Ella’s Pick

*Hotshot a new exhibition/event/retail space in Kensington Market is presenting their second group show extraordinaire, curated by yours truly.

Come out and celebrate, spring, romance and all things French next Thursday April 10th at a cheeky art party featuring everything from a video kissing booth, 15 second French lessons, a contest to win free brunch at La Palette and not to mention a wicked group show!

Hotshot is located at 181 Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market

Opening reception from 7 - 1 am, featuring DJs Maike Murray Maas and the Dirty French Man.

Presented by the Emerging Arts Professional Network, this event will be taking place on the last Tuesday of every month at Hotshot (the new exhibition, event and retail space in Kensington Market.) It’s gonna be a ton of fun, plus it will be your last chance to see the ‘Reflecting Kensington’ Show. Don’t miss it!

I played piano for 10 years, so listening to classical music is something I developed an appreciation for at an early age. With all the shows going on in the city, the TSO is usually at the bottom of my list for things to do. It’s generally too expensive and it’s hard to know what to go see. However, an offer of $6 a ticket is very hard to refuse and makes trying out a bunch of different concerts totally in my price range. I imagine seats are limited so book well in advance.

$6 tickets for the New Creations Festival concerts
Featuring the music of Messiaen

April 9 – Oiseaux exotiques - Conducted by Peter Oundjian & Reinbert deLeeuw, Yefim Bronfman, piano

April 12 – Keyboard Innovation - Conducted by Peter Oundjian & Reinbert deLeeuw

April 16, 17 – Turangalîla Symphony - Conducted and hosted by Peter Oundjian

All concerts at Roy Thomson Hall.

Visit www.tso.ca/weboffers and enter the code ‘CREATION’

The TSO Soundcheck also has some really sweet deals for people between the ages of 15 - 29.

I am known to laugh a lot, but it’s been a long time since I’ve laughed this hard from the beginning to end of a theatrical comedy performance - there’s usually a point when the jokes get stale and you start assuming that the only reason the lady behind you is laughing so much is because she knows the cast.

Spymonkey is an awesome comedy sketch group from England and honey let me tell you, if outrageous silliness, a good time on a snowy night and a little bit of nudity tickles your fancy, you must go to the show while these kids are in town. (Fans of Monty Python & Fawlty Towers will not be disapointed.)

(Quote this code COOD1R at the box office and get 20% off your ticket )

March 5 - 14, Premiere Dance Theatre @ The Harbourfront Centre

Tickets are a wee bit pricey - go as a group to save some cash

Ok, so here we are in 2008 – Happy New Year!

It feels like it stumbled through the door with a loud crash. After juggling a month of last minute deadlines, parties, shows, copious amounts of decadent treats, record snowfalls and family hoopla to boot, I am almost relieved to watch the fireworks subside.

As a slew of new projects beckon alongside high hopes for the future, I am feeling more inclined to take it down a notch. I have a gut feeling that to achieve my goals and really enjoy this year I need to ensure that I revel in the down time. While there are many ways to do this, one of my favourite ways to practice some New Year’s hibernation is by curling up to watch some great movies or simply sit back and listen to some good tunes.

So to kick off the New Years I am going to recommend some movies worth checking out to help you in your quest to hide away and chillax for a couple hours at a time. (Blankets, hot chocolate and a cuddle buddy make excellent movie watching accoutrements.)

SWEET MOVIE RENTALS (in no particular order)

Monty Python’s - And Now for Something Completely Different
This is my favourite Monty Python movie, it was their first film launched outside the UK and included all their wackiest skits in the kookiest cinematic format.

Planet Earth – A frickin’ awesome and visually stunning documentary on our gorgeous planet – narrated by David Attenborough. The box set will have you mesmerized for hours. When you get through this one, be sure to check out David Attenborough’s Life of Mammals.

Boss of it All – This is a Dutch dead pan comedy by Director Lars Von Trier (Dancer in the Dark, Dogville), it’s surprisingly funny, so don’t let the subtitles scare you.

A Room With A View – if you are a sucker for Merchant Ivory movies or shows like Pride & Prejudice you will thank me for making you go to the video store to pick this one up.

Blades of Glory – the perfect movie for when your brain has been working too hard and you just want dumb jokes and big men in spandex to tickle your funny bone.

Say Anything – It’s 80’s, it’s John Cusak, it’s romantic comedy and it’s classic. (warning this link gives away most of the movie…)

Little Miss Sunshine – clearly you’ve all seen this one already because everytime I went to the video store it was out. Just in case you missed the boat go rent it already!

Thelma & Louise – when was the last time you watched Thelma & Louise?

Ghost Busters – I’m a big fan of renting goofy 80s films when you want to invite a few friends over and not worry about missing a couple lines when people start yelling comments at the screen or singing along to the theme song.

Anyway, there’s a few picks off the top of my head. Feel free to add your faves in the comments section, I always welcome suggestions.

Hope 2008 bring you even closer to all your hopes and dreams!

I think we should have a contest for how many parties, holiday related or not, that you are going to attend in the next month. As I juggle multiple grant applications and all kinds of serious last minute work, I am also analyzing my calendar for how much festive hoopla I can squeeze in. It seems like the only real way to survive these grey days is to be surrounded by as many lovely people as possible and find tons of opportunities to shake your booty in order to stay warm.

In the immediate future some of my party must-dos include:

Thursday Nov 29 - Heather Goodchild’s opening at Katherine Mulherin Gallery November 29th -6 - 9pm

Friday Nov 30 - The 3rd Annual Block on the Spot Party at the Theatre Centre in the Great Hall Downstairs – 1087 Queen St. West. - 7:30 - 1:am (Bring your bathing suits)

Friday Dec 7 - The Chimera Project’s Red & Black Christmas Blah party - happening at the newest gallery in Kensington Market - other wise known as Hot Shot at 181 Augusta Ave. - 7pm - 3:am

Saturday Dec 8 - Esther & Rivka’s Latke Party at the Xspace Gallery, 58 Ossington Avenue, 7 - midnight.

Saturday Dec 15 - New Adventures in Sound Art - Christmas Open House - 103 Beaconsfield Ave. 2nd flr Hear examples of multichannel sound art and network with other artists in the community
2 - 4pm

After that it’s all about the holiday house parties for me and I don’t think my hosts would appreciate me posting that on my blog, but I’ll let you know if anything else comes up

I went to this last year and had one of the most memorable nights of my year, otherwise known as too much fun. If you like your Fridays a little arty, a little wacky and a lot dancey then I think you should go.
BLOCK IN ONE SPOT

Art Galleries + Music + Theatre + Dance + Film + Performance Art =
A BEFORE HOURS QUEEN WEST ART PARTY ICE-BREAKER
A special event for Earth Day Canada

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30th, 2007
The Theatre Centre – (southeast corner Queen & Dovercourt)
In The Great Hall Downstairs – 1087 Queen St. West
PWYC ($10 suggested)

The evening’s fabulous MC: Shannon Cochrane

7:30pm a carnival of INTERACTIVE BOOTHS and booze
The Human Petting Zoo, Love Note Lady, Regift This, Put Some Clothes On, DYI Pret A Porter, Dancing Fortune Cookies, Looped Out, Eat Some Custard, Speed Dating with Alice and Mathilde and Mapping Natural and Unnatural Disasters
~
With works by Daniel Arce, Julia Burton, Erin Cann, Penny Chivas, Ingrid Doucet, Chris Dupuis, Anna Hardwick, Erika Hennebury, Becky Johnson, Stef Lenk, Laura Nanni, Justin Roddy, Mariko Tamaki, Jayne Walling,
and your singing waiter Scott B
All to the backdrop of Andrew Nisker’s documentary GARBAGE!

9:00pm-10:30pm SPONTANEOUS CABARET
Paired up for the first time this night, different Queen West artists will be given only 20 minutes together to create their performance pieces.
Featuring: Aviva Armour-Ostroff, Andrew Bee, Chandra Bulucon,
Ulysses Castellanos, Dan Clark, Melissa D’Agostino, Chad Dembski, Susanna Hood, Bruce Hunter, Emily Huson, Christina Jol, Katie Kehoe, Diana Lopez, Viv Moore, Megan O’Shea, Donna Michelle St. Bernard, Adam Paolozza and Evan Webber

10:30pm BEACH PARTY
Featuring our Life Guard and DJ: Ulysses Castellanos
And fantastical slide show by Philip Cairns

All Evening ART EXHIBTION
Featuring photography by Kotama Bouabane; a melting ice sculpture by Cathy Gordon; and our Gallery Garbage Installation created with contributions from:
InterAccess, Mercer Union, Stephen Bulger Gallery, Planet Kid,
Ontario Crafts Council, Roth Knibb Architects, Style Garage, Cinnamon Girls,
Engine Gallery, The Knit Cafe, Drake Hotel, MOCCA and more…

12 midnight – 50/50 Draw for Earth Day Canada

Curated by Cathy Gordon Assistant Curator: Laura Nanni

Well, as some people have already gathered I am a huge fan of dance with a particular weakness for contemporary dance. I have worked with a variety of dance companies over the last 5 years, photograph dancers as part of my art and have had the opportunity to interview many different dance artists on blogTO’s The Arts Now show.

In the last week I have been completely blown away by the new talent that is growing out of Toronto’s dance community. Ironically many dancers/choreographers who are coined as emerging dance artists have actually been around for quite some time, but are only just starting to create their own works or get the recognition they deserve.

Last week the fourth At the Wrecking Ball Festival - A Showcase for Emerging Dance Artists, presented a roster of some of Toronto’s hottest new dance performers and series of works that got me really excited for the upcoming year in contemporary dance. Each 10 minute piece was slick, evocative, totally cool and filled with fresh new choreographic moves that were accessible to all.

Even though you might have missed this annual festival, do not fret because almost everyone featured on the line up will be making a least a couple more appearances this season.

Below is a list of few dancers I highly recommend checking out this season.

Neil Sochasky - Well, Neil is a good friend so this is a totally subjective write up. Neil has performed with a slew of different Toronto based dance companies and performers. He is an incredibly beautiful fair haired dancer, who recently became one of the newest members of O Vertigo in Montreal. Neil has a distinctive style and quiet power that sets him apart. Neil dances from the heart and can be found performing in Montreal’s Place des Arts. Photo of Neil Above

Matthew Waldie - is part of the Toronto Dance Theatre company and has been with them for quite some time. There is something about the way he dances that he seems to communicate so completely with his body, that it was no surprise to find him such a soft spoken individual in person. Matthew is an energetic, young performer who has begun to choreograph new works that are fresh, a wee bit homo erotic and ripe with humour. He will be performing with TDT this season.

Kate Franklin - I think Kate is on a mission, or perhaps she is on fire. Not sure, but either way this woman is driven to dance and create new opportunities for both her work and other dancers in the community. She is one of the founding directors of At the Wrecking Ball and started the firstthingsfirst dance company with Kate Holden. There first show Namesake was completely sold out last year.

Nehemiah Kish - One of the National Ballet’s Principal Dancers, Nehemiah marries both masculinity and grace. He looks like someone you might have gone to highschool with and does a great job whipping up a dance fight in the recent production of West Side Story running until November 18th. It’s actually kind of refreshing to see the men dance in jeans rather than spandex for a change.

Kate Holden - One of Dancemaker’s newest members, Kate Holden is a joy to watch. In many ways she seems to be in prime right now, gaining oodles of media attention as she beautifully interprets new works. Don’t miss her performance of things in between opening this week and running until November 25th at the Dancemakers’ Studio.

Emily Law - I think anyone who meets Emily is immediately struck by her unique beauty and dynamic stage presence, not to mention her waste length mane that adds a dynamic accent to her fluid style. Emily is a recent School of Toronto Dance Theatre Grad and dances in a range of different festival and companies including Ka Ha Wi Dance

Susie Burpee - Susie is not actually an emerging artist but has recently started a new solo career. I’ve had the opportunity to see her perform on numerous occassions and she is by far one of Toronto’s top contemporary dance artists, with a movement vocabulary that will blow you away. You can see her perform next week in Manga at the Harbourfront’s Enwave Theatre.

Louis Laberge Cote - I will simply describe him as the top male contemporary dancer in Toronto. Last year, he literally appeared in almost every single contemporary dance performance in the city. While he is definitely no longer in the category of emerging artist, it doesn’t matter, the point is go and see him perform this year, he has a stage presence and physical prowess like no other.

Ok, well that’s a start. I’ve left so many people out but this will have to do for now.

All photos were taking by yours truly.