Teen Tix and the Local Art Community

Seattle has one of the richest and most unique performing arts scenes in the country. As I am personally interested and involved with various forms of performance art, I am incredibly grateful that I have been lucky enough to grow up in a city where theater, opera, dance, variety, acrobatics, and countless other forms of performance are readily available. However, like many other art-interested teenagers, I have a pretty limited budget for local shows and other performances. Cost has dissuaded many young people from getting involved with their local arts scenes, contributing greatly to the disinterest that some feel when it comes to arts in the community. However, the costliness of many local shows impacts more than individual adolescent performance-goers; the larger issue at hand has to do with the fact that these young artists will one day be the leaders of the artistic community. In order to make shows more affordable for teenagers, Seattle Center partnered with various local arts organizations to launch Teen Tix in 2004. Teen Tix is a local arts-access program for teenagers whose mission is to engage young audiences in the local art community. As explained on the Seattle Center website, “Teen Tix serves teenagers by making Seattle’s rich cultural life affordable and accessible to them…By facilitating teens’ arts encounters while empowering them to design and initiate those experiences, Teen Tix not only delivers all of the benefits of arts to teens, it also brings to the arts the gift of an engaged and enduring community of young patrons.”

A Teen Tix pass allows members to purchase day-of tickets for more than 35 theaters, museums, exhibits, and arts festivals in and around the Seattle Center area for only five dollars. Membership is free and available to anyone 13-19 years of age, and a biweekly electronic newsletter lets members know about arts events and opportunities all over the city. I signed up for the program as soon as I turned 13 and have used it to purchase discount tickets for everything from the Pacific Northwest Ballet, to Unexpected Productions, to the Seattle International Film Festival.

Though it is satisfying to get into Seattle Opera for less than it costs to park downtown, the most important thing about Teen Tix is that it connects teenage artists and audiences to local art. It can be easy to overlook the younger generation of arts patrons, but it is this teenage audience that will one day be running and starring in our local theaters, dance troupes, and arts museums. Teen Tix is immensely important to the youth and arts community of Seattle because it makes it possible for many teenagers who would otherwise never get the opportunity to attend and get involved with the arts community that will soon belong to them.

Pacific Northwest Ballet’s “Love Stories”

  The opening night performance of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s love-themed compilation  Love Stories began ominously.  Dancers timidly glided across the stage following the choreography of famed ballet choreographer George Balanchine in “Divertimento” from Le Baiser de la Fée.  It is rumored that Balanchine was not satisfied with this his choreography in the “Divertimento,”  and the piece feels incomplete, especially when compared to the most well-known Balenchine classics. The performance did little to help the uninspired choreography. Despite being led by two of the companies most accomplished dancers, Kaori Nakamura and Johnathan Porretta, the pieces seemed unrehearsed and awkward.

The second of the five pieces presented, the “Black Swan Pas de Deux” from Swan Lake, starred the company’s principal dancers, Lucien Postlewaite and Carrie Imler. Postlewaite met Imler’s “Odile” in the pas de deux with princely charm, strength, and grace that nearly stole the stage from Imler.  Those who follow Pacific Northwest Ballet from season-to-season may relish in Postlewaite’s transformation over the past three years. Though technically precise, his supremely engaging stage presence shines in Love Stories.

The audience is thrilled to receive a second performance. This time he appears as Romeo in the Balcony pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet.  Despite Postlewaite’s, second, superb performance alongside Kaori Nakamura’s Juliet, the credit for this pas de deux’s success goes to Jean-Christophe Maillot’s inspired choreography. This excerpt was a welcome tidbit from Maillot’s contemporary take on the classic Romeo and Juliet, which premiered at PNB in 2008. Romeo and Juliet leap around the stage with a childlike innocence and excitement that had the audience smiling as widely as the young lovers.

Following Lucien Postlewaite’s performance as Romeo and the Swan Lake Prince, two young corps de ballet members, Jerome Tisserand and Kylee Kitchens, performed Jerome Robbins’ duet “Afternoon of the Faun” in its PNB premiere. The fresh and youthful performance takes place in a ballet studio (ironically) and opens with Tisserand alone in the studio practicing in front of a mirror (which is really the audience). Soon Kitchens arrives, and the two dance a tender and almost dreamlike pas de deux ending with a stolen kiss before she runs out of the studio.  The unassuming performance was nonetheless one of the highlights of the show and gave dance followers hope that the ballet world may still value relatable performances and not just over-the-top classics like Coppelia and The Nutcracker that focus more on costumes than dance.

Love Stories  closed with the painfully long “Aurora’s Wedding Scene” from Sleeping Beauty.  The third act of Sleeping Beauty was performed flawlessly, and the costumes were, predictably, beautiful. The choreography was “traditional,” to put it kindly, lacking the originality and risk much of the audience members seek. I found myself eagerly awaiting the final pas de deux and am convinced I detected a twinge of boredom even from the dancers as they performed this closing piece.

Death, in a moment. / Euphoria.

I must let the sound Intrude upon my mind

When the silence

Is too loud to hear.

The color I can only see

When the light

Has left my world

Trapped in beauty.

The flowing water

Cools now my burns

Of on my hand

Untouched by fire.

And the lives

I will have lived

Now bested here

The joy in sorrow.

Moneyball Review

Published by Caroline Nelson ('12) on December 15, 2011 You don’t have to know anything about baseball or even enjoy it to appreciate the film Moneyball. I can guarantee this as I have little patience for sports in general and less for baseball, but I wholeheartedly recommend this movie.

Moneyball is the story of Billy Bean, the manger of the Oakland Athletics, a team that seems to aspire to being referred to as “second rate.”  Bean is masterfully portrayed by Brad Pitt, who delivers a tense, nervy performance full of confidence and charisma. He is perfectly amicable but constantly on the attack, his aggression strategically breaking free of its restraints.

Bean is tired of his team’s status (or lack thereof) and the archaic methods for choosing players. In a very funny scene, we get to see the old boys’ club talking about players’ bodies and faces like they were trying to find models for a runway show.  Bean’s alternative to the status quo comes in the form of a young Yale grad with a head for numbers and a love of baseball (played by Jonah Hill). Hill is pitch-perfect as the impassioned geek, self-conscious and self-effacing. He looks nervously down at the ground and occasionally meets Pitt’s eyes to deliver some of the film’s funnier lines.

The two men begin using a statistics-based way of choosing players for positions that isn’t well received by anyone, even when they start winning. It boasts a wonderfully smart and witty script. The writers deftly handle material that might become saccharine in less talented hands, such as Billy’s history as a failed baseball player or his relationship with his preteen daughter. The film, made with art and skill, is another ode to the information age much like last year’s The Social Network, both written and directed by Aaron Sorkin.

Fun Page!

  Published by Mariah Kaercher ('12) on December 15, 2011

Guess what apps are on Gary Anderson’s iPad!

Option A. Angry Birds 10^th Edition

Option B. Card Counting for Pros

Option C.  Ipad Accessory Store Finder

Option D. Esperanto translator

What’s Hot or Not

What’s Hot:	What’s Not:
Volkswagen Bug	Uggs
Sticker nail polish	Fake eye lashes
Cam Newton	Fig Newtons
Thai Curry	Being in a hurry
Megan Fox	Meetings in the Black Box
Garage spot	Temple lot

Quizzes:

What does your cell phone say about you?

1. You need to check your e-mail:

A. Every few hours

B. Once a day

C. Every hour

2. You listen to music on:

A. Your computer

B. An iPod

C. An iPod dock sound system 3. You use your phone mostly to:

A. Surf the web

B. Text

C. Make calls

4. When you take photos, you use a:

A. Disposable camera

B. Digital Camera

C. Phone

5. Your phone has to fit into:

A. Your oversized pocketbook

B. A cute case

C. Your pants pocket

Advisable Allies Post #1

Published by Sarah Hughes ( '14), Sara Bosworth ( '14), and Lilia Cohen  ('14) on December 15, 2011

The Advisable Allies are a few fellows who want to help out their confused classmates! Every issue, we will answer about 3-5 of your questions. If you are feeling befuddled, baffled, bemused, or bewildered just ask!

formspring.me/advisableallies

Dear Advisable Allies,

One of my teachers expects way too much of me. (S)he always makes me help anyone in the class having any trouble, even if I don’t have time to do so, and expects ONLY me to go way above and beyond on every assignment. I AM TOO STRESSED, what do I do?

Dear Strained Student,

One possible solution could be to create a fake diversion (think fire in the teachers’ lounge or flooding in the girls’ bathroom). But, let’s be honest – that’s a tad drastic. Our advice? Provide an innocent distraction. As of this year, iPads have become a fad among teachers at SAAS. Getting your teacher hooked on Fruit Ninja or Tiny Wings would definitely divert their attention from putting too much weight on your shoulders. If you’re feeling exceptionally daring, maybe move them on to Runescape or World of Warcraft. But be careful, there’s no turning back from there. They’ll be up to their ears in distractions.

Deception and trickery not your thing? Then maybe try running your problem past your advisor, who will almost certainly tell this teacher (ever so politely and casually, of course) to respect your workload. But, hey! The fact that your teacher has higher expectations of you and suggests your classmates come to you for assistance, means you’re doing something right. Keep up the good work!

Best of luck,

Advisable Allies

Dear Advisable Allies,

I'm new this year, how do I make friends...

Dear Concerned Kid,

Making friends at a new school can be hard, but if you put yourself out there and open yourself up to new people, you will be sure to make friends! SAAS provides kids with an environment to try new things and meet new people. Try going to a sporting event or joining a club! At sports games, you can be sure to meet people. If you join a club that interests you, you will definitely make friends who have similar interests to you and find people who you can relate to. Consider clubs such as the Ping Pong Club or Bee Club. You never know what’s around the corner! Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and talk to people! People are never as intimidating as they may seem to be.

Best of luck!

-The Advisable Allies