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Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2010

Sound Pet - March 2009

Complexions Contemporary Ballet

March 14th 2009 03:52
Unfortunately for me I was called away at interval to an emergency. A friend in need. But the first half of this show was magnificent, so I think the whole show would have been magic to see. Unlucky for me, and my friend who lost a dog until we found it, on the side of the road dead.

Very sad news and unlucky for the dog, so farewell Maxie Poodle and my apologies for not completly reviewing this show; but as I say - what I saw was truly great.

David

Adelaide Festival Centre's Pivot(al) program presents
Complexions Contemporary Ballet




Mr Rhoden's choreography was like hot molten lava; flowing with undeniable power. New York Times

Pivot(al), Adelaide Festival Centre's year long dance program proudly presents one of America's most innovative and extraordinary dance companies, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, performing at the Festival Theatre from 10 - 12 March.

From pointe to pop this New York based dance company is hot! Inspired by social and political issues, and yet deeply personal, Complexions have always sought to ponder the human condition and to explore the full range of human emotions. In 1995, the company received the coveted New York Times Critics Choice Award and began touring the world. Subsequently Complexions were invited to perform at major European dance festivals and toured extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, South America, Asia and Australia, with each new city presenting an opportunity to extend their message: Complexions is more than dance it is language itself!



For their upcoming Australian season Complexions Contemporary Ballet will present an exciting program of material that will combine stunning classical ballet skills, cutting edge contemporary dance moves and unbelievable physicality and strength. The program will include the electrifying newly created work Rise(2008), set to the powerful rock music of world-renowned band U2, that will close each performance.

This is the first time U2 has granted permission for the use of their work in a ballet and in a major choreographic milestone, Dwight Rhoden has created a truly stunning piece featuring the entire company.

Also featured in the program is Routines (2008) and Gone (2000), an astonishingly powerful and intense physical performance about brotherhood, conflict and survival featuring the emotional music of American folk singer Odetta; Momentary Forevers (2007), featuring the musical collaboration of George Frideric Handel and John Cage; Moody Booty Blues (2006), a short work for five dancers featuring the electrifying American blues music of Muddy Waters, Son House, Roy Buchanan and Stevie Ray Vaughan and I Will Not Be Broken (2008), inspired by the doctrine from tragedy to triumph.



Complexions Contemporary Ballet
was founded in 1994 by the current Artistic Directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson. Reflective of the name, they brought together a multiracial troupe to express their uniqueness in culture, race and background by combining classical ballet and contemporary dance.


Resident choreographer Dwight Rhoden began dancing at the age of 17 and has created over 60 ballets for Complexions, as well as numerous other commissions. Rhoden has directed and choreographed for film, theatre and live performances and worked for high profile artists including Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Kelly Clarkson and Patrick Swayze. Rhoden was a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.

Desmond Richardson is one of the most widely recognized and talented contemporary dancers of his generation, a multi-talented artist he has mastered a wide range of dance forms including classical, modern and contemporary and worked in television, film and video in the U.S. and abroad, performing with musical artists Michael Jackson, Prince, Aretha Franklin and Madonna. He was a member of the American Ballet Theatre and his performance was described in the NY Times as one of the most majestic dancers ever to tread the MET Stage. Richardson was also nominated in 1998 for a Tony Award for his role in Broadway Musical. Recently Rhoden and Richardson choreographed a new work for the last season of the US hit show So You Think You Can Dance, which received rave reviews.

Complexions Contemporary Ballet celebrates excellence in dance with thought provoking and impassioned performance, be sure not to miss one of the most exhilarating and remarkable dance companies to come out of the U.S.!



Power, punch and pizzazz. For sheer exuberance, the dancers of Complexions Contemporary Ballet must hold the gold medal. The Age



Pivot(al) presents the best dance companies in the country alongside the best in the world.


Complexions Contemporary Ballet


What: Complexions Contemporary Ballet

Venue: Festival Theatre

When: 10 - 12 March, 8pm

Cost: Premium $80, Adult $65 / $55 / $45, Concession $60 / $50 / $40, Groups $60 / $50 (6 or more tickets), Student $30

Bookings: 131 246 or online at BASS


Complexions Contemporary Ballet



Complexions Contemporary Ballet
will also perform in Melbourne from 26 February - 7 March at the Arts Centre, State Theatre



For further information check out: www.complexionsdance.org

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There's nothing more to be said except get along and see this show!

You will rarely get such a kooky collection of images and sounds and feel so strangely connected to them. The music is non stop for ninety minutes, the performances are fantastic and the atmosphere needs nothing more than an audience to get right into it. You!


You will enjoy this show if you like African music, a little kooky humor and high energy performance - one of the biggest and best bargains of the Adelaide Fringe! The venue is great, open bar through the show, plenty of good vibes and really outstanding live performance mixed with brilliant decking by a fantastic DJ. Seriously there's not much around on the club scene that compares, and if you are the sort who goes out to hear a bit of doff doff doff regularly - you'll get into this as well.

Unleash your inner black and serve some stomping tribal boodie on the floor as you watch.

David Jobling


Get your early bird tickets to the hottest and most anticipated show of the Fringe at houseoftheholyafro.com.au for the Early Bird price of $25 (normally $45 per ticket) so book now and save $20

Alternatively grab them from Fringe Tix

Venue: The Masonic Centre, Synagogue Place (off Rundle St) Adelaide
House of the Holy Afro - it's boogielicious!
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Grouper | Sydney on March 6

March 4th 2009 11:54
Grouper

In what should turn out to be one of the best live music nights of 2009, Preservation will present a show from US artist Grouper in Sydney on March 6.

The project for Portland, Oregon's Liz Harris, Grouper has steadily built incredible international acclaim for her mesmerising music, culminating in reaching both Pitchfork and The Wire's Top 50 albums for 2008 with her most recent full-length, Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill.

Often compared to classic 4AD dream-pop acts - especially the Cocteau Twins - the trance-like melodies and narcotic voice in a Grouper song swirl both prettily and mysteriously in their pastoral, psychedelic way. Otherworldly and blissful, this one-off, intimate show will be special.

Making that more so will be a rare performance from Sydney's sublime electronic composer Pimmon, set to release his new, long-awaited album Smudge Another Yesterday in April, with Seaworthy also adding their own delicate beauty to the evening.


Grouper


The night takes place Friday March 6
at Serial Space,
33 Wellington Street,
Chippendale


from 8pm.

Entry is 12 dollars.

Grouper, Pimmon & Seaworthy - Friday March 6 at Serial Space, 33
Wellington Street, Chippendale. 8pm. Be early.

Hear Grouper



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Fifty years to the day that Buddy Holly died in an airplane crash, 3rd February, Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story opened at the Star City Casino in the Lyric Theatre. Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley on 7th September, 1936, in Lubbock, Texas, U.S.A. His nickname came from his mother who said she called him Buddy because Charles Hardin was too long a name for such a little boy. As a child he learned to play the piano, violin, and guitar. When he was 13 years old he teamed up with school mate Bob Montgomery and they performed bluegrass locally as Buddy and Bob. Holly's break came when the duo performed as support artists for Bill Haley and his Comets resulting in Holly being contracted by Decca Records as a solo artist. His solo career was uneventful so he formed his band The Crickets and begun recording at Norman Petty's studios in Clovis, New Mexico where they recorded their early hit That’ll Be The Day, the phrase taken from the film The Searchers, a repeated phrase of John Wayne's.

Petty had a strong belief in Holly and contacted people he knew at Coral Records to sign him. Coral was a subsidiary of Decca and this put Holly in the unusual position of having two recording contracts at the same time. It was in one of these early contracts that Holley became known as Holly due to a spelling mistake and he stuck with it.

Buddy Holly was progressive for his time in that he used unusual instrumentations - e.g. the celesta on “Everyday”, vocal techniques - his use of “uh” in the middle of words, and he crossed the racial divide when mistakenly booked to play the Apollo Theatre, New York which was an all-black venue and successfully wooed the audience. His influence on popular music was integral to its’ development, he also instigated a higher level of engineering in the studio by layering his recordings with multiple vocal and instrumental lines before overdubbing became the norm. Examples of this can be heard on “Words of Love” and “Listen To Me”.

Buddy has been seen here in Sydney before and has been playing somewhere in the world for nineteen years, had over 16,000 performances and been seen by an estimated 20 million viewers.

In Australia the title role is played by Scott Cameron who does an amazing job of re-creating the Buddy Holly persona. He not only sings the songs with the characteristics that are synonymous with Holly he also plays the guitar riffs with blinding accuracy.

It is well known that Buddy Holly died in a plane crash with two other music luminaries of the day namely The Big Bopper, Jiles Perry Richardson Jnr, and Ritchie Valens, Richard Steven Valenzuela. The Big Bopper (known to friends as ‘Jape’) was a DJ who carved a career out of speaking most of his lyrics and had a hit with Chantilly Lace. Ritchie Valens was the first Hispanic, American born rock and roll star with hits “Donna” and “La Bamba”.

Luke Tonkin plays The Big Bopper with panache. Ritchie Valens is played by Sydney actor Flip Simmons, he sings superbly and moves around the stage deftly with all the gyrations that Valens was renowned for.

The show not only brings back all the wonderful well known hits but gives an insight into the journey that Buddy Holly and the Crickets went on. How they began playing country music, then rockabilly, and the development of their own distinctive style. The creative team of Director Craig Ilott, Musical Director Peter Laughton, Set Designer Christopher Smith, Lighting Designer Kevin Cawley, and Sound Designer John Taylor, have created an excellent evening of rock ‘n’ roll entertainment.

Peter McGill.



Performance Times
Tuesday 8pm
Wednesday 1pm & 8pm
Thursday 8pm
Friday 8pm
Saturday 2pm & 8pm
Sunday 5pm



Address:
Star City Pty Limited
80 Pyrmont Street,
Pyrmont NSW 2009



Telephone Enquiries:
General enquiries and Administration: (02) 9777 9000
International callers: 61 2 9777 9000

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