[email protected] Technique Entertainment Editor: Patricia Uceda 15 Assistant Entertainment Editor: Friday, Entertainment Zheng Zheng February 18, 2011 !"##$%&'()#*+,-(*.*/#&0(*+1%#&2#0 By Hank Whitson !e prologue, which covers the christening Sta! Writer scene, is essentially an act unto itself, and it is the fairies and character actors time to shine. Tchaikovsky’s adaptation of Marius Petipa’s Abigail Tan’s portrayal of the Lilac Fairy fea- Sleeping Beauty is widely regarded as one of the tured ephemeral movements, and her gestures most technically challenging classical ballets were crisp. Peng-Yu Chen gave a stand-out ever choreographed. !e story will be familiar performance with her vivacious Canari Fairy to anyone who has seen the 1959 Disney "lm, variation. Tara Lee stole the show as Carabosse, though it is more faithful to the traditional though. Her lines were sharp, and her dramat- Brothers Grimm fairy tale. ic gestures seethed with malevolence. Her It tells the story of Aurora, a princess happily ghouls also delivered comic bu#oonery to born to King and Queen Florestan XXIV after give the mice from Nutcracker a many childless years. At her christening, Au- run for their money. rora is blessed by six benevolent fairies, but she is also cursed by Carabosse, a seventh fairy who was uninvited. !e curse dictates that Aurora will be pricked by a sewing needle and die. !e Act 1 Lilac fairy uses her own magic to alter the curse opens with a staple of classi- so the needle will put Aurora into an ageless cal ballet, happy peasants dancing a sleep until she is awakened by a kiss of true love. garland waltz in celebration. !e princes who !e curse comes to pass, of course, and the vie for Aurora’s a#ections had great individual entire kingdom slumbers for one hundred years, technique, though their formations were a lit- when Prince Desiré arrives at the enchanted for- tle askew. Kristine Necessary lit up the stage est. With some help from the Lilac Fairy, De- as Aurora with a smile that you could see siré defeats Carabosse, "nds Aurora and lifts from the rafters. Her precise, delicate tech- the curse. !e ballet concludes with a wedding nique paired with the relentlessly pretty scene attended by many other popular Brother’s choreography is almost too sweet to bear Grimm characters like Little Red Riding Hood, at times. Tom !umb, Puss in Boots and the Big Bad You could see a little bit of strain Wolf. Atlanta Ballet’s production of Beauty is in her leg during the infamous Rose fantastic. !e dancers are expressive and tech- Adagio, but she kept her smile nically superb. !e elaborate costumes and sets throughout all four excruciating, !"#$! are gorgeous. !e Atlanta Ballet orchestra per- consecutive promenades. Her The Sleeping Beauty formed the score. pantomime of the dreaded nee- !e prologue is the fairies time to shine. dle prick was also incredibly PERFORMER: Atlanta Ballet While the score is not as iconic as Tchaikovsky’s sharp. You would be surprised LOCATION: Cobb Energy other ballets, there are a few lovely and famil- at how dramatic dropping a Centre iar pieces like the waltz theme and !e Atlanta spool of thread can be. Ballet Orchestra performed them splendidly, DATE: Feb. 11 2011 Sleeping matching the tempo of the dancers without no- See , page 16 ticeably altering the music. OUR TAKE: !!!!! Image Courtesy of Atlanta Ballet Monster Jam destroys the weekend competition !"#$! and the results were made o$cial. !e real catalyst point, though, Monster Jam !is is Monster Jam, an annual was in 1981 when Bob Chandler, event that tours the country pit- a driver for a truck named Big- PERFORMER: Monster Jam ting truly behemoth sized trucks foot, decided to make a promo- LOCATION: Philips Arena against each other in a series of tional video using Bigfoot for his races and freestyle trick runs in four wheel drive repair shop. In DATE: Feb. 12 2011 front of a screaming, cheering au- the video Chandler drove Bigfoot dience of thousands. over a few junk cars, crushing OUR TAKE: !!!!! Monster Jam is actually hosted them. under the United States Hot Rod Once word of the video spread, By Michael Valente Association, or USHRA, which Bob Chandler and Bigfoot started Contributing Writer hosts a variety of events from mo- traveling and crushing cars for au- tocross and quad racing to !un- diences around the country. It was late last Saturday night der Nationals, another monster By 1988 the "rst champion se- when the Georgia Dome erupted truck competition. ries for racing monster trucks had with the sound of applause that It is arguably the most popu- started and soon after that free deafened the already overwhelm- lar of the monster truck racing style portions were added. ing sound of roaring engines from circuits and features some of the !is year the 2011 Mon- within. most recognizable trucks includ- ster Jam took the action to new Sixty-"ve thousand fans all ing Gravedigger and Maximum heights. !e event is split into two were on their feet giving a stand- Destruction. main parts. ing ovation to the spectacle that !e phenomenon of monster In the "rst the trucks compete laid beneath them. trucks as we know it now had a in a single elimination bracket Gravedigger, a massive 1500 humble beginning. In the late tournament race featuring jumps horsepower monster truck, had 1970s, mud bogging and truck and obstacles. just clinched the Advance Auto pulling started to gain popularity !e trucks competed quickly, Parts 2011 Monster Jam Freestyle in the southern US. and soon, the championship race competition with a run that had As this sport grew, the drivers was being held between the nick- seemingly de"ed the laws of phys- of these trucks started to upgrade named “!e Icon” Gravedigger ics. their vehicles, adding bigger and and the aptly named Advance !e broken, barely running bigger tires, axles and better sus- Auto Parts Grinder. truck triumphantly pulled into pension in order to have an advan- Monster Photo by Basheer Tome / Student Publications place as the fans slowly quieted, tage in the competition. See , page 17 16 • February 18, 2011 • Technique ENTERTAINMENT Sleeping from page 15 essary o# her feet. Again, the very traditional !e big wedding scene is simi- grand pas between Aurora and !e second act was Jacob lar to the Nutcracker’s second half her prince felt somewhat anticli- Bush’s time to shine as Prince De- in that it is parade of light-hearted mactic after the parade of playful !"#$%"$ siré, and his technique was suit- celebratory dances, and a splendid character dances. ably bold and gallant. mix of character acting and sharp Bush and Necessary are very !"#$%&Cuisines around Atlanta He was not as obviously ex- technique. well paired technically, though '' pressive as Necessary, but his pan- !e Gold and Gems double they lacked the sort of luminous %&!'(%)(*'! the Calamari tacos with jalap- tomimes call for him to be pen- pas was exquisitely coordinated chemistry required to truly and Hankook Taqueria enos and sweet chili sauce, or the sive and withdrawn, so it is hard and the lady soloists were very fully realize the tale’s legendary, pulled pork tacos with spicy Ko- to fault him. sharp. !e playful pas between eternal love. LOCATION: 1341 Collier Road rean BBQ sauce. !e highlight of the entire the rakish Puss in Boots and the It would be interesting to com- CUISINE: Korean BBQ and All, yes all, tacos and burritos ballet was the frenzied, pas de prissy White Cat was a lot of fun pare them to the alternate cast fea- Mexican Fusion come with green onion, green cab- deux duel between Desiré and and garnered a few laughs from turing John Welker and Christine bage, soy sesame vinaigrette, ci- Carabosse, as he struggles to turn the audience. Winkler, who are husband and COST: ~ $10 lantro and jack cheese. It is of my her own knife against her. Little Red Riding Hood dis- wife in real life. HOURS: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. conspiring nature that I believe In a neat bit of stage magic, played some precise and blister- If you are looking to introduce Mexico was actually colonized by Carabosse melts into the stage ing pointe-work, and the Big Bad a loved one or a child to the plea- PHONE: 404-352-8881 the Koreans and not the Spanish. with a pu# of smoke as she is fa- Wolf seemed to be having a great sures of classical ballet, !e Nut- Otherwise there is no explanation tally stabbed. !e transition is time. !e %uttering bluebird pas cracker is a more accessible entry OUR TAKE: !!!!! for why their foods complement clean and organic. was solid, though there have been point, being considerably briefer another so well. After such a stirring scene, the more elaborate takes on the vir- and boasting %ashier, more easily By Alex Kessler In addition, the menu o#ers fated kiss between Desiré and tuoso solo variations. appreciated choreography. Contributing Writer nachos with Korean beef, tem- Aurora seemed somewhat anti- !e quick brisé volé sections But if you are looking for an pura fried sweet potatoes, tilapia climactic. It was still convincing, were present and impressive, how- example of classical dancers who Hankook Taqueria is the "rst burritos, BBQ beef quesadillas however, and the pas that followed ever. Brian Wallenberg’s Tom have mastered their craft of move- of its kind to emerge on the At- and a spicy hot dog with cabbage was suitably romantic, with the !umb variation takes "rst prize.