Edwaard Liang's Wunderland

I enjoy watching ballet, but have never had the chance to go to a professional show. I stumbled across this ballet in The Washington Post online edition about a week or so ago. I wish I had seen this earlier as the show has already closed. Looking at the pictures and the video clips, I can tell that the show was a real breath-taker. I read the review written by Sarah Kaufman, a Post staff writer and she said it was not all that great from what I gathered from her article. The way these women were able to stand on pointe while squatting is astonishing in itself to me- such precision.

If anyone has seen this production or can even find where they are touring, let me know, I would love to see this or even get another perspective of the show.

I took the liberty of attaching some clips and links about this amazing production.

Bodice in 'Wunderland'

Harman Center for the Arts

Comments On...Bodice in 'Wunderland'

Marla Olmstead...Painting Prodigy??

I recently watched a documentary on four- year old Marla. The purpose of the film was to try to uncover the truth about Marla’s paintings- whether she herself painted them or if her very artistic father helped to touch them up. Critics claim that her work is far too polished for her to be so young; the art world compares her to Picasso. According to Marla Olmstead’s father, she began painting before she was two years old with him and her has enjoyed doing it ever since.

In this documentary, they set up cameras in the kitchen, where Marla often paints hoping to record her completing a painting from start to finish proving that she is a young prodigy. However, in the film, Marla did not seem too interested in painting with cameras all around her so the directed put in hidden cameras that only the parents knew about. The finish painting was considered her worst painting because it was so different than the other she had created. It was clearly not as polished. Because of this critics now have serious doubts about her artistic abilities and the demand of her work has thus declined.

After watching another clip on YouTube.com showing Marla painting a canvas from start to finish by herself, I am inclined to believe she is a prodigy. I do not think her father helped to polish her work, if anything he may have given her advice on how to execute it but he did not physically help her. There is nothing wrong with coach. If your child is passionate about something then you get them the best person you can find that specializes in it. For example, if your child is passionate about basketball, wouldn't you put him or her on a team where they are taught by a coach?! I think this is no different. Yes, in her videos it shows her just pushing paint around on a canvas but not all art in my opinion can be considered art unless it is polished and I beleive this child's work is very polished.

Marla
Marla
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