Modern Dance

Sophia and I stumbled upon- ok, well more like snuck our way into- the most amazing dance performance I have seen in a while.

Part of the Uitmarkt, we saw a breathtaking, raw, modern dance performance by a large group of young people. I still can't find the name of the piece or the choreographer, but I stopped one of the dancers after the performance to ask who they were. He said they were all first year students at some university or another that I couldn't quite understand. I was shocked to hear that they were so young/early on in their training! The pure energy running through their movement and collective body was amazing.

The performance was in a small room in Paradiso, a famous nightclub/cultural venue in Amsterdam. They weren't letting anyone else in, but Sophia and I snuck in when one of the guards left. The room was absolutely jam packed, as well as nice and hot and sweaty. I climbed up onto a small table with some other random girl to be able to see the dancers.

The music was blasting from one corner of the room and the audience was shoved to the walls to make room for the dancers. From the silence and stillness of the crowd, I could tell that everyone was captivated. If not by their movement (some of which reminded me of the vibratory movement from the Seán Curran Company performance I saw at ND last year), by their energy and dedication to the performance.

It was awesome. I felt like I had fallen into a room with a wonderful secret to share. It's that moment when you're not sure if something so captivating really happened or not.

Monteverdish

One amazing performance I saw at the Uitmarkt was - get this - a hip-hop breakdance opera! It was called Monteverdish.

Based on the opera L'Incoronazione di Poppea by Monteverdi, it was performed by the dance/theater/music company ISH ("the name comes from the suffix ‘ish’, which is added at the end of a word when something cannot be precisely defined because it’s both one thing and another") and an "international atelier for innovative music theatre," VocaalLAB.

A hip-hop breakdance opera sounded like a crazy combination, but I wanted to see as much dance as I could at the Uitmarkt. It did not disappoint! There were about 4 opera singers and 4 dancers, who all interacted with each other-the dancers dancing around the singers, the singers joining in the movement... so neat. The storyline involved love and war, of course.

There was such passion in both the singers and the dancers, which might have been what brought it together so well: both opera and (break)dancing involve PASSION. Which is something I definitely learned while dancing at SMC- you have to have passion, and you have to be into your movement, music, performance, whatever, if you want the audience to buy it... and love it as much as you do! These two groups combined had that down. Very professional. Especially the lead female singer (in black & white)- she was amazing, and participated the most in the dance portions.

What an awesome mixture of art. You can actually see the whole thing here (about a minute in)- but it's not nearly as good as in person.

The Walrus of Love In Amsterdam

For my family especially:
At the Uit Markt, one of the prestigious Dutch orchestras was playing a Barry White song. It was so unexpected that when I first heard it I started grinning... and then they repeated the song at least 4 times! Which was kind of puzzling. But great. Because who doesn't love a little jazzy Barry White to swing along to?

Uit Markt

Next up:
A series of posts about the Uit Markt festival from the 26-29th of August.

 The Uit Markt is "the official opening event of the new cultural season. The Uitmarkt is an annual fixture in Amsterdam's cultural calendar... it draws around 500,000 visitors each year- visitors who are interested in arts and culture in every shape and form. The Uitmarkt reflects all aspects of Dutch cultural life and focuses on what will be offered on Dutch stages and in Dutch museums in the coming cultural season."

Despite the sporadic rain, I had an awesome time exploring the festival with Sophia, Eli, and James. Most of the events took place at Museumplein. I ate a yummy fried ham sandwich (broodjes), some delicious poffertjes, and saw some great music and DANCE!
 

Crowd Personalities: A Photo Story

At the parade there were also a lot of interesting people walking along the canal. I love photographing regular people out on the streets- some have such a unique style! [ Makes me feel a bit like an amateur version of The Sartorialist :) ]

P.S. At least on my web browser, the quality of my photos seems to be decreased when published on here... rrrr... if you could only see the real beauty of them...

Hangin' out of the windows.

To give you an idea of just how crowded the streets were!
Dreads!!

boho + preppy

Oh hey! I found some buff Scottish relatives over here.

The father and daughter standing next to me during the parade.

rainbowed out

silver sequin dress + pink

Somehow this guy reminds me of Kermit.

pink boas

Nice colors. PLUS, did you see that thing on his head?! I'm not even sure I saw it when I took this photo.
time wrapped up in pearls

Attractive man confident enough to wear a baby out in public... you know I can't resist.

I thought this was a hilarious festival sight: boats on the canal that sell alcohol to passing party boats- handing money and wine bottles to one another precariously over the water!

the end

--> Who's your favorite? <--

Amsterdam Gay Pride Parade

The very first weekend I was here, Amsterdam had its famous Gay Pride Festival. What's especially awesome about their parade is that it's done on the canals, so the "floats" are actually floats! It was great to see the city come alive with a festival in the first couple of days I was here. Yes, it was crazy, and yes, there were some absolutely hilarious outfits! But the best thing was that so many people- gay, straight, teenagers, adults, kids, families- participated and watched from the streets, piled on top of strangers' front stoops, or hung out of windows along the canal. It was a fun atmosphere to be in. And in the end? It's just all about love!

Floats with awesome messages:

The postal service... clever with the barcode, no?

"I can be myself at work"- Company Pride Platform

10 years of marriage between two men/two women in the Netherlands! And the institution of marriage hasn't come crashing down over here!... shocking...

Gay & straight play rugby. Interesting.

Rainbows and different country flags

"Poz & Proud: gay men with HIV"

UvA Pride: University of Amsterdam float. How scholarly they all look. Ha!

DO YOU SEE THAT PREGNANT LADY?!?!

Totally ridiculous! The "Amsterdam Musketeers: All for guys! Guys for all!" Hilarious.

?!?!

"Christian and gay"

"Oh, happy gay!" Haha.

Psychiatric and Addiction Care: "Away With Stigmas," "No Drugs, Still Crazy!"


"addicted to LOVE"