Final Paper

Elizabeth Korsmo

Honors in Berlin 2008

Final Paper

Swing Tanzen in Berlin

I. How does social swing dancing differ between Seattle and Berlin?

During my time in Berlin, I intended to attend public swing dances in order to compare the social dancing experience in Berlin to the scene of Seattle. I expected them to be fairly similar, and found them to be so in essentials only. The dancers and their attitudes, the venues, and the music choices offered a wealth of variety against the familiar Seattle dances I usually attend.

II. In Seattle, I spend a significant proportion of my free time swing dancing. Consequently, when faced with a month cut off from the Seattle swing community, I found myself wondering about what sort of dancing was available in Berlin and how I might become involved in it. Beyond my personal interest in dance, the social nature of swing offers insight into the social interactions of the people who participate in it. Comparing and contrasting the swing scenes in Seattle and Berlin offers a microscale view of how social interactions vary between the two cities.

The largest problem I faced was actually interacting with the local dancers. As detailed in part IV, Berlin dancers are fairly insular, tending to limit their activity to their immediate social groups. This led to increased unanticipated importance of observation over experience in my assessment of the dancing itself (and limited my ability to conduct interviews). Language barriers, aggravated by the crowds and music, were less encumbering, but still notable. Difficulty in locating dance venues constituted the other main problem. They are, as a rule, not particularly well-advertised and may be hard to find even with exact addresses; this is slightly more extreme than in Seattle, but hardly unique.

III. Despite the aforementioned problems, I managed to observe the local dancers’ interactions, and participated to the best extent that I could (social dancing works best when one can locate partners). I also took note of how the venues differed between Seattle dance halls, as I experience them, and those I attended in Berlin.

I went to the dances with the idea of a Seattle dance in mind, if only because that is what my mental picture of a swing dance is. Accordingly, my notes seem to reflect the differences more than the similarities, as all similarities become confused with “givens”. I tried to compensate for this in my analysis.

[See attachments for field notes. Berlin venues attended included Clärchens Balhaus, Balhaus Berlin, Jeder ist Tanzbar, and Café Garbaldy. Seattle venues subject to comparison include Hep Cat Swing Dance (“the Russian Center”), the Century Ballroom, Halley’s Loft (“Halo”), Sonny Newman’s Dance Hall, Blues Underground, and Rhythm Revue over the period from May 2007 to the present.]

IV. While Berlin’s swing does swing, it certainly lacks a lot of Seattle’s swinging. Berliner partners arrive together and stay thus: they do not rotate with the ease of Seattle-area dancers. As a solo follow, I found it very difficult to secure partners among the German dancers. The standard practice in Seattle is for dancers to mingle and frequently change partners. Whether traveling with a group or alone, one tends to change partners often and frequently dances with strangers. In my first months on the Seattle scene, I bemusedly noted how often I would clasp hands with a stranger, dance through a whole song, and only offer a name after exchanging thanks. Dancing exclusively with a small number of people is seen as somewhat snobbish and unfriendly by the vast majority of my Seattle dancing acquaintances; it is also only common practice among certain more ‘elite’ circles.

The Berlin swing scene works on a diametrically opposed principle. The “Bring your Own Partner” model operated nigh on exclusively at each Berlin venue I attended. At any Seattle institution, I would recommend the bringing of partners to ensure that one has plentiful opportunities to dance. However, it is not necessary. Alone in Seattle, one may sit out a lot, but there will be offers or available partners to ask for a dance. Partnerless in Berlin, there are no invitations, nor people available to ask.

The notable exception was my first night on Berlin’s scene, when an older man named Steve adopted me as his partner for the evening at Café Garbaty. In the whole of the establishment, there seemed to be about three people who did not belong to one of the intimate groups. The other two were a middle-aged Irish couple, Martina and Bryan, who were in town visiting their son. Martina takes East Coast Swing lessons in Dublin, and was excited to be out dancing in Berlin. Steve, a middle-age Berliner from Neuköln, sort of adopted all of us wayward foreigners into a group of our own; every other person in the bar was part of an established group, most of them in couples (here Steve was a bit of an exception, in that his own group of apparent regulars seemed to contain both the DJ and a disproportionate number of men compared to women).

In this way, I did get to experience the Berlin scene as an insider for one night. I would dance three to four songs with Steve, then sit out for a similar number. This allowed time to rest, chat and imbibe (mineral water for myself, though beer was by far the most popular beverage). It also allowed other couples access to the limited dance space. After several such repetitions, I paired briefly with a friend of Steve, while he took a sequence with Martina (Bryan opted to dance exclusively with his wife). This course of events was consistent with my observations at every other dance venue I attended: couples would come together (usually in large groups), socialize within that group over beers, dance several songs in row, and sit out for more socializing (repeat all evening, substituting another group member for the original partner every few song cycles). Seattle dancing, in contrast, rarely involves dancing more than a single song at a time with any given partner…and the beverage of choice is water.

My other nights in Berlin were, unfortunately, less encouraging. When I could find the locations, I still danced very little as the social barriers were never more lax than that first night in Pankow. My next best nights were both at Clärchens Balhaus; the first time, I lead another American student in Lindy Hop. The second, my last night on the Berlin scene, I actually was asked to dance by a German. We only did one song (an anomaly, but being asked was one in itself). Otherwise, I found myself met with an impenetrable wall of social taboo.

Some of the grouping, perhaps, could be attributable to the different dancer demographics of Seattle and Berlin. The age range (late teen-late middle age) was similar, however the distribution varied a lot. Seattle has a fairly large population of college-age dancers, with many more in their mid to late twenties or even early thirties. The numbers are rounded out with a few thirty, forty or fifty-something couples, though the mean probably falls in the late twenties. Berlin’s scene was almost the opposite: the bulk of the crowd was in their thirties at the very least, with only a few younger couples. I often seemed to be the youngest person present and the only member of my age group. Clärchens Balhaus seemed to be the exception here, in that a slightly larger number of teenage girls were present than at other venues (completing its similarity to the Century Ballroom on Sunday nights, which tends to attract more high school students than other venues, and always more follows than leads).

It was my own experience in Seattle that the older couples sometimes mix less freely than the younger, though even this phenomenon is very rare. The slightly older Berlin crowd may draw some of its insularity from its more mature population. On the other hand, even the few young people I did see were not mixing, and each of my (rare) dance partners seemed approximately my father’s age. The clique-ish nature of the scene seems more of a cultural phenomenon than a strictly age-based occurrence.

The attitude towards dancing, in fact, seemed fundamentally different. Seattle dancers, with their constant mingling and consequent skill improvement seem to dance in order to dance. Berliners seem to take the dance as a secondary aspect of their social interactions. I might compare this contrast to that between a movie-goer who is interested in a film for itself, versus the one who thinks that movies make for a fun date. The later, I think, is where the bulk of the Berlin dancers believe. Consistent with my own observations, many treat dancing as a fun diversion for a date or an evening out with friends, an opportunity to spend some quality time with friends, where the specific means are secondary to the intended social interaction. Seattle dancers go out to dance: perhaps with friends, but also with most anyone else who will offer. Berlin dancers go out with their friends, to share a beer and take a few turns on the floor.

How related the attitude differences are to the dry status of most Seattle area ballrooms, I cannot say. Here was a key difference: my usual Seattle haunts (the Russian Center, Sony Newman’s, Dance Underground, the Century Ballroom, Halo) are dance halls. Or, in the first case, community centers with large dance floors flanked by mirrors in the manner of dance studios. The Berlin dances I attended were primarily held in bars or cafes, with some of the tables removed to clear a dance floor. There were a few venues which seemed to be ballrooms foremost (Clärchens Balhaus, Balhaus Berlin), but even they were also functional restaurants/bars. This probably contributed to the more relax and private social atmosphere.

Clärchens Balhaus actually bore an eerie resemblance to Seattle’s Century Ballroom. Though the dance floors are comparable, there is more seating for dining at Clärchens than at the Century; if the Century is a ballroom with a restaurant/bar attached, Clärchens is a restaurant and bar which sports a large dance floor. The dance floor was crowded, with some singles clustering on the edges (a phenomenon seen nowhere else in the city), while waiters raced by to the myriad tables that surrounded it on three sides; the Century looks much the same, but with a thinner strip of tables. Against the right-hand wall, the bar did a steady business too. The Century seems to segregate its activities a bit more: the bar is only open on 21+ nights (Wednesday for those seeking swing), and the restaurant serves dinners prior to the dancing. The music played at the two institutions was, in many cases, identical. Clärchens played a lot of specific recordings that I’ve heard in Seattle (such as Ain’t What You Do, Jitterbug Stroll,and Fever).

The other venues did not play as familiar of specific recordings as Clärchens, but the jazz was still very much the same. Instrumental recordings were bit more prominent than I have observed in Seattle, and the songs with words had English lyrics. Unfortunately, I never did hear Bei Mir Bist Du Schon while I was in Berlin; or perhaps that was more fortunate, as I can’t imagine Germans taking well to such butchering of their language. The swing was interspersed with other song styles, too. Balhaus Berlin, for instance, reguarily alternated between swing (for foxtrot), latin (salsa), and waltz music. Universally, blues/swing seemed undifferentiated between in Berlin, whereas Seattle venues tend to favor one over the other.

The Berlin DJs seemed to favor jazz with slower tempos than Seattle DJs prefer. The fastest songs I heard in Berlin were at Clärchens and Café Garbaldy—and those songs were merely moderate by the standards of Camp Jitterbug, or ‘slightly brisk’ by normal Seattle tastes. As such, I noticed more dancers participating in the fast songs than the slow, opposite Seattle’s normal trends, where if the floor is going to clear, it will be during a fast song. Songs also seemed a little shorter than Seattle standards. I would estimate two to four minute songs are the norm for Berlin versus three to six minute ones in Seattle. In the case of Café Garbaldy, this would probably be related to the unique music system: their “Shellack Tanzen in Pankow” swing night exclusively featured original (shellac) records. If the songs were a little shorter than the digital format recordings used elsewhere in Berlin and Seattle, the atmosphere enhancement was divine. The DJ had three or four portable record players in old-fashioned cases on which he played a line-up of original records (which, as I understand, were restricted in duration by recording technology). Highlights included the original Frank Sinatra recordings played at “Jeder ist Tanzbar”. There was also one unique song I remember at Café Garbaldy: a big band polka. It actually fit in really well with the rest of the music, but with notable beat change which required some fun stylistic accommodations.

Something else that was fun was Berlin dancers’ impressive clothing. It was very much like taking the best-dressed quarter of any given Seattle dance and translating that onto the whole turnout. Except for one or two people at Clärchens, jeans are not to be seen. Most men wear dress slacks with button shirts at the very least, while skirts and blouses are favored by the women (these looks are also popular in Seattle, but casual street wear is fairly common). The number of people in vintage dress was also higher: Seattle rarely features more than one couple thusly attired, save for special events. Berlin, on the other hand, had at least a half dozen people in vintage clothing at each dance I attended (most of which were more sparsely populated than Seattle dances, increasing the vintage proportion).

The dance itself translated across the ocean quite well. When I could dance, it was no problem to follow my leads. Most dancers stuck with simple east coast variants, which was by far the most popular basic across all the venues. I observed a bit of Charleston and Lindy at Clärchens, while Foxtrot was the preferred dance for Balhaus Berlin (though, I did see one lead there attempting to teach 20s Charleston to his follow, though that proved unsuccessful). The skill level was a bit below what I was used to in Seattle (I felt myself to be one of the best dancers in many of the venues, while “middle of the pack” would be a generous description in most Seattle situations). I attribute this in part to the lack of rotation between partners; every class I have taken has stressed that dancing with different people is the best way to improve one’s dancing (as it inhibits covering of a partner’s mistakes and forces one to assess one’s actions more carefully). The more laid-back attitude, with less emphasis on dancing versus socializing could be considered the co-cause of this. On the other hand, I tended to frequent the less expensive venues (about €5 for a DJ dance, compared to $5 standard for Seattle), so there may have been a more ‘elite’ part of the scene which favored live band venues (€12-€20+, Seattle $10-$20) or house parties and which took the dancing part more seriously.

Steve, partner #1 of mine and the only one to offer his name while speaking clearly through the music favored what he called “free-style”. I’d classify it as two-step variant that reminded me somewhat of both blues and east coast swing (with Balboa inspiration). His nameless friend (#2, ‘Zoot Suit man’), lead some Lindy Hop and Charleston. I seemed to follow well enough for them, earning the commendation “Die Amerikanerin tanzt Super!”. Partner #3 I danced with once at Clärchens Balhaus, on my last night out. He favored a turning variant of east coast, with some Charleston, though that was quickly dropped, as it transpired that my shoes were a bit slick for the floor.

Most intriguing, though, was the choreography which I saw in Berlin. The first night at Clärchens Balhaus, I saw (and participated in) two choreographed dances which perfectly copied the versions I’d learned in Seattle. Admittedly, the Shim Sham Shimmy as I learned it was performed to Tuxedo Junction, while the Berliners did it to Ain’t What You Do. The steps, however, were exactly the same. This surprised me, as regional variation of choreographed swing routines exists within the United States; I’ve personally observed slight differences in steps and styling with routines ranging from the Shim Sham to the Big Apple. Later that evening, the Jitterbug Stroll was also performed; this routine is song-specific, with the lyrics calling out each move (in English) and thus went as I expected it to.

Despite differences in the venues, dancers and atmosphere, the dancing itself remains largely unchanged on either side of the ocean. Subtler variations existed in the music selections and fashion trends.

V. The research could be continued through further international comparison, if possible. One exciting possibility would be a visit to Herräng, Sweden, for the international Lindy Hop camp held there every year. It is the largest and most famous gathering in the world, and lasts for an entire month in this rural Swedish village. It would offer a good opportunity to meet some of the best dancers in the world, from a wide variety of nations. On a more German-specific level, the best option for future research would be to befriend a local dancer, and thus integrate into one of the groups for better interaction with the dancers themselves. Alternatively, interviewing more involved members of the scene (DJs, teachers, venue managers) could allow one to gleam insight beyond the obvious. The mingling environment of an Exchange could also offer better opportunities to mingle with dancers and get involved.

Some terms explained

Lead: the dancer in a partnership who indicates moves in a social, non-choreographed dance (traditionally male)

Follow: the dancer who responds to a partner’s leading (traditionally female)

East Coast: a basic step (it defines a sub-style of swing dancing) done in 6 counts [this was the general style presented in my composition as it is easy to teach]

Charleston: another basic, developed in the 1920s and notable for its kicks; done in 8 counts (20s Charleston is a variation featuring fancy ankle twists instead of kicks)

Lindy Hop: a slightly more advanced basic done in 6 or 8 counts, usually involving turning and transitions between open and close positions within one iteration of the basic; it works well with Charleston and East Coast (less with West Coast, a separate basic), and is the “bread and butter” of the Seattle scene

Exchange: a Swing Exchange is usually a weekend series of dances hosted by the dancers of one city for the purpose of meeting non-local dancers (Portland hosts one every year, as does Seattle, and apparently München)

Camp Jitterbug: a Seattle workshop weekend; smaller than the Herräng camp, but one of the largest events in the United States

Last In-town Update?

Compositions went off really well last night. Stayed up very late with the classmates; consequently am very tired (and only updating at all because the computer is leaving shortly). May finally make it out to Potsdam this afternoon (or maybe I'll just skip it and sleep/pack...). Anyway, I'll try to update again if I get some internet access. Otherwise, love to all the people back home and I'll see you Monday (or at some point shortly thereafter).

Beethoven, Neuroscience, and Die Ritters des Kokonuss

Mittwoch 10. September 2008
Morning lecture from a grad student in the neuroscience department at Humboldt; discussed brain activity in decision-making. Fairly interesting, though not too technically rigorous.
Afternoon workshop with a modern dance professor. I'm almost as uncoordinated at throwing invisible objects as real ones. I also fail at clapping in a timely manner.
Evening performance of Beethoven's "Fidelio" at the Staatsoper. Shorter than the Wagner, but just as well done (beautiful singing! fairly modern costume, but of recognizable archetypes). And, since it was a comedy, the plot was both easy to understand and difficult (lots of crossed love interest, some secret identities, and the villians get their comeuppance... on the other hand determining who exactly was in love with/conspiring against/secretly married to whom at any given time was nigh on impossible).

Dienstag 9. September 2008
Missed the afternoon grafitti gallery tour, as I tried to attend an early afternoon swing event. Bar Speakeasy (over in Prenzlaurerberg). It was a cool (if small) venue, but there was no one dancing (only 6 people total anyway), and the only real option seemed to be drinking beer, which held no appeal to me.

Also, have watched Monty Python in German and English a bit too often. At least, enough to notice differences between the audio tracks and subtitles. The Swedish subtitles at the beginning go quite well with the German ones. Still need to check out the Turkish subtitles. "What a strange person"="O! A Parisian!" <3 Sir Galahad.

Church-hopping, Tea, and Trekking Though Kreuzburg

Still working backwards...

Sontag 14. September 2008
Attended mass at St. Hedwig's Cathedral with Mary Grace. Then visited Marienkirche and Nikolaikirche. Very pretty medieval churches. Both undergoing renovation; St. Mary's has lots of 17th century funeral markers, very detailed mosiacs, and lovely painted icons. Seems to still be a functioning church (with bonus soup-kitchen), and sports a lovely organ (there seemed to be a small concert of sort while we were there). We couldn't actually enter the St. Nicolas church, but we did get to walk around it. There was a neat fountain, and the re-buildt neighborhood mimics its medieval original (mostly in the narrow streets and hanging signboards).
Tried to go dancing in the afternoon. Ended up walking Urbanstrasse from Hallesches Tor back to Schonleinsrasse without finding #21. Berlin-area dance venues seem to have +5 racial bonus to hide checks (or is that a class feature? Seattle ones only have +2).

Samstag 13. September 2008
Ich hatte Erkaltung gehabt. Es gefaellt mir nicht. Slept late; spent the day resting. Tried to go dancing in the evening. Eventually found the ballroom over on Mehringdamm; the number was quite evident, steps from the subway station--the trick seemed to be knowing that it was through the unmarked walkway, on the other side of the courtyard, and up 5 flights of stairs (here, at least, there was paper notice indicating the floor number). For all that, the nice venue was exclusively populated with couples, and I gave it up for lost immediately; I was a bit too frustrated with the Berlin scene at this point to pay the eintritt for another evening of watching other people dance (and this looked to be a close repeat of Bebop: a nice place, but one wholly unwelcoming for me). Spent the evening chatting with Mary Grace about world religions (and how generally awesome Jesuits and Dominicans are).

Freitag 12. September 2008
Turkish market at midday; got some lovely dress fabric.
Went to the antiquities museum in the afternoon; lots of Greek and Egyptian sculpture and pottery. Saw the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti (it looks just like all the pictures you've seen of it, save that the incomplete left eye is a bit more prominent). Didn't get to see the Pergamon Museum though (some sort of special event was going on). Then went to a chocolate shop over by the concert hall, which had lots of yummy-looking things (and very impressive chocolate reproductions of the Reichstag, Brandenburger Tor, and the Titanic.
Attended Bebop Berlin for dancing in the evening; more ballroom than swing (some swing music, yes, but everyone did foxtrot!). Alternation between latin, foxtrot and the ocassional waltz. Absolutely no unpaired dancers, save myself. Did see one dancer attempting to teach his partner 20s Charleston (on a rare song in which the general movement did not prevent such 'non-traveling' dance). Left after an hour or so; my dance shoes didn't touch the floor until I removed them.

Donnerstag 11. September 2008
Didn't set the alarm correctly; overslept and just missed the theatrical workshop at late-morning (which sucks; I wanted to be part of family Faust!). Ended up touring the Berliner Dom instead. It is awesome. Have lots of pictures and short video-clips, of everything from the singing angels at the top of the dome to the Hohenzollern sarcophagi in the crypt (lots of dead kings, dukes, and babies). The high altar is exquisite, likewise the Emperor's staircase (VIPs get very nice private entrances), the main organ (huge and pretty... there's also another, smaller one in the bridal/baptismal chapel), and pretty much everything else. Ok, everything else (no "pretty much" about it).
Saw "Maria Magdelena" at the Gorki theater in the evening. It was very surreal: the costumes (bra? unmatches shoes? the blond guy's whole ensemble?), the staging (gives new meaning to "clinging to mom's skirts"), and even the stage was at odd angles. I understood only snatches of the dialogue, but the actors spoke very clearly, which made things easier. Rachel and I decided to go out to a bar afterward, but then decided that we wanted ice cream instead. Yay for Alexanderplatz's late hours (the San Marco Eis Cafe was still open, with its yummy cheap ice cream).

Pigeons und das U-Bahn

Sorry for the lack of updates (again). It's sort of a contagious situation: harder to get writing when there's always more to write. So, I'll try to take this in manageable portions and actually make some progress.

Donnerstag 18. September 2008
Vlog day! Spent the morning on the U-Bahn (getting lots of video-footage and some sound effects for the composition). Also wandered around Museum Insel und das Lustgarten. Rehearsal in the afternoon: the composition is enjoyable and, in my opinion, coming along quite well. Hints: I eat an apple, dance, and am a pigeon. Make of that what you will.
Went to the musical instrument museum early this evening. It mostly contains harpsicords and other keyboards. Make that, lots of lovely, ornately decorated harpsicords, virginals, spinnets, organs, pianofortes, etc. The oldest one I recall was c. 1618, I think. There were keyboards in tables, church organs and a small spinnet that was also a sewing box. Also, lots of lovely violins (with scrolls made up like human heads and elaborate carved flower motifs); there were some little stringed instruments that folded into wide walking staffs (with pop-out bows). I also saw a lovey dark-wood 19th century bass, which is clearly Sir Barnabus' soulmate. Or maybe an ancestor...
I liked the reed instrument displays (clarinets, oboes, bassethorns, krummhorns, recorders, flues and humongous prehistoric bassoons). The earliest clarinets/bassets were from the late 18th century (just like the Mozart concerto were written for!). Lots of brasses too (including a trumpet encrusted with jewels and a 19th century trombone with floral engravings...and some really old-school bugels/fanfare trumpets).
Dinner at Spaetzle Express again; got a fairly large order of the Suess Nudeln (the cinnamon-roll-but-really-potato-noodle dish). Will make a most excellent breakfast.

Mittwoch 17. September 2008
Composition practice during the day. Reception in the early evening with yummy fruit/cheese things and Apfelsaft. Went to Claerchen's Balhaus for the weekly swing dance. The atmosphere and attendants were much as last time; no routines this time, though I did get a partner dance (finally!). About twice my age, no name given, mostly led 6 count. Overall satisfactory (and first time I haven't had to lead since August!). Did some solo Charleston too (when I could find the space during a non-blues song...it was strange how the floor seemed to fill during the faster songs). There was some amusing Lindy to watch though; mosty just this one guy with really ong blond dreds (his dancing reminded me of Slater's in terms of energy and use of space).

Dienstag 16. September 2008
Cold morning. Should have worn a coat, or, well, pants. 'Tis no longer the time for shorts.
Went to the Schwules Museum in the morning. Saw their temporary exhibit on the lesbian movement in Germany (1970s-present). Determined that the German Lesbian prestige class skils include exotic weapons proficiency (battle axe) and arcane spellcraft. I promise that made sense in context. Unfortunately missed the trip to Babelsberg (film studios) in the afternoon; ended up with a headache, and slept 'til early evening. Started work on the composition late in the evening.

Montag 15. September 2008
Slow day. Slept late and didn't do much. Still a little sick.

No, there aren't any vikings, try another opera...

Saw Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" last night at the Staatsoper Berlin. The opera house is on Unter den Linden, right across from Humboldt (on Bebelplatz adjacent to St. Hedwig's Cathedral). It's gorgeous. I only got a few pictures inside (my camera died again due to its battery-eating habit), but it's really nice--all done up in marble with inset mirrors, lots of gilt trim, and shiny candlabras. The view from the second tier (yay cheap students tickets!) was quite good (that was not sarcasm; the actual nosebleed seats were in the back of the 3rd tier, we were just left of center in the second row of the second tier).
The opera itself ran about 5 hours with 2 intermissions. The singing was superb (and I applaud the stamina of all the musicians, wow). The costumer has my unending praise (frockcoats totally need to come back in style, and I also want a cool fantasy-medieval dress like Isolde's); and the set design rocked. it consisted of a vaguely gothic graveyard backdrop (headstones for the mostpart), with a large fallen angel scupture serving as the main setpiece. The angel was fallen forward with face in her hands, one wing spread low to the ground, the other aloft but mangled, with a cascade of torn feathers. The singers were using the statue to make all the level changes for the scenes (the boat in Act I, a castle rampart in Act II, Tristan's father's house in Act III), and it really set the tone without being particuarly literal.

And, for the record, the fat lady with a horned helmet ends other Wagner operas, not this one.

Since last time: Pigeons, Communists, and a tribute to Martha Graham...

Sorry for not writing; I've been meaning to since Wednesday, but (evidently) have not. So, let's see what I remember:

Dienstag, 2 September
Class visit to the Kreuzburg Turkish soccer club. Had tea with the club founder, a nice Turkdeutsch man who didn't speak much English (Toby translated for the most part; I was able to understand some of the German however, which made me very happy). Apparently, racism is still alive, especially in the former East Germany. :( Also, apparently, the Turkish soccer cub has been doing very well. :) Their top team is in the 2nd league, if I recall correctly (they have 4 adult teams and 19 youth teams, and their 1st men's team is either in the 1st or 2nd league, ie semi-professional). We then visited a mosque (and had a nice Islam Q&A session with the tour guide). It was a lot like a small cathedral, only with carpeting and geometric designs (& calligraphy). Very pretty. Got lots of pictures. The stained glass was pretty awesome.

Mittwoch, 3 September
Went to the Reichstag in the morning. Lovely view of the city, pretty cool architecture, and a fair amount of silliness. Also visited the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (or what's left of it). Actually went inside this time and got to see the beautiful mosaics on the ceiling. We then trekked over to Ka De We, which, as the largest department store on the continent or somesuch, features ridiculously expensive clothing and very expensive other things too (like imported American food, fancy chocolate of diverse varieties, and the apparent favorite beer of the UW Germanics department).

A very interesting account can be found here (top post at the time of this writing):
http://rachelschlechty.blogspot.com/

Please note that, while I had a significant role in the contents of the concluding sequence, a number of persons were involved in bringing that particular idea to fruition. Really. Furthermore, they were all completely sober at the time.

After group dinner (ever read a German-English-Spanish menu?), featuring excellent chocolate milkshakes but somewhat poor service, I went dancing again. Clarchen's Balhaus reminded me a lot of the Century (dance floor + restaurant combination). Very hard to get a dance partner (another similarity to the Century...), but still worth checking out at least. Also, routines that I know were on the schedule. I missed the Shim-sham (they did it to "Don't Mean a Thing" instead of "Tuxedo Junction" so I didn't realize that I knew the choreography until after it started). Did join in on the Jitterbug Stroll, however. Haven't done that one in a year, so it sort of showed (but, fortunately, it's called in English so I was able to get back right away). I have a hunch that they might have even played the Big Apple (being the only other well-known routine in my repetoire...).

Donnerstag, 4 September
Slept late. Went shopping with Rachel in the early afternoon (the second-hand store on Oranienstrasse was not as cool as anticipated); tried fig ice cream (it was an experience). Lecture on the differences in the German and American school system (hint: they don't have tuition for colllege). Attended a club under the trainstation at Alexanderplatz, but left early as the music really didn't suit my idiom. Had an adventure getting home as the U8 was randomly closed, with no posted detour route (it took me an hour and a half to go the equivalent of 2 subway stops...)

Freitag, 5 September
Turkish market! Really awesome place (like a streetfair, only with more fresh fruit and very inexpensive). There were also lots of cloth merchants, so I will definitely be returning next week with a partial project list (ots of nice stuff in decorator widths, generally priced under 2 euro a meter--pretty cool satins, organza, and even some brocades). Class trip to the gay museum was postponed at the last minute, so I ended up wandering around Mehringdamm and finding cool used book stores (and funny pizza!). We then attended a very post-modern interpretive dance show that seemed to be about body parts. Will need to write up my impressions soon for class on Monday, but let's just say that "confusion" is right near the top of the list.

Samstag, 6 September
Outdoor market day. I swear, I don't normally spend all my time shopping. Anyway, ventured out to Musueminsel, where there was a great arts & crafts/antiques/second hand books market. When you see a sign marked "Best of Communism"... Anyway, that is very much the place for old coins/postcards/antique silverware/random GDR schmau that I've thus far seen. Also went to Hackesher Markt, which was smaller, and much more of the "modern local artist" variety. Tried to go out dancing this evening, but could not find the location on Rudolfstrasse.

Of freak rainstorms, cheap pasta, and pajama parties.

Spent the day working on compositions at Humboldt (wall-group from the weekend presented this morning; retelling of Hansel & Gretel this afternoon). Highlights include Phil's dead-on mimicry of Toby's voice, Kristen taking pictures with her shoe, and the wicked-witch getting thrown under the U-Bahn. I got execute by guillotine (and then shot); I was also a bum on the subway. Elements to "recycle" for the final include full use of props and space, change of the pace of action, and careful attention to mannerisms.

Switched my individual topic to swing dance. Typed up my notes from Saturday night on the other computer; will transfer them here in the near future). Charted out places to go over the next few weeks (several venues available on most nights; need to determine which ones have the most swing, esp. when they list "Swing, Tango, Latein" or the like).

Went shopping for groceries, and ended up caught in a sudden downpour near Kottbusser Tor (about 6-7 blocks as the crow flies...). Did get very cheap pasta for dinner (and ice cream!). Grocery stores here, for all there wonders, do not have very good ice cream selections (the excitement stems from finding some ice cream that was not Haagen-Daazs pints, predominately vanilla). Have wanted a rootbeer float for some days; unfortunately, this country does not seem to believe in rootbeer. Es gefaellt mir nicht.

Finally almost dry. Guten Nacht!

Die Amerikanerin tanzt Super! Also, yummy potatoes.

Went dancing last night. The scene's a bit different here (at least, at the place I went to). Older, more established, slightly different style (some Lindy, mostly "boogie-woogie"). Rather interesting. Also, open bar (sort of weird to have a bunch of people sipping beers and watching you dance...). And there were more people dressed-up in vintage clothing (always fun).

Today, we tried to go to an outdoor concert on Bebelplatz, but it was way too crowded (a huge square full of people, spilling onto the sidewalk and parking lanes, and extending onto the isle in the middle of the street, and even to the sidewalk on the other side; it took us nearly ten minutes just to walk through it when we realized there was no further place to stand.

Went out to German food tonight. Really good potato noodles in sweet sauce (sort of like a cinnamon roll, only with potato noodles).

Sketchy subways and the songs you shouldn't sing there...also pointy red fruit

Freitag 29. August 2008

Went to Sachsenhausen today. Not ready to write about it. Very depressing.

Needed cheering up in the evening, so Rachel, Kristen, Prano and I all went to the Kreuzburg Carnival. Took the U-Bahn from Kottbusser Tor... some producers songs might have been sung at that time. Anyway, the carnival had lots of ABBA covers and candied fruit (which left our hands and faces red, ala a 3rd rate horror film). Also a band doing Beatles (in English... of one of the two songs they actually did in German). I determined that I suck at bumpercars (since I can't seem to get the thing going forward rather than in reverse and to the side), but still had a good time. Also, we passed no less than 2 pirate-themed bars in the same block while riding the bus home (apparently there's a ninja-themed one around here somewhere too... I'll have to try to get pictures).

Stalin must've really liked his little hooked rugs...

Donnerstag, 28 August 2008

Visited the former Statsi headquarters this morning. I think I've now fulfilled my lifetime quota for 1970s furnishings. The spying exhibit was rather amusing (cameras hidden in everything from birdhouses to gloves; there was even a watering can camera for spying on funerals). They also apparently had trouble finding enough tape to for all this recorders, and had a tendency therefore to steal music tapes out of the incoming international mail to use in voice-recording.

Lunch at Checkpoint Charlie (too many tourists, pretty good ice cream).

Spent the afternoon at the Jewish Museum. It was very informative, and had lots of cool artifacts going back to the Middle Ages. Highlights include illuminated manuscripts written in Hebrew, Moses Strauss's glasses (18th century frames are weird!), beautiful Torah shields, and lots of portraits from the past 3-4 centuries. Really depressing things included the whole first and second floors (post-1900).

Need to do something cheerful; will probably involve Monty Python in some capacity.
In other news, it is much easier to “bake” potatoes in a microwave than in an oven. But the oven does get coolness points for being labeled in Celsius.

Flasche in die Tasche

Ok, the internet is now working (though still frustrating: it dies a lot and only works on the computer that likes to omit "l"s). So, I've posted the entries I've written to date, and will try to post more regularly (no guarantees there, this is a somewhat time-intensive operation). Will try to return e-mails individually. Love you all!

E

A headscarf and two pigeons.

Mittwoch 27 2008

Toured the bunkers in Gesundbruennen Unterbahnhof (and nearby Pankow U.) on Berlin's underground tour. It's a rather like Seattle's, only with more fatalities and fewer opium dens in its history. The "bunkers" were originally transit storage areas, they were retro-fitted (not very well) first by the Nazis as conventional (if ineffective) bunkers, and later by the French West-Berlin representatives as nuclear fallout shelters (these stations are in the formerly French-controlled district of Wedding). Did you know that the GDR put gates in the Berlin sewers and spikes on the subway beds (though the stations were already boarded up and guarded) in order to keep their own citizens in? The sewer-gates had to be cleaned by special teams every week (for over 40 years) or else they'd cause flooding in the streets.

In the afternoon we had a lecture from an immigration lawyer at the alien registration ministry (informative, but less engaging than other pursuits have been).

During lunch, I wandered around the Bebelplatz (the square where the Nazi book burning occurred).

Yesterday we saw the Jewish Holocaust Memorial, the Soviet War Memorial and the remains of the Gestapo Headquarters.

Die "Denkmal fuer die Ermordet Jueden von Europa" wart sehr nett und mächtig. As soon as one gest away from the group/the tourists (and can reflect in relative peace), it goes from being somewhat plain yet to esoteric to being very symbolic and generally moving. It's made of concrete blocks of uniform length and width (maybe 2x7 ft or so), but which vary in height (appearing about .5-1.5 ft above ground level). As you walk towards the center, however, the ground drops below you (like going into a lake), so that you're soon in an aisle lined with 10ft slabs. The regular placement and shape of the blocks makes for a neat grid of walkways, even as the ground itself is rippled and slanted. The effect is intentionally disorienting (and yet so regimented!). On returning from the maze of straight lines, I was struck by how very much the slabs resemble crude coffins... A very effectively thought-provoking monument. There's a museum underneath it (this is all outside at Alexanderplatz, by the way), which I've heard good things about and which I intend to visit later. Probably not this week, though, as I expect the trip to Sachsenhausen on Friday to be very emotionally draining as well.

The war memorial was surprisingly very nice (despite the differing worldviews, ie the ubiquitous Stalin quotes). It was very peaceful and pretty—once one got past the communist propaganda, and viewed it as a memorial to the 5000 people buried there. There's a lot of greenery, and large statues (and a series of carved scenes lining the walkways: the right hand side written in Russian, the left in German). Pictures forthcoming.

Of the Gestapo headquarters (in the old government quarter), all that remains is a partially excavated basement. After the war, the bombed-ruins were demolished; some of the basement of the building was discovered a few years back, so there's now an exhibit there about the various police forces of the 3^rd Reich, and their victims (particularly the political prisoners who were “interrogated” in the basement cells). Before being used by the Gestapo, the building was actually an art school (built in the late 1800s I believe).

Die Mauer (und viele Geschichte)

Montag, 25 August 2008

Started class today: orientation at Humboldt and a luncheon (interesting Kartoffeln, delicious Kuchen). Later a walking tour of our part of Kreutzburg (specfically along the old route of the Wall). Turns out our place was right on the border: Michealkirchstrasse (the next block over) has patches on the pavement from where the wall supports used to be and the church itself is still being repaired from the war (getting stuck in no-mans-land for 40 years will do that to you). The parish was split west-east, and apparently had a bit more trouble reuniting than the rest of the city, so there are two neighboring St. Micheal's Parishes in Kreutzburg. The old canal-turned-no-man's-land is now a pretty park with a large fountain and a cute cafe. That seems to be the pattern in this area: there are lots of small parks on oddly shaped lots that appear to be left-overs from the second world war. Just down the block west of here there's a park with a little petting zoo (ponies right next to high rise apartments).

It's almost a sort of a time warp, really. The buildings are quite new and all*, but 1945 seems a lot closer than in the states. There I tend to think of it as being very much in the past—my grandparents' time (and too old even for some of them!). Here, it's very recent news. I suppose that's more of the cold war legacy speaking, though: the delayed rebuilding owes largely to that (besides the sheer size of rebuilding—some parks have hills made of post-1945 rubble). It's not just St. Micheal's either: we walked by the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (sort of hard to miss), and you can still see empty frames from the stained glass windows, portions of the roof gone, and the remaining 'shell' blackened and gouged. Mind you, that was intentionally left thus; but to make things worse, they added a horrible 80s addition (ala the disaster behind Suzallo). Way to make an architectural tragedy even worse.

Also toured Humboldt today. It's pretty cool and historical too—I want to go to a university that's a remodeled Prussian palace (since 1810). Planck worked there; so did Karl Marx. There's also this huge plaque noting the wing were Einstein lectured when he was in the city. Mind you, that whole part has been rebuilt, as it was destroyed during the war (so its floor doesn't match the rest of the building, though they did a great job getting the outside looking right— well, done GDR). During the cold war, actually, Humboldt was the premiere Universitaet of the GDR. Consequently, quotations from their favorite student figure prominently in the décor (which includes marble “recycled” from Hitler's chancery to repair wartime damage). There's also a stained-glass window featuring Newton and Leibniz (I took a picture for Matt). The neighboring library was one of the main victims of the Nazi book-burnings; the Operplatz, right across Unter Den Linden from Humboldt, was the sight of the conflagration, and has since been renamed Bebelplatz and bears a monument (complete with the obligatory Heinrich Heine quote, which was actually a reference to the Inquisition...)

On a completely unrelated note: this country has awesome baked goods. The bread is delicious. Also, chocolate. Yum. I got some peaches today, and they were very tasty too.

Shout-out time: I totally got a picture of a Schulteiss beer sign (or rather, a little corner store devoted to the same), as per Sara's request (will look into securing something more tangible in honor of Dan). Also saw a store named “Eichhornchen” (with stylized squirrel motifs) which made me think of Nori. It was also virtually adjacent to a bar called “Molotov Cocktail”--another 5 points to Sara and her knowledge of Finnish history. And T, the Ipod is awesome. Es gefaellt mir sehr gut! RHS is in Berlin starting on mid-October, so I'm just missing it! Have yet to see anything that screams “Kathy”, though I imagine it's the part of town we're in (though the Baroque palaces come close).

*Well, comparatively. There are still some older facades, but just everything in the inner city was built/rebuilt in the last 60 years, especially in the last 20). That's what we call 90% destruction. It makes things sort of inverted: the oldest extant buildings are at the edges of the city rather than the center. Also centrally-located apartments being fairly cheap: the Wall, when it stood, really drove down property values—which makes sense when there's a frickin' militarized border between the apartment house and its sidewalk.

Apartment Pictures

Here are some pictures, though they don't really do the place justice. The hall is about the since of the common area in my Seattle place; the living room is about 1.5 that size, the kitchen half again as large as its counterpart, and the bedrooms slighty smaller than theirs. There's also a balconey that runs the length of the living room (which has large windows looking out over it).

I'll add more pictures eventually (currently have to upload from the camera to one computer, then transfer via flash drive to the computer with internet access, so it'll take a little while). I promise that they get more interesting, and (now that I fixed the zoom on my camera) more in focus!

I'm going to need some more duct tape...

Samstag, 23 Aug 2008

Arrived yesterday midday local time (3am by my internal clock). The trip went well (minimal airsickness, very yummy food, no awkwardness with teh sercuritaz). Or, at least, for me it went well.

My baggage didn't have quite as nice of a time:

Fortunately, the ladies at the baggage office spoke very good English, and replaced my bag promptly (as the wheels and one of the handles didn't work, this later proved to be a very good thing). Caught the bus and then the underground without trouble.

Turned out that I wrote the address down wrong, however, and spent the next 8 hours hiking through Kreuzburg and Mitte. Note: cobblestones and rolling luggage aren't the world's best combination. Also, should I ever decide to try the whole “backpacking through Europe” thing, I will definitely use a properly framed pack, not a schoolbag. Highlights included getting rained-on and finding a “Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy”-themed hostel (with relatively cheap internet access, yay!)

Reached the apartments on Adalbertstrasse around 8:30 local time. Used a payphone to track down people as my own cell isn't working (really should have stopped at the T-mobile store when I passed it). Slept alot.

The apartments are really cute—and a lot larger than the one in Seattle. Will post pictures when I can. German linens are a bit odd. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out the fitted sheets. Imagine a mattress-sized pillow sham to start with...

Walked around the neighborhood a little this afternoon. There are a number of parks, and a shopping district a few blocks down (with a lot of bars and a cool-looking 2^nd hand clothing store). Was more amused than I should have been at the sign on one bar declaring that it was a smoking establishment, and thus under-18s weren't allowed. Went grocery-procuring with Kristin and Mary Grace later; we got Doner-kebobs from a cool Turkish food stand and had fun chatting with the guys who worked there (they spoke some English and seemed very amused by our German). Forgot to bring shopping bags to the grocery store—not a mistake I will be repeating. Bought some staples (since stores aren't open on Sundays in general). The apartments are pretty well stocked on cooking implements (though we seem to be lacking in bowls—but we do have an impressive supply of wine glasses). Internet access isn't what we expected: will post this on-line later.

T-1 day

Well, I fly out tommorrow. Am in the process of packing. Have enough granola bars to last through next Christmas. :) (Have read too much Cassie Claire) And have only one question on my mind: what will I forget to pack? Am hoping it is frivolous and/or easily replaced (ie, not my passport).



Further details as events warrant...

Project Proposal

Done and spiffy-looking.

Fine Arts in Berlin: A Look at Cross-Cultural Artistic Interpretation
Wonkyung Cha, Levi Lindsey, Elizabeth Korsmo
Abstract
Fine art brings people together, overcoming cultural barriers and creating a common humanity. In this project, we intend to explore art across cultural boundaries: Who partakes of Art? How is Art regarded? What role does Art play in the everyday life of people? By performing a cross-cultural comparison of how arts are regarded in both Berlin and Seattle, we hope to gain insight into the cultural differences and, more importantly, similarities between the two cities. Berlin’s unique status as a Mecca of the art world will allow us to explore a plethora of venues in both visual and performance art. Our preferred methods of acquiring insight include viewing performances and galleries, interviewing artists and observing our fellow audience members. Through this project, we intend to better understand how people with different cultural backgrounds relate to art and how art transcends human differences.

Background
All the members of our group personally identify as artists (either visual artists or musicians), and are excited to visit such an esteemed art center as Berlin. Our cultural and physical removal from the scene of the research naturally poses the question of how perception of art differs across national boundaries. Through critical analysis of these differences, we hope to better understand art on an international scale.
Preliminary difficulties have included indecision and uncertainty in forming coherent research topics and methods. Our primary anticipated problems in Berlin regard our communications (such as ordering tickets and interviewing subjects).

Individual Research Questions
Wonkyung, “How does public art in Berlin differ from that in Seattle?”
As an artist, I think it is important to look at works of others and experience different art forms followed by other cultures. This summer, I will do my research in Berlin. A place I've never been to, and also a place where I don't speak the language. My medium is fibers. I also like to work with sculpture, ceramics and screen printing.
In the summer, I would like to conduct research on public arts in Berlin. I would like to focus more on visual arts; paintings, pictures, and also sculptures displayed in public spaces. More specifically, I want to compare public arts in Seattle to Berlin. For example, here in Seattle there are whimsical sculptures in Pike Place Market where lots of visitors come for tourism. Also, the sculptures are for those of who live in the local area to simply enjoy the art. Public arts are fun to look at; however, I believe that there are some meaningful reasons why they are displayed at certain places and why in such forms. A while ago, I went to the Pike Place Market with friends; I found bronze piggybank, Rachel. It was a piece of historic public art which had meaning to it. Rachel came for the Market Foundation during the Market's 79th birthday in 1986. People come and feed Rachel with spare change and with currency from different countries in Asia, Europe, the Americas, etc. Research I did on Rachel said by 2006, Market visitors contributed almost up to $9,000 to the Market Foundation by adding to Rachel's bank. Rachel was created by Georgia Gerber, a sculptor who lives on Whidbey Island, Washington. She was named after a real 750-pound pig named Rachel, the 1985 winner of the Island County Fair. Rachel's favorite holiday is March 1, National Pig Day. Rachel weighs about 550 pounds. I would like to further stretch my research while I'm in Berlin, finding the hidden meaning of many public arts and also how people react to them; how Berliners react to public arts where they probably see it very often, if not every day, and how tourists to the public arts. I want to research what people think about the public arts; how many people think carefully about the meaning behind them and the availability of public art in Berlin.

Levi, “How does the importance of classical music compare to the importance of popular music in Berlin, and how does this comparison compare to its equivalent in Seattle?”
For my research topic I chose to focus on classical music in Berlin – especially classical vocal music. I am a vocal performance major, so this subject is naturally appealing to me. I experienced quite a bit of trouble deciding on a specific question to address in this broad topic, but I finally decided on this: how does the importance of classical music compare to the importance of popular music in Berlin, and how does this comparison compare to its equivalent in Seattle? For a while I wanted to ask a very similar question regarding the “decline” of classical music; I believe that this question didn’t quite specify what exactly I intended to focus on which is more or less a ratio of the importance of classical music vs. the importance of popular music.
This question is certainly relevant in today’s society. Music is a large part of virtually everyone’s lives, and most types of music cross all social and ethnic boundaries in ways that nothing else can. Nearly everyone values music, and there is a huge rise in the value and importance of music in today’s societies due to the huge advances in audio technology in the last century. Music doesn’t have to be reperformed every time someone wants to tap their feet to a tune; they can simply plug-in their mp3 player, or flip-on the radio. The genres most benefitted by these technological advances are popular genres; many people still feel strongly that classical music loses much of its appeal when heard through speakers and not directly from the performers’ fingers. So the question of how the importance of popular music compares to the importance of classical music in today’s society is certainly applicable.
Finding an answer to this question should fairly manageable. From my preliminary research I know that classical music in Berlin, and especially opera, is heavily funded by the government – even though they are in massive dept; so information such as ticket sales, fiscal data and such should be available to the public. Also, I can collect data from individuals regarding the importance of these respective musical genres in their lives. Between venues and individuals, I have plenty of accessible information.

Elizabeth “How does music transcend cultural boundaries?”
I will be looking at instrumental classical music in Berlin, and comparing it to the experience of classical music in America. My first query is “How does classical music transcend cultural barriers?” I expect that it does, language barriers aside. Given the close history between American and European music (America’s classical music heritage is essentially all European), I would expect little difference between an American and a German classical concert. Preliminary research into the Berlin Philharmonic’s summer concert line-up would seem to support this expectation: works by composers such as Brahms, Shostakovich and Wagner are in the repertoire.
Beyond examining my personal experience, I also intend to look to the arts-patrons for understanding of how music transcends culture. I mean to do this through observation of the audience (at intermission and before/after concerts). I will be looking for age ranges, language(s) favored in conversation, and general ethnic diversity. Interviews could also prove useful; however the selection bias would likely nullify their use in this case. I would also like, if possible, to compare different concert crowds with each other. For instance, I would expect that an evening orchestra concert would attract an older and somewhat wealthier clientele than a free afternoon chamber concert (which would be more likely to draw families, students and other persons of limited means).
The month of September looks to be especially good for observation: the “musikfest Berlin” will be going on, with concerts presented nearly every night by orchestras from all over Europe (including the London Symphony Orchestra. Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, and Orchestre de Paris). There are also a number of both evening and matinee performances by the Philharmonic.

Research Methods
Our research methods vary with the individual project. Among other things, members of our group will attend musical performances, research venues of artistic merit (memorials, galleries, and public art), observe art patrons and their interactions with art, and interview Berliners regarding their relations to art and its role in their lives.
Elizabeth is not comfortable with talking to people whom she does not know (especially in a language she does not speak fluently and under circumstances in which the other parties may not be interested in being bothered at all). Thus, she is shying away from direct interviews, preferring to discern Berliners’ (and their visitors’) artistic preferences from observation of their behavior and habits at artistic venues. As only public, large-scale data will be taken, privacy is not of great concern. Depth of information is limited in this way, but breadth is readily available. The sort of information to be ascertained focuses mainly on age demographics, spoken language, ethnic background and demonstrated affluence (in order to better understand who is involved in art). By comparing different audiences, Elizabeth hopes to better understand who is attending instrumental performances in Berlin.
Levi intends two collect information through two main methods: interviewing/surveying individuals, and attempting to obtain business records (such as ticket sales, number of performances, budget) from musical venues. He will collect this data in both Seattle and Berlin and through a comparison of these numerical results he should be able to acquire definitive, quantitative conclusions. Some sample survey questions he will be asking people include: how much time do you spend listening to music during an average day (on the radio, at work, at home, etc.)?; how much of this music would you say is classical?; around how many live musical performances do you usually attend in a year?; how many of these performances would you say include classical music?; do you sing or play an instrument?; do you usually perform classical music or music of a different genre?; do you prefer listening to classical music or music of other genres? The biggest anticipated problems with this research relate to obtaining business histories from musical venues. Finding relevant information from classical venues and opera houses should be easy enough, because they receive HUGE amounts of funding from the government -- even though the government is in massive and deepening dept; the relevant data here should be available to the public. The foreseeable difficulties lie in obtaining popular venue information; these will be more privately run and there will be a lot more venues to look at, so finding the relevant information for popular music may be very difficult or even impossible to manage. If this is the case, Levi will still have plenty of applicable data from surveys and will at least be able to compare classical music in Berlin and Seattle.
Won-Kyung intends to use methods of observation, and will actually go to the place where the arts are to conduct field research and observe the people there. She believes these methods are critical to her research because she will not know what forms of public arts are available unless she actually goes to the place of the art; she will not know how different people react to the arts unless she observes them for certain periods of time. Interviewing people will also be important because she won't always be able to distinguish where they are from and what they actually think about the arts solely from observation. By applying these methods of research, she thinks her biggest obstacle will be the language. Speaking English may not be enough to communicate effectively.
For the interview, she will ask first where they are from, second, whether they are tourists or Berliners, and depending on their answer, she will then ask what they think of the art – including whether they know if it has any historic meaning behind it – or simply what they think and how they feel about it.

Cultural Sensitivity
In designing surveys, we will refrain from asking unnecessarily personal questions or in fact from collecting any identifying data beyond general demographics (no names will be used). As needed, subjects will be recruited through contacts at Humboldt University.





Daily Schedule
Preliminary Research: Levi: collect survey data from Seattleites over the course of the summer and try to find performance/attendance data for the Seattle Opera and the Seattle Symphony. Also, purchase tickets for Berlin performances. Elizabeth: attend performances in Seattle (hone crowd-watching technique and gain reference data), finalize and order tickets for Berlin performances (listed performances represent a few preliminary choices, more will be added). Won-Kyung: TBA
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
25-Aug
26-Aug
27-Aug
28-Aug
29-Aug
30-Aug
31-Aug





Levi: attend Fidelio at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Won-Kyung: find and research art venue/object #1
Levi: attend Staatsoper für alle at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Won-Kyung: find and research art venue/object #2
1-Sep
2-Sep
3-Sep
4-Sep
5-Sep
6-Sep
7-Sep
Levi: attend STAATSKAPELLE BERLIN at the Philharmonie Berlin
Levi: attend Tristan und Isolde at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden *(depending on time availability) Elizabeth: attend Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra (performing Stravinky and Tschaikovsky) at Philharmonie Berlin
Won-Kyung: find and research art venue/object #3
Won-Kyung: find and research art venue/object #4
Won-Kyung: find and research art venue/object #5
Won-Kyung: find and research art venue/object #6

8-Sep
9-Sep
10-Sep
11-Sep
12-Sep
13-Sep
14-Sep

Elizabeth: Lunch Concert in Philharmonie Foyer(?)


Won-Kyung: find and research art venue/object #7
Won-Kyung: find and research art venue/object #8
Levi: attend The Flying Dutchman at the Deutsche Oper Berlin Elizabeth: Berlin Philharmonic (performing Schreker and Bruckner) Won-Kyung: find and research art venue/object #9
15-Sep
16-Sep
17-Sep
18-Sep
19-Sep
20-Sep
21-Sep
Levi: attend Rigoletto at the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Levi: attend IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden *(depending on time availability) Elizabeth: Lunch Concert in Philharmonie Foyer(?)






Bibliography
Berlin Philharmonic
Musikfest Berlin
OPER IN BERLIN

Play Review

Seem to have lost my review of Fair Play. Will have to write what I remember of it.

-I really liked the level-usage. Definitely saw Shanga's hand in that. It was awesomely surprising when the upper-level there started moving as well. I also was really intrigued by the solid color backgrounds in each viginette scene (I was looking for some symbolism in it, didn't really see any beyond the stark simplicity that was at the same time very attention-getting because it was so bright).

-The costumes rocked (especially the lady in the Moulin-Rouge style corset and petticoat ensemble). Also, the lead man's resemblence to Harold Ziddler. I had noticed and started pondering the Moulin-Rouge resemblence, and felt vindicated when it was addressed.

-I stil don't feel settled enough to expound on the plot. That is, I was hoping for a class discussion to help me sort out my interpritation of it. The "create your own reality" theme reminded fondly of my junior high years (ah, gifted ed!), though the ending left me rather unsettled.

Further further musings

So, I'm liking the ideas i came up with last time, but I'm not sure whether they make better sub-topics (sort of questions whose cummulative answers make an answer), or if they're topics in their own rights. Better talk it over with the group tomorrow and see what's what.

I was going to finally post my review of "Fair Play" (I delayed this long because I meant to wait until we discussed it in class, to avoid spoilers, but all things considered, better post it anyways, as I doubt we're going to have time to discuss it on Thursday). That being said, it's late and I can't find it, so I'll just have to wait until tommorrow when I'll have some time to hunt for it.

Project Musings update, early June

Stil having some trouble working out a more specific topic (taking research methods into account has only complicated the task in my mind, as "Is this intersting/suitable/specific?" must also take into account "How is this feasible?" ...). May have finally made a breakthrough. After recounting the saga of not-having-any-good-ideas to my sister, received suggestion that comparing cross-cultural artisitc literacy may make for an interesting project. Idea was discarded as impossible, but led to a more feasible line of inquiry along the lines of "How do the arts transcend culture?" Personal opinion is that yes, they do (especially along the lines of instrumental music... heck, most of my own repetoire is from the German romantics after all).

So, a preliminary brainstorm along those lines (will need to be refined in two days, eeps!)
*Attend Opera or other vocal performing outlets: how are language barriers overcome (reverting to vocal instead of orchestral music here, as the language barrier seems to be the obvious hinderance).
*Attend a more modern/popular outfit: to what extent is "American" musical influence in evidence? Jazz :) or American Pop elements :( ?
*Observation/ people watching: what sort of people are attending musical venues. Ie, the Berlin Philharmonic is one of the world's most prestigous symphony orchestras, so I would expect a larger number of tourists in attendence than might be found at less well-known performances. Also, would tend to expect an older, soberer audience than at other venues.
*Interviews: Opinions from audience-members or performers. Introduces further subjectivitity, and not very enthused about this idea.

Getting up-to-date

1. Re: dramatic exercises from last week.

I really like the first group's composition. It may have been the cohesive plot. Or the vampires. Vampires are pretty awesome. Also, the level-use with the "grave" being higher that ground level (I really liked the reversal of expectations there--reminds of the scene in RENT where Roger's on street level is yelling up to Mark in the apartment, who is spatially below him). Getting back to the class, though, I can see where that group put a lot of time into their symbolism--every word, gesture, characters, and even the cyclic nature of the piece was meaningful.

Group the second also had a very symbolic piece, particularily in regards to their language and movement (the regional dialects provoking different responses, the coming together and moving apart).

Group the third very much enjoyed using the staircases for levels... and we seem to have startled the rest of the class. I should not derive satisfaction from that. My group is very fin to work with, despite our tendency towards indecision.

Group the fourth gets kudos for making their own levels. The flat surface (Denny Field), was a bit of a departure (since the rest of us seem to favor using existing raised surfaces to form our disparate levels). Also the symbolism in the initial failure of the pyramid versus its reworked improved was intriguing. And one cannot fault the enthusiasm.

Project Update (musings)

Still trying to narrow down a topic. I'm thinking instrumental music groups, specifically their recent history and current esteem. At any rate, I'm still looking for follow-up on this from Tuesday.

To be continued...

Catching up, musings

I seem to keep forgettting to write here. May Day resolution: maintain the blog!

Anyways, re: Seattle area monuments. I'm been brainstorming this one for a while, but don't fell that I've gotten very far with it. I'm not that familiar with Seattle's urban lore, and seem to have been stuck on campus ever since we got this assignment (cursed cold and loss of my bus pass!). So, I've been reflecting on those buildings which I am familiar with, though I fear that none of them really qualify as "monuments" per se (though history they do have). The Russian Center, for instance (the last place I went off campus to), has one crazy history behind it: began as a movie theater on Capitol Hill in the early part of the last century. Since then (with extensive remodelling of the floor) half of it became a community center, the other side a church. Thanks to the previously noted remodelling, it has also in the last decade become an afterhours dance hall (and one of the mainstays of the Seattle swing scene). Yay for building recycling. :)

The only actual memorial/monument I could really think of in the city (which was built exclusively as a memorial), would be the peace park just off of 40th. I used to walk by it on my way to work last summer. It's just a small piece of land, with a statue which was ocften draped long chains of origami cranes. Save for those and the ubiquitous bicycles, I never actually saw any signs of people there. Rather a sad commentary: commemerating peace through a reflection of the destruction of atomic weapons, and no one seems to take notice.

Ballet in Seattle, scattered thoughts

Attend PNB's A Midsummer Night's Dream last Friday. 'Twas lovely. Besides the dancing itself being utterly amazing, the costumer has my complete respect. And kudos to the set designer as well--the scrim painting (leaves) was gorgeous. The other flowery set pieces were really cool too, though.

Anyway, accolades for the costume-designer. First off, the wings were really impressive. I liked the costume/choreography synnergy that happened there (with the fairies in Titania's train, but more obviously with the butterflies). The wings were made of some really delicate cloth that tended to flutter a bit as the dancers moved (when they were doing those mincing little steps in particular, the wings appears to be fluttering rapidly as those they were hovering). Also, color-coordinating Hermia/Lysander and Helena/Demitrius helped keep track of who-is-who and who-should-be-with-who. The use of identical costumes between the couples (ie Hermia's dress being blue with red trim, Helena's the same but red with blue) also underscored the symmetry between their roles and situations. And it helped explain Puck's confusion between the two boys when administering the love potion/purple flower. ;)

Speaking of Puck, he rocked. While maintaining his graceful and elegant movement, he still managed to be really comedic. When both him and Oberon are 'communicating' thusly, it was a real riot. And I loved his "putting a girdle 'round the earth" bit when he was frolicking all over the stage (I suppose the kudos go to the choreographer for that--but it was still Puck making it so funny).

I was really impressed with all the principals' flexibility and strength. They make all those crazy arabesques and whatnot look to pretty and so effortless. I really wish I could do that. Also, Hippolyta's stage-presence really sticks out in my mind. Titania, Helena, and Hermia were all very pretty and graceful and expressive, but the brief scenes with Hippolyta really conveyed a sense of power, without sacrificing much in the way of grace. And the precision of the chorus! (Especially the younger children playing what I take to be sprites.) It was unreal how well in time they were. I ocassionally saw one get slightly off-time with the others--if anything, that was an enhancement, a sort of proof that these were in fact humans!

Nicht für Seminar

Letzte Woche habe ich oft Deutsch geübt und viele Geschichten geschriebt. Ich denke dass meine Worten sind besser, aber meine Grammatik ist nicht so gut. Ach, schade.

In Deutschkurs, lernen wir über Kinderheit.
Meine erste (kleine) Geschichte für Deutsch 103:

Meine liebstes Kinderbuch war “Socks for Supper”. Es hatte schönes Bilder. Das geschichte war sehr interessant für mich. Ein armes Bauer und seine Frau hatten keine Milch oder Käse weil sie keine Kuh hatte. Darum, hat die Bauersfrau Socken gestrickt. Sie hat die Socken zu ihre Nachbarn verkauft. Aber hat die Frau kein Garn. Und so, hat sie den Pullover ihres Manns für Garn aufgetrennt. Am Weihnachten, hatte sie kein mehr Garn oder Socken und der Bauer hatte keinen Pullover. Dann kam der Nachbar mit eine Geschenke. Seine Frau hat die Socken aufgetrennt und einen Puli für ihren Mann gestrickt, aber es hat ihm nicht gepaßt. Darum, gaben sie den Pullover zum armen Bauer. Der Pullover hat ihm Perfekt gepaßt.

Und die zwitte Geschichte:

Als ich sehr klein war, habe ich oft Knoten gemacht. Ich hatte mit alle Dinge schnüren—Schnur, Haargummi, Halskette, Hüpfseil. Ich hatte oft der Gürtel von Saras Bademantel nehmen, und ihn in viele Knoten schnüren. Es gefällt sie nicht. (Sara ist eine alter Schwester von mir.) Ein tag, als ich drei war und Sara fünf, hatte ich ihre Slinky nehmen. Dann hatte ich um den Shaukelstuhl der Mutter schnüren. Sara war sehr traurig weil ihre Slinky kaput war. Sie hatte viel Angst und hatte weinen. Mutter hatte mir schelten. Obwohl mochte ich Knoten machen, musste ich nicht die Dinge von Andern nehmen (und brechen).

Das ist alles!

Erste Tag, Seattle

First day of class today. Es war sehr toll. Even getting out of lessons early, I was still 10 minutes late. Getting lost in the basement of Hutchinson didn't really help (so many doors... all discontinuous). I rather wish we were still assigned to MGH, just for its proximity to Meany. On the upside, I should be quite the sprinter by June.
But I digress...
Class was fun. I have to admit that the exercises proposed in the "Viewpoints" book really seemed a bit odd when I was initially reading them. The concepts make sense, but I really couldn't see how they were applied for want of a concrete vehicle to convey them. Acting out the montages in groups really helped. 'Twas also a lot of fun, once we got over the initial (20 s)confusion about what to do. I also like to think that we contributed to the surreality of random passerbys' days. Though, this is UW. Undergrads lying on the sidewalk aren't really all that uncommon.
All the spatial relationships people were using were pretty cool. I've always enjoyed seeing unconventional levels in space, so the lying/crouching/standing/table differences were fun. Es gefällt mir gut.
The History of Berlin lecture was also really neat. I must confess to having a fiendish desire to get copies of all the maps and make a "watch Berlin grow" flip-book out of them...will probably need smaller copies for that. Getting back on topic, organizing the explanation the city's apparent randomness in terms of its historical growth was 1)really logical, 2)very illuminating, and 3)helpful for future getting-un-lost-ing. Neologism! Learning how to find important navigational aids (landmarks) + historical data + deutsche Worte = :D Will definitely try to take one of her classes at some point, if possible.

Days 'til departure: unknown... still working on the flight plans
Days 'til Berlin program: 144
Days 'til my p-chem homework is due: <1