A little weird... kinda fun...

[Alumette]

Okay, a good dancer friend of mine who dances in Australia is also a visual artist. He does drawing and photography, as well as computer graphics and computer animation.

He does mostly modern dance, of the sort that I'm not terribly into, but he's trained in classical ballet and still takes ballet class daily, and works with ballet companies in addition to modern ones. For the most part he does a lot of independent work and makes dance films using his computer animation skills and art background. He's worked with Bondi Ballet, TasDance, Sydney Dance Company, and a host of others.

I thought you computer graphics people would get a kick out of this. It's a composite video he made showing some of his best work in dance, video production, and computer animation. Again, the dancing is modern, so, just be prepared... it's not the tutu and tiara stuff that I do--not by any stretch. If you're not familiar with dance, it probably will seem really bizarre to you. But the video is fun.

Enjoy! :)

My Friend Jais (www.mindfloss.com.au/stuff/jasonLamHybrid.mov )

[sheld0n]

Well, in all honesty, i personally didnt like the choice of music too much, and i believe many of those moves he presented lost a lot of value when taken out of context, but heck, the guy sure knows how to dance! :D
The special effects were very nice too. I think that whole clip would make a great portfolio.

I kinda like modern dance, because it gives more freedom, and i think its inevitable that it seems somewhat sloppy from time to time, since its still so new.
But thats just me, and im not a connaisseur or anything. *shrug*

[Alumette]

Heh. Shel, your opinions are your opinions. And I think they're well-thought-out. I agree with your post, actually. And you're right about it making a good portfolio--that's actually pretty much what this video clip is, is his portfolio. It's to show his dance, computer animation, and video-editing skills. I think he set it all to one piece of music to make it cohesive, even though the video is samples of his work going back to 2002.

I think some of his computer animation stuff is just amazing though--so smooth!

[sheld0n]

Yeah, its really polished. I really liked the CG sequence from the drawn egg to the macro photography bit, which, together with that ocean part, were very realistic, considering that its homebrew.

On another note, im always impressed when the dancer looks like it wasnt him controlling the body. I imagine it must be tricky to not only know all the moves perfectly, but on top of that, to make it also look so convincing.

Also, the war clips made a nice touch for contrast.

Overall, yeah, heh. Good portfolio. :)

[Alumette]

Thanks Shel. :) For someone who claims to not be a connoisseur of dance, you sure know how to watch it for the right things. ;)

Of course, we've talked about this before, and I know you have a girlfriend who does ballet, so...

Let's just say I'm impressed.

*sigh* I've always had a crush on Jais.

[sheld0n]

Wow, thanks! :D
Im really into art overall. Every form of expression is relevant and noteworthy.
The girl you mentioned sparked my interest in ballet, but she was never my girlfriend. I wish she was, heh, and i tried, trust me. But all it ammounted to were polite conversations. And now, that the school is over, i'll likely never see her again. Oh well, life goes on...

Anyway, i can see how you could have a crush on him. Ballet dancers are awesome. :)
I know many girls try it, but most of them give up. It really means something, being able to live up to your dreams.
For guys its even worse, since its not considered to be a very manly occupation, if you know what i mean. ;)

[Kinetix]

What girl does want this:

http://img342.imageshack.us/img342/6125/dance3uq.jpg

[Alumette]

Heh. Hey, Kin... it's *modern* dance. I don't usually get it either. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool bunhead: for me it's ballet, ballet, and more ballet. I tried modern once and couldn't take myself seriously.

But as far as male dancers go--there is nothing on earth that produces a more sexy physique than dance training. Trust me. :drool:

[sheld0n]

As i said, Kin, its taken out of context.
But hey, thats me, i even consider Animutation to be sort of an art form... :p

[Poison]

But as far as male dancers go--there is nothing on earth that produces a more sexy physique than dance training. Trust me. :drool: Freeclimbing...
But yeah, "real" dancers (Flamenco, Breakdance and therelike) have amazing bodies.

[Solario]

What about swimming, I've heard that should give you muscles in all the right places. But I think dance and Freemclimbing are pretty safe bets too. Except I think there's a larger chance of getting injured in those two.

[Alumette]

Freeclimbing...
But yeah, "real" dancers (Flamenco, Breakdance and therelike) have amazing bodies.

You just unwittingly stomped on a nerve here, Poison. I'll let it go because you obviously aren't familiar with ballet, but just be aware you might want to learn more about it before you make such generalizations.

[The Widowed]

You just unwittingly stomped on a nerve here, Poison. I'll let it go because you obviously aren't familiar with ballet, but just be aware you might want to learn more about it before you make such generalizations.
Come now, Ally...in all fairness, nowhere did he say or imply that ballet wasn't a real dance. The inference I got from him was that he was denouncing modern dance (the original focus of this topic), and not necessarily ballet.

Of course, I'd never take up ballet simply because of the frightening amount of stress it puts on the feet. Have you ever seen the toes of someone who has done ballet for 20 or 30 years? It's viscerally unsettling, and I understand that dislodged (read: torn or twisted out of the nail bed) toenails are a common occurrence. Or is this mere exaggeration?

[Kinetix]

I thought he was referring to modern dance too.

[Poison]

I was more referring to stuff like Fox Trot or Waltz, classical dances? Modern dance is... different (not my type).
I know Ballet dancers have great bodies, but they're all gay. :D:p

[Kinetix]

Jais isn't! He's my friend!

[Alumette]

Come now, Ally...in all fairness, nowhere did he say or imply that ballet wasn't a real dance. The inference I got from him was that he was denouncing modern dance (the original focus of this topic), and not necessarily ballet.

Of course, I'd never take up ballet simply because of the frightening amount of stress it puts on the feet. Have you ever seen the toes of someone who has done ballet for 20 or 30 years? It's viscerally unsettling, and I understand that dislodged (read: torn or twisted out of the nail bed) toenails are a common occurrence. Or is this mere exaggeration?

Perhaps, Wids. The assumption that ballet dancers aren't "tough" is a big beef with me so I'm sure I overinterpreted.

As to whether or not I've seen the toes of someone who has done ballet for 20-30 years... yes I have. I see them every day when I look down at my feet in the shower. I have done ballet for 26 years (15 years en pointe), and my feet look like that. :)

In fact, I'm having foot surgery on Thursday to correct some of that accumulated damage.

And Poison, I agree, modern dance isn't my thing either. Some of it is very powerfully beautiful, but when it's not, I just don't "get it." Lastly, male ballet dancers aren't all gay. :P (This time I *know* you're just trying to tease me). Jais, for example, is straight. He's just half a planet away from me. *sigh*

[The Widowed]

As to whether or not I've seen the toes of someone who has done ballet for 20-30 years... yes I have. I see them every day when I look down at my feet in the shower. I have done ballet for 26 years (15 years en pointe), and my feet look like that. :)
"En pointe" must refer to dancing on your tiptoes or something.... :huh:

In fact, I'm having foot surgery on Thursday to correct some of that accumulated damage.
I know about the impacted toe joints and such, but is the part about the frequent toenail damage true too?

I remember back in my freshman year in college how I took a jazz, dance and choreography class for electives credits, and how distressing it was to be dancing along and doing my struts and pirouhettes (and feeling the usual odd sting or slight pain as my toes twisted this way and that) when suddenly I realized that the toe of one of my tight, tight leathery dance shoes was filling with blood. I took a personal time-out to remove the offending shoe and the ankle-length sock was saturated about a third of the way up, so I ended up trying to push the nail of my second toe back down into its bed and fetching a band-aid so I could tape it down....

It only happened once, and only recall one other girl having the same problem. But I ended up taking only that one semester of dance class after that. :rolleyes:

[Alumette]

Heh. Yup. I lose toenails all the time. Gross, huh? ;)

Usually I'll feel the pressure of the nail bed being bruised, and the toenail will be black because it bleeds underneath, but the nail is still attached. So I'll have to drill through the center of it with a needle to let it bleed out and relieve some of the pressure.

Over time the nail dies and falls off, and that's actually a happy day because then the pressure and pain go away. I usually lose 1-2 toenails a year. It takes them a long time to grow back.

I have never had a toenail rip out of the bed before though. *shudder* Sounds painful.

So, now that Widdy and I have fully grossed you all out...we return you to your regularly scheduled programming. :)

Oh, and yes, en pointe is on the toes:

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2905/pointeshoes1zf.jpg Pointe shoes

vs.

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/3020/balletflats5wy.jpg Flat shoes

[The Widowed]

Heh. Yup. I lose toenails all the time. Gross, huh? ;)
Not if you're used to it, I suppose.... O_o

Usually I'll feel the pressure of the nail bed being bruised, and the toenail will be black because it bleeds underneath, but the nail is still attached. So I'll have to drill through the center of it with a needle to let it bleed out and relieve some of the pressure.

Over time the nail dies and falls off, and that's actually a happy day because then the pressure and pain go away. I usually lose 1-2 toenails a year. It takes them a long time to grow back.
Ed gets that, sees that and does that everytime he crushes his fingertips with a hammer or a car door or something...which, fortunately, is a rare occurence. At least walking with a missing fingernail isn't as big of a problem, though....

I have never had a toenail rip out of the bed before though. *shudder* Sounds painful.
Now the nail wasn't completely torn out of the bed. It was just pried up at the front; The back of the nail was still attached. It looked kind of like a Tupperware lid where you give up pulling it off about halfway through.

Lesson learned: When you routinely wear shoes which are a size or two too small, always keep your toenails trimmed. :|

So, now that Widdy and I have fully grossed you all out...we return you to your regularly scheduled programming. :)
Oh, okay. I'll shut up now. :D

[Meltman]

It takes much more than that to gross me out. Please, do try harder.

[The Widowed]

It takes much more than that to gross me out. Please, do try harder.
Don't make me break out the rotten.com links, now.... O_o

[Meltman]

Bring it on.

[sheld0n]

Heh, i didnt know about the drilling trick, could be useful.

And quit it with rotten.com, we have kids around here, ya know. :p
But if you really want to be grossed out, i can tell you what sort of stuff do people in Quebec eat. ;)

[Meltman]

Trying to gross me out with food? You'll have to try harder than that....

[Magna Harrier]

Ogrish.com is a real treat, as well. It took me about 2 seconds to log off for fear of my life.

[Solario]

I bet I can gross the most of you out, but that requires this thread is labeled 18+.

Also Ogrish doesn't really gross me out as much as it just makes me sad.

[sheld0n]

Trying to gross me out with food? You'll have to try harder than that....

Ill keep that in mind, in case we both show up on the next meetup. :P