Mass and MOMIX
Sunday, January 7th, 2018
Paris, France
Right, so you might be wondering, "Why two posts in two days? That's oddly punctual and on top of it for Cristiana." That is true. Usually I can only handle a blog post every 2/3 days or so, and frankly, you probably don't want to read more than one every few days. Fair. But today I had two very new experiences that I want to share while they're fresh in my mind.
It all started a few days ago when we actually read the syllabus and realized we had to go to Catholic mass in Notre-Dame on Sunday (also known as today). I'd like to tell you that I was super on board and enthusiastic about this interesting opportunity to engage in Parisian life. But in reality, I (allegedly) grumbled a bunch of things about "really long catholic masses" and "so traditional" and "I don't even speak Latin" and "why can't we have Sunday off". (I have nothing against Catholic mass, but as I am not Catholic, I wasn't thrilled with spending my morning there, when I could be exploring other parts of Paris.)
So at 9:45 this morning, Alanna (my roommate), Drew, Bjorn, Nick and I rolled out of the hotel and headed to Notre Dame. (And by "rolled out", I, of course, mean that we walked. Metaphorical rolling.) It's only about a 10-minute walk from our hotel to Notre Dame de Paris, and soon we were strolling across the square, disturbing flocks of pigeons, listening to the bells call the city to church. We went in a faster line for the service and were funneled into chairs, with programs in French and Latin.
Notre Dame's bells ringing
Imagine my surprise when I actually enjoyed mass. I'm not sure if you're supposed to enjoy mass or if you're supposed to enjoy it for the reasons I did, but you know, it made me happy. I don't know if I've ever heard an almost entirely chanted mass in Latin before. If I have, it was when I was little and I don't remember. The music was fascinating and beautiful. There were parts where two women sang duets and their voices twined so well. We also studied chant in one of my classes, so it was interesting to draw on that knowledge a bit. I also enjoyed the puzzle of trying to follow the sung Latin on the program. (The five of us occasionally got lost and it would take a few moments for one of us to find our place again, and pass the knowledge down the line.)
Notre Dame Chante, taken after Mass while walking around the church
Also, if I'm being perfectly honest, my mind did wander a few times to Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and about whether or not they had an accurate visual representation of the interior of the cathedral... Those musing didn't get very far though because I don't remember that last time I watched that movie. (Viewing party anyone?) So despite my earlier quibbling, I'm glad I went.
The second experience today was, well, quite the experience. We all went as a group to go see the modern dance company MOMIX. They're actually American, but they're performing here in Paris. I'm still reeling a little bit from their show because I'm torn between thinking it was so bizarre and thinking it was pure genius. I don't have a lot of experience with modern dance. But I think this was odd even in the world of modern dance.
Nick and I at MOMIX
I had a few favorite dances. One was called "Tuu", and is described in the program as "Duo intime pour un homme et une femme devenant un et deux." The Cristiana translation of this is, "A woman starts the dance with her entire body around a man's torso and then they go through a series of intimate gymnastic moves, and periodically man flings woman around the stage like a rag doll while spa music plays in the background." At one point I literally thought, "Wow I hope they're married to each other because if I was one of their spouses or partners I'd be super jealous this is steamy". I'm describing this pretty badly. We couldn't take videos or pictures but I found a YouTube video of it... Just watch a bit of the beginning and end-ish.
"Tuu", MOMIX (posted by Chapulo7)
My other favorite was another duet, "Dream Catcher". This one was inspired by Native American dream catchers and the couple meets in a dream. It was a little circus-y. (MOMIX uses a lot of props.) The two dance and flip around this metal sculpture that rolls with them across the stage. Here's a little clip of it.
"Dream Catcher", MOMIX (posted by MOMIX Official)
But there were some REALLY odds numbers. "Daddy Long Legs" featured three men, dressed as cowboys, with stilts on just one of their legs... It was bizarre. Especially since at this point, I didn't know they were an American company, so I was wondering why on earth they had a cowboy song...
And then they did some of their dances, "Paper Trails" and "Spawning" completely naked. And in "Paper Trails", two of the dancers also made out for a brief stint. Here's a clip of "Spawning" and they're wearing bodysuits in it, but we were really close. They were in the nude for their Paris show, I swear. It was... Something.
"Spawning", MOMIX (posted by MOMIX official)
All the dancers were very good technically, and so strong! We were all blown away. But I was also a little weirded out too... Still torn. I don't know what to think. I'll say this though, it was definitely thought-provoking.
A bien tôt,
Cristiana
