svena - germany
amber - england (yorkshire)
josh - australia (brisbane)
peter - australia (surfer's paradise)
rowan - australia (surfer's paradise)
kate - australia (sunshine coast)
kyle - australia (sunshine coast)
mitch - australia (mooloolabah)
stacy - canada (vancouver)
emmi - new zealand (auckland)
kevin - united kingdom (kent)
dave - canada (vancouver)
glen - new zealand (auckland)
gold coast: thursday to friday
sunshine coast: friday to saturday
brisbane: saturday to sunday
fun in the sun weekend!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
toranga zoo
it has been a while, i know i know.
but! fear not! updates are here!
in the last couple of weeks i have been really busy with school work but, thankfully, i have found time to do some fun sydney stuff.
on saturday 9th, my AIFS group went on a day trip to the toranga zoo.
here are some of the awesome animals we got to see.
i don't have a picture of the world's largest bear, the kodiak bear, which was one of my favorite things to see but, enjoy these none the less. :)
seal show:
a few of us went to see a "free flying" bird show.
it was really neat & one of my favorite parts of the day..
at the end of the show:
beautiful bengal tiger:
a dingo did NOT eat my baby :)
world's tiniest pigmy hippo:
ostrich!:
favorite animal:
zebras:
i picked this picture cause the little girl looked like me :) :
my friend aron & i at the end of the day:
i'm off to brisbane/gold coast with my roommate, kate.
i'll update more soon, promise!
xoxo
dustialynn
but! fear not! updates are here!
in the last couple of weeks i have been really busy with school work but, thankfully, i have found time to do some fun sydney stuff.
on saturday 9th, my AIFS group went on a day trip to the toranga zoo.
here are some of the awesome animals we got to see.
i don't have a picture of the world's largest bear, the kodiak bear, which was one of my favorite things to see but, enjoy these none the less. :)
seal show:
a few of us went to see a "free flying" bird show.
it was really neat & one of my favorite parts of the day..
at the end of the show:
beautiful bengal tiger:
a dingo did NOT eat my baby :)
world's tiniest pigmy hippo:
ostrich!:
favorite animal:
zebras:
i picked this picture cause the little girl looked like me :) :
my friend aron & i at the end of the day: 
i'm off to brisbane/gold coast with my roommate, kate.
i'll update more soon, promise!
xoxo
dustialynn
Sunday, May 24, 2009
the nutcracker: the story of clara.
the most beautiful ballet i have ever seen, in my entire life, was Greame Murphy's Nutcracker: The Story of Clara. (on may 11th)
it was a contemporary ballet, using (some of) Tchiakovsky's music but completely different dances. the difference between classic ballet and this ballet is: the original Nutcracker is beautiful and breathtaking but it has been done thousands of times and is what one would think of as a traditional ballet. The Story of Clara was beautiful, eloquent, and absolutely breathtaking but, it is innovative and puts a modern day spin on the dancing.
this is coming from an outsiders perspective. i have very little training in ballet but i can appreciate such beauty as this without having 15 years of dance under my belt.
i definitely loved it a lot more than anyone i went with. i was on the edge of my seat the entire time and my hands hurt from clapping so long and loud. it was wonderful.
not to mention, it was at the sydney opera house, which was unbelievable as well!
one of the most memorable nights here.
synopsis:
during a 'sweltering' christmas eve (yes, it says sweltering) in Melbourne, in the late 1950s, the aging clara, once a famous russian ballerina, struggles home from the store in the heat. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker plays from her radio and fills her with nostalgia.
clara's russian friends make their annual visit and one brings a film of young clara as a ballerina in the Russian Imperial Ballet. she begins to dance (this was an interesting part of the ballet, to say the least. weird holograms were on the walls and what not, not to mention the real ballet dancing hadn't begun yet so i was antsy). because her frail body is weak, the doctor friend who came to visit suggests everyone leave and he takes her to sleep while he waits next to her..
during her sleep, she descends into hallucination. she dreams that she encounters herself as a child and of her lover who was killed during the Russian Revolution, (this time her love interest was a soldier, not the nutcracker).
- the dance scene where clara is reunited with her lover left me breathless. i completely forgot that breathing was a requirement. it seemed so minute in comparison to the beauty in front of me.
act two:
- we are taking through her life as a ballerina.
clara's childhood is spent striving for perfection at the Imperial Conservatoire. years of training are rewarded by graduation and acceptance into the Imperial Ballet at the Maryinsky Theatre.
after graduation, she falls madly in love with a young officer.
already famous as a ballerina, she is introduced to the Tsar and Tsarina at an Imperial Ball. she also makes a debut as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker. during the height of her life, the Revolution breaks out in 1917 and her beloved must leave for war. his death shatters her world, leaving the dance as her only companion (another absolutely amazing scene).
years of touring around the world led her to Australia in 1940 with the Basil Ballet Russe. world war breaks out again and she is forced to remain in this new land. at war's end, she dances her farewell performance with the newly formed Borovansky Ballet. as an adoring audience applauds, age quickly reclaims her and the hallucinations of the christmas eve fade into darkness; but, clara's past and present are complete and her dream in now eternal (spoiler: she dies :D ).
some of the ballet was a bit hard to follow, especially if you had the original in mind. the whole thing was to seperate the two. this was not a remake. it is similar to Wicked in comparison to the Wizard of Oz. two completely different stories. both beautiful, in their own right but, not meant to be compared.
i was a bit sad when it was over too. i could've sat there and watched the performance again and found something new i enjoyed.
it was truly magical.
xox
dustialynn
it was a contemporary ballet, using (some of) Tchiakovsky's music but completely different dances. the difference between classic ballet and this ballet is: the original Nutcracker is beautiful and breathtaking but it has been done thousands of times and is what one would think of as a traditional ballet. The Story of Clara was beautiful, eloquent, and absolutely breathtaking but, it is innovative and puts a modern day spin on the dancing.
this is coming from an outsiders perspective. i have very little training in ballet but i can appreciate such beauty as this without having 15 years of dance under my belt.
i definitely loved it a lot more than anyone i went with. i was on the edge of my seat the entire time and my hands hurt from clapping so long and loud. it was wonderful.
not to mention, it was at the sydney opera house, which was unbelievable as well!
one of the most memorable nights here.
synopsis:
during a 'sweltering' christmas eve (yes, it says sweltering) in Melbourne, in the late 1950s, the aging clara, once a famous russian ballerina, struggles home from the store in the heat. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker plays from her radio and fills her with nostalgia.
clara's russian friends make their annual visit and one brings a film of young clara as a ballerina in the Russian Imperial Ballet. she begins to dance (this was an interesting part of the ballet, to say the least. weird holograms were on the walls and what not, not to mention the real ballet dancing hadn't begun yet so i was antsy). because her frail body is weak, the doctor friend who came to visit suggests everyone leave and he takes her to sleep while he waits next to her..
during her sleep, she descends into hallucination. she dreams that she encounters herself as a child and of her lover who was killed during the Russian Revolution, (this time her love interest was a soldier, not the nutcracker).
- the dance scene where clara is reunited with her lover left me breathless. i completely forgot that breathing was a requirement. it seemed so minute in comparison to the beauty in front of me.
act two:
- we are taking through her life as a ballerina.
clara's childhood is spent striving for perfection at the Imperial Conservatoire. years of training are rewarded by graduation and acceptance into the Imperial Ballet at the Maryinsky Theatre.
after graduation, she falls madly in love with a young officer.
already famous as a ballerina, she is introduced to the Tsar and Tsarina at an Imperial Ball. she also makes a debut as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker. during the height of her life, the Revolution breaks out in 1917 and her beloved must leave for war. his death shatters her world, leaving the dance as her only companion (another absolutely amazing scene).
years of touring around the world led her to Australia in 1940 with the Basil Ballet Russe. world war breaks out again and she is forced to remain in this new land. at war's end, she dances her farewell performance with the newly formed Borovansky Ballet. as an adoring audience applauds, age quickly reclaims her and the hallucinations of the christmas eve fade into darkness; but, clara's past and present are complete and her dream in now eternal (spoiler: she dies :D ).
some of the ballet was a bit hard to follow, especially if you had the original in mind. the whole thing was to seperate the two. this was not a remake. it is similar to Wicked in comparison to the Wizard of Oz. two completely different stories. both beautiful, in their own right but, not meant to be compared.
i was a bit sad when it was over too. i could've sat there and watched the performance again and found something new i enjoyed.
it was truly magical.
xox
dustialynn
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