New York City Ballet at the Kennedy Center

Since the Mariinsky Ballet's performance was cancelled in April, it had been months since I had seen a dance performance at the Kennedy Center! I am bummed that I'm missing the New York City Ballet's performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream (my favorite Shakespeare play), but I did get to see their "Visionary Voices" repertoire last night, which was very good!

Emanon - in Two Movements

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The first piece featured eight dancers: four women and four men. The choreography came from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, so I was a little worried that the piece would be too modern for me (think of people writhing on the floor, having epileptic fits, etc.). But it wasn't like that at all! I will admit that I dozed off a few times while watching (not because I didn't like it! I had woken up before 6:00 a.m. that day and was just so tired...), but what I saw was very pretty (although repetitive at times; it seemed like each time I woke up I was watching the same dance moves again and again). I thought the dancers did a great job, although I think Alexa Maxwell was dancing with Victor Abreu, and she wasn't great at connecting with him as a partner; I felt like she was paying more attention to the audience than to him. But otherwise, I liked what I saw.

Jermaine Terry, a dancer with Alvin Ailey, designed the purple costumes. Image found here

The dresses with their pleated skirts were so pretty! I would have worn all of them! Image found here

Here's a video featuring some of this dance, along with an interview with Jamar Roberts, the resident choreographer for Alvin Ailey:

SUSPENDED ANIMATION

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This piece was like watching a fashion show! The costumes were created by fashion designer Christopher John Rogers, and they were works of art (and featured at the NYCB 2021 Fall Fashion Gala)! While the costumes certainly made an impact, I am not sure if they added or took away from the dance. I was so focused on the clothes instead! The costumes were so colorful, which did not match the slow, somber music. Perhaps this was done on purpose: if the music had been light and fun, perhaps we as an audience wouldn't have taken the costumes or the dancing seriously. I wonder which came first: the choreography or the costumes? Did the costumes truly lend themselves to the dancing? Or did they obstruct the movement of the dancers?

There were four separate parts to this piece, choreographed by Sidra Bell, who has her own dance company in New York. 

i. the object is to slip: This is the part that really felt like a runway. As each of the dancers came on stage, you were more enamored with the latest costume than the last. There were big sleeves full of ruffles, hats that looked like lampshades, a green poof that reminded me of a mushroom... each one was special and unique, and what vibrant colors! It was actually quite a challenge to tell the men and women apart because they were all wearing these over-the-top, flamboyant designs. Who was who?

ii. communion: When the dancers returned to the stage, gone were the poofy sleeves and the exaggerated skirts. Now they were only wearing leotards that had been at the base of the extravagant outfits, leaving them looking more like acrobats than ballerinas. The bright colors and rhinestones remained, and the men's butts actually looked better in the tight onesies! Some of the movements were a bit too robotic for my taste, but it's all for the sake of art, right? 

Even the men's outfits featured corset-like pieces and garter belts. Image found here

iii. protrusion: This was a pas de deux between Emily Kikta and Peter Walker. I have to admit that I don't even remember this part... Maybe I was still thinking about all the colors! But if I'm right about the distinction between the parts, I think this one started off with no music, which was quite jarring. Any time I hear a pointe shoe hit the stage too hard, I cringe a little...

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iv. Gatherings of the Future: When all of the dancers stood in a line creating a rainbow, it finally hit me: was this piece shown in June to align with Pride Month? That would explain some of the gender bending, not only with the costumes, but also with some of the movements, like men lifting other men during the dance. I also noticed that some of the moves almost felt like the dancers were on balance beams, doing gymnastics instead of ballet. 

When we went to intermission after this piece, the man in front of me said to his wife, "Not what I would want to wear." It's so annoying when older generations can't understand that everyone should be able to wear what they want, and that fashion isn't (shouldn't be?) binary. I always think of the Hunger Games Capitol, where the men and women all wear make-up, fun colors, big hair, etc. Why does this only have to be the case in fiction?

Partita

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This one was very different, and a far cry from traditional ballet, but I really liked it! It was choreographed by Justin Peck, the NYCB's resident choreographer and one of the company's former dancers. The dancers wore athletic clothes, including white sneakers, which emphasized the true athleticism of dance. Such energy! And the ballerinas didn't look so sickly-thin with real clothes on! The music, called Partita for 8 Voices, was composed by Caroline Shaw, and seemed to be a mix of a capella and choir singing; it makes sense that there were eight dancers featured in this piece. Sometimes the dancers would even move as a group, which reminded me of a capella performances in college.

I think my favorite part was the female pas de deux featuring India Bradley and Claire Kretzschmar. I felt like I was watching an extended CoverGirl commercial or something!

 

The set was also beautiful. Eva LeWitt created the ribbon circles that fell from the ceiling:

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Having not seen this dance company for nearly three years due to COVID-19, I am so glad I got to see this performance! Read my past blog posts about when I saw the New York City Ballet perform at the Kennedy Center in previous years:

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

You can still buy tickets to see this dance company later this week! Purchase tickets here.

My Desserts of Rockville Adventure

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The latest issue of Bethesda Magazine features a guide to local bakeries throughout Montgomery County. I have a huge sweet-tooth, and since I hadn't visited most of the places mentioned, I knew I was going to have to try some yummy treats!

Several of the bakeries are located along Rockville Pike (roughly), so one Saturday afternoon I drove up to Rockville with a game plan of which bakeries to visit and which desserts to try. Here's what I got:

1. Ube pie from Gwenie's Pastries

Such a pretty purple color! Image found here

I never would have found Gwenie's if it weren't for this article. It's tucked away in a random strip mall across from a warehouse used for CrossFit workouts. I went in and immediately found the purple slices of pie in the dessert display case. I asked what their best seller is, and the employee said the ube pie and the ube cheesecake are both very popular. Since the former was the one mentioned in the article, I figured that's what I should try.

I was most excited to try this one, so I actually saved it for last, even though it was the first one I picked up! And did I save the best for last indeed! This pie is so good. From the flavorful graham cracker crust to the light creamy topping to the dense red-bean-textured ube at the bottom... everything is delicious. I'm bummed I only have one piece! I could demolish a whole pie of this stuff... Five stars for sure!

2. Coconut raisin bread from Bread Corner

I certainly didn't need to buy a whole loaf of bread, but I love raisin bread, and coconut raisin bread sounded too good to resist! I also couldn't just buy a slice, so I had to commit. 

First of all, this bread is tricky to cut into pieces. It has a wrapper almost like a cupcake liner, except the bread does not easily slip from the paper. I actually had to take a pair of scissors to cut off part of the wrapper to get the bread out, and even then the bottom of the bread stuck to the paper! So that was not convenient.

As for flavor, this mostly tastes like a sweet white bread (almost like a Hawaiian roll) with coconut and some raisins in it. It tastes good, but if you don't usually eat white bread (like me), you're kind of wondering why you're eating something with so few nutrients that isn't a true "dessert." The packaging might read "healthy," but that is a lie. I've had one piece now, and I don't want the rest of the loaf to go to waste, but mentally I'm already done with it...

3. Pistachio raspberry croissant from Lavande Patisserie

I love both pistachio and raspberry flavors, so I knew I wanted to try this "notable croissant," as the magazine called it, from Lavande Patisserie. And it did not disappoint! The pistachio filling is so yummy, almost reminiscent of almond paste. The raspberry flavor it very light, since the croissant only has three raspberries on it (there is no raspberry filling). A very decadent breakfast indeed!

4. Red bean mochi from Japong Bakery

The magazine did feature Japong Bakery's Japanese cheesecake, but since I didn't want to buy an entire cake, I thought I'd try something else instead. I know that red bean is a traditional dessert flavor in much of Asia, so I thought I'd try the red bean mochi (especially because I do love chewy mochi!). This one mostly tastes like a sweetened roll. It took many bites to finally reach the filling in the middle. This dessert for me was a just a little "meh." Don't get me wrong: it tasted good! But it wasn't very exciting, since I felt like I was mostly eating a white bread roll. But people clearly like these kinds of buns: I saw one couple in the store buy a mix of at least 12 different kinds of buns, and another girl picked out five or six of them. So I certainly don't speak for everyone!

5. Lava cheese tart from Teamania

I refrigerated this dessert overnight, so that may or may not have been a good thing. The center had two different textures: one was more gooey, and one was more solid, so I wonder if the whole thing would have been gooey-er if I had eaten it as soon as I bought it. But even so, this was an interesting dessert. The filling is both sweet and savory. It's cheese, so the savory flavor makes sense, but it's also a dessert, so you're not quite expecting it. I thought it wouldn't actually taste like cheese, perhaps like how cannoli filling doesn't taste like ricotta. The crumbly crust is definitely sweet, so that evens out the flavors. I liked this treat, but I'm not sure it is something I would eat again. Next time, I'd try something else instead.

I also went to the Asian Bakery Café to try their white lotus seed moon cake, but they were sold out of it. And I stopped by Stella's Bakery, but the line was out the door! I guess it must be pretty good if it's that popular, but that was my last stop of the day, and I wasn't in the mood to wait. Maybe another time.

I also had a few bonus free treats by using my TasteMoCo Passport from the MoCo Show! 

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I got a free Ted's Tart from Ted's Bulletin in Gaithersburg after my Bar Method class. I picked out the s'mores one, but they all looked delicious (the cherry blossom one is a very yummy seasonable flavor)! The shortbread cookie base is so buttery; it's so hard to resist! Much better than Pop-Tarts! 

I also got a free "snack" from Kung Fu Tea. Snacks included popcorn (which I don't like) or these boba chews, which are boba covered in chocolate. They are very chewy! I think I'd rather just have bubble tea if I am going to enjoy boba.

In the end, I spent about $30 for all of these treats, so I think that's pretty good! I was surprised how many of the Asian bakeries sell all sort of goodies, especially good-sized buns, for only about $3! No wonder other customers were buying so many at once. What a deal! For that price, I was entertained for an afternoon and was able to enjoy yummy snacks (or breakfasts) for the rest of the week. Not bad!

Kip Moore Concert

 

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I bought tickets to see Kip Moore at the Fillmore Silver Spring months ago, probably over a year ago actually, because the show was rescheduled due to COVID-19. And yet my go-to country buddy STILL forgot and scheduled himself to work! So I dragged my boyfriend (a good sport!) to this show last night. 

We braved the rain and made it in time to see the opener, Dillon Carmichael. I had never heard of him before, but he gives off Luke Combs vibes (i.e. big country dude singing fun songs). He was very charismatic and engaged the crowd well. And he had a lot of funny songs, which I really enjoyed!

Country Women (He changed this to "Maryland Women" for the show, and I'm sure he changes it everywhere he performs!)

Hot Beer (so funny!)

Sawin' Logs (I'm glad my boyfriend told me that "sawing logs" is slang for snoring. Otherwise I wouldn't have understood this song!)

Big Truck

Son of a (This was his one serious, touching song.)

After a break between sets, Kip Moore's band came on stage. Now, I had not seem him perform since the summer of 2015 (read that blog post here), so my memory of his stuff was fuzzy. But he has a very rock 'n' roll sound, which isn't what I was expecting at a country concert. I honestly didn't recognize any of his songs except Beer Money. I was actually pretty disappointed in his show. The rock 'n' roll vibes really threw me off, as did his Mel Gibson-à la-The Patriot ponytail. I mean, one of his guitarists was wearing a Fleetwood Mac shirt! Not only did the performance not feel country, but Moore's attitude was not great, either. I understand that after not being able to perform for so long due to COVID-19, he was ready to put on a show. But it seemed like he lost some social skills during the pandemic from being cooped up for so long. While Carmichael was engaging the crowd wanting us to have fun, Moore just seemed to be focusing on himself having fun. He even admitted to being drunk on tequila and I thought, "You think? You're acting so weird!" He wasn't even fun to watch, honestly; I didn't even bother trying to take any pictures of him while we were there. We ended up leaving mid-way through his set. I was sure there were other songs that I would have liked to hear (not that I remembered them), but I just didn't want to sit through any more of the show. 

When writing this blog post, I was reminded of a few of his hits that I actually really like that I didn't hear him sing:

Somethin' 'Bout a Truck

Hey Pretty Girl (I LOVE this song! How did he not play this song in the first 90 minutes of his set?!)

Here are a few songs he did play that I enjoyed:

That Was Us

How High (similar sentiment to Brett Eldredge's Drunk on Your Love, which I like better, but anyway...)

Fire and Flame (This song and much of his show made me think of Bruce Springsteen. I like Bruce, don't get me wrong, but again, I wanted to see a country concert!) 

Needless to say, I would not see Kip Moore in concert again. I mean, sure, maybe if he were part of a country music festival, but I'm not going to buy tickets to see him as the headliner. What a bummer, especially after such a long wait!