Debo: Classic Ethiopian Pop With a Contemporary Twist

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Emily_Cary]Emily Cary
Debo is an energetic Ethiopian funk Boston-based band founded by saxophonist Danny Mekonnen. It specializes in dance sounds direct from four decades of classic pop nourished in Ethiopia. Just as the musicians unleash mystical grooves, so do dance moves by the gravity-defying Fendika leave folks gasping.
Mekonnen traces the history of the music Debo plays back to 1966 when Peace Corps volunteers arrived in Ethiopia and other nations with their personal record collections. From that introduction to American jazz, Ethiopian pop emerged, seasoned with traditional styles.
Ethiopian pop music of the 1970s, he points out, is played with the timbre and tone of the indigenous African styles from Nigeria. It was also influenced by the Turkish psychedelic rock bands. The 6/8 rhythm and non-Western scales are foreign to the average ear. The dissonance resembles what you hear in music from the Mid-East and Japan.
There was a period in Ethiopia when big bands contained strings and drums. Debo has two violins and a drum, along with two saxophones, a trumpet, a trombone, a tuba, an accordion, an electric bass and an electric guitar. The accordion has historical relevance, but tubas were only used in military bands. Debo is unique in that there never was a band with the combination it has.
Mekonnen was 18 months old when his parents came to the United States in 1982 by way of Sudan, the pathway of most refugees at that time. He grew up in Dallas, Texas, began saxophone lessons in middle school and entered the University of Texas in Arlington as a music major.
After graduating, he headed to Boston to study jazz. While working on his Ph. D., a Harvard professor with a background in Ethiopian music encouraged him to explore it. Subsequently, he formed Debo from musicians he played with around town. Their specialties ranged from classical music to klezmer and Balkan brass bands.
Since its debut in the Boston area, Debo's popularity has erupted nationwide. Adding to the excitement, the band joins forces at festivals and venues with Fendika, an ensemble they encountered at an Addis Ababa nightclub. It consists of a male and female dance duo, a female vocalist and a traditional goat-skin drummer.
The vocalist's vibrato is a timbre of singing found in Ethiopian voices and the saxophone. Like native singers, she is often accompanied by a one-string violin and a lyre with six strings and no fret board.
The dancers perform in the style called 'eskista' wearing traditional outfits to display a lot of color and visual elements of the culture. The woman does a shoulder dance to a 6/8 rhythm played by the drum. All the movement is from her shoulders, head and neck. Her movements are emphasized by a scarf and a huge set of beads that accentuates the sound. She contrasts with the male dancer who has worked with a forward-looking and trendy Dutch punk rock band.
Mekonnen's ensemble of 15 is large because he wants audiences to see how they bring together folk dances and the big, exciting band with a little bit of dissonance that doesn't fit tradition.
Emily Cary is a prize-winning teacher and novelist whose articles about entertainers appear regularly in the DC Examiner. She is a genealogist, an avid traveler, and a researcher who incorporates landscapes, cultures and the power of music in her books and articles.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Debo:-Classic-Ethiopian-Pop-With-a-Contemporary-Twist&id=6599962] Debo: Classic Ethiopian Pop With a Contemporary Twist

Peter Frampton Recalls the Past As He Heads Into the Future

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Emily_Cary]Emily Cary
Peter Frampton celebrates the 35th anniversary of "Frampton Comes Alive!" with a mega-tour ending in Paris next November. The instrumentalist, singer and producer has jam-packed the program with favorite numbers from one of the top-selling live albums of all time and highlights from his extensive repertoire.
When his "Fingerprints" won the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album, it put him back into peoples' minds as the guy with the frizzy hair and the looker, which he confesses he is not today. Nevertheless, a pop career lasts about 18 months, while a musician's career lasts a lifetime.
The title song of Frampton's latest album, "Thank You Mr. Churchill," conjures up his childhood memories in suburban London when the city vibrated with the sounds of construction workers rebuilding the homes, offices and landmarks reduced to rubble by German bombs. He recalls the safe, peaceful atmosphere that allowed a five-year-old to wander up the road and chat with the workmen.
Soon afterward, while investigating the attic, he found his grandmother's banjolele and taught himself to play. "Vaudeville Nanna and the Banjolele," another album surprise, revisits that happy discovery. By eight, he had taught himself to play guitar and piano and was taking classical music lessons. Graduating from one band to another, he segued from child singer to lead guitarist and singer at age 15 with The Herd. Three years later, he and Steve Marriott formed Humble Pie.
Humble Pie enjoyed great success in England and Europe before it came to America. When it proved to be equally popular here, Frampton took the plunge and moved to the United States in 1971. He now makes his home in Cincinnati. After 9/11, he became an American citizen. His recent appearances on "The Simpsons," "Family Guy" and Oprah's TV show have endeared him to a new generation.
Over the years, his life and work intertwined with many contemporaries, among them Marriott, David Bowie (his childhood classmate and fellow Buddy Holly fan), and Hank Marvin, probably the most influential of all. Bassist Stanley Sheldon, who played on "Frampton Comes Alive," is a member of his tour band, along with Rob Arthur on keyboard, guitar and vocals, Adam Lester on guitar, and Dan Wojciechowski on drums.
These are people he wants to spend time with. They're only on stage a short while, but they're together a long time on the bus or plane.
Julian Frampton, his son, is a surprise soloist on "Road to the Sun." The response to that number has been so positive that they recently recorded together, Julian on drums and guitar, Peter on guitar and bass. Dubbing will be done in hotel rooms during this tour. One tour highlight is his arrangement with Abbey Road to create CDs of each show for distribution to the audience. He was delighted when Abbey Road proposed this idea. To make it happen, they'll travel with the tour and will record each number, three CDs in all because it's a long show. They'll begin pressing them half way through the evening. By the end of the show, all three will be ready for the fans to take home.
Emily Cary is a prize-winning teacher and novelist whose articles about entertainers appear regularly in the DC Examiner. She is a genealogist, an avid traveler, and a researcher who incorporates landscapes, cultures and the power of music in her books and articles.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Peter-Frampton-Recalls-the-Past-As-He-Heads-Into-the-Future&id=6602007] Peter Frampton Recalls the Past As He Heads Into the Future

Belly Dancing Men - What's Up With That?

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Ben_G_Gao]Ben G Gao
Men Belly Dancing Way Back When
During the reign of Sultans of the Ottoman Empire (1345-1922) male belly dancers were often a hot commodity. With many females confined to their harems, and those out in public enforced to cover up, there weren't a lot of opportunities to see women gyrate in sexy belly dance costumes. That left a gap for belly dancing men, who took old town Turkey by storm. There were two varieties of male belly dancers: tavsan oglan, meaning Rabbit Boy, known for tight pants and delightful hats, and the koceks who did their undulations and hip hits wearing women's belly dance outfits with their long locks out. Both the tavsan oglan and koceks provided colourful entertainment to the sultans, aristocracy and commoners at feasts, festivals and weddings, where men and women were separated.
In Egypt as recently as 50-years ago, male would be strutting their stuff alongside female down stretches such as Cairo's Mohammed Ali Street where you go for all your needs. But when Gamal Abdul Nasser took rule of the land in 1954, belly dancing boys were effectively pushed out as he felt they were a symbol of the overthrown King Farouk's debauchery.
Egypt, just like Istanbul and other parts of Turkey, North Africa and the Middle East, have made it increasingly difficult for men to due to its perceived association with homosexuality which is taboo under Islamic law. But in a change of fortunes, male belly dancing is coming back.
Thailand has its lady boys, Turkey has its kol.
Raqs sharqi, (meaning Dance of the Near East), the belly dancing style best known in the west, is becoming popular again in the clubs, cabarets and restaurants in cities such as Istanbul and Cairo, and even further field. More men are performing as a reminder of the glory days of the Ottoman Empire and the centuries-old Egyptian tradition.
Back in 2000, a 19-year-old male belly dancer made international headlines after he was rescued by Turkish Police having been chained to a bed for three days by his father. His dad's defense was that his son had been performing as a belly dancer.
Our chained heroine was not alone. More and more of Istanbul's hip nightclubs have strapping young men performing belly dances virtually every night of the week. In that city, they are affectionately known as rakkas, derived from the Turkish word raks, meaning dance. They are famous for their dazzling, brightly coloured costumes that sparkle under nightclub lights. Male belly dancers posing as patrons at clubs in Cairo are often paid by the clubs to dance to bring some edginess and cool factor to the clubs.
So expect to see increasingly more males doing the Raqs sharqi ( meaning Dance of the Near East) in clubs, cabarets and restaurants in Istanbul, Cairo and cities further field such as Santa Cruz. Even Japanese Olympic gold medalist Daiichi Suzuki, now swim coach, is having his lads do belly dancing to get in shape - a fun reminder of the glory days of the Ottoman Empire and old Egypt.
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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Belly-Dancing-Men---Whats-Up-With-That?&id=6595849] Belly Dancing Men - What's Up With That?

What Every Actor Should Know

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Alicia_C_Milstead]Alicia C Milstead
Some actors love to be a member of the "Woe is me Club," which usually consists of wallowing in their lack of auditions and success, and dragging other actors down with them. They blame their lousy agent, their day job, or perhaps their dog! Hey, at least he'll listen. He's a captive audience, right?
Sure, commiseration feels nice for the moment, but this constant borage of negativity can lead an actor to spiral into a hole of self-doubt and defeatism. But what's the pay-off? What are you getting from that? Perhaps it's comforting to commiserate, but it's not paying off in your career in a positive way.
When an actor feels stuck in their career, it's easy to blame others instead of holding a mirror up to themselves. Certainly, some factors are not in our control, such as the writer's strike years back or summers that can be slow for auditions. But occasionally, what stops the actor is an internal block or limiting/negative belief about him or herself; that was learned either unconsciously or consciously.
Why do blocks happen? Sometimes, it's because of an experience or series of experiences a person has endured. At times, a person who has experienced a real or perceived failure starts to believe they will always fail and feel powerless. At this point, it's become a learned behavior. Now this individual perceives every situation as unchangeable and feels stuck. "I won't get a callback because I never get them." Psychologists often refer to this as "learned helplessness."
At some point, many of us have been misled by a series of lies about ourselves. A couple of examples might be, "You can't do ---" (fill in the blank) or "You're not good enough to do---." The messages may be subtle, but they are always there. It's like your actor friend Roy from college, who has been sleeping on your couch for three months. Uh, Roy, I thought you said you needed three weeks to get your own place?
These negative, limiting beliefs and internal dialogues seep into your work as an actor because you bring yourself to every role you play. Many actors aren't aware of their internal blocks and instead, give up, feeling defeated; not truly understanding why. YOU are your own instrument, so it's vital for yourself, your life, as well as your life as a performer to live up to your fullest potential.
Once an actor recognizes these self-sabotaging messages, they can begin to move forward. This is when the actor begins to realize they have the power to change their thought process, create a game plan and have a successful career.
One of my favorite movies is The Wizard of Oz, and not just because I thought it was magical when the film moved from black and white to color. When Dorothy was trying desperately to get back home, the good witch Glenda told her, "You had the power in you all along, dear." You, as an actor, have everything you need already, inside of you.
Alicia Milstead-B.A. Theatre, M.A. Clinical Psychology, is a Certified Life Coach who helps LA Actors identify their blocks and clarify goals to create a plan to live the life they've imagined. http://www.theempoweredactor.com/
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?What-Every-Actor-Should-Know&id=6581800] What Every Actor Should Know

Sage Magic Performance Tips

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jacob_T_Anderson]Jacob T Anderson
Impossible feats and clever tricks are only a small part of every magic performance. A magician's "patter", or prepared speech, and unique identity are as much a part of his performance as the sleight of hand techniques he's spent years mastering.
Almost every great magician has a gimmick or unique facet that makes them stand out from the crowd. Channing Pollock would never smile until the end of his performances, Cardini pretended to be drunk, Teller doesn't talk, David Copperfield performs to rock music.
It is up to every magician to create a character that matches and enhances their personality.
When putting together a magic performance there are many considerations that must be made ahead of time. Where are you in position to the audience? Can anyone see you from a strange angle that might give away a trick?
A magic performance needs to have structure which should also be planned ahead of time. It should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. You should start with tricks that are flashy and grab the audience's attention, do more technical tricks in the middle, and finish with a trick that will leave the audience stunned.
Variety is key to an enjoyable performance. If, for example, there is a portion of the routine that involves a large number of card tricks in a row, mix it up by including some flashier tricks. You will better hold the audience's attention.
Never include a trick that you can't do in your sleep. Tricks must be practiced over and over until you develop muscle memory and can do the tricks easily, without thinking. The great magicians are extremely meticulous in their practice. It is part of the magician's code not to perform any trick until you have practiced it enough that you can maintain the secrecy of the illusion.
It's best to practice your routine as well before trying it in front of a live audience. Practice in the mirror, for friends and family, or film yourself performing the routine. Once it is perfected you will be more confident performing in front on a crowd of strangers.
If there are any tricks in your routine that require a higher degree of concentration or that you are worried about, apply some classic misdirection. Work out a way to distract the audience during sticky moments, and perform the trick in between two tricks you are very comfortable with.
When first starting out it is more important to concentrate on your performance and become comfortable with your patter than it is to perform big, technical tricks. Start simple and really try to learn how to connect with your audience.
Performing a magic routine in front of a live audience can be a daunting task for beginners. The magician must combat stage fright and nervousness with practice and preparation. If you know you can do the tricks easily, and become comfortable talking to the audience, then you can enter every performance with the confidence needed to dazzle the audience.
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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Sage-Magic-Performance-Tips&id=6604815] Sage Magic Performance Tips

The Plays and Sonnets of William Shakespeare

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Calvin_E_Bailey]Calvin E Bailey
The plays and sonnets of William Shakespeare bears no comparison within the history of theatrical arts. Shakespeare was a flexible English poet, play writer and actor. He has written almost 38 plays, 154 sonnets and numerous poems between the years 1582-1612, that are honored even to this day. They had nice influence on English literature and western theater. All Shakespeare's works have been translated into all identified languages they usually have been carried out round over the globe over 1,000,000 times.
Though most of his works have been written for an English viewers the attraction has been universal. His writing model was greatly influenced by Christopher Marlowe. In 1594, Shakespeare grew to become part-proprietor of Lord Chamberlain's Males, a theater company. By then he had even began performing, along with writing plays. Under his presence the corporate grew to become so well-known which made King James I buy the corporate after which it was named as King's men.
His plays revolved round tragedy, comedy, romance and history. He began his career remodeling on other authors writings which was widespread at that time. At that time he helped the playwrights to complete their work speedily. Like Hamlet was the new adaptation of a lost play named Ur-Hamlet and King Lear was the new version of King Lear. His performs on history were inspired by the Greek, Roman and English history. Performs like Plutarch's Parallel Lives and Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicle of England inspired performs like King Lear and Macbeth. Tempest was his authentic work.
Shakespeare's early works of the 1590s had been primarily based on romantic comedies and historic nostalgia which had been the center of works like; A Midsummer Evening's Dream and Henry IV, Half I. After the plague, he began together with rhymed couplets and dramatic dialogues in his work. His center period works revolved round betrayal, homicide, egoism, power, ambition, lust, tragedy and comedy. Performs like Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida had been primarily based on them. His later works have been mostly romantic and fantasies such as The Winter's Story and The Tempest. His works had been also revealed in press as a sequence of quartos. Two actors named John Heminges and Henry Condell began First Folio to honor and publish Shakespeare's work solely in 1623. Classes comparable to comedies, histories and tragedies had been made in First Folio. Fashionable critics have added classes like downside-play and tragic-comedies.
The exact order of plays is not known and has all the time been the subject of disagreement as at his time, performs weren't authoritatively printed. Many of his plays had many various blueprints due to the textual mistakes like printer's error and compositor's misreading, so the popularity of his unique work is a problem. Many words and spellings were created by Shakespeare. He had a habit of writing his performs number of time using these different words and spellings. After his death, speculations have risen concerning the authenticity of Shakespeare's work. There have been very little document about the occasions that happened in his life nor does his will gives an detailed explanation of any of his performs, poems, sonnets and ownership of the Globe theater. It has been rumored that they could be works of Francis Bacon or Christopher Marlowe.
The works which have been misplaced are Love's Labour' Won, Cardenio and Quixote. Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night time's Dream, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Twelfth Night, Richard III and Macbeth are some the highly honored writings of William Shakespeare.
Calvin Bailey is the owner and webmaster for the popular information website on the city of [http://www.stratford-ontario.com]Stratford Ontario. Want to learn about the city that gave birth to the Shakespeare Festival Theater in Canada? Discover the history, view the photographs, and review the plays of William Shakespeare. Discover why [http://www.stratford-ontario.com]Stratford Ontario continues to be the choice tourist attraction and vacation destination for both history buffs and theater goers the world over.
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Why Are There So Many Different Types of Stage Lighting Available Today?

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Anthony_M_Langley]Anthony M Langley
Whether you intend having a small school play or a big stage play, you can be sure of the fact that stage lighting plays a very important role.
No matter what kind of play, big or small, lighting is very significant. Lighting provides you with just the right kind of illumination that your play requires and it is thus a driving force for your play. If you want to set the right ambience for your play, then you must get the lighting right.
It is very critical for you to decide where you want to place your lights. If you want your play to have great colour effects, then you should place the lights in front. To accentuate the action that takes place in your play, you should place the lights at the side. When you need to create depth or if you want to silhouette anyone totally, then you would do well to use back lighting. If you want to have an effect that is bold and sweeping, then you must use background lights.
There is the basic floodlight type of lighting which is called the Scoop. This kind of lighting can provide light to the complete stage or an entire area. Then there are the traditional stage lights that are known as Ellipsoidal and these are considered to be the most vital element of stage lights. These lights are the focus lights and their appearance on the stage can be modified by making use of filters and shutters.
There are also lights which are used to give colour washes to the stage and these are known as Fresnel lights. There are also lights that can follow people and move with them on the stage, these are known as Follow Spots. These are not the only lighting options and there are many more available, as a result of so many advances in technology.
It is now possible to give your lights various colours. You can do so by making use of what are known as Gels. These Gels function as colour filters. There are focused beams of light that can be used on stage, which are known as LEDs and these are now replacing the light bulbs that are commonly used on stage.
You can also get Dizzies, which are round spheres which consist of many LED lights, made up of different colours, which cover the surface of the sphere. There are so many different stage lights that are available today as stage lighting plays a very critical role on a stage.
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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-Are-There-So-Many-Different-Types-of-Stage-Lighting-Available-Today?&id=6596362] Why Are There So Many Different Types of Stage Lighting Available Today?

What Are Some Easy Card Tricks to Learn?

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Austin_Hackney]Austin Hackney
What are some easy card tricks to learn? Well, here's a pretty simple but effective magic trick that you might like to try. You can download a whole range of easy tricks from a good website that will be far more effective than this, but just to get you started and give you a taste for it...
Start with a pack of cards and make sure that you have a quick peek at the top card before you start. So you know what the top card is at the beginning. Now what you should do is to begin to flick through the cards casually and ask a member of your audience to tell you when to stop. Stop at that point and take of the top half of the deck from there. And here's the trick: slide this top half off quickly in a forwards direction, towards the member of the audience who is helping you; but as you do it, keep your thumb pressed on the top card (you can quickly lick your thumb first) and that will make the top card (the card you know) stay in place and land on top of the lower portion of the deck. The rest is easy..
Just ask your audience member to pick up the card from the top of the lower portion of the deck - the card they freely cut to at random (so they think!) and then look at it secretly and memorize it. You can then hand them the deck and ask them to put it in anywhere they want and give the cards a good shuffle. You can then reveal the card in any way you please - either by pretending to search for it through a spread or by turning it into a mental magic routine, asking them to concentrate hard on an image of the card whilst you read their mind or anything you like. It doesn't really matter because you secretly forced them to take the card that you wanted and so in any case you already know what it is!
That's an example of a card force that is used in lots of easy card tricks you can learn. Always make sure that you practice your tricks well first and never reveal the secret to anyone. If you like the idea of learning more and maybe better easy card tricks then why not check out some amazing easy tricks tutorials which you can download instantly to get a full and detailed explanation of how to do some astonishing easy tricks that are of a professional standard? You can also get some fantastic ebooks to download instantly and that's a great way to get a lot of tricks all at once. And remember that even easy tricks can be very, very impressive if you perform them right. In fact, the easiest tricks are often the most convincing because people are always looking for some very clever 'sleight-of-hand' or trick and frequently overlook the obvious move that is happening right under their noses!
I hope finding out about some easy card tricks to learn and that you come back often to learn more. Once you get started in magic it can become really addictive!
Austin Hackney is a performing magician, entertainer, theatre practioner and writer of many years standing, always keen to share his experience and encourage the novice. His website, [http://www.magic-tricks.ws]The Magic Tricks Homepage is a great free resource for magic tutorials, articles, visual guides, eBooks and more. If you want to learn magic well, not just a huge number of tricks but solid performance skills, the site is well worth a visit. You can download magic video tutorials [http://www.magic-tricks.ws/magictrick28.html]here which is a great way of learning and building a repertoire.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?What-Are-Some-Easy-Card-Tricks-to-Learn?&id=6624104] What Are Some Easy Card Tricks to Learn?

Review: How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Amy_L_Butenhof]Amy L Butenhof
Like all aspects of pop culture, Broadway shows are always coming in and out of style. While just a few years ago edgy, rock-grunge musicals, � la Rent, Spring Awakening and American Idiot, were all the rage, the trend seems to have re-geared in an entirely unexpected direction. The demand for cutting-edge has been replaced with a call for nostalgia. A slew of revivals (and a few originals) set in and between the roaring twenties (Anything Goes) and the corporate world of the sixties (Promises Promises) have taken the Great White Way by storm, filling NYC with the sound of show-stopping tap numbers, upbeat tunes and fabulously cheesy one-liners. The plots and time periods obviously vary, but they all share a delightful light-heartedness and abound with the charms of yesteryear.
The latest of these shows to come along is How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, a revival featuring former Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe as J. Pierrepont Finch. The show originally debuted in 1961, and like many of its contemporaries has begun to show some age. When Finch's love interest Rosemary, played by a time-period-appropriately cheeky Rose Hemingway, sings about her dreams of keeping an emotionally-distant husband's dinner warm as he climbs the corporate ladder, more than a few pairs of eyebrows are bound to shoot upward.
But nonetheless, the vibrant cast attempts to blow off the dust with infectious zeal. Daniel Radcliffe proves himself a capable leading man with an adequate singing voice, impressive dance moves, and the pairing of a remarkably enthusiastic presence and lovable grin. He is at every moment wide-eyed, bristling with an energy and earnestness that threatens to distract from the character itself. But this sort of vigor and projection of innocence may be exactly what is required in order for the audience to fall in love with the otherwise duplicitous Finch. Impressive too are his comedic chops, as evident whenever he, spotlit, shares with the audience his knowing, impetuous grin to signal that his latest scheme has pulled through.
John Larroquette secures a lot of laughs as Finch's amiable yet morally dubious boss, whom we know the unstoppable Finch must eventually succeed. While he does project presence, his limited theater experience is evident; too often he dissolves into mumbling or attempts to use subtleties that work for the TV screen but not for the stage. Rose Hemingway is appropriately cute and feisty, bringing strength and sympathy to a character that could easily be scoffed at by the modern American woman. Tammy Blanchard is entertaining as wobbly tart-with-a-heart Hedy La Rue, and Christopher J Hanke manages to make us both love yet not root for Finch's bumbling nemesis Bud Frump.
Derek Mclane's set design is very reminiscent of recent productions of Bye Bye Birdie, Promises Promises (both directed and choreographed by Robert Ashford), and the short-lived 9 to 5; a cubic style that suggests a certain type of set instead of actually having the suggested set present. Why these productions find so much appeal in spending equal amounts of money on sets that pretend to be one thing, instead of building the actual thing, is a bit perplexing. Perhaps the style's popularity derives from its ability to lend a modern edge to otherwise dated scripts.
Catherine Zuber's chromatic outfits liven up an otherwise metallic backdrop, chock-full of sleek suits and twirly skirts. Ashford's choreography is impressive and lively, although it's been pointed out in other reviews that each number tries a little too hard to be a showstopper (of which How To Succeed really possesses only one; the effervescent 'Brotherhood of Man'.)
Although constrained by its age, this production of 'How To Succeed' navigates through the script's shortcomings with aplomb, and an irresistibly charming Radcliffe keeps the spark alive throughout the performance. How the show will fare without his star power remains to be seen (although with Glee's Darren Criss and The Jonas Brothers' Nick Jonas lined up as replacements, I'd wager fairly well), but if you're in search of a little animated, frolicsome entertainment, 'How To Succeed' is certainly worth your time.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Review:-How-To-Succeed-In-Business-Without-Really-Trying&id=6616389] Review: How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

Get Magic Tricks Downloads

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Austin_Hackney]Austin Hackney
Get magic tricks videos (you can download them from several reputable sites) if you want to learn some easy but totally cool magic tricks to impress your friends and family - maybe even pull yourself a girlfriend! Everybody loves magic. It's a great way to break the ice at parties, introduce yourself to new people, make friends and get noticed by people you want to notice you. Downloading magic tricks videos is the easiest, quickest and best way to learn some great tricks.
There are coin tricks, card tricks, mind-reading tricks, rope tricks, all kinds of tricks that you can do easily with objects that you've got in your pockets or lying around the house. Don't be conned by the big magic stores that try to sell you expensive gimmicks (where you blow $30 plus for what turns out to be nothing more than a rubber band with a paper clip on one end and a magnet on the other - what a rip off!) I've seen a video download that will show you how to make that gimmick - The Raven, as used by David Blaine - absolutely free from stuff you can find around the place or get from the hardware store for under a dollar! Not only that, it'll show you 20 amazing, mind-blowing but easy tricks you can do with it. And all that for the price of the box from the store! You don't need to be spending all that money on over-hyped rip-offs. Get magic tricks videos because they give you hundreds of cool magic tricks videos that you can learn the best magic from ranging in price from $0.99 to $25 for the best, top class instruction.
If you're wanting to learn the best magic for the best price then this is your first port of call. Why do I do I like this? Well, because I got sick of being ripped off. The endless disappointment of opening up those massive, brightly colored boxes only to find some cheap bit of plastic inside. It was obvious that someone was having a joke. So I looked around for sites that had invited normal folks who love magic to sell demos and tutorials at sensible prices. Turned out there weren't that many, surprise, surprise! But the best ones had attracted tutorials from some pretty cool magicians. So these are tricks from people like you, for people like you. Or at least people who've been where you are now.
So get magic tricks videos from and start learning easy, simple tricks you can learn at home without burning holes in your pockets. Then check out the best sites for some of the blog posts which will give you loads of ideas of how to practice, present and make the most of the magic tricks you learn from your downloads. That's the other advantage if you get magic tricks videos - you can download them instantly after payment; you don't have to wait anxiously for the mail to arrive only to be disappointed. You get your download and you're happy. Most of the tricks you'll learn when you get magic tricks videos you'll be showing off the next day!
Austin Hackney is a performing magician, entertainer, theatre practitioner and writer of many years standing, always keen to share his experience and encourage the novice. His website, [http://www.magic-tricks.ws]The Magic Tricks Homepage is a great free resource for magic tutorials, articles, visual guides, eBooks and more. If you want to learn magic well, not just a huge number of tricks but solid performance skills, the site is well worth a visit. You can download magic video tutorials [http://www.magic-tricks.ws/magictrick28.html]here which is a great way of learning and building a repertoire.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Get-Magic-Tricks-Downloads&id=6624055] Get Magic Tricks Downloads

Amazing Mentalism Magic!

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Austin_Hackney]Austin Hackney
There's no doubt that of all the kinds of magic tricks that can be performed, the most popular and effective today is to astonish an audience with amazing mentalism magic. This kind of magic creates the illusion that the magician has startling mental powers, or psychic abilities to move objects without touching them or make predictions about the future or read other people's minds.
Of course such things cannot really be done - they are illusions. Nevertheless, this kind of amazing mentalism magic really is the most powerful of all the performance magic techniques as it really is inexplicable from the audience's point of view.
A great advantage of mentalism magic tricks is that they can be learned quite easily with a little practice and performed almost anywhere as they frequently don't require complex props or devices. Any props or devices you might need would be nothing more than a thumb-tip, playing cards, maybe a bit of invisible thread and some magician's wax - all things that you can carry in your clothes. That said, there are many, many effects which can be done without any props at all. That;s one of the attractions of mentalism, coupled with the fact that it is a real crowd pleaser!
Amazing people with mental magic is no new thing. The tricks and techniques employed probably go back to ancient times when priests and prophets and oracles conned their followers into believing that they could see the future or receive messages from spirits and the dead - much as so-called psychics and mystics do today to their very great discredit.
However, the modern profession of performing apparently supernatural feats for the sake of entertainment is an entirely honourable one just so long as you are not tempted to abuse your magical powers as these charlatans and rascals who call themselves mediums and psychics do.
One of the factors that makes the magic of mentalism so uniquely intriguing to any audience is the way in which it can be performed very close up to people and still leaves them entirely at a loss as to any explanation for the effect.
If you watch carefully the great mentalist performers of our own day (such as Derren Brown) you will see that once you have the basic principles of mental magic under your belt, then the perfection of this techniques comes down to style and presentation.
Any modern magician who wants to truly astound a highly sophisticated modern audience, or even just cause real astonishment at parties, would do well to learn some amazing mentalism magic!
Austin Hackney is a magician, entertainer, theatre practioner and writer of many years standing, always keen to share his experience and encourage the novice. His website, [http://www.magic-tricks.ws]The Magic Tricks Homepage is a great free resource for magic tutorials, articles, visual guides, eBooks and more. If you want to learn magic well, not just a huge number of tricks but solid performance skills, the site is well worth a visit. You can download magic video tutorials (including some amazing mentalism effects) [http://www.magic-tricks.ws/magictrick28.html]here which is a great way of learning and building a repertoire.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Amazing-Mentalism-Magic!&id=6625929] Amazing Mentalism Magic!

Can I Become a Great Dancer in 4 Years?

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Brice_Ashta]Brice Ashta
We all have goals. Reaching those goals often comes with a price: an investment of time. How much time, however, is a mystery. Many new dancers - especially those aspiring to become professionals, to dance Swan Lake, to open studios - crave the knowledge of how long it will take to achieve greatness.
Unfortunately, nobody can tell you without a crystal ball. Fortunately, there are some guidelines in place for making an estimate.
10,000 Hours
According to Malcom Gladwell's famous essay, "Outliers," it takes 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to become an expert or master.
This theory has been popularized in recent years because of a movement toward believing-then-achieving motivational speaking. Society wants to believe that passionate work is enough to make anybody successful at something, regardless of what talents and skills they were gifted with at birth.
Many subscribe to this theory. If you were to practice for an average of two hours per day, then it would take approximately fourteen years to become an expert in your chosen field.
Applying this to dance is easy. Simply practice every day and you'll become an expert dancer. Unfortunately, this isn't the whole and there are more details to be satisfied first.
Facets of Knowledge
By many catalogs, every dance has a number of facets. I will discuss belly dance, because that is what I know most about.
Belly dance has an incredible number of different topics and subjects when you think in depth about expertise. Granted, movement vocabulary is fairly limited, but other requirements for true mastery are musicality, safety, rhythms, props, professionalism and business sense, and costuming.
Is Four Years Enough?
I have no doubt in my mind that a person can become a very talented and great dancer in four years, in the sense of movement. However, things like raw emotional expression, business knowledge, networks and contacts, and even a sense of movement from an internal perspective - the ability to correct posture and execution while being over ten feet away from the student - takes much longer.
If you are looking to become a dancer, I encourage you to start with a teacher. Dedicated practice will make perfect. Four years, however, is a slightly short time for expertise and mastery. Begin your 10,000 hours today and you will soon come to see successes. Four years is more than enough time for greatness - but not mastery.
Brice Ashta is a [http://briceashta.com/]belly dance instructor in Denver, Colorado. He also maintains a blog about belly dance and small business on his website.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Can-I-Become-a-Great-Dancer-in-4-Years?&id=6625470] Can I Become a Great Dancer in 4 Years?

The Ahn Trio: The Zesty Panorama of Brazil

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Emily_Cary]Emily Cary
The Ahn Trio purveys imaginative artistry, glamor and confirmation that mainstream classical music continually evolves. Their latest CD, BraziliAHN, is is a scintillating representing a co-commission from Wolf Trap, Notre Dame University and the University of Florida.
Angella, the violinist of the sisterly ensemble that includes twins Lucia at the piano and Maria on cello, enthused about the program of works inspired by the sounds and scenes of the largest country in South America. She pointed out that Maria had this idea for a long time because she loves bossa nova and every kind of music coming out of Brazil. The three traveled there to meet the country's famous musicians. As the idea evolved, they worked with Brazilian singers and composers.
In "Landscapes," a suite written for them by Nelson Ayes, the listener is transported to Brazil and its picturesque countryside. The first of three movements, De bubuia evokes the feeling of traveling down a river, perhaps the Amazon, listening to surrounding sounds. The second, Mantiqueira, was inspired by an enormous mountain range, home to a lush environment, while the third movement, Agreste, depicts the hot, dry region of Northeastern Brazil through energy and rhythm. The centerpiece of the album, it is joined by arrangements of Brazilian folk songs and works infused with bossa nova, samba and other rhythms native to the country.
Born in Korea, the sisters moved to New York City in 1981 to attend the Juilliard School's pre-college program. Once they arrived, they were exposed to jazz and other styles of music that caught their fancy and opened new horizons. As teenagers, they never intended to become a trio. It was not until they were working on their master's degrees that the idea finally clicked.
Their family was not particularly musical. Their mother enjoyed music, but she was a writer and their father had a publishing business. Lucia was the leading force. She saw a piano in her Kindergarten class and would not leave it alone, so the teacher encouraged her mother to get her a piano. Afterward, Marie and Angella picked their instruments at random and began practicing. Like all Koreans, they knew they must work hard at their hobbies.
Since striking out as an ensemble, they have deliberately sought out works by an eclectic group of composers, among them Pat Metheny, Kenji Bunch, Nicolai Kapustin, David Balikrishnan and Mark O'Connor. Ever adventurous, they collaborated with the Parson Dance Company in a highly acclaimed program of original choreography and music. They are currently working on a similar program with Nai-Ni Chen, a cross-cultural contemporary dance company.
Earlier this year, they were greeted like rock stars during their sold-out tour of the Czech Republic with Tata Bojs, the country's award-winning rock band, performing music from "Smetana," the album they recorded together. Upon arrival, they could not believe that ten thousand people were chanting their names.
Emily Cary is a prize-winning teacher and novelist whose articles about entertainers appear regularly in the DC Examiner. She is a genealogist, an avid traveler, and a researcher who incorporates landscapes, cultures and the power of music in her books and articles.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Ahn-Trio:-The-Zesty-Panorama-of-Brazil&id=6632163] The Ahn Trio: The Zesty Panorama of Brazil

Valery Gergiev: Genius at Work

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Emily_Cary]Emily Cary
Valery Gergiev is the dynamic force behind the success of the Mariinsky (formerly Kirov) Theatre which encompasses the Ballet, Orchestra, Opera, Chorus and Academy of Young Singers. This fall he and the Orchestra are touring the United States performing all-Tchaikovsky programs, including five at Carnegie Hall, and featuring pianist Danill Trifonov. Gergiev conducted the London Symphony Orchestra at London's Barbican Hall on July 1, 2011 when the young pianist became the Grand Prize Winner of the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition.
Gergiev is as well known worldwide as he is in Russia. As Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra since 2007, he is so admired in Great Britain that he was named Conductor of the Year by Britain's Royal Society of Music in 2008 and Conductor of the Year by Great Britain Royal Philharmonic Society in 2009. These awards join the countless honors he has received from Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Japan, the Netherlands and his own country. In 2011, he was the Honorary President of the Edinburgh International Festival
Truly a giant in his field, Gergiev not only directs one of the world's greatest orchestras, but he is also the Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Ballet and Opera companies and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre, which has been St. Petersburg's cultural center since 1783. He oversees and continues to expand the Opera Company's extensive repertoire. It encompasses the contemporary operas by Prokofiev and Shostakovich and the successful return of Wagner's operas to the schedule. That accomplished, he plans even more surprises.
Each component of the Mariinsky Theatre is world class. The soloists of both ballet and opera are familiar names. Dozens of the Orchestra personnel are soloists in their own right. Along with multiple soloists and section leaders, there are deputy leaders and enough instrumentalists to comprise several symphony orchestras.
Gergiev made certain that the vocalists would have incomparable training by founding the Academy of Young Singers in 1998. The students chosen from throughout the world benefit from their outstanding teachers and frequent master classes presented by famous visiting singers and coaches. During their training, they perform throughout Russia and abroad.
Gergiev's contributions to the Mariinsky Theatre have been monumental, none more so that the building itself. Over several years, he s8pervised the reconstruction of the theatre and concert complex, overcoming numerous challenges from blueprint to completion. In 2006, he presented it to the companies and the general public. Today it is one of the city's marvels.
Between his duties at the Mariinsky Theater, the international tours and the music festivals he directs, one wonders when Gergiev rests, and yet he finds time to program concerts for young children. He is passionate about sharing his love for music with the younger generation. Along with introducing Trifonov, a young soloist who is destined for fame, he wants them to discover the brilliant virtuosity of one of the world's greatest and oldest orchestras.
Emily Cary is a prize-winning teacher and novelist whose articles about entertainers appear regularly in the DC Examiner. She is a genealogist, an avid traveler, and a researcher who incorporates landscapes, cultures and the power of music in her books and articles.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Valery-Gergiev:-Genius-at-Work&id=6632232] Valery Gergiev: Genius at Work

FELA! One Man's Struggle Against Oppression

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Emily_Cary]Emily Cary
Long before FELA! captivated Broadway with its Afrobeat rhythms and choreography by Bill T. Jones, Adesola Osakalumi learned about Fela Kuti through his family's ownership of the Nigerian musician's record label. The story of the civil rights champion's defiance of a corrupt military government walked away with three Tony Awards. Now the national tour is launched starring Osakalumi and Sahr Ngaujah alternating the role they played on Broadway.
Every time he goes on stage, Fela's struggle and continual push for justice in the face of odds and great personal danger resonate with Osakalumi. He became involved in the show when it moved from Off Broadway to Broadway. He had been working in "Equus" with Daniel Radcliffe; it closed just as auditions took place for the Broadway production.
The lead is on stage for all but five minutes of the show, so alternating the role allows Ngaujah and Osakalumi to rest from the physical demands. Bill T. Jones is a pusher who forces the artists to explore all areas of their skills. He tweaks the show continually, believing that art is not fixed but is constantly evolving."
Osakalumi, an award-winning dancer and choreographer, grew up in a family devoted to dance. His mother was a principal dancer with Africa I Dance Theater, a family business, and they all wanted him to become a traditional drum and dance artist. While he studied with the Dance Theater of Harlem on a scholarship, he admired the regimen and discipline of ballet. Then he discovered hip-hop.
He first saw a friend doing waves and was captivated by the magic of it. He began to explore by working with a bunch of friends from the neighborhood, but when he went to Bronx, Harlem and the lower East Side, he discovered that the local moves were all different. To become as good as possible, he constantly worked in front of the mirror after school.
Once he perfected hip-hop moves, he studied acting and began auditioning, taking the advice of his grandmother, "A closed mouth never gets fed." Understudying Radcliffe in "Equus" was the turning point in the career that today finds him multi-tasking as principal dancer, actor, teacher and choreographer of TV, film and stage productions. When he designs productions for the corporate world, he uses dance and movement to display the product through razzle-dazzle.
A good dancer, he emphasizes, is always telling a story in non-verbal acting. His first rule in working with dancers is to make them comfortable. Not until he establishes a rapport and has their complete trust does he suggest a new move.
Osakalumi is excited about the support "FELA!" receives from the African American community and the interest young children have in learning how to dance like he does. After each performance, they pepper him with questions about the hero whose life story is new to them.
The first question they ask is about Fela's 27 wives. They also want to know about the form-fitting suits he wears. No matter their age, everyone in the audience is moved by Fela's personal journey and struggles for truth.
Emily Cary is a prize-winning teacher and novelist whose articles about entertainers appear regularly in the DC Examiner. She is a genealogist, an avid traveler, and a researcher who incorporates landscapes, cultures and the power of music in her books and articles.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?FELA!-One-Mans-Struggle-Against-Oppression&id=6632211] FELA! One Man's Struggle Against Oppression