Search results matching tag 'travel'

Cedar Lake: badminton, spotlights, and striped pajamas

BUOlivia — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:39:00 GMT

As you might have guessed from the title, the Cedar Lake's program was quite diverse. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, you might want to read about last Sunday's trip to Chicago to see Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. Anyway. Here's what I thought.

1. The theater was huge.

Auditorium Theatre seats 6,000 people, the usher told us. (It's also absolutely gorgeous.) She invited us to move up to the middle (we were seated to the extreme side), since the house was far, far from full. Sadly, we were also far, far from the stage, and some of the movement was not reading. I think I would have enjoyed to show much more had we been closer. That's not Cedar Lake's fault though--that's the theater and where we were sitting.

2. Sunday Again--I'd like to see it again.

The first piece, Sunday Again, was almost weightless in places. There were many places I think were supposed to be funny (they held badminton balls and rackets and took them from each other and threw them into the wings...), but since I was having trouble seeing those small details, I missed some it of. The partnering, however, read loud, clear, and lovely.

I remember certain snapshot moments: One of the duets had a man lifting a woman into a press lift, holding her hand and her hip! She was almost sideways, and transitions were seamless. Also seamless was the time she just sort of rolled up so her hip was on his shoulder--when he straightened from plie, there she was, up in the air. And the most vivid memory of that pas I have was the moment when she stood and he jumped, holding onto her waist, his feet still on the ground behind him. She moved, he plopped without a sound, and then they kept going.

I know what I'm saying pretty much makes no sense, but there was some effortless partnering in the piece. The dynamics of the relationships were also fascinating, and I wish I could see it again. I feel like it is a piece you can see many times.

3. Ten Duets on the Theme of Rescue--dark in several ways.

Ten Duets on the Theme of Rescue was initially my favorite of the three works presented. There were ten duets, all with some element of rescue, unfolding in tandem within a circle of mounted stage lights. The lights were on the stage, and occasionally someone would move one. The lighting was quite dim, however, and I had trouble seeing some of the movement. Again, that's the seating issue.

But I understood the duets, on the surface level, at least. I think that's why I enjoyed it so much. The lighting was also a novelty, and the serious subject matter (I found rescue, friendship/love, redemption, despair, etc...) made the piece appealing. But thinking about the three works again, if I could only see one of the pieces over, I would chose the first. I sense that what I liked about the Ten Duets was the movement quality, the overall tone, the interesting lighting, the music. I think the first piece had many more layers that I was not picking up on.

4. Frame of View--cool frame, cloudy vision.

The set of the third piece had as much to say as the dancing. There was a framework of a room--the walls were open, but the edge of the "ceiling" was indicated by some sort of board--with three doors on the three sides. Dancers came and went through, around, over the doors in a series of vignettes. Some of the individual sections were really neat. I especially enjoyed the section where a woman performed with some unseen person on the other side of the door. The other person reached around the door and through the mail slot, and finally stuck his/her face through the flexible upper portion (which we had not know was flexible until then). It was very neat.

Some of the most interesting moments, however, came when I thought of the room outlined as a metaphor for various things. The problem--for me, at least--came with the conclusion of the dance. The music, as you can see from the program, was so diverse, that the final song did not really tie all the disparate elements together. It ended with the feeling more of a feel-good piece than of a piece with things to say. Which is fine. I don't know... it just did not come together in a satisfactory way for me. Individually, though, some of the sections were awesome. And there was one guy wearing what looked like striped pajamas.

5. And so...

All in all, a good show. I'd really like to watch the first piece again, but be closer to the stage. I just realized I judged most of that with an eye to the choreography rather than the dancing. The dancing was fantastic, I thought. I loved the way the dancers moved: They seemed so strong, but so free, so unbounded and so controlled. Oxymoronic and brilliant. But I wonder when/why my focus has shifted to the more choreographic outlook. Anyway...

And now I have to get ready for my ballet class, so sorry to be abrupt, but bye!

Chicago, Cedar Lake, and other things that start with C

BUOlivia — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:13:00 GMT

So I've done a post about things that start with R and one about things that start with B. I realized this post contains words that start with C: Chicago, Cedar Lake, carpooling...

Sigma Rho Delta, the honorary dance fraternity (yes, girls can join and no, it isn't the same as a social Greek organization), organized a trip to Chicago to see Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet perform this past Sunday. I broke up my Saturday for you. Now here's Sunday:

8:30 Wake up, breakfast
10:00 Meet in Lilly Hall to leave for Chicago
10:30 Actually leave with my lovely, lovely driver and two other dance majors. Ours was the best carpool group, naturally.

1:30 (but only 12:30, Chicago time--we crossed the time zone and I experienced extreme confusion) Arrive in Chicago! Realize Chicago is actually quite beautiful and realize we are actually quite hungry. Eat a sandwich in a little Italian Cafe. See another carpool group standing on the curb outside. Wave them in. Drink tea because it's freaking freezing outside.

2:30 (1:30 Chicago time) Meet in the lobby of Auditorium Theatre for the show! Admire the beautiful details of the 6,000 (!) seat theater. I took a picture of the ornate details over the stage, but then the usher came and told us we weren't allowed to take photographs. Oops. So you'll just have to go to the website to look at the theater.
3:00 (2:00 Chicago time) Showtime! I'll review it next blog post, though.
5:30? something like that? Decide we want food before driving all the way back to Indianapolis. Join forces with some of the other dancers to storm a restaurant. Eat. Drink. Be merry.

7:00? Ish? Head back home. Remember to pay our driver gas/car money. Realize that rain plus unfamiliar highways plus nighttime does not equal calm and happy driving. Survive the pitch-black roads and the waves of water streaming from the backs of the three trucks that pass us in tandem. Huddle together in the back seat for warmth since the defroster has to be on full-blast.
10:00 Arrive in Indianapolis, safe, sound, exhausted, but happy.

So that's that. Chicago, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, carpools, um... I'm sure there are more Cs somewhere. Caring? (Because we cared enough to drive for three hours to see a show?) Canada? (My driver is Canadian.) Cuddle? (We cuddled in the back of the car.) Car! Something like that...

Ballet, bagels, and other things that start with B

BUOlivia — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:09:00 GMT

Studio Dress was yesterday--the Nutcracker has finally been assembled! Now come the daily run-throughs. Maybe I'll put a schedule up of what we did during Studio Dress, but now I want to talk about my friend's birthday and what's going to happen today.

So my friend turned twenty! It was incredibly exciting. We went to the near-by Broad Ripple and ate dinner at Ripple Bagel and Deli. I had a hard time deciding what to pick, because the store looks like this:

That's not even the full menu, since I couldn't fit it all in one shot. You can also order the items that are written on pieces of paper tacked up around the blackboard, so the possibilities are sort of overwhelming. But I decided on the Blonde Bombshell, a turkey and lettuce sandwich with veggie cream cheese and not-creamed cheese. I put it on an apple bagel, and they steamed it (their signature thing-y), and it was awesome.

We also got cupcakes from The Flying Cupcake.

Today we are driving to Chicago with Sigma Rho Delta (honorary dance fraternity) to see Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. So I've got to get a move on, but you can watch this video if you want to know more about one of the pieces we'll be seeing.

Didy Veldman Rehearsal Video from Caleb Custer on Vimeo.

this has been the most interesting travel season to date.

BUMegan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:44:00 GMT

I'm officially a slacker. I can't believe I posted almost two months ago.

I'm not sure where the time went, but I know it went there FAST. Between school visits in the day, and college fairs at night, the past two months have been booked solid 12 hour days. (at least!) I still have a few days of visits left, but nothing like September and October. I want to say that it's been the best travel season, but to be honest, it hasn't. I've struggled a bit in my new role as a regional representative, and have had some unlucky circumstances cloud these past couple of months.

HOWEVER, its a new month, and I'm blogging and I am hoping everything turns out for the best! I'm ready to get back into the rhythm of a regular schedule which includes eating at normal times, working somewhat normal hours and working out! I'll keep you all posted as to how this goes. ;)

We've had a few visit days and a lot of students visiting campus. Please continue! I maintain that campus is at it's best in the fall. Trust me, you won't want to miss the trees changing. ABSOLUTELY beautiful. And with the football team at 8-0, you can't ask for a more perfect way to spend a weekend! GO DAWGS!

My focus after travel is reading files. I've been pleasantly surprised this year with how good some of the essays are. Its time consuming to read an application, but one of my favorite parts of my job. Seniors-please don't forget! Our application deadline is November 15th! Get your applications in so you'll hear in December what your admission decision is!!!

Again, as always, please let me know if you need anything!

Travel Season-By the Numbers

BUClint — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:52:00 GMT

Hello Everyone! I apologize for the delay since my last post, but now that I am ALMOST finished traveling and FINALLY back in Indianapolis, I will be posting updates on a more frequent basis. It's hard to believe that I am almost finished with my 5th travel season. This is one of my favorite parts about being an Admission Counselor. I enjoy the opportunity I have to visit high schools and attend college fairs to meet with you all and your families to talk about Butler University!

Instead of sharing all of my stories from the road (many of which you would probably find boring), I've decided to compile a list of 'TRAVEL STATS' that you might find interesting.

Since Septemper 9th, 2009 I have:

- drove over 4700 miles across Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.
- attended 16 College Fairs and visited 55 High Schools.
- crossed the Ohio River 21 times over 7 different bridges.
- only spent 7 days in Indianapolis.
- made 15 trips to Panera Bread. (Free wireless internet on the road is key)
- only been to The Fresh Market ONCE!

I hope everyone is having a great Fall thus far! I know many of you have been busy working on college applications as I have many of them in my office now that I'm back in Indianapolis. Just a quick reminder for any Seniors intersted in applying to Butler for next fall, our first application deadline is just over three weeks away on Novermber 15th. You can complete your application for free at go.butler.edu/apply.

Have a great weekend!

Clint

Rabbits, rain, and other things that start with R

BUOlivia — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:45:00 GMT

As I said in my last post, it's been pretty much constantly raining since I got home in Richmond for Fall Break. It's also been fairly cold. As in, I did not bring any clothes home because I flew and did not want to check a bag, so I'm wearing my little sister's sweater and jeans. Lucky we're both the same size.

Now, there are several things I could have done today. I might have gotten ahead on my English reading. I could have worked some more on my schedule for the spring semester. I could have practiced my ailing Welsh. I even had the exciting opportunity to vacuum my room. Instead, I sat by the fire with my pet rabbit, Pebbles, and read for about two hours straight. It was amazing.

I finally got the video embedding to work! But if you still cannot see it, go here.

Besides making a video to highlight a small fraction of the wonderous aspects of my rabbit, I went with my family to eat lunch. Bento boxes and machi! It was great.

I'll be heading back to Butler soon, though: My flight leaves tomorrow. I'll be sad to leave behind my family (especially my younger sister, whom I've barely seen since she's sick with the flu) and my beautiful rabbit, but I know I'll be thrust straight into production week of the Student Choreography Showcase. I have a feeling my schedule is about to explode with business, but I will try to fill you in about Student Choreography in the coming week. It should be awesome!

But not quite as awesome as my rabbit.

My day at the airport: the world grows smaller every day

BUOlivia — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:14:00 GMT

Fall Break! I'm typing this in the lovely town of Richmond, Virginia. If you want to know more about this totally awesome place, you can watch this video my parents showed me the other week, which is pretty much the bee's knees.

Anyway, it's been raining lightly/misting/sprinkling ever since my plane touched down on Wednesday night. "It's a London fog," my dad told me, in a shaky, faux-Ulster accent.

But I'm not here to tell you about the weather in Richmond. I'm here to tell how the world shrinks a little every day. The stages of reduction:

I found, through idly comparing stress levels in the Butler Starbucks, that I was taking on the same flight as one my dance friends! My cousin drove us both to the airport on Wednesday after ballet class.
Once at the airport, we saw two junior dance majors having an early dinner. We joined them.
After they left, and we were contemplating our plates of French toast, who should show up but another sophomore dancer? "Over here!" we yelled, and the three of us had dinner together.
We went to sit at our gate. As I was adjusting my luggage, I saw a familiar head... A sophomore dance minor. She was on our flight too, and was actually in the row in front of me. Funnily enough, she had even told my roommate the day before that she could give me a ride to the airport if I needed one...

So we all flew back down South together. There's something about plane rides that inspire confidences, a complete sense of camaraderie. We shared some Indy style popcorn together. Carmel and cheese. I highly recommend it. Here's a picture of us as the plane touched down in Charlotte.

And now you know how the airport basically served as a Butler Ballet reunion.

More Blogs to Come

BUClint — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:55:00 GMT

Hello all! This is my first post, but trust me there will be more. I am traveling this week to different high schools in several cities in Ohio and Kentucky. If you want to see my travel schedule to know when I will be in your area go to our website. That is all for now, but I will be back with more admission tips, suggestions and to answer any questions you have.

Summer slipping on by...

SarahG — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:24:00 GMT

Having been back at BU for 3 weeks, I'm starting to get settled in to my daily schedule. When I'm running my study, I start the day around 7AM, test participants at 8AM, meet with my professor at 10AM, and get back to my apartment in time for lunch. I usually spend my afternoons reading previous studies and research, searching for new studies and research, preparing for the next day's experimental session, and recruiting new participants. Luckily, having my research as my "job" allows me to be flexible with planning. I try to get done with everything around 5 so I have time to work-out, make dinner, and spend the rest of the evening just relaxing and hanging out. The other night I got to watch a movie with a few of my sisters who had just moved back to Butler for the summer. It was fun because I hadn't seen them since the end of the school year, so of course we stayed up chatting all night... which in turn made it not-as-easy to wake up at 7AM the next morning haha.

It's crazy to think that BSI is already 1/3 of the way over. In 6 weeks I'll be moving back to New Pal for about a month before the fall term begins. This summer is seeming to go a LOT faster than last summer, probably because I'm back on campus and keeping myself busy. I'm already making plans for the rest of the summer as well. In July I'll be heading to Cedar Point with some of my sisters for a weekend trip, and in August I'm going to Minneapolis to visit my cousin Laurie! I'm also turning 21 in mid-August, so that will be a lot of fun! Summer will be over before I know it... but I'm okay with that. Not only is fall my favorite season, but I love coming back to school for welcome week to see everyone again!

SB'09 and the beginning of the end

SarahG — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:04:00 GMT

As promised, here are some pictures from Spring Break last week! I wanted you all to see just how amazing my trip was!

Gorgeous view from our hotel

Thetas on the beach

Maybe around half of the BU people... hence the acquired name "Fort Butlerdale" haha

Sisters after dinner!

As great as my break was, don't get too jealous of these pictures... I'm currently back at BU and facing what may prove to be the busiest seven weeks of my academic career... fantastic. On the plus side, they may be the busiest seven weeks of my social calendar as well! With Relay for Life, formals, Spring Sports, Parents' Day, numerous philanthropies, and much more... at least I'll be rounding out the semester in style!