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A Swan Lake Ballet Dance by Alexander Ekman
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A Swan Lake Ballet Dance by Alexander Ekman
In this paper, I will do a dance critique on a dance known as Swan Lake by Alexander Ekman, which has music played by Mikael Karlsson. It was completed by the orchestra along with sound effects, which made my heart miss a beat. In the introduction before the dance, we see Ekman’s overview made on a New York roof terrace. This ballet dance is a new version that fulfills a function about Swan lake and time. There is the usage of water which is something new, something that individuals have never seen before, in a way that draws attention. This dance is something different, wild, and big. In Swan lake, there is a new full-length work made for the Norwegian National Ballet. The dancers are joined on stage by musicians, actors, a soprano, and 1,000 rubber ducks. This dance work by Choreographer Alexander Ekwam is internationally much-admired for its musicality, inventiveness, and humor. The dressing of the costume of all the personalities in the dance video was done by a Danish fashion designer called Henrik Vibskov. A swan Lake dance takes a witty and fresh look at Tchaikovsky’s ballet of all ballets. It is a remarkable dance show that transcends boundaries.
Something that the choreographer is trying to say or achieve is portraying a timeless love story that combines tragedy, magic, and romance into four acts. Along with the dance, the ballet Swan Lake is the creation of the first ballet music. The most exciting part of this dance is the dancers having a strong emotional connection with their character. They are vulnerable dancers, full of emotional depth. A Swan Lake ballet choreography happens to be a new surrealist interpretation of the Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman and the classical ballet, which has shown to be a great hit for the Norwegian National Ballet. The staging of this dance performance transformed the stage into the appearance of the actual lake. The ballet is entirely one of the best dance performances I have ever seen. The first act of this dance video blends humor, theatre, dialogue, and modern dance. The music references original ballet classes and Tchaikovsky’s classical music. The water in the dance video is just like a separate actor on stage, both restraining the dancers’ movement and providing an entirely new means of visual expression. Alexander Ekwam makes the water itself more than scenography. The story of this ballet is more modern than the original one. There are no more sorcerers changing women into swans. It is no more a good against evil tale where everybody perishes in the end.
The choreographer uses the element of composition in the manipulation of the dancers’ bodies in several ways. He also arranges them within the stage area, which brings a certain uniqueness making it fabulous. This dance video uses visual effects and props to catch the attention of the viewers. The choreographer is very visual and utilizes a lot of humor in his pieces, which is not common in modern dance. It looks fantastic upon viewing how the dancers move along the stage. The nature of the movement is that they dance with energy and move along the stage in a different pattern. They use different graduations of energy to perform movements that entail adding a dynamic quality to their movement. They use different movements such as sustained, swinging, vibratory, and percussive. The dancers are skilled in a way that they have a thorough knowledge of dance; they adapt to different types of moves, have confidence and self-belief, and physical fitness and stamina. The dancers’ skills and dance moves were appropriate for the mood and message of the piece.
The choreographer’s witty, inventive take on this ballet is one of the famous dance videos. It is a stage piece, part dance play, narrating the story of the very first disastrous production of Swan Lake in 1877. As it proceeds, the stage is filled with a lot of water, and the swans are given a 21st-century makeover in neoprene costumes. The choreographer of this dance video has demonstrated his unique ability to pair playfulness and wit. The multifaceted talent is reflected in the moves of the dancers and the music, light, and set brought together uniquely and surprisingly. It is the most impressive ballet. The dancers use different dance moves such as arabesque, battement tendu, and barre. This dance piece of choreography is one of the most well-known in the staging, famous for its dramatic cohesion and technical difficulty. In Swan Lake, the dances are unique with dope melody.
In conclusion, everything about this ballet dance is outstanding. The music is, in fact, glorious, and the choreography is full of energy with so many dramatic lifts. While the dancers go along with music, they happen to be incredible. A swan Lake dance is graceful, powerful, thoroughly professional, and one with excellent stamina. The sound is excellent, and the orchestra is wonderful. On the other hand, the story of the dance is simple yet powerful. Lastly, the lighting is effective and dramatic. I like the technique of the dancers, the costumes, and the music. All of them were lovely. The dancing is gorgeous, and the choreography is unique. Watching A Swan Lake by a Swedish choreographer and dancer feels so nice close to discovering an entirely new world, with its logic and norms.
Bottle of Lies The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom
Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom
Book Report
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Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom
Book Report
Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom is a book by Katherine Eban, was published by Ecco, 2019, and covers 512 pages of investigative work on the Pharmaceutical industry. A lot of people have considered the use of generic drugs a crucial public health revolution in the twenty-first century. Today, the United States pharmaceutical market is made up of generics amounting to almost 90 percent most of which are manufactured overseas. Doctors have been reassuring patients that these generic drugs are identical to their brand alternatives, just less costly.
Katherine Eban in her book Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom exposes the sham behind the manufacturing of generic drugs- and the consequent threat to global health. The author draws from select versions from whistleblowers and regulators, as well as numerous pages of confidential FDA paperwork, to expose an industry characterized by fraud, falsified data from manufacturers and executives finding loopholes in every principle of safe manufacturing to generate more profit and to cut costs, assertive in their facility to fool inspectors. Meanwhile, patients have prescribed drugs with unpredictable and hazardous effects.
The generic drug narrative is truly global, connecting middle America to India, Sub-Saharan Africa, China, and Brazil, and is a complete representation of the litmus test of globalization. The book creates the dilemma of whether the risks of moving drug manufacturing of shore are worth the savings.
Katherine embarks on a decade long investigation across the globe, with high-stakes risk-taking and a huge investment to disclose how the world’s greatest public-health revolution is now one of the most shocking deceptions.
Katherine is a New York’s bestselling author, an investigative journalist who writes articles for Fortune Magazine and a fellow at Andre Carnegie. She has also contributed content for Vanity fair, the New York Observer, the New York Times, Self, The Nation, and other publications. She has written several books including Dangerous Doses: A True Story of Cops, the Contamination of America’s Drug Supply. and Counterfeiters. She also does lectures from time to time on pharmaceutical integrity. Her narrative that is based on investigative work including an article on pharmaceutical counterfeiting, unlawful questionings by the Central Intelligence Agency and gun trafficking, has drawn international attention and won her numerous awards.
It is no doubt that Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom a comprehensive investigation if callous, indictment of a number of major Indian Pharmaceutical companies who operate a huge chunk of generics made and used in the United States and various parts of the Globe. The author does not downplay the unpleasant aspects of generic drugs manufacturing in her narrative and calls out companies indulging in Fraud. She also casts doubt on the story of India as the world’s pharmacy. The book does not shy from attacking the United States Food and Drugs Administration, which has had its measure of rule-bound administrators, reluctant to act with the necessary enthusiasm.
Katherine discusses the evasive, dubious and dishonest practices of various manufacturers including Ranbaxy, GVK Biosciences, Mylan, Wockhardt, and the CRO Vitma Labs. She also mentions the smaller roles of Zydus and Dr. Reddy’s in producing, documenting and shipping medical supplies to the United States. A number of these companies are or were huge industry players. The USFDA’s strict standards are somewhat just implied.
The book discusses the violation of the regulatory requirements of importing countries. It narrates that the manufacturing companies falsified documentation from their manufacturing sites, They did not conduct dissolution and stability as well as Chromatograms test and used those from the reference drug and recorded that they actually did them. There were blue glass particles in the drug atorvastatin but this problem was pursued to concealed and tablets containing such faulty bulk drug was shipped. The workers were also found to be unhygienic and unsafe practices were routine. Even after the companies were afforded the opportunity to rectify these mistakes, they did not. Medicine consignments that did not meet GMP and quality requirements, were sent to Africa instead of being destroyed. Indian executives’ perspective on the regulatory system was one of an obstacle to be maneuvered. All of these even by capitalist principles of maximizing gain is irresponsible.
By reading the book as a concerned individual who has come across this revelation with this much depth almost for the first time, you cannot help and wonder what happens with our own manufacturers. If this huge Indian companies raking in billions of dollars in sales can play hard and fast with the safety and quality practices for products sold to a country with apparently the most sophisticated drug regulatory agency in the entire globe, what is the local pharmaceutical manufacturing industry doing with their products considering the regulation is decidedly less effective.
The author paints although subconsciously, the stereotypical Indian storyline: dilapidated, developing county, with poor ethics, developing country, and poor hygiene. “Employees did not wash their hands after using the toilet” (Eban, 2019). This is damage resulting from the dishonest behavior and careless manufacturing practices.
The book then discusses the issue of Bioequivalence of generics and the innovator product but chooses to underemphasize the nuances of this debate. A generic is bioequivalent if it serves the same purpose and acts by all intents as the innovator drug. It is always a requirement by many regulators for first-time manufacturers to prove bioequivalence to an existing drug.
The book as mentioned earlier relied also on accounts given by whistleblowers narrates the story of one Dinesh Thakur, an Indian America who gave up his desirable job in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the United States and moved to India to work for Ranbaxy where he encountered Unimaginable manufacturing and data integrity practices. His moral decency could not allow him to watch what was going on and remain silent, he went on to expose Ranbaxy. Many people In Thakur’s position would have resigned and searched for better jobs or disappeared but he decided to do a huge service to the Indian pharmaceutical industry. The book also mentions the relentlessness of some personalities in the FDA who took the initiative to flush out fraudulent practices, in India’s pharmaceutical industry and at very huge personal risk.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan the Indian health minister at the time dismissed the suggestions of Thakur or did not give them the rightful attention. A little investigation after reading the book confirms that Dr Vardhan is back in that position, even after he called out the country’s drug regulatory agency the CDSCO by terming it “a snake pit of vested interests (Pulla, 2014), and terming his own position a “poisoned chalice “ may be a sign that he may be willing to listen to whistleblowers (Thakur, 2016).
Summary
Eban’s riveting work opens up what was Gandhi’s well intention initiative for his country that has turned into a hellish globalized sham. What was once a tale of tragic heroism and an expansive but succinctly written epic, portrays a picture of how and industry created with the intention of counteracting being pharmaceutical companies has effortlessly merged with it resulting in a two-headed monster whose tentacles grab both the unlucky consumer and would-be regulators.
The author provides a general idea of Ranbaxy’s malpractices through the eyes of their former employee and whistleblower, Dinesh Thakur. She takes the reader through “Jugaad” a mindset used in the production of generics in India. She also delves into the adequacy of the settlement between the United States and Ranbaxy back in 2013, the role played by a stakeholder from Japan Daiichi Sankyo and the ability of the FDA to effectively inspect generic manufactures from various parts of the world. She continues to discuss the recent and upcoming congressional action on this issue, and how inadequate production practices obscure dealing with the problem of drug shortage and the precautions patients should adopt before they can use generic drugs.
The book is centered on a David and Goliath whistle-blower narrative with the likes of Dinesh Thakur and Ranbaxy which is a giant in the drug manufacturing industry. It emphasizes the key to safe manufacturing of drugs being close observing and hands-on control of each aspect of the production with everything recorded to create a guarantee that each vial, pill or capsule perfectly mirrors the formula.
The contents of the book have gone through intensive research before being written like a crime thriller. The opening chapter with a real audit experience of the FDA at a factory in Aurangabad gives the reader the chills and sets the heart racing. It might be a good read for a professional with an interest in audits of the medical industry. Also, the doctors that enthusiastically recommend generic drugs to patients should grab a copy. A reader can only hope that this is a wake-up call for action to make India and the rest of the world healthier and more honorable.
This book is a good read even for non-professionals in this field because there is so much on how the regulatory infrastructure works they can learn. It may be an oversight that explores options or alternatives to this issue, where readers can reason and come up with the resolution to avoid medicine coming from India (which to be honest is near impossible).
References
Eban, K. (2019). Bottle of lies: the inside story of the generic drug boom. Ecco, 512 pages; ISBN: 978-0062338785
Pulla Priyanka. (2014). Medical Council of India is corrupt, says health minister BMJ; 349: g4762
Thakur, D. S. (2016, March 12). A sincere attempt to improve the quality of medicine for people around the world. Retrieved from https://www.governancenow.com/views/columns/a-re-tempt-improve-the-quality-medicine-people-the-world
Major events that increased the sectional tensions that ultimately led Civil war 1848-1860
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Major events that increased the sectional tensions that ultimately led Civil war 1848-1860
There are different events that caused the emergency of the civil war in 1848-1860. History records that slavery was among the major causes of the civil war. Some of the civilians advocated for slavery while others were against it. Thus, as a result of slavery the country split into two groups. As a result of this, the groups had different interest during the formation of the constitution over issues such as the establishment of a state-sanctioned religion, the right to bear arms and most important the issue on slavery.
The southerners and northerners had different arguments on the group that should make laws regarding slavery. At the first stages, the southerners maintained the majority in the House of Representatives. As time went by the northerners had greatly improved in trade thus; they required more representation in the House of Representatives. The aim of the southerners was to extend slavery to higher heights because they believed it was a good act. By so doing, they would fulfill their urge for popular sovereignty. When they were in the senate they tactfully said that the senate had the right to make all the laws. This is because they wanted to make laws in their favor regarding slavery.
As more population increased in the north, the population in south remained stagnant. The north manufactured goods, and they required market. And the southern part was their main market. Thus, the northerners wanted the government to impose tariffs on the imported goods to ensure that they got a wide market from the southerners. The northerners depended upon the government to help them solve their problems which included competition, immigration, and population. As a result, the two groups disagreed on different issues.
In the first presidential election, John Quincy Adams won the election, and he represented the northerners. Four years later Jackson who represented the southerners won the election. During President Jackson’s reign, the nullification crisis began. The tariffs that were imposed by the government for the generation of revenue were a factor that led to emergency of the civil war. The main source of capital that the northerners obtained was through imposition of tariffs and the southerners were not happy about this. They tried all means to oppose the imposition of tariffs. On the other hand, the government increased the tariffs so as to obtain more revenue.
The different groups wanted a person who could lead them and favor their rights especially the northerners. The country continued forming different groups because of the difference in ideologies. The western group came in, and they had their own interest hence continued disagreement. Thus, there was fear and hatred among the different groups. Each of the groups pushed for their rights in the federal government. The west pushed for a central bank in the federal government. They urged that the central bank would control the inflation rate. They also said that the central bank would create funds in the form of loans hence increase of revenue on the government part. The disparity in ownership of wealth between the southerners and northerners fueled the civil war. The southerners saw expansion of government as a problem while the people from the north and west supported a large government this lead to the emergence of the civil war.