VANCOUVER, 7 JULY 2008 – Raw Talent Entertainment presents Body Language, the art exhibit and performance series at the Interurban Gallery, #1 East Hastings, open July 16th to August 8th.
Raw Talent Entertainment Management has collected work from more than seventeen visual artists to reflect on the inspirations, discipline and drive that produces athletic and artistic performers of the highest caliber. Mixed media including canvas, photography and video will set the backdrop for a number of events at the Downtown East Side gallery this month, including the public opening on July 16th, and Raw Wednesday on July 23rd.
Reel Athletes Talent Agency, who represents special skills performers for film and television, uses the gallery as the venue for the launch party for the new actors division, Crux Talent, on Thursday July 17th. The event invites Vancouver entertainment industry executives for a performance showcase including hip-hop artist Moka Only, diva DJ Betti Forde and Dj Ariel, and choreographer Heather Laura Gray among several other dancers, martial artists and musicians.
Proceeds from the industry event will go towards Raw Wednesday, a weekly performing arts showcase for the community, partially funded by Canadian Heritage, at the Interurban in July. Breakdancers, DJs, martial artists, and multicultural dancers will open the gallery to the street for an upbeat and colourful celebration of diversity. The gallery space will also be available for a Vancouver yoga studio to offer community classes.
Events and the exhibit itself attracts community residents, industry executives and artists alike, and those who have a stake in the quickly changing and developing Downtown East Side. Situated across from Pigeon Park at Vancouver’s notorious intersection of Carrall and Hastings, Body Language at the Portland Hotel Society’s Interurban Gallery will shed some light on the strengths of the community and the importance of public space for the arts.
The “Burlesque Beauties”… Provocative, Sensual, Entertaining, and Classy!
Are here to bring you a professional live and interactive cabaret dance show filled with sex appeal, talent, drive and class. These ladies are the real deal! You may not see them in nipple tassels, but the beautiful lingerie, costumes and choreographed moves will give you enough to take home and imagine…
The six ladies of the “Burlesque Beauties” will titilize and tease you with their different sassy and fun characters!
Miss Kitty Kat, Miss Mia, Miss Victoria,
Miss Chi Chi, Miss Roxy and Miss Baby Doll
It will be a true evening of entertainment for the ladies and a good old -fashioned teasing for the men
Aboubacar Camara leads Doundounba in performing West African amasumbou music - a mingling of musical traditions - including ancient Guinean rhythms and popular West African dance-driven melodies of mandeng guitar.
Their instrumentation is equally diverse, incorporating the balafon (xylophone), djembe (hand drum), doun doun (bass drum), kirin (slit log drum played with sticks), and gongoma (gourd) alongside electric and bass guitars and the drum kit.
The result is dance hall world music alongside traditional percussion, a combination that gets everyone on their feet dancing or moving in their seat! On stage, Aboubacar’s extra-ordinary dance moves, with their speed, energy and style, are thrilling to watch.
Many of Aboubacar’s original lyrics promote qualities such as kindness, unity and joy, and others make inquiries into the human condition and the challenges that face a diverse society.
This range and excellence in African music make Doundounba’s sound stand out in the World Music community. Their compelling presentation and the vibrant atmosphere they create make this group one you won’t want to miss!
Since 2002, Vancouver has witnessed an artistic and cultural exchange with the 21 year- old Kathara Dance Theatre Collective of the Southern Philippines
Founded by Boots Dumlao, Kathara Canada continues to foster awareness of Philippine indigenous identity through theatre, traditional and contemporary music, dance and martial art.
Kathara Canada members, although born in the Philippines, Canada and even South Africa, they are all very passionate about their Filipino heritage and dream of meeting the tribes that they study first hand.
In the spirit of multiculturism, Kathara invites guest artists to explore the Philippines and its interwoven ancient history with linkages to India, China, Islam, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Dead Reckoning is a bboy (breakdance) crew that came together in 1998. Dead Reckoning launched at a crucial time during the late nineties when there was little representation of Bboying in Vancouver. The crew deemed it necessary to introduce bboying to the public. As a result, they have performed throughout the lower mainland, entertaining audiences with their dynamic movements.
Highlight performances and appearances include: Vancouver International Children’s Festival, Dancers for Life, Pro-am (Miami), Outbreak, Vancouver International Dance Festival, Pacific National Exhibition, National Ski and Snowboard Week in front of audiences ranging from nightclub party-goers to Canada’s Governor General.
Dead Reckoning appeared on a major motion picture “Kickin’ it Old Skool” starring Jamie Kennedy. Dead Reckoning will always serve as an icon that real hip-hop is alive and thriving. The group continues to maintain its presence through live performances, masterclasses, weekly classes, and community outreach programs.
Over The Influence is an all male dance company based in Vancouver, BC and is constantly raising the bar for innovation and execution in Canada’s urban dance movement. Their repertoire of dance styles is vast from video dance, break dancing and krumping to the foundational styles of hip hop in popping, locking and new jack swing. Going beyond the standards of urban dance, OTI brings an array of themes, theatrics & storylines on top of their already unique and eye-catching choreography, leaving audiences amazed with the quality and substance of their shows.
Individually and collectively, their talents have taken them beyond Vancouver, sharing their knowledge and skills in China, Germany, Brazil, Bosnia, Afghanistan, the Philippines, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The Paradise Girls are based in Vancouver, British Columbia and have a knack for exciting audiences with their bold and vibrant cabaret style dance shows. Our Jazz based dance shows also incorporate Samba, Salsa, Capoeira, Cha cha, Merengue and Belly Dance!
The Paradise girls are able to provide two 20 minute sets to add ambience to your celebration or establishment. We also offer your partygoers or customers dance instruction in the form of a small samba or salsa lesson led by the M.C. We are sure to get your party going. Everyone can dance!
The Indian film industry is the world’s largest, with over 800 feature films produced annually and with highest ticket sales recorded worldwide. They easily outnumber North American sales and have a long history of film production in several areas of the country. North America boasts Hollywood as the entertainment haven, with New York and Vancouver holding second and third spots in terms of capacity, output and infrastructure for film and television production. Top revenue generating film production regions in India are Bollywood (Mumbai), Kollywood (Chennai) and Tollywood (Hyderabad), though there is activity across the country. Preethi’s weblog gives a detailed synopsis of the film industry across India.
As filmmaking must be in their blood, there are several Indo-Canadian producer/ directors making noise here in Canada. The stories brought to Canadian cinema are fresh perspectives of Indian culture immersed into Canada, with the accompanying cross-cultural themes. Brightlight Pictures picked up “Pink Ludoos” from a schoolteacher who entered the screenplay into a writing competition. This film explores the issue of societal discrimination against women and how geography is no boundary for cultural normality. The film, directed by Guarev Seth, will star a host of Indo-Canadian actors.
Northern Saskatchewan born Anand Ramayya, son of India’s Ray Ramayya grew up with film and has recently won his third Gemini Award, this time for the Wapos Bay Series in the category of Best Children’s or Youth Fiction Program (beating out the popular Degrassi High). He is currently in post production for “Mad Cow Sacred Cow,” an extension to his bio-doc “Cosmic Current” that offers a cross cultural analysis of the human relationship with the cow, and the societal, spiritual and environmental impacts of globalization. Shooting in the Canadian prairies, the UK and India, this film discusses an important topic, and can be seen on CBC’s The Lens late this summer.
Vancouver’s Nilesh Patel has been making films for several years. His latest project, Brocket 99, is about the mock radio show of a Canadian First Nations community that was spread across western Canada via audio cassettes in the 1980s. The feature documentary traces back to the origins of the tapes, to the community of which it is based on, and gathers diverging social and cultural perspectives by those who remember the cultural phenomenom of the 80s. Patel has won several awards including the Sequences Magazine prize at the Montreal First Peoples Festival and the Special Recognition Award at the Anchorage International Film Festival. Nilesh Patel also works as a mentor for the Intersections Media youth project, which has just completed its seventh season providing opportunities for youth to learn about film and video production.
The Indo-Canadian perspective offers a diverse lens into a Canadian culture overlooked by most. I look forward to the future projects that come from these and others in the community.
This is a compilation of the work of Rhythm & Action Arts over the last three years. Beginning at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Center in the underground parking lot, Rhythm & Action has since offered workshops and performances across Greater Vancouver for school groups, corporate events, launch parties, nightclubs, weddings, special events, festivals and street jams. Housed in the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown East Side at the Interurban Gallery on #1 East Hastings for 8 months, Raw Wednesdays brought distinctive cultural communities together under one roof in a cultural exchange, showcasing Vancouver’s talent represented by some of the most high energy groups around. Performances reflected the cultural diversity of the city, involving capoeira regional and angola, bhangra, powwow, Filipino Arnis, hip hop DJs, musicians and breakdancers.
Rhythm & Action Arts began with funding from the National Crime Prevention Centre, and has since relied on volunteers and contracts for services to continue operating, since the Federal government no longer views this project as a contributor to crime prevention. They have hosted several bboy/ bgirl battles - Raw Talent I, II, and III, as well as performance showcases including Floorplay. Vancity Credit Union has most recently contributed to the organization for its Raw Talent Development program, providing professional development opportunities for emerging artists. Rhythm & Action has established a growing network of talent, and has provided opportunities for talent to teach in schools, and for performers to link with Vancouver’s Film Industry through its connection to Reel Athletes Talent Agency.
R
aw Talent Entertainment Management has collected work from more than seventeen visual artists to reflect on the inspirations, discipline and drive that produces athletic and artistic performers of the highest caliber. Mixed media including canvas, photography and video will set the backdrop for a number of events at the Downtown East Side gallery this month, including the public opening on July 16th, and Raw Wednesday on July 23rd.
Aboubacar Camara leads Doundounba in performing West African amasumbou music - a mingling of musical traditions - including ancient Guinean rhythms and popular West African dance-driven melodies of mandeng guitar.
