Facebook vs. Myspace. I confess, I like Facebook, especially after I checked my profile this morning!
I received a video message on my FunWall (a place where your friends can post videos on your page) from my sister. It was a clip of comedian Aries Spears (MadTV) at a radio station doing impressions of rappers LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, DMX and Jay-Z.
During this radio show, the DJ asked Spears to do one of these impressions, but he decided to give us a medley.
I was completely blown away!
The first part of this clip Spears shifts from the saucy, lip-licking LL, to the smooth, west side swagger of Snoop D-O-G-G. Not only are his impressions right on, but his improvised rapping is incredible. "Snoop" then calls on DMX to join the show. Spears growls, barks and grunts as only the true DMX does.
Last, but most certainly not least, Jay-Z enters the mix. As a fan of Jay-Z, I was not aware of how different his voice is. While a strong rapper, Jay-Z's voice, well, isn't. It is high pitched, kind of whiny and buried with his Brooklyn accent. The second time I watched this video I closed my eyes and forgot it wasn't Jay-Z. Again, Spears "flowed" as naturally as most professional rappers do and I caught myself thinking, he's really good!
So, as for Aries Spears, if comedy doesn't work out, he should try rapping. I'd buy his CD!
Check out the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP3qL4UG1TI
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
A Midsummer Night's Dream?
On September 29 my sister and I attended the Ballet Austin performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". As lovers of the ballet, we were especially excited to see this hilarious story combined with beautiful dancing.
The opening scene began with Puck (Anthony Casati) and Cupid (Anne Marie Melendez) flitting about the woods of Athens when Oberon (Jim Stein), who is King of the Fairies, valiantly enters the stage. The warm tones of hunter green and golden yellow echoed from the backdrop to the costumes, which were made of chiffon that followed every body movement. The enchanted forest filled with fairies and sprites is displayed within Alexey Korygin’s costume choices and Stephen Mills’ simple yet energetic choreography.
During scene two, Demetrius (Paul Michael Bloodgood) enters the stage quickly followed by Helena (Allisyn Paino). She is deeply obsessed with him but he has no interest in her, for he is betrothed to her friend Hermia (Ashley Lynn). Paino’s comedic performance in this ballet was outstanding! When she latched on to his ankle as he was trying to get away to right before they left the stage as she jumped on his back, she never hesitated to go all the way in portraying the infatuation Helena has for Demetrius.
Oberon observes the interaction between Helena and Demetrius and decides to take love and fate into his own hands. He tells Puck to pick a special flower with love nectar and sprinkle it in Demetrius’s eyes so that he will fall in love with Helena. Jim Stein, who played Oberon, while lacking in the physical “wow” factor that a male ballet dancer usually possesses, he made up for it in his charisma on stage and princely demeanor. He commanded attention and eloquently moved around the stage.
Scene three shows couple number two, Hermia and Lysander (Frank Shott) in a slow, intimate pas de deux filled with elegant partner work and chemistry between the two dancers that entranced the entire audience. Ashley Lynn dances with grace and fluidity and Shott’s strength and agility showed as he easily scooped her up into his arms making partner work look as easy as pointing your foot.
Puck’s careless nature is shown when he accidentally sprinkles the love nectar over Lysander’s eyes, who as a result falls in love with Helena. Demetrius also catches some of the nectar and falls in love with Helena. Again, Stephen Mills’ choreography captures “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” comedy exceptionally well considering there are no spoken words. With this newfound attention, the overwhelmed Helena tries to get away from the two doting men.
At the beginning of the next scene, the audience is transported back into the Kingdom of the Fairies, The Mechanicals, a young acting group tramps into the forest and Puck decides to transform one of them, Bottom (Reginald Harris) into a donkey. The humor in Bottom is portrayed as Harris pranced around the stage with vanity, arrogance and a bad case of fleas.
At the end of the first half Oberon sets the love triangle straight by sprinkling the nectar from the flower so that each man will fall in love with the woman who loves him.
The second half of the ballet begins with a wedding ceremony between Duke Theseus (Eric Midgley) and his bride Hippolyta (Aara Krump). The two couples, Helena and Demetrius and Hermia and Lysander are wedding guests. This second act was unfortunately a collection of boring dances, only for the sake of dancing.
While Aara is an exceptional dancer, she made no connection with Midgley, making it difficult to believe they were in love. Aara’s costume was white chiffon with puffy sleeves and silver sequins around the bodice. It was completely unflattering and made her look 10 pounds heavier than she is.
Stephen Mills excels in contemporary, modern and comedic choreography. The first act displayed his innate ability to convey a message with dance, but the second act intensified his inability to recreate classical ballet dancing.
While the first act of the ballet deserves much appreciation, the second act was unneeded and the audience would have been satisfied, even pleasantly amused to leave after the first half.
The opening scene began with Puck (Anthony Casati) and Cupid (Anne Marie Melendez) flitting about the woods of Athens when Oberon (Jim Stein), who is King of the Fairies, valiantly enters the stage. The warm tones of hunter green and golden yellow echoed from the backdrop to the costumes, which were made of chiffon that followed every body movement. The enchanted forest filled with fairies and sprites is displayed within Alexey Korygin’s costume choices and Stephen Mills’ simple yet energetic choreography.
During scene two, Demetrius (Paul Michael Bloodgood) enters the stage quickly followed by Helena (Allisyn Paino). She is deeply obsessed with him but he has no interest in her, for he is betrothed to her friend Hermia (Ashley Lynn). Paino’s comedic performance in this ballet was outstanding! When she latched on to his ankle as he was trying to get away to right before they left the stage as she jumped on his back, she never hesitated to go all the way in portraying the infatuation Helena has for Demetrius.
Oberon observes the interaction between Helena and Demetrius and decides to take love and fate into his own hands. He tells Puck to pick a special flower with love nectar and sprinkle it in Demetrius’s eyes so that he will fall in love with Helena. Jim Stein, who played Oberon, while lacking in the physical “wow” factor that a male ballet dancer usually possesses, he made up for it in his charisma on stage and princely demeanor. He commanded attention and eloquently moved around the stage.
Scene three shows couple number two, Hermia and Lysander (Frank Shott) in a slow, intimate pas de deux filled with elegant partner work and chemistry between the two dancers that entranced the entire audience. Ashley Lynn dances with grace and fluidity and Shott’s strength and agility showed as he easily scooped her up into his arms making partner work look as easy as pointing your foot.
Puck’s careless nature is shown when he accidentally sprinkles the love nectar over Lysander’s eyes, who as a result falls in love with Helena. Demetrius also catches some of the nectar and falls in love with Helena. Again, Stephen Mills’ choreography captures “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” comedy exceptionally well considering there are no spoken words. With this newfound attention, the overwhelmed Helena tries to get away from the two doting men.
At the beginning of the next scene, the audience is transported back into the Kingdom of the Fairies, The Mechanicals, a young acting group tramps into the forest and Puck decides to transform one of them, Bottom (Reginald Harris) into a donkey. The humor in Bottom is portrayed as Harris pranced around the stage with vanity, arrogance and a bad case of fleas.
At the end of the first half Oberon sets the love triangle straight by sprinkling the nectar from the flower so that each man will fall in love with the woman who loves him.
The second half of the ballet begins with a wedding ceremony between Duke Theseus (Eric Midgley) and his bride Hippolyta (Aara Krump). The two couples, Helena and Demetrius and Hermia and Lysander are wedding guests. This second act was unfortunately a collection of boring dances, only for the sake of dancing.
While Aara is an exceptional dancer, she made no connection with Midgley, making it difficult to believe they were in love. Aara’s costume was white chiffon with puffy sleeves and silver sequins around the bodice. It was completely unflattering and made her look 10 pounds heavier than she is.
Stephen Mills excels in contemporary, modern and comedic choreography. The first act displayed his innate ability to convey a message with dance, but the second act intensified his inability to recreate classical ballet dancing.
While the first act of the ballet deserves much appreciation, the second act was unneeded and the audience would have been satisfied, even pleasantly amused to leave after the first half.
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