Ballet Pixelle is performing "Shuzenji" Sunday evenings at 5 pm SLT
Behind the Scenes at Ballet Pixelle
Notes from the artistic and digital interface SL5B -- Five Years, Five Ballets, One Magical Experience
Sparkle Skye comments on the Ballet after her debut.
You can find commentary, news, and interaction with Ballet Pixelle on the Web. Our Web site - balletpixelle.org, our blog - Balletpixelle.blogspot.com, and our MySpace page - myspace.com/balletpixelle
YouTube has several videos of our performances. Search for "Second Life Ballet" or "Ballet Pixelle" and you will be able to share a small sense of these performances with your RL friends.
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Make sure you change your group identity from BPIX-SAVE (a temporary group we set up to facilitate the name change) and join the new group Ballet Pixelle. The group name BPIX-SAVE has been dropped from SL and you would have received a notice that you were "ejected." Of course, we still want you in the Ballet group and it is easy to join under our new name. You can do this in the world of Second Life by going to the Search tab, selecting Groups and typing "Ballet Pixelle" in the search block. Click on the View Full Profile, and then Join buttons in the pop-up boxes and you're in! Or come to a performance of our newest ballet "Shuzenji" and join at the theatre. Founder and artistic director Inarra Sarrinen explains, "this new name better represents that we are a unique Company grounded in a virtual base with the essential digital element clearly represented in the second half of the name by the word Pixelle."
Along with the name change we have a new logo. This graphic represents the two elements that have been essential to our success: the artistic world of traditional ballet and the technical space of the three-dimensional, user created on-line environment called Second Life (SL). A technical-looking typeface anchored by a pixel-like rectangle is next to a realistic silhouetted ballerina as she makes dramatic leap "dancing into the digital future."
We're delighted to welcome new dancers into our Ballet Pixelle Company from our recent auditions.
They have been hard at work learning roles. Ms. Sparkle Skye was the first to make her performance debut. Read her comments in the Interview column.
Gershom Wycliffe has also joined the Company as Mistress of Ceremony. This is an important responsibility as the MC facilitates the performance, provides plot and casting information and interacts with the audience. Ms. Wycliffe has demonstrated that she is always on her toes, essential in a live performance, and up to the job!
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If you haven't see our current ballet, "Shuzenji", you have missed what audience members are calling "Absolutely beautiful" and "Awesome" while others have said they "can not find the words to describe." Still other viewers of this tour du force can simply "wipe a tear."
There are just a few performances left of this stunning artistic and technical achievement. Set in 1700s Japan, Shuzenji tells the story of two lovers, Sakura and Tokai, who are separated from each other when Tokai is murdered at the shrine of "Shuzenji" by jealous Oirans, or courtesans. However, the faithful Sakura continues to search for Tokai at the shrine, and because of her enduring love, Tokai's spirit is freed. What happens next is told in the beautiful and moving third act. This is a tale of love, commitment, and loss set in adventure, fighting, magic and mystery.
"Every time I come, I see something new" This audience member exclamation at end of performance chat highlights the beauty and complexity of this stunning ballet.
What's your favorite part of "Shuzenji"? Dancers in the ballet have different ideas: Vivienne Darcy (Oiran, Shrine Maiden and Obake) says, "I love Act II, it is so melancholy." Tik Merlin (Tokai): "I love the whole ballet, but my preferred is Act III." Lina Lageos (Sakura): I think I like Act III the best. Nobody dies :-)"
Two of the women who dance the lead Sakura when asked which is the hardest act to dance responded with the same answer: Lina Lagos, "As Sakura, Act II is the trickiest" Amelie Dibou, "For me it is Act II. The dancing, drawing the dagger and death scene are tricky to fit in."
Come and see for yourself! Ballet Pixelle performs "Shuzenji" Sunday evenings at 5p.m. SLT (Pacific time zone - United States). On occasion this time shifts to accommodate audiences on the other side of the world. Please check the Website calendar for times and dates (http://balletpixelle.org/calendar.html) or, if you are in-world at Second Life search in the Events, then Arts and Cultural listing.
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"The costumes are wonderful"
One of the stunning enhancements the Second Life platform offers to the dance is the gentle flow of prim skirts and attachments. Director and choreographer Inarra Saarinen takes full advantage of this extra movement potential in "Shuzenji". It is as though the costume carries some of the emotional force of the dancers' portrayals as each garment swirls, flows and comes to rest.
See the back page of the souvenir program for details. Program is available at the performances and at the IBM 10 sim outside the theater.
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Ballet Pixelle (BP) was invited to participate in the Second Life Fifth Birthday celebration (SL5B), a two-week event held from June 23 to July 7, 2008. Of course we would jump in and create an exhibit! This was an opportunity to showcase the Company's productions to an audience that might not seek out the ballet. But how do you convey the accomplishments of this dedicated group of dancers from its beginnings two years ago as the Second Life Ballet? We wanted to tell the story in an involving, even interactive, way that did justice to the hard work and artistry of the Company.
I joined Tik Merlin, BP's premier danseur and technical/building visionary at our assigned space in the middle of a sim ironically called "MOVE." He had volunteered to head up the Ballet's SL5B team and had just two days to design, build and install the exhibit. I offered to help, or at least provide moral support. When I told Tik my time zone was USA, Central time (SLT + 2 hours) the first words he texted back were, "We're doomed!" Tik is in Portugal (SLT + 8). In short, we were six hours out of phase. Good thing he is a night person, I'm an early riser and neither of us had to be at our real jobs for a couple of days.
Ballet Pixelle is all about movement and visual experience. As Tik and I brainstormed while walking, flying and hovering around our assigned SL5B area, an elegant and involving solution seemingly appeared in front of us. Scenes from each of the Company's five ballets could be projected on translucent screens on five stages. Halden Beaumont, the Company's videographer had already produced machinima of the first four ballets - "Olmannen", "Windows", "The Nut" (a holiday season highlight from "The Nutcracker") and "Phylogeny". We needed to find a way to get a scene from the just debuted ballet "Shuzenji", for the back stage, but first we needed to build the overall exhibit structure.
In just a few minutes (or so it seemed as long as we didn't look at a clock) Tik developed a design taking full advantage of the rectangular exhibit space. He rezzed five of BP's impressive stages. Put two on each of the long sides framing a central courtyard with the fifth stage anchoring the back. Now all we had to do was fill them. Ballet Pixelle's founder and creative director pulled distinctive set elements for the different ballets out of her inventory and installed one in each stage. Others from the company and from other time zones showed up to help. Teamwork at its best.
Ballet Pixelle is about music as well, so BP's sound engineer Willis Rossini was instrumental in setting up music segments from each ballet that began to play for each person when they walked next to that production's stage. Tik managed to get a key SL5B staff ally to make the needed parceling and media settings for each exhibit zone. Taff Nouvelle offered the best of his technology and cheerful support to get the job done, no matter what odd time.
We still needed to find a scene to play from the newest ballet. Fortunately my friend Morton Decosta had recorded the last act of "Shuzenji". Getting it to the SL5B space was an adventure across time zones and electronic platforms. The file was huge. A phone call to my Internet provider to double check band capabilities brought the bad news -
in its present form it would take an hour to transmit. IF it would even go. We needed to get it from Morton's computer to Espresso Saarinen, BP's electronic and computer wizard - in Japan (SLT + 16 or 14 hours out of phase with me) I was standing around the exhibit space in SL texting with Tik. He was on a phone line with BP videographer Beaumont who also lives in Portugal, where it was about 5 in the morning. Espresso was e-mailing Morton. Some of us were on Macs, others on PC's. Suggestions were made as to the best video compression formats. Finally, at 2 in the morning Morton got it to go.
With the main structure built and the primary exhibits functioning others from the Company joined in with all-important details to enhance visitor's experience, filling the central court with information and activities. Inarra Saarinen developed a dance floor with "follow the footsteps" dance patterns and animations so that visitors could see how challenging a performance is. Dancer Lina Lageos dropped in with a huge three-layer birthday cake topped with a "just for fun" ballerina poseball. Amelie Dibou landscaped with lovely trees and plants and made an all-important vendor that that gave visitors a free Nutcracker tutu created by SavannahAnn McMillan.
Tik added slide shows with ballet snapshots, including marvelous photographs by Mariel Voyunicef, BP's resident photographer. "Click to turn" playbills from the Company's performances were installed to orient visitors to the ballet and a CD display described the music Neena Botanical got Internet links for the music composers. Pyper Dollinger and Vivienne Darcy (who had been already deeply involved in getting the SL5B parcel) reviewed and tested the exhibit.
The last touch was the installation of pathway touchstones inviting visitors to "Dance into the Digital Future."
Ballet Pixelle's SL5B exhibit received rave reviews from visitors. "The work you did at the SL birthday is just breath taking! I so enjoyed looking at all of it today. Thank you so much." If you missed seeing it, you may have another chance. Plans are being discussed to install a similar exhibit near the Company's theatre
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Ballet Pixelle's newest dancer talks about her life in dance and dancing digitally with Ballet Pixelle
Q. Have you been a dancer?
A. "I've danced most of my life, for the past 8 years I have been involved in belly dancing as a performer, teacher and choreographer, finding a way to share first life dance in Second Life (SL) has been a goal of mine for a long time. When I heard about the auditions I came to see a performance to see what it was about. I thought it was a wonderful opportunity that enabled people to learn about dance and enjoy a performance where they may not have access to it in first life."
Q. Have you been to many Ballet Pixelle performances?
A. "Before I auditioned I has been to one performance and seen a few of the videos of past shows on-line at YouTube."
Q. What is has it been like learning the ballet and the way to dance in a digital world?
A. "Rehearsals have been great everyone is so helpful and willing to answer any questions it has made it very easy to learn the process without being intimidating. The hardest part I think is for everyone to coordinate schedule but so far things have seemed to come together.
"Performance is a bit nerve wracking as you really want to be sure you are doing it right with the correct timing and of course there is the lag to battle. Everyone was so helpful and encouraging it made it a pleasure inspite of the nerves."
Q. What would you like readers to know about dancing in Second Life and Ballet Pixelle performances?
A. "Dancing in SL is fun! Where else can you be a ballet dancer, hip hop dancer and acrobatic dancer in a matter of minutes. There are so many differences I think dancing in SL can help you want to dance more in first life. It allows you to experiment with forms of a dance you may not have access to or the physical ability to do.
"I would like the audience to enjoy the experience. I think having an MC explaining the story really helps to have a fuller understanding of the performance and all the other parts involved. I hope this inspires them to attend more arts related performances or to create something of their own. I think it would be great if we had more dance companies and performances for everyone to enjoy."
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