Ont Telly [#3]

image courtesy of GIF Party 

Yesterday, my Ma came running into my room.

"Sarah! You have to see this! You have to come downstairs! Schuman... That man.."
"What?"
"You know, the one who takes nice photographs... Of the people in nice clothes.. Sean?... He's on TV!"

She was talking about Scott Schuman, the creator of The Sartorialist... arguably one of the biggest style blogs around.

Earlier, she'd  told me how she's started watching a programme on Sunday nights about great artists. She started telling me all about Matisse, how he's amazing, how he's influenced so many things, how the programme ends with a big shock, and how I need to watch it.

Anyway, this weeks Modern Masters episode was about Picasso and has Scott Schuman [among others] on it. If you have a spare hour, my Ma would heavily suggest you watch it.

LINK=HERE

The Modern Masters crew seem to have a whole host of things happening right now... Get clicking HERE.

5 Days in May

5 Days in May at Southbank Centre

image courtesy of Southbank Centre

...goes on until Sunday. I'm going to have a little venture down tomorrow (leaving at insane o'clock). Should be immense.

Londoners! Get in!

That is all.

[EDIT]
It was good. This isn't a place for reviews.

Info for people I managed to see:
Rachid Ouramdane [France]
La Ribot [Spain]
Mathilde Monnier [France]
Matsune and Subal [Vienna and Japan]

Because I couldn't manage to find a definative link for Matsune and Subal, I'll leave you with a link to their Google page. So click on the picture. Lazy.

image courtesy of movementresearch

International Dance Festival Birmingham

...has been happening for quite a few days now!

LINK=HERE

So, yesterday, a couple of us took a wee trip to witness the beauty of what Birmingham has to offer. [It obviously had nothing to do with the fact our friend, and general lovely, Mary Eddowes was celebrating her birthday and performing in one of the peices we saw...].

Here's what we saw:

Dancing The Waterways

image courtesy of IDFB

"A canal barge dance adventure travelling from Birmingham to Brewood and back again – performances, workshops, and lots of fun for all the family! Through movement and song, the piece celebrates the incredible engineering involved in the canal network’s construction, the canal builders themselves, and the architectures of bridges, locks and buildings interlinked to the rhythm of the waterways."

Utopia

 image courtesy of IDFB

"Charged and vibrant, this folkloric celebration is a brand new commission for our 2010 Festival.

Directed by Arthur Pita, contemporary dancers will form a brand new dance company collective alongside Russian, Spanish, Indian and African folk dance groups, all moving to the turbo-folk Gypsy and Balkan beats of Birmingham’s very own band The Destroyers"

The festival closes up on May 15, so you've still got plenty of time to catch some goodness.

A Strategic Plan...

image courtesy of Baltimore Print Studios

They've sold out on their first batch of 50 prints, but are re-printing due to popular demand. [woohoo!].

$20.00, shipping included.

E-mail them HERE to get your hands on one. 

It's a winner! 

Screenlit

Nottingham is a very lucky city. Not only are we expanding in performing arts, music and the hefty live artists that seem to be spawning north to south, we now celebrate film, tv and writing with Screen Lit Festival.

It opened on Wednesday with Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, creators of Peep Show [ah! mi amor!] - a good start if ever I've seen one [although, unfortunately, I couldn't go..].

The festival includes a glorious host of things, which are aptly illustrated in the following:

Nice? I agree.

+ Screen Lit Festival

+ Broadway

+ Wednesday 21 - Thursday 29 April

60x60 Secs

Earlier this week I ventured out into the abyss, wandered along the winding streets and landed in the unfamiliar dusty roads of India and Pakistan.

Actually that's a fib; I just went to Broadway to see a film. And, well, that's another fib, because what I really saw was 60 films. 60 films in 60 minutes.

'How can this be?' you ask. Surely you must be some kind of crazy, stabby youth who has gone delusional with all that sugar and caffeine*.

Well, really it's all down to Ali Zaider, Artistic Director of motiroti. 

"60 films, 60 artists, 60 seconds... London based artist's initiative motiroti commissioned established and emerging artists from the South Asian diaspora to present their unique personal perspective on identity and home in an age of globalised cultures. Using the one-minute format, these films reflect on the complexities of hybrid identities and
the visible and invisible borders of nationhood."

You can read more about the wider context of 60x60 Secs at the 360degrees website, which explains the three year programme of cultural explorations led by motiroti.

An interesting watch; if you didn't make it, then I'm sure you'll get another opportunity, so look out for it! Ali is actually coming up to Nottingham on Thursday 6 May to discuss the film and the project at New Art Exchange.

Find out more about it at New Art Exchange or at Digital Broadway.

courtesy of motiroti [Who can spot Hetain Patel?]

*If you buy a filter coffee at Broadway, you get free re-fills. [Dangerous] Fact.

Cinematique

Cinematique - trailer from Adrien Mondot 

Via Dance4's Facebook 

via Mat Trivett

via Adrien Mondot?

Immense.

BBC Blast

image courtesy of BBC Blast

"The Blast tour is bringing three days of free creative workshops to local 13-19 year olds! Whether you’re into doodling or drama, film or fashion (or even making your own video mix to music) there’s something interesting for you. It’s first come first served, so get booking."

It's in Mansfield [hello!] until Saturday, so hurry up and get to it! There's a few spaces left for some of the free workshops that you have have have to book on to.

If only...

More info HERE.

Teux Deux

If you've ever been on the Dance4 Blogger, you'll probably have an idea about the pure lust we all have for lists. Organisation is key, no?

With that in mind, I came across a link to this MEGA site called Teux Deux.

It's basically a online to-do application. Simple, clean, sleek, easy to use etcetcblahblahblah. And if you don't do something on the date you put it down for, it carries it over to the next day until you've done it! Magic!

Here's a video which explains it's awesomeness:

 

TeuxDeux Demo courtesy of TeuxDeux

Get on it.

Love What You Do

images courtesy of Frank Chimero

This short series was created by Frank Chimero [again] from lecture called "Love What You Do" he did for Portland State University in Nov 2009.

Important stuff.

Bahok

Akram Kahn's peice Bahok with National Ballet of China, is arriving in Derby next week. Why not join some of us?

Under-26ers [?] also have the chance to get free tickets for this performance as part of the A Night Less Ordinary initiative. Arts Council England and Metro have introduced this as a beeeeuat of a way to get younger people to experience the theatre for free! Excellent.

For a free ticket to see Bahok in Derby, just give Derby Live a call on 01332 255800.

See you there.

WISE

"Well done is better than well said."

Words courtesy of Benjamin Franklin

Amnesty & LMHR

This weekend sees a double act of fundaraising in the city. This site is by no means a platform for political thought [there's a time and a place], but it's always nice to see music used in such a way.

+ Amnesty International Fundraiser 

+ Nottingham Arts Theatre 

+ Saturday 03 April 

+ 8.00pm

+ LoveMusicHateRacism

+ The Maze

+ Sunday 04 April

+ 8.00pm

And while my I.D. has been sent off to the DVLA, I'm sure if I'm allowed in, I'll see some of you down there...

Mr Penfold

image courtesy of Mr Penfold/Subism

On Saturday afternoon [amid the MediaCampNottingham2 madness], I caught a bit of Mr Penfold's live show at Montana Shop, Nottingham. Based in Cambridge, he's been in Nottingham quite a few times, and I remember seeing some stuff at a previous Subism night last year. [N.B. For those who haven't experienced a Subism night, keep an eye out on Facebook. They'll be re-launching their website soon..]

"The paintings have strong linear elements. These are gracefully drawn outlines which work both with (and against) the ground. Much of the work features people he has observed in bars and pubs. He uses screenprints, woodcuts and etching to make his prints. This is a natural extension of the work he does in a professional printmaking studio where he works with many well known artists."

Prada at the Opera

image courtesy of Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

  

A great post, re designers and their links with opera, theatre and ballet.

LINK=HERE