A beautiful economy in motion: Genki Sudo: World Order

We've all heard it before:  "Less is more." 


But what does that mean regarding movement?


"Less is more" is the mantra every actor and writer is hit over the head with, nearly hourly, by every teacher, choreograper or director they'll ever work with.    And as they'll all tell you, it is much easier said than done. 


Below's video, "World Order," by Genki Sudo puts this deceptively complicated artistic theory to practice in the medium of dance.   


*Note:  You will NEVER see ensemble work performed ANY more exquisitely than you see here.  This is the gold standard for ensemble work.  Period. 


And, note, you will never see a performance of our beating heart performed any more beautifully and powerfully than you see starting in about Minute 3:48.  Moving and gorgeous.  I'm in awe.


Okay, I'll admit I'd never heard of Genki Sudo, before, but by minute 3:48 I was a complete goner and had completely fallen under the magic spell of this poetry and precision of movement.  This work is profound.


And how do they do this?  They dance, that's all.  They just dance.


Seriously.  I am still trying to get the scoop on who the hell Genki Sudo really is, other than being thoroughly addictive and impossible to stop watching.  But my Wiki-sources aren't coming up with too much, yet.


Here's what I've come up with so far:   "World Order" is a music video from retired MMA-fighter Genki Sudo‘s album “World Order”.  And that the name of the dance group is “World Order” as well.


(So, this means this guy used to be a prize fighter?  Really?  No way.)


If anyone cares to enlighten me more about this guy, or who "World Order"is, then be my guest:  


Fire away.


Watch:

Coastal living at 110 degrees.

Yesterday topped 110 degrees.


Even the birds were silent.  


The air, a steady bake, quietly hovered over the surface of our lives.  On an otherwise normal day in Southern California, lawns singed.  Tires burst.  People withered.  


If, indeed, geography is personal, then climate is even more so.


Here in coastal elementary schools, meccas of mid-century architecture blithely shaded scores of limp children in classrooms untouched by scientific concepts such as Global Warming, let alone one air conditioner.  Not in the budget.  Yet.


There were no extra fans, and no school AC.  Perhaps, the (wise and loving) occasional homeroom teacher managed to provide, one or two fans of their own, for their classroom.  But, generally, the schools were all left wide open.  


Open and welcoming to the friendly skies of 1957, when they were built.   The only catch is, it isn't mid-century any longer.  It is now 2010.


School budgets no longer contain enough for books, teachers, or even for more children.  Who will, no doubt, be increasingly educated by ghost teachers in rooms built in times which expected a far milder climates.  


And now, while our children wilted no explanation was provided, but they adapted.  They snuck out to dated echoey bathrooms to press wet, scratchy water-soaked paper towels to their foreheads.  They survived.  Quietly and steadily they adapted.  Which is, I suppose, the biggest compliment one can offer a school, that their students use their wits to evolve.


What they were not taught:  They were not taught why there are such things as El  Nino, or  droughts or new weather extremes of any kind.  And the windows, all cranked open to the hot, baking air which echoing with silent trees after the birds moved on to shadier corners.


But, back to the heat.  And the dust.   


The sky;  A dingy blue with a sepia smear of urban brown dragging along the horizon.   Far away thunderheads teased the mountainous skyline, but what need have we in Orange County for things like rain?


Here, at the coast, we have open air classrooms, cafeterias.  What do we need with climate protection?  After all, it wasn't the kind of torch-blowing of the Santa Ana winds:  This was different.


The heat yesterday was quiet.  Silent, invisible and perversely intolerable.


Recently I re-read The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje and was suddenly reminded of the passage where Almasy tells Katherine Clifton about the different kinds of desert winds...

_________

Almásy: Let me tell you about winds. There is a, a whirlwind from southern Morrocco, the aajej, against which the fellahin defend themselves with knives. And there is the... the ghibli, from Tunis... 
Katharine Clifton: The "ghibli"? 
Almásy:  - the ghibli, which rolls and rolls and rolls and produces a... a rather strange nervous condition. And then there is the... the harmattan, a red wind, which mariners call the sea of darkness. And red sand from this wind has flown as far as the south coast of England, apparently producing... showers so dense that they were mistaken for blood. Katharine Clifton: Fiction! We have a house on that coast and it has never, never rained blood.
 Almásy: No, it's all true. Herodotus, your friend. He writes about it. And he writes about... a, a wind, the simoon, which a nation thought was so evil they declared war on it and marched out against it. In full battle dress. Their swords raised. 

_________

Reading this dialogue,  I was reminded again, of just how intricately, intimately our internal life is bound up with our geography, and to be more specific how much our soul is defined by the climate of this geography.

Below is a clip of this dialogue from film of the novel The English Patient.

Wait - there's more! Jessica's Daily Affirmation, Part Two

In case you missed the amazing "Jessica's Daily Affirmation" Part One, here it is, again.

It never fails to cheer me up.

This kid obviously has never heard Bowie's Laughing Gnome

This kid loves Bowie.

No, this kid really, really, really loves David Bowie...



Hey, Mom! -- Guess what?  You, too,  can cure this child of her obsession with just one listen of Bowie's "The Laughing Gnome."



Even Bowie can't handle it.

David Bowie 'Requiem For A Laughing Gnome' 1999

Luck be a lady tonight...

What.  Is.  Luck?

"Your lucky number is 32345543423225. Watch for it everywhere."






Compilation of close calls footage of various people cheating death


Watch:

This will not make you hallucinate. Promise.

I learned at least three things tonight:

One:  Apparently "This is so smooth" is a bullshit compliment.  (That's what she said.)

And, Two;  Apparently artists see things that aren't there anyway, so the rest of us are free to drink Absinthe without any risk to our ears.

And, three:  This will not make you hallucinate, you will just be more aware that you are drunk.

See for yourself:

Best song of Summer 2010

This is my all time favorite song of this summer:  LCD Soundsystem's "Someone Great."

Has some controversy about the meaning of it:  Don't really care.  It's my favorite song of the year.

!!! Chk Chk Chk: Hit from last week's F* Yeah Festival in Los Angeles

I have to tell you,  I know people did a fair amount of bitching and moaning about lines and alleged chaos at last week's FYF, but I didn't notice anything different from any other big concert event.

Seriously, have any of these complaining 20 something-year-olds ever tried to survive a PTA funded ice cream social in 100 degree weather?  Give me a break.

Sorry, but I thought the event was amazing.  Loved the light rail running behind the bands as the sun set over LA.  Chinatown's lights growing stronger as dusk faded into one rocking night.

And then there were the bands.  The only one that I can think about was a new group out of Sacramento called !!! (or Chk Chk Chk)

God, these guys were hot and the concert dancing was, maybe, some of the best concert dancing, ever.

Here's a  Black Dice video of "AmFm" from their album "Strange Weather, Isn't It?"

Mysterious Skin: An amazing night of theater at East West Players

Last night I made my way up and out of Orange County to go see "Mysterious Skin," a play written by my friend and blogger pal, Prince Gomolvilas, which is now enjoying its Los Angeles premiere at East West Players.

I have to say, I was in a hurry last night, so while flying up the 110 freeway, I worked to make my mind an empty slate about what I thought the play was going to be like.  I knew only that it was going to be shocking.

True, I had heard the play (based on Scott Heim's novel) was "adult" and gay-themed, but other than this, I attempted to keep my understanding of what to expect last night as spoiler-free as possible.

I wanted to absorb as much as possible last night completely free of preconceptions.  

Luckily,  I actually made it to my seat just in time to hear a lovely introduction by the play's director, Tim Dang, before the show began.  And I'm so grateful I was there for the first night of the run.  

"Mysterious Skin" is, without a doubt, one amazing night of theater:  It is undeniably powerful, most certainly shocking and unexpectedly haunting.

It is certainly not a show for faint of heart.  Trust me:  I'm an Orange County, mom, so I can vouch that you should leave Grandma and the kids at home for this one.  However, for the rest of us living in 2010, it was a very moving, memorable theatrical experience.  

Everything, from the cast to the elegantly paced direction, exemplified what kind of magic happens when talented people come together and focus on a shared vision.  This was evident last night.

I have to admit, that while watching "Mysterious Skin" I was reminded of another play,"Angels in America," which was similar to this production in a variety of ways. Although it is hardly derivative of Tony Kuschner's "Angels in America" there are some parallel aspects to both plays.  I won't give away any spoilers, but the parallels are not just in the narrative, but also in the kind of writing that just jumps off the page.  It's at turns, terse, funny and unexpectedly moving, all woven together into an astonishing ensemble piece all reminding me how fortunate I was to have seen this particular production with this cast at this time.  I know how rare it is for everything to come together so seamlessly as this ensemble piece does with such elegance.

Performances such as David Huynh's work as Neil in the play, as well as Scott Keiji Takeda's Brian, each provide a lovely counterpoint to the other.  One graceful, bold and evocative, the other character eerily imploding under the weight of his character's burden.  A moving journey through unexpected territory, thanks to the combined talent of both Heim and Gomolvilas.

Huyhn exudes a cat-like, mercurial physicality, bringing to mind the work of James Dean. This actor's work is simply breathtaking.  He unselfconsciously brought an emotional transparency to the writing without ever "showing" us he was doing so.  If you don't know what playing the subtext is, yet, then watch Huynh and you will.

Also extremely moving and memorable was the work of actress, Elizabeth Liang, who brought a notable depth, warmth and humor to her part as Avalyn.  Her ability to expose the rich layers of her character was really astonishing.

Prince Gomolvilas, displayed a true talent for balancing crisp, humorous dialogue along with moments of unexpectedly poetic imagery.  Particularly memorable is the intro to act two, as well as those lyrical monologues, each giving his characters uniquely haunting, and arresting dialogue which has since lingered in my mind long after leaving the theater.

Also, of note, of course, was Heim's original novel which ultimately was the entire basis of this arresting night of theater.  "Mysterious Skin" plays with the shifting terrain of memory and mystery in ways I didn't expect -- let's just say it's not your usual storyline.

Actor and actress alert: This play contains a goldmine of wonderful monologues. Better come see them here, first, before they all end up in one of those actor's monologue anthologies and you find out you missed your chance to snag them first.  You can thank me later for this.

All in all, last night was the first night of a ground-breaking theatrical run which I can honestly say was as memorable as it was thought provoking.  I can't recommend it enough.




MYSTERIOUS SKIN

By Prince Gomolvilas
Based on the novel by Scott Heim
Directed by Tim Dang
This searing drama follows the story of a boy who believes he was once abducted by aliens. All roads lead back to a childhood classmate, now a hustler, who holds the key to the terrifying and heart-breaking truth. Due to its subject matter, graphic language and nudity, MYSTERIOUS SKIN is intended for mature audiences.


EAST WEST PLAYERS
THE DAVID HENRY HWANG THEATER
120 Judge John Aiso Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 625-7000 telephone
info@eastwestplayers.org


Performance Runs:
September 9 - October 10, 2010
Wednesday - Saturday @ 8:00 p.m.
Sundays @ 2 p.m.