Category Archives: People

Dance in Ottawa 2012

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For those who live in the world of performing arts, be it in the theatre or in music or in dance, options to perform may not present themselves right away. Many companies must look to rent commercial property space, which is a wonderful option provided the space can accommodate performance needs, and also provided that the company can afford to pay the rental fees. In Ottawa, Ontario, Canada there exists and organization that offers companies a place to perform and that is the National Arts Centre. It is located in downtown with
Ottawa apartments , restaurants and hotels surrounding the neighborhood which makes this a wonderful place to go see live performances for those living in the city as well as those in town for a visit.

This is one of the largest facilities of its kind not only in the country, but in the world, and they offer space to acclaimed performing companies as well as those artists who are up and coming. And for up and coming artists the chance to perform in such a grand facility is quite likely the beginning of their budding careers . Along with a heavy performance schedule the facility also provides opportunities for adults and for children, in the form of seminars and classes in the art of their desire. They are multi-lingual and multidisciplinary, and serve a wide range of audiences and performers alike.

The performances for dance very from traditional ballet, to family focused companies, to contemporary dance…and quite frankly everything in between. And there are four different stages to accommodate these performances. The largest of the four is Southam Hall. This is the home stage for the resident companies, the Opera Lyra Ottawa, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra . The second largest stage is simply called The Theatre. This is where many of the dance performances take place. The two smaller stages are The Studio and The Fourth Stage. The Studio houses the smaller theatrical productions and the The Fourth stage is used for many of the activities opened to the community.

The dance performance schedule for 2012 is quite eclectic. The Akram Khan company performs next week, for three scheduled performances on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of February. This company is led by Akram Khan, a dancer and choreography from Great Britain. This company has vividly, strikingly visual shows as well as bold and wild musical accompaniment and audiences who have seen them perform are holding their breath until the shows next weekend. The website for the National Arts Centre offers a current and complete schedule for all the shows running throughout 2012, along with a brief summation of the companies and of their performances. It is a wonderful place to see a variety of dance in the artistic town of Ottawa.

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Dreams, Reality and Dance Lessons

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There are a few careers that are standard dreams for children and youths. Some people even carry these iconic ambitions into adulthood and actually pursue them on a professional level. We typically refer to these individuals as delusional. After all, there’s only one President of the United States at any given time, and how many musicians actually become rock stars, or how many actors actually become movie stars? Unfortunately, the percentages are extremely small. The number of talented athletes who ever make it into professional sports is another excellent example.And while that’s somewhat disappointing to all the young hopefuls, it’s also part of the reason, or at least reflective of the reason that these careers are such common youthful ambitions and childhood dreams. Meanwhile, there are numerous other exciting and ambitious possibilities that also entice children’s fantasies and many of these frequently lead to actual professional careers. Money Mutual commercials demonstrate how accessible emergency finances can be, and many times these have been applied to guitar, dance lesson and football uniform purchases. Where there is a dream, there is a short term loan provider.

Becoming a dancer is one of these common dreams. It is also one that has a much different reality orientation that what is drummed up in the heads of so many five-year-olds awkwardly shuffling off in their first tap shoes or proudly making their way on point in their ruffled tutus. Of course those young dreams center on the performance itself, onstage and in front of millions of adoring fans. They also save mental space for the dozens of roses constantly being thrust into their arms and the magnificent celebrity status they see projected before them. These are such stuff as dreams are made of. Torn ligaments, shoulder injuries, blisters and poverty are the stuff of reality. The best anyone can really hope for is to find a life somewhere in-between. And of course for others, finding a life, any life, that is, any life outside of dance is the best option. So, what do you do if you spend your childhood and early youth in dance classes and recital performances? You reach a point where you have to decide on a lonely life of instability and regular injury or whether a place in an annual production of the Nutcracker, with the local community group, will fulfill your passions. And if you decide on the poor lonely and painful route, you’ll need lots of commitment, sacrifice and hard work. And a little financial advice from Montel Williams might benefit you as well.

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Poker Greats and Celebrity Enthusiasts Play in Vegas

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The enormous rise in the popularity of Las Vegas as a tourist destination corresponds to the growth of the city’s gaming industry as well as that of the entertainment scene. In addition, the accommodations provided by the hotels and resorts themselves has continued to improve, expand and diversify. Today, Las Vegas hotel rooms are more conducive to fabulous vacations than almost anywhere else in the world. And if they don’t surpass those of competing destinations, they certainly equal them. And of course, everyone knows, Vegas has an edge over all competitive destinations.

The city has some of the most luxurious and elaborate casinos in the world. In addition, some of the great poker professionals, including the likes of Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreano , can frequently be seen patronizing the Vegas tables. It is home to some of the great poker tournaments and people from all over the world flock to these games, both to participate and to observe. In addition to the excitement of the game, there are great opportunities for star watching at the tables. Celebrities like Jennifer Tilly, Gabe Kaplan and George Cloony are respected players. Boston boys and Celtics fans Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are also known to enjoy the gambling scene and poker tables.

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New York Anthopology Club

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This is an idea that’s worth stealing.  At least, I thought it was worth stealing.  It hasn’t quite caught on yet, but it will.  Or it could.  I think it should catch on, at any rate, and if the world thought like me, it would be a big rage, and everyone would be dressing up as their favorite anthropologists at least once a month.  We could meet at the best restaurants in Manhattan and play anthropology games, and it would be more fun than this city has seen in quite awhile.

It might take some time, but we have to work at it to really get this going, and if there’s any city that can do it, it’s New York.  New York has everything, and it really is the melting pot of the world.  There’s also plenty of very intelligent people living here, some of the best-educated citizens of the universe in one place.  Also, every major anthropologist has set foot in Manhattan at least once.  That might actually be an exaggeration, because there are probably a few who haven’t been here.  But even honorary anthropologists, like Vasconcelos, has been pretty close, because he was even in D.C., and I would bet that he decided to take a weekend visit here, even if he didn’t tell anyone.  I have not yet dressed up like him, because I don’t know what he looks like, but it would be very cosmic, and represent a cosmic race, you can bet on that.

Last week I tried it again, and only got three of my friends to agree, although only one showed.  It was a very intense dinner, though, and we had an amazing conversation.  He was Taussig and I decided to be Barbara Tedlock, and we met for Italian food.  The appetizers were excellent, and he was talking about performativity and food.  I was more interested in having a conversation about ritual and gender, and that was more than enough to get us both arguing for the entire evening.  This was one of those really excellent arguments, too, where we consider all the great ethnographic experiments of the century, and come out the best of friends.  Anthropologist rule.

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