the immigration of a variety of cultures who have shared their traditions and celebrations that we honor and enjoy. I love that coexisting amid the urban decay there are these inspirational pockets of hope – all having one thing in common: they pull people in from the suburbs. Even if just for the day, these centers of humanity pull in those whose families fled generations ago for what they thought would be a better life. A safer life, some would argue.
During one particular outing to Detroit, my mother shared her excitement that we were going to see a dance company. It was too early in the season for The Nutcracker; I wondered with anticipation who we would see. I wish I could recall, with certainty, which theater we visited that day – they are all such pillars of beauty standing as beacons – pockets of hope – throughout the city.
When the curtain opened and the dancers appeared everything else faded away. If you’ve ever read a book more than once or have seen the same movie or performance multiple times, then perhaps you’ve had that experience of seeing the story or the characters differently – either because you’ve changed or you’ve had an experience that has provided a new perspective through which you now see. Up to this point I had seen many ballet productions; I could anticipate an arabesque or predict the pattern in a pas de deux. I had never seen a dance performance as powerful as this. I had nothing to which it could compare. I was mesmerized. It was a ballet that simultaneously adhered to the rules and broke the rules. The performance stepped outside of the box just enough to call attention to the unique, modern way of telling a story through movement.
At moments the dancers floated across the stage like one might expect while watching Swan Lake; however, the most captivating sequences were the ones when the dancers used their bodies to create movements that told the story of a struggle – one with historical context and current-day relevance. Every muscle taut, exposed legs, bare torsos, and bodies that broke the typical mold that one might expect from a professional ballet company. Strong arms and legs carried the burden of the story of injustice and heartbreak. Strong arms and legs moved with determination toward freedom and equality.
This moment, my humanities moment – experiencing the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, forever changed the way I view an artistic production. My new expectation was that a creative director would have the courage enough to take a risk, break the mold, and show a conscious effort to create something that makes the audience stop and consider another perspective.
It always fascinated me that we travelled into the city to have our ideas challenged, to have our curiosity piqued, and to have our emotions stirred. Reflecting back on these experiences, I am grateful for my mother who created opportunities to have my preconceptions challenged and my ideas transformed.
Title
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Perspectives
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perspectives
African American History
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Arts
Cultural Awareness
Curiosity
Dance
Detroit, MI
Modern Dance
Mothers & Daughters
Urban Decay
Urban Revival