Sydney Dance Company: "Impermanence"

Last night my mom and I went to see the Sydney Dance Company at the Kennedy Center. She knows I love going to the ballet, and since we are celebrating my birthday this week, we thought this would be a great way to celebrate. I had never seen this dance company before (which features dancers mostly from Australia and New Zealand, which surprised me, since so many companies are very global), and even though it was more modern dance than ballet, I was still excited to see the performance. 

This was actually the U.S. premiere of this show, and I think the first time this dance company came to the Kennedy Center, too! They were working on Impermanence in 2020, and then the pandemic shut everything down. So now they are finally able to do the international tour four years later.

Rafael Bonachela, choreographer of this piece and the artistic director of the company, says the main message of the performance is that life is "fleeting and vulnerable," and we should "hold dear what we have and make the most of every moment." I live by this kind of stuff! This is why I always stay so busy: we only have so much time on this earth, and I want to do so many things before time runs out. This show focuses on the "ephemeral nature [and] impermanence of human life," which I think everyone can relate to.

One of the coolest parts of the show is that all of the music, composed by Bryce Dessner, is performed by a string quartet on stage. Watching them was almost as cool as watching the dancing! My mom and I both love the cello, and we really enjoyed the music. One song eerily reminded me of This Bitter Earth; I saw a ballet piece choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to that song, and it has always stuck with me. The last part of Impermanence did also feature the song Another World by the singer Anohni, which threw me off a little bit since everything else was strictly instrumental. But all in all I liked the music, which had a wide range from low and slow to very energetic.

The dancing was the same way. In the first part, called "Before," the dancers were walking around the stage slow-motion, both forward and backward, and occasionally (gracefully) fell on the floor and then got back up. But when the music got faster, the dancers' movements did, too. The moves were "balletic," fluid, and quite athletic as well (sometimes it looked like they were even doing crunches and bridges on the floor). I really enjoyed when the stage was full of dancers moving in sync with one another. There was also one part that reminded me of contact improv, with the dancers touching each other and ending up in a "cuddle puddle" on the floor. And of course there were quintessential modern dance moves that were included, mostly writhing on the floor and flexed feet (i.e. two things that are the opposite of classic ballet). The solo at the end was probably the most modern, with the male dancer rubbing his face and moving his body in a disjointed way. It was probably my least favorite part, so perhaps not the best way to complete the show. But maybe the distress in his movements represented the regret of not living life to the fullest?

Along with the music coming from only four instruments, the set and costumes were minimal as well. The set was a white floor with a white screen, but the screen did change color throughout the performance; sometimes half the screen would be in color, sometimes all of it, and at times it looked like snow was falling, like little sparkles on the screen. The costumes, designed by Aleisa Jelbart, were made from fabric of all muted earth tones and consisted of tops and what essentially were underwear. This allowed for you to really see the muscular definition of the dancers' bodies, which added to the athletic feel of the performance. The dancers also wore socks instead of shoes, and occasionally their feet would make squeaky noises, which was a little distracting. While I do love the tutus and frills of a classic ballet, I appreciated the minimalism of this show, too. 

If I ever have the chance to see this dance company again, I definitely would! I thought they did a great job of combining modern dance and ballet, and the graceful, fluid nature of (most of) the show was really beautiful.

There are only two more shows left at the Kennedy Center for tonight and tomorrow, so get your tickets now!

Here's a preview:

2024 Passover Seders

This was the first year I am not celebrating Passover with my grandmother. She passed away almost a year ago, and the last time I visited her, we had a mini-Seder at her apartment, and she was thrilled that my dad and I could be there with her.

In her honor, I wanted to make sure I attended a community Seder this year, and I actually ended up going to two! The first was a few weeks ago, so a little early, but it still had the same sentiment, even if it wasn't actually head during the true week of Passover.

The first Seder I went to was held at the Capital Jewish Museum, which is still pretty new. This event focused a lot on social justice. There were fifteen partner groups who helped with the event! Each one had a table, and a representative from each group read part of the one-of-a-kind haggadah. This was a modern twist on an ancient tradition, but I really enjoyed it. We talked about protecting the environment, standing up for our LGBTQ+ neighbors, and remembering that there is still much suffering in today's world, just as the Israelites suffered in Egypt. There was a lot of singing (as usual), but also a lot of clapping, and sometimes I felt like I was a kid at summer camp (and not in a good way). But that was probably the only part of the evening I didn't like. I came to the event on my own, but all the people at my table were very nice, and the food was delicious! There was actually food on the table when we arrived, so we had snacks to tide us over while we waited for the main meal. I especially enjoyed the flourless chocolate cake, which was actually a chocolate mousse cake, which is even better! The slice was huge, and I loved every bite of it. I have attended a couple of events at the Museum, and I thought this one was very well done.

For my second Seder, which was held on the real first night of Passover, I went to Washington Hebrew, where I have taken a couple of continuing education classes over the past few months (I highly recommend their "12 Jewish Questions" program!). Several tables were reserved specifically for their young professionals group called "2239," so I sat with a few friends and met some new people, too. But there were people of all ages there, and it was cute seeing the little kids search for the afikomen and sing the Four Questions. There was more singing throughout the evening, and the cantor Susan Bortnick has a beautiful voice (although at times I felt like she was making up her own melodies and was channeling her inner Aurora from Sleeping Beauty). We went through the haggadah pretty quickly, and then it was time to eat!

A few people at our table were gluten-free, so I had the chance to try the gluten-free matzah, and it was really good (probably because it's very salty and tastes like a regular cracker!). The catering staff forgot the salt water on the tables, but we dipped our parsley in wine instead (we had to drink four glasses anyway, right?). The horseradish was very spicy, just like my Grandma would have liked it! I always just take a little bit because I can't handle it, but my friend took a BIG dollop of horseradish, and she was crying it was so hot! The rest of the meal included chicken, roasted vegetables, and a side salad that came with a maple tahini dressing that we all thought was delicious. A tray of cookies constituted dessert, and the rainbow ones are my favorite. I will admit that I found a Ziplock bag and took MANY cookies home... But, they were just going to be thrown out, right? I was trying to help limit the food waste!

I am so glad I had the opportunity to enjoy these two Seders and to spend that time with friends and new neighbors alike. I am so thankful to be a part of the Jewish community in Washington, D.C. and to celebrate this special time of year with others when I can no longer do so with my grandmother.

2024 DC Environmental Film Festival

I think I have seen at least one film during the DC Environmental Film Festival (DCEFF) since I moved to the DC area 12 (!) years ago. I wasn't able to go to any of the in-person screenings this year, but I did watch several of the short films online. Here are some of my favorites:

Flora, Fauna, Funga

I loved this National Geographic film! It's about a Chilean mycologist, Guiliana Furci, studying, identifying, and finding new species of mushrooms. Her passion is infectious, and I myself have felt the wonder of seeing a mushroom or other kind of fungus and wishing I knew what kind it was. Fungi are an amazing part of our ecosystems, and yet they are usually overlooked and are rarely acknowledged. I like how this film brings them to the forefront, and of course any documentary that focuses on women in STEM is great in my book!

WILD HOPE: Return of the Manatees

I have always loved manatees, and I actually saw them for the first time in captivity last year (read that blog post here). This Nature on PBS documentary is about manatees in areas of Florida, such as Crystal River and Indian River Lagoon, and how their populations have been negatively affected by storms, which have brought saltwater and non-native plants into freshwater areas where they live; the manatees were starving because they didn't have the right vegetation to eat. Concerned citizens, as well as representatives from non-profits such as Sea & Shoreline and Zoo Tampa, have gotten together to help save the manatees and the ecosystems where they live. These animals are such gentle creatures, and I am so glad there are many people trying to look out for them!

Bare Existence: A Documentary About Polar Bears International

I knew this would be a sad film because it's about polar bears, and everyone knows how terribly affected they are by climate change. They are running out of sea ice, which is where they feed, and they are starving (there is some graphic footage). Polar Bears International is an organization doing research to help save polar bears. I was particularly enamored with Steven Amstrup, who is the chief scientist emeritus of the group. He has been studying bears for decades, and he is particularly passionate about saving polar bears. He even helped get them listed as "vulnerable" on the Endangered Species List! The non-profit does a lot of education around the plight of polar bears, and I really appreciate the work they are doing to spread the word on how important it is to save charismatic megafauna species like this.

Batsies

I myself like bats; I've never found them creepy or scary. So I resonated with the two women in this film who have dedicated their work to saving bats (and they get to do it together as best friends, no less!). Sarah Fritts and Sara Weaver met at Texas State University, and now they are both wildlife biologists at the school working to protect these cute, furry creatures. More women in STEM, woot! I was particularly surprised to learn how bats are negatively impacted by wind turbines, and these scientists are trying to find a way to use ultrasonic deterrents to keep bats away from the turbines using sounds that the bats don't like. Fascinating! I hope it works to help save these little animals. 

The Return of Nóouhàh-Toka’na

This film is about the Swift Fox species and trying to reintroduce it to the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana. Just like the bison, these animals are important to Native American tribes (specifically the Aaniiih and Nakoda tribes), but the species was almost entirely lost due to predator control years ago. In the end of the film, it was cool to see how they could track the animals (and show how far each traveled!) as well as reinstate this missing piece of Native culture. I appreciated how many young people were involved in the project, too. And of course it's always encouraging to see a population start to improve and grow. The science and dedication is working!

Read my blog posts from previous festivals:

• 2021
• 2023