gallim

We were fortunate enough to catch a performance by Gallim Dance last month when they stopped on their tour in Virginia Beach. I try to attend at least one dance performance each season and I chose them   based solely on a review stating "they dance inside-out."

And boy, do they ever.

It's as if their movements radiate from the core first and the dancer is merely reacting, albeit controlled and effortless in appearance.

It's hard to characterize Andrea Miller's choreography, but the words "beautiful" and "grotesque" both come to mind. It's an interesting combination, but brings great masterpieces to mind, such as The Raft of the Medusa,  The Death of Marat, and Laocoon and His Sons. Strangely enough, all three depict the human form in its final state, but they all share a similar elegance outweighing the writhing passion/pain.

But back to Gallim, I am admittedly obsessed. I find myself watching their videos over and over, so I thought I'd share a few with you guys (the first one being my favorite).



The movement at 2:19 takes my breath away (and makes my back ache just looking at it).



Keep in mind, this is only a trailer for a 60 minute performance, so movement is out of context and not necessarily synced to the final music.



How I wish the quality of the video was better, but we saw this number and it was absolutely mesmerizing.

And I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially those without a dance background, coming from a contemporary art perspective. Perhaps I'm so drawn to them because they manage to blur the lines between modern dance and contemporary performance art.

well hello there.

This blog has been super quiet around here lately, right? Sorry about that. Pancake of the Week has been receiving more of my attention lately.

But I do have an exciting new page in the works: The Mainlander's Inside Guide to Chincoteague Island. It'll be chockfull of tips for where to eat, stay and play; plus, it'll share some of the fun places only the locals know about.

So in the meantime, I'll just share some of my recent garage sale loot. Every Memorial Day weekend, Chincoteague has an island-wide garage sale and I obtained everything below with just one twenty dollar bill (plus I had change leftover)!



Though I might qualify as a hoarder now.