Tag Archives: dance

TV Review: Why You Should Have Watched Got To Dance.

  By Lisa McInerney | March 8, 2012 - 12:00 pm | Movies & TV, Performance Art, The Arts, The Culch, TV
4 Comments

Prodijig won Sky1’s Got To Dance last Sunday night, and half of Ireland was bewildered. “Another talent show?” the Paddies frowned. “With dancing? When did this happen? Sure I was watching The Voice Of Ir… I mean, I don’t be watching that kind of shite.” As is right and proper, until a TV talent show actually uncovers something of genuine cultural worth. Not all TV talent show contestants are of the same stuff. Once every fifty insipid, disposable talent show tryhards, you might chance upon a Susan Boyle, or an Ashley Banjo. How these stars are managed is quite another story, and there are occasionally ominous rumblings from those in the know about this casualty, or that binding contract, a cover-up here and a smoke-screen there. The fact remains that sometimes TV talent shows come up with the goods on every possible level. Got To Dance is one of those … There’s more →

Monday Morning Popped Culture: I Hate Maniac 2000.

  By Lisa McInerney | August 29, 2011 - 11:15 am | The Culch
12 Comments

Because it’s Monday, and because it’s Back To School Day for the majority of Ireland’s smallies, and because we haven’t had a single glob of daycent sunshine since Easter, I thought we might all have a little chat about hate, and hatred, and revelling in the fact that you hate something, and growing stronger from said hatred. Oh, come on. There has to be something you don’t feel bad about hating. Hitler, for example. You couldn’t possibly be made feel ashamed for stating, “Y’know, I hate Hitler” to the world at large. Some people hate certain foodstuffs, and since foodstuffs are inanimate objects (some only since the exact moment of consumption, in fairness), we shouldn’t feel bad about hating them. I hate milk. I don’t think I’m hurting anyone’s feelings by saying I hate milk. The cows? No, the cows are more than likely delighted that I hate milk. The … There’s more →

Win tickets to see ‘Victor and Gord’ or ‘Susan and Darren’ at Kilkenny Arts Festival

  By Niamh | August 4, 2010 - 9:27 am | Competitions, The Arts, The Culch, Theatre
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So last week I told you all about the upcoming Kilkenny Arts Festival. Well this week we have some tickets to give away to some lucky Culch readers The first tickets we have to give away this week (there will be more) are to two theatre pieces, ‘Victor and Gord‘ and to ‘Susan and Darren‘. Both of them look wonderful and interesting and moving. In fact I saw ‘Victor and Gord’ at the Absolut Fringe Festival last year and loved it. I am told that it has undergone a bit of a transformation so I’m looking forward to seeing how it has changed. Tom Creed curated the Theatre and Dance performers for this years Kilkenny Arts Festival. Tom is Associate Director of Rough Magic, and a co-founder and joint Artistic Director of Playgroup with whom he has amassed a huge number of directing credits. Here Tom talks to Ken McGuire … There’s more →

Kilkenny Arts Festival 6 - 15 August 2010

  By Niamh | July 21, 2010 - 10:30 am | Events, Music, Performance Art, The Arts, The Culch, Theatre
2 Comments

The Kilkenny Arts Festival is due to start on 6th August next in Kilkenny, marking the beginning of a 10 day festival of Bertie Bassetts - All Sorts! This is the 37th year of the festival and the maturity of the festival shows in the numerous, wide-ranging and quality acts they have lined up for 2010. To make things easier, the festival has been separated into 9 different strands - that’s nine varieties of ways in which you can be entertained! Wired - a musical exploration. According to curator Matthew Nolan, this strand features one of the best live acts performing in Ireland at the moment, And So I Watch You From Afar.

Competition Closed: Nouveau Vaudeville Cabaret Night

  By Darren Byrne | April 28, 2010 - 1:00 pm | Competitions, Events, The Culch
1 Comment

*** Competition Closed *** *** Congratulations to the winner, Elaine Cox *** *** Thank you to everyone who entered *** Hey, fancy a different kind of night out in Dublin? Fed up of the standard pub fare and want an evening’s entertainment that’s anything but run-of-the-mill? Nouveau Vaudeville will bring back the old glamour of Vaudeville – with a modern flare to it. Nouveau Vaudeville is song, dance and……bellydance. Mishmashing vintage and modern music, costuming and performance to bring you something new, it promises to be a fun and even magical night (I’m assured). On Saturday May 8th in Crawdaddy on Harcourt Street, we will be witness to an evening of music and dance from burlesque to modern bellydance, with performers from the four corners of the world. The evening’s special guest star, Bella A Go Go, brings her own inimitable style and grace to the evening with song and … There’s more →

Pooled 25: House Keeping Its Value Shock!

  By Lisa McInerney | April 3, 2010 - 2:00 pm | Music, The Culch
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It should come as no surprise to anyone (bar perhaps my GP, who would no doubt disapprove) that I am a bit of an Electronica Monster. From deep house to shallow, shallow trance, if it goes bleep boom bleep, I’ll bop to it. In fact, I can be quite militant in defending dance music’s honour; it being a musical genre tied in with the wilder end of socialising, with drink and drugs and blokes that go bump in the night, dance tends to be dismissed as superficial and throw-away. Whereas to my busy ears, it’s nothing less than classical music done on ‘puters. One should get the same rush from a well put-together electronic piece as from a beautifully composed instrumental. It’s music designed to pull at the heartstrings and to wreck the head. It’s music that should make your chest thump. If dance music’s remit is to make the … There’s more →

Pink Glove Dance

  By Niamh | December 12, 2009 - 11:23 am | Random Whimsy, The Culch, The Internet
3 Comments

Maybe everyone has seen this before, I hadn’t. But over 4.8 million views tell me that some of you will have. Some staff at a Medical Centre in Portland, Oregon got together to make a video to raise awareness of breast cancer in their hospital. The video has gone above and beyond that with 4,838, 228 views so far and no sign of it stopping. Guy Kawasaki has even described it as possibly the most viral non profit video ever. What a fun day at work this was!

National Campaign for the Arts launched

  By Niamh | September 24, 2009 - 3:04 pm | Events, Performance Art, The Arts, The Culch, Theatre, Tourism
7 Comments

Yesterday 23 September saw the launch of the National Campaign for the Arts at The Ark Cultural Centre for Children. There were faces from all walks of Irelands cultural scene there to show their support for the cause, to talk to anyone who would listen about how the cuts proposed by the McCarthy Report and the possible cuts in the next Budget would affect them as artists, their work, the work of future artists and current struggling artists. Here is what some of the attendees had to say about National Campaign for the Arts:

Absolut Fringe Festival: Where Did It All Go Right?

  By Niamh | September 16, 2009 - 11:47 am | Comedy, Performance Art, The Culch, Theatre
1 Comment

The wonderfully glam Pantibar played host last night to a Fringe show from the Ponydance theatre group, ‘Where Did It All Go Right?’ Since it was all very last minute, I didn’t even get to find out what it was all about beforehand-sometimes it’s best that way though, no expectations usually make for an even better experience The official blurb (had I had time to read it) told me this: “Four people in a bar, trying to get out of it. Each one as familiar as they are strange. Nearly outrageous, mostly clever and always inventive, the ever-industrious ponydance, champions of comedy dance theatre and all things brilliantly average, serve up their latest and tastiest hearty lumpy mix of humour, honesty, careening and cavorting. A confection of moves and movement to a soundtrack of garish music and nervous tension. Four outstanding performers dance their way into hearts, minds and underwear. … There’s more →

The power of Oprah - Chicago dances to Black Eyed Peas I Gotta Feeling

  By darraghdoyle | September 12, 2009 - 5:26 pm | Celebs, The Culch, The Internet, TV
5 Comments

Oprah Winfrey is probably the one woman in the world that could get away with filling Chicago’s Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue) and getting 21,000 people to dance to the Black Eyed Peas performing ‘I Gotta Feeling’ on September 8th (two days before it aired nationwide) as part of the kick-off for her new series. It’s actually extremely impressive. Here’s the video. The dancing starts at around 1:40 It is, of course, a T-Mobile stunt. The producer, Australian Michael Gracey, was also responsible for the Liverpool Street flash mob dance. According to the Oprah website and from about 5:05 in the video, she had no idea. In order to pull it off, late last month local casting agencies were enlisted to look for dancers. It started with her team, then 20 dancers teaching 800 fans and 20,000 more “caught the feelin’” - that’s some feeling..! (Would you believe I hadn’t heard … There’s more →

Fringe Fringe Fringe

  By Darren Byrne | August 27, 2009 - 3:01 pm | Events, Music, Performance Art, The Arts, The Culch, Theatre
1 Comment

Darragh did a great post about the Absolut Fringe Fest a couple of weeks ago with a brilliant break down of what’s on and what he’s thinking of going to. Check it out here. One thing that did catch my eye was the Festival Clubs. The idea is that rather than sit back and watch the goings on, regular punters can learn a thing or two and take part in the arts. There’s five different clubs with specialists in their field running each one. I’m particularly looking forward the Debate Club and possible the cheery sounding Glee Club. Debate Club: No longer the bastion of the angrily elite and irrevocably nerdtacular. Join Irish Times debate champion John Gallagher in the clubhouse as he shares his oratorical knowledge with you. Learn how to use big words to win an argument, like oratorical. The club will culminate in a presentation at the … There’s more →

Michael Jackson - THIS IS IT

  By Niamh | August 23, 2009 - 9:17 pm | Movies & TV, Music, Site News, The Culch
4 Comments

Not even two months since his death, a release date for the Michael Jackson movie THIS IS IT has been announced for 28 October 2009. The movie is to be released for a two week period on this date worldwide with tickets expected to go on sale on 27 September. And sell out in record time no doubt. Michael Jackson: This Is It will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London’s O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from April through June, 2009, the film is drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, and genius as … There’s more →

500 Days of Summer

  By Niamh | August 8, 2009 - 3:19 pm | The Culch
4 Comments

To kick off the opening of their new movie, (500) Days of Summer in the US yesterday, Zooey Deschanel - our offical Culch.ie crush (!) - and Joseph Gordon-Levitt of Third Rock from the Sun fame, strut their stuff in this exclusive bank heist/movie musical homage. Bank teller (Zooey) has her heart as well as lots of cash stolen from the bank she works in by an armed robber (Joseph). The movie itself (not to be confused with the plot of the short at all) is a romantic comedy about a man who falls for a woman who doesn’t believe in love. Tom (Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Deschanel) work together and discover that they have lots of thing in common such as a love for the music of The Smiths.