Catwalk with the Couturier

Photo: Copyright 2011 © Yemisi Blake

Meera Ali kicked off the inauguration of Alchemy with Calligraphy In Motion. Throughout the last 21 years Meera and Muzaffar Ali have immersed themselves with different aspects of Sufism and have found innovative ways of reviving the traditional craft of the Kotwara region in North India. This historical and cultural hub is what spurred Muzaffar Ali to make his film Umrao Jaan  and Meera Ali’s designs which were exhibited yesterday.

Being backstage at all the rehearsals and fittings I got the inside scoop on what really makes those pretty faces look glam on the real day. On the contrary the models actually came for their first rehearsal on the day of the show but grasped the concept of what Meera was trying to portray through her designs really quickly.

The models were showcasing Meera’s collection next to very graceful and hardworking Kathak dancers. These dancers the students of the world-renowned Kathak dancer Gauri Sharma Tripathi who also happens to be my Kathak teacher. The dancers diligently showed up to rehearsal and worked with Meera to choreograph the background dance.

The dance consisted of twirls and salami (Mughal form of salutation,) this gave an eerie feel in to the show but in the real show proved effective. We were a bit confused tin the beginning why the dancers were such a vital part. We then discovered, as the show was Calligraphy In Motion the dancers sustained the movement and emphasized the flow of the Sufi script.

The collection that was being modelled ranged from vibrant blues and greens with the Sufi script intermixed showing in only a couple of places to long black coats embroidered with flowers lining the coats at the bottom. The dancers were wearing black and white angarkhas, which flowed freely to the ankles, which was collected at the back and clipped up with a button.

The fashion show was amazing because its inspiring to see how you can take any culture’s written word and use that to influence any aspect of your life, in this case fashion.

by Anjali Banerjee, Alchemist

Raghu Dixit Project last night in the Queen Elizabeth Hall

Ether 2011: Digital artist Klaus Obermaier on revamping The Rite of Spring

Klaus Obermaier, digital artist behind The Rite of spring in 3D, in conversation with Southbank Centre’s Head of Contemporary Culture, Gillian Moore.

GM: How have you managed to integrate a live dancer, live orchestra and screen?

KO: Stereo cameras and a complex computer system transfer the dancer Julia Mach to a virtual three-dimensional space. Time layers and unusual perspectives overlay one another and multiply themselves, enabling a completely new perception of the body and its sequences of movements. Real-time generated virtual spaces communicate and interact with the dancer. The human body is once more the interface between reality and virtuality. By means of 32 microphones the entire orchestra is integrated in the interactive process. Musical motifs, individual voices and instruments influence the form, movement and complexity of both the 3D projections of the virtual space and those of the dancer. Music is no longer the only starting point, it is the consummation of the choreography.

GM: What do you hope the audience will take away from the performance?

KO: First of all I hope the audience will have a great experience. Stereoscopic projections create an immersive environment, which permits the audience to participate much more closely in the performance than in traditional theatre settings. And of course it will raise some questions about our modern lives and the authenticity of experience in the light of the ongoing virtualisation of our habitats.

Catch Rites: Stravinky’s The Rite of Spring with 3D visuals live at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall as part of Ether 2011 on 23 April. Get tickets here

Ether 2011: Rites – The Rite of Spring live in 3D

Ether has a history of bringing together seemingly the most unlikely of collaborators. This year is no different with Stravinsky’s seminal The Rite of Spring played live by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra plus Klaus Obermaier’s stunning 3D visuals on a screen behind the orchestra. Julia Mach dances live to the music – a nod to Stravinsky’s original vision of his work as a ballet –  and her movements are interpreted in real-time into the visuals.

Have a look at this video to see what we mean. If you haven’t seen or heard The Rite of Spring live before, this is one not to miss.

 

 

 

Catch Rites: Stravinky’s The Rite of Spring with 3D visuals live at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall as part of Ether 2011 on 23 April. Get tickets here

Ether 2011: Louis Andriessen on his Ether premiere

Louis Andriessen, photo: Francesca Patella

London Sinfonietta’s Sara Mohr-Pietsch visits composer Louis Andriessen in his Amsterdam studio to discuss his work to be performed tonight at Ether 2011, including the UK premiere of Anaïs Nin a new work for singer, ensemble and film and De Staat (The Republic) his 1976 work of jazz-infused politically charged minimalism.

 

Hear London Sinfonietta play Louis Andriessen at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on 14 April as part of Ether 2011. Get tickets here

 

Seun Kuti – Following Fela

Seun Kuti’s father, the late, great Fela Kuti is quite something to follow and there’s been few articles written about him – this blog included – that haven’t mentioned the original pioneer of Afrobeat.

However, even though he is now fronting his father’s incredible band Egypt 80, Seun has found an idiosyncratic, powerful voice of his own, one that has seen him hailed as the new king of Afrobeat.

Following from his 2008 debut Many Things is new album From Africa With Fury: Rise, produced by John Reynolds, Seun himself and Brian Eno no less. Eno has indeed hailed Kuti and the band for ‘making some of the biggest, wildest, livest music on the planet.’ Listening to the record, it’s an exhilarating, thrilling LP, and combined with Seun’s famed dynamism on stage, Wednesday’s gig at Royal Festival Hall promises to be something very special indeed.

In anticipation of the show, we’ve 5 copies of Seun’s new album to give away. Simply answer the following question:

Seun Kuti comes from which country?

Please send your answers with your full name and address to competitions@southbankcentre.co.uk by Friday 15 April.

Book tickets for the gig

Ether 2011: Get to know Colin Currie

Colin Currie, photo: Chris Dawes

The Colin Currie Group are returning to Southbank Centre this week for Ether 2011 with one of Steve Reich’s most acclaimed works, Drumming. We caught up with Colin to ask him our quick questions.

What do you fear the most and why?

Struggling to answer this one, so I guess I’m fairly fearless! I dislike pigeons however.

Which mobile number do you call the most?

I speak with my sister very often.

What – or where – is perfection?

Spending time with my nephew and niece who are 6 and 4 and full of wit and imagination.

Who is your favourite hero from fiction (book/comic/film/opera) – and why?

I enjoyed the Richard Katz character from Jonathan Franzen’s latest book ‘Freedom’ although he is not at all likeable.

What’s your favourite ritual?

I enjoy tea and toast at home following red-eye flights back from the USA, which I take most months.

Which living person do you most admire (and why)?

I met some very brave people in Mozambique whilst visiting there with World Vision.

What other talent or skill would you like to possess?

I love basketball and in my other (imaginary) career I am an NBA star, in the mould of D Wade (Miami Heat).

Tell us about a special memory you have of Southbank Centre?

Pierre-Laurent Aimard playing Messiaen’s ‘Vingt Regards’ and Barbara Hannigan tearing up Ligeti’s ‘Mysteries of the Macabre’. Good examples of what people can achieve when they put their minds to it.

If you could programme your ideal Southbank Centre show, which artists (living or dead) would you bring together?

I would bring back Ian Curtis and have a Joy Division re-union.

What’s your favourite website?

www.nba.com

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

Be yourself and not what others or convention want you to be.

What is the most played piece of music on your MP3 player or in your CD collection?

Anything by Stravinsky.

The Colin Currie Group plays Steve Reich’s Drumming as part of Ether 2011 at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on 8 & 9 April 2011. Get tickets here

Ether 2011: Upload your sounds for Tim Exile’s live gig

In addition to being one of the most exciting live performers around Tim Exile has established himself at the forefront of interactive music making.

For Ether, a festival dedicated to the cutting edge of music making, we’re working with Tim to take this online collaboration even further.

As part of his main Ether performance Tim will be mixing in sounds and music created by the Ether audience itself.

You can record or upload your sound for Tim to use in his set by heading over to: http://soundcloud.com/southbankcentre/dropbox

Additionally as part of the festival Tim will be hosting 3 Jamshops where you can make music with him up close and personal by collaborating in a group jam. Get a hands-on experience of Tim’s unique bespoke live electronic music performance machine, create and manipulate your own sounds, jam along and be sampled, and come away with your own exclusive recording of the experience.

Ether 2011: Trailer for 2001: A Space Odyssey Live with Philharmonia Orchestra

Following a sell-out success in June 2010, Southbank Centre presents Stanley Kubrick’s seminal film 2001: A Space Odyssey with live music.

Conducted by André de Ridder, the enormous forces of Philharmonia Orchestra and Philharmonia Voices join together to perform the film’s extraordinary soundtrack, as live accompaniment to a screening in Royal Festival Hall.

Long recognised as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time, 2001 – A Space Odyssey is celebrated for its technological realism, its innovative Oscar®-winning special effects and a bold use of music. The film brought worldwide fame to both Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra and the music of Gyorgy Ligeti; it also created one of cinema’s most memorable images as a spaceship floats serenely through space to the strains of Johann Strauss’ Blue Danube waltz.

Here’s the official trailer from 1968.

 

 

Presented in association with the BFI (British Film Institute), with support from Warner Bros.

Catch 2001: A Space Odyssey Live at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on 7 & 8 April 2011 as part of Ether 2011. Get tickets here