The News Review:
- New dance band gives Alasdair his big break
- Singapore Dance Theatre debuts ballet classic Swan Lake
- Dancing towards their dreams
- Go do it: Boise b-boys will match moves in breakdance competition
New dance band gives Alasdair his big break
Northern Times – Dec 21, 2007
New dance band gives Alasdair his big break – Northern Times. FOR over 40 years the Stornoway Dance Band was a firm favourite on the social scene. No local event was complete without its toe-tapping dance music and the group became a legend in its own time. Now a new young Scottish dance band has been formed and taken the name New Generation Stornoway Dance Band in tribute to its illustrious forerunners. And among the line-up of eight musicians from across the Highlands and Islands is talented Sutherland teenager Alasdair Cameron Mackay from Stoer – better known locally as simply Jock the Box. Skilled accordionist Alasdair (18) who is also a solo performer was given his first box at the age of seven by his grandfather Alaister Macleod a crofter and former accordionist with the Lochinver Dance Band.
Singapore Dance Theatre debuts ballet classic Swan Lake
Channel News Asia – Dec 21, 2007
html SINGAPORE: For the first time in Singapore the timeless ballet classic Swan Lake will be produced and performed locally. Notably one of the biggest and grandest ballets of all times the Singapore Dance Theatre is making the magical tale come alive this Christmas season at the Esplanade Theatre. Set to Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s uplifting scores Swan Lake spins a tragic tale of the princess Odette who is turned into a swan by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. The only way she can break free from the magic spell is for her one true love to profess his undying love to her. Prince Siegfried while fleeing his castle to escape an arranged marriage chances upon Odette and falls madly in love with her. But the evil sorcerer in a bid to trick the prince disguises his own daughter the black swan to resemble the princess so that the prince breaks his vow and condemns Odette to a swan forever… Notably one of the biggest and grandest ballets of all times the Singapore Dance Theatre is making the magical tale come alive this Christmas season at the Esplanade Theatre. Set to Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s uplifting scores Swan Lake spins a tragic tale of the princess Odette who is turned into a swan by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. The only way she can break free from the magic spell is for her one true love to profess his undying love to her. Prince Siegfried while fleeing his castle to escape an arranged marriage chances upon Odette and falls madly in love with her. But the evil sorcerer in a bid to trick the prince disguises his own daughter the black swan to resemble the princess so that the prince breaks his vow and condemns Odette to a swan forever. Being one of the most well-loved ballets of all time the classic has countless versions. According to Janek Scghergen the Assistant Artistic Director of the Singapore Dance Theatre most of these renditions have been altered to avoid the major tearjerker at the end.
Dancing towards their dreams
Telegraph.co.uk – Dec 21, 2007
Outdoors in the August sunshine she sits knitting in her chair while Sylvia and lodger Mr Simpson (Marc Warren) kindle a burgeoning relationship on a rug spread over the grass. It’s a perfect picture of period charm repeated over and over as Warren misses the ball that he’s supposed to catch for the scene. But the focus is very much on the Fossils and this is the moment where actress Pauline finds out about her big film break: she’s been called for a screen test. Later Watson talks about how resonant this moment was for her. “So much of what Pauline is experiencing is similar to what I went through when I auditioned for Harry Potter” says Watson. “She becomes famous sort of overnight and I could relate to that. But I also relate to the experience that she goes through earlier… That’s one of the reasons I’d like to go to university and study English literature. ” Streatfeild too wanted all children to do justice to their talents but also to keep their feet on the ground. As Lucy Boynton puts it “The Fossils all have very different wants – to act to dance to fly planes – but they’re all joined in how much they want it because it’s about keeping their family together. ” Wood too is in no danger of behaving like a diva. At the end of her day’s filming she bustles around her trailer: “Now I can get home and do the washing” she says. Nana – and Streatfeild – would be proud. Ballet Shoes is on BBC1 on Boxing Day at 8.
Go do it: Boise b-boys will match moves in breakdance competition
IdahoStatesman.com – Dec 21, 2007
The term “b-boy” has come to refer more specifically to a male who practices what the media refers to as breakdancing i. an individual who has the ability to perform rhythmic dance combining a variety of dance forms with gymnastics and original body movements. These stylized movements are commonly known as “breaking” or “breakdancing” and b-boys are often called breakdancers.