Portland, Oregon
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“Dracula”: A Ballet in Shadow and Flame
In Oregon Ballet Theatre’s “Dracula,” myth becomes movement — desire, fear, and grace rendered in shadow and flame. A ballet not watched, but felt: a haunting danced into silence.
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The Pearl and the Princess: Standing Before “Infanta María Ana de Austria” (1630)
Before the ballet curtain rose, I found myself in another theater — the European galleries of the Portland Art Museum. There, among centuries of ceremony and silence, one portrait held me still: Felipe Diriksen’s Infanta María Ana de Austria, a woman painted into history yet still, somehow, alive.
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“Peter and the Wolf”: The Cassette That Taught Me to Listen
Before ballet or theatre, there was Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf.” A childhood cassette — narrated by Cyril Ritchard and illustrated by Erna Voigt — became an early lesson in rhythm, storytelling, and wonder. Decades later, its echoes still linger every time the orchestra begins to play.
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The Heartbeat of the Stage: Kabuki and the Art of Remembrance
Rediscovered from a 2019 Portland Art Museum visit, this reflection traces kabuki’s transformation from women’s art to theatrical legend. Through Toyohara Kunichika’s haunting triptych, it considers how performance remembers what history forgets — and how every gesture, even centuries later, still carries the heartbeat of the stage.
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Threads of Light, Layers of Color: Exploring Abstract Utopia in Modern Art
This analysis delves into the concept of abstract utopia through the art of Naum Gabo and Josef Albers, examining their innovative approaches to color, form, and space. By connecting their work to movements like De Stijl and Bauhaus, it uncovers modern art’s enduring quest for simplicity and idealism.
Scott Bryant 