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Freeze Frame…Stop the Madness & Moonlight
Saturday, 29 October 2016 21:03These stories are not connected, I just happened to see both of them today.
Freeze Frame…Stop the Madness is a multimedia theatrical performance written, directed, choreographed and featuring Debbie Allen. It addresses U.S. gun violence, particular police violence against civilians, as well as interpersonal violence driven by poverty.
It's a tiny bit didactic and it's a more of a slice of life leading to tragedy than a plot, but most of the performers were genuine triple threats (singing/rapping, dancing, acting) and everybody was engaging. Cathie Nicholas really stood out to me, and I'll keep my eye out for her tap company, Rhythm 'n Shoes, making its way out east.
I was genuinelycrying moved by the end of the show, and I really enjoyed it. The dancing was probably the best part, but some of the monologues were more affecting than I would have expected, given that the dialogue clunked a bit.
The choreography moved between dance genres in a really fluid and interesting way. One piece, "The One" set parts of the Gettysburg Address to a beat and also took a tour through American, Black popular music and its associated dances.
Freeze Frame is also the first time I've ever seen praise dance incorporated into professional choreography, which was interesting. The relative simplicity of the choreography combined with the extremely high extension was an interesting look on professional dancers.
A couple of things I was a bit discomfited by, Debbie Allen plays a Mexican-American grandmother. They incorporate Spanish into the part of the play about that character and her grandson, but it's directly translated. (I wouldn't be surprised if the translation wasn't English to Spanish, given how clearly I followed the Spanish.) The grandson is a deaf-mute who uses ASL, but it's pretty clearly Signed English Equivalent and it looks pretty clumsy, and it's incorporated into choreography in a way that is obviously not skillful. So, points for trying but not really successful on these incorporations of the broader world.
In sum, I definitely would recommend seeing Freeze Frame if you get the chance, but aside from the performance tomorrow at the Kennedy Center, I don't know where or if they're showing it again.
Moonlight is the most feminist movie I've seen all year. It's an intense character study, where Chiron is demonized and warped by the kyriarchy's demands, and he fights back by choosing which of the kyriarchy's expectations he'll meet.
And it's a story that shows we're none of us just one thing.
And it's a movie which just looks at black people, and lights them in darkness so they're beautiful, in a way which I'm not used to but really want to see more of. And it's a talkie about a really taciturn character, which is sort of fascinating.
Mahershala Ali is phenomenal in this film, probably the best performance, but all of the adults (including adult Chiron and Kevin) are really great. (The one thing the movie didn't give me that I really, really wanted was more Janelle Monáe.) I don't know if the kids are great, but all of the actors playing Chiron are really arresting, even though they don't say much.
Go see this movie.
Freeze Frame…Stop the Madness is a multimedia theatrical performance written, directed, choreographed and featuring Debbie Allen. It addresses U.S. gun violence, particular police violence against civilians, as well as interpersonal violence driven by poverty.
It's a tiny bit didactic and it's a more of a slice of life leading to tragedy than a plot, but most of the performers were genuine triple threats (singing/rapping, dancing, acting) and everybody was engaging. Cathie Nicholas really stood out to me, and I'll keep my eye out for her tap company, Rhythm 'n Shoes, making its way out east.
I was genuinely
The choreography moved between dance genres in a really fluid and interesting way. One piece, "The One" set parts of the Gettysburg Address to a beat and also took a tour through American, Black popular music and its associated dances.
Freeze Frame is also the first time I've ever seen praise dance incorporated into professional choreography, which was interesting. The relative simplicity of the choreography combined with the extremely high extension was an interesting look on professional dancers.
A couple of things I was a bit discomfited by, Debbie Allen plays a Mexican-American grandmother. They incorporate Spanish into the part of the play about that character and her grandson, but it's directly translated. (I wouldn't be surprised if the translation wasn't English to Spanish, given how clearly I followed the Spanish.) The grandson is a deaf-mute who uses ASL, but it's pretty clearly Signed English Equivalent and it looks pretty clumsy, and it's incorporated into choreography in a way that is obviously not skillful. So, points for trying but not really successful on these incorporations of the broader world.
In sum, I definitely would recommend seeing Freeze Frame if you get the chance, but aside from the performance tomorrow at the Kennedy Center, I don't know where or if they're showing it again.
Moonlight is the most feminist movie I've seen all year. It's an intense character study, where Chiron is demonized and warped by the kyriarchy's demands, and he fights back by choosing which of the kyriarchy's expectations he'll meet.
And it's a story that shows we're none of us just one thing.
And it's a movie which just looks at black people, and lights them in darkness so they're beautiful, in a way which I'm not used to but really want to see more of. And it's a talkie about a really taciturn character, which is sort of fascinating.
Mahershala Ali is phenomenal in this film, probably the best performance, but all of the adults (including adult Chiron and Kevin) are really great. (The one thing the movie didn't give me that I really, really wanted was more Janelle Monáe.) I don't know if the kids are great, but all of the actors playing Chiron are really arresting, even though they don't say much.
Go see this movie.