Author: anahatacommunity

Well made and fully adjustable, with pocket for filter as well. Sakura range and Origami range AUD$25. Custom designed by Russell Villafuerte @russellvtv a Season 2 designer on Project Runway Philippines. Click on the link to order or contact Ben-Hur 0406 874 966.

Dance and physical activity should have the same status in schools as math, science and language. “Dance can help restore joy and stability in troubled lives and ease the tensions in schools that are disrupted by violence and bullying.” Read more about ‘the equal importance of dance with the other arts, languages, mathematics, sciences and the humanities’ in an article by global education leader and New York Times best selling author Professor Ken Robinson here.

It was an exceptionally busy and challenging June leading up to the Umbrella Winter City Sounds music festival in Adelaide, a mid-year offering that showcases the live music scene, and which for me was a chance to include #thestylecollaborative‘s boutique club night ‘Maison De Danse’ in the program. After a dancers call-out to local arts networks I was able to get together with a team of very talented dancers, namely Tina Ebenreuter @glitteryducks and Felicity Boyd @brainkokain alongside veteran technical producer/video-jockey Peter Sansom @peetrssnaps  for a robust creative development at Australian Dance Theatre’s Tanja Liedtke Studio. So thankful to all the staff at the Odeon Theatre for looking after us and for allowing #thestylecollaborative to be part of their International Centre for Choreography (ADT ICC).

Through #thestylecollaborative since July 2018 I’ve been able to work with iconic Adelaide musician and performer, the stunning Becky Blake @beckyblake0 as well as seasoned professional South Australian singer and songwriter Lauren Greco @grcomusic revisiting some fun, sassy, lyrical house music compositions, that for me somehow have a sense of timeless ‘joie de vivre’.

‘Inspired by Harlem ball culture from New York in the 1920’s’ The Advertiser

One of these tracks is a song entitled ‘Everybody’s Free’ originally performed by British-Zambian electronic music performer Rozalla. Casted and choreographed by yours truly, Becky performed this live at last year’s Feast Festival (2018) to a minimal tech re-make soundtrack complete with VJ projections created by local DJ, producer and music educator Robert Koster @groovmekanic. For the Umbrella festival, Lauren lent her soulful vocal talents in a live rendition of ‘Let Me Show You’ first performed by British electronic music band KKlass. Our version was remixed by eminent Adelaide composer Tyson Hopprich (aka DJ TR!P) @finddjtrip.

The same show cast helped with this year’s Feast Festival (2019) duties which made for Maison De Danse’s 5th incarnation but its first at the West Oak Hotel in Adelaide’s Hindley Street West. Not to be outdone, it was a welcome surprise to get a phone call from Mildura Fringe director Gareth Hart @artgareth from Arts Mildura inviting us to come over to Victoria for their first queer laneway festival called Summer Thrills to perform. This meant re-grouping for rehearsals in preparation for a short summer roadtrip and it was through some effective networking that gender fluid dance teacher and performer Leo Ashenden @leoashenden was sourced to join the collaborative.

‘Amazing, and such an inspiration.’ Multicultural Communities Council of SA

The four and a half hour journey to beautiful sunny Mildura town was well worth it, if not for the warmth and hospitality shown to us by the production team, fellow queer artists, our lovely Airbnb host Fay or the cool artisan community vibe, then definitely for the inspiring creativity and artistry exuded by all of the artists, musicians, performers and participants that made this festival first a highly memorable one.

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#thestylecollaborative is available for bookings and can customize an ongoing boutique club night, music festival performance, dance party or more intimate event entertainment to suit all styles and tastes. To enquire or book please contact the author, producer and artistic director Ben-Hur Winter at thestylecollaborative@mail.com or by telephone on 61-406874966. You can also check out our promotional video edit here.

#thestylecollaborative is a multi-disciplinary boutique production house from Adelaide developing innovative projects through diverse stage settings, performative contexts and the corporeal body. Exploring thematic ideas, influences and perceptions around community, identity and social justice while utilizing dance as a collaborative and investigatory medium, artistic work is also distinctly shaped by technology and ethnomusicology.

Acknowledgements:

A heartfelt thanks to the production team, sponsors and enablers below for their contributions large and small to this ongoing work.

Dancers: Jake Walasek, Connor Gibson, Felicity Boyd, Leo Ashenden and Tina Ebenreuter Musicians/Vocalists: Becky Blake, Lauren Greco and aspiring singer Rhys Michael | Musical Production and Digital Art: Robert Koster | DJ’s: Tyson Hopprich, Luc Blanko, Jo Altman, Troy Jelly Been, Sleezy, Moody Marcello, Cusack, Phildo, Sofiann and Miles | A/V Interactive/ Digital Design: Peter Sansom | Costume Design: Queen B Couture Australia | Video Production: Felicity Arts | Videography and Video Editing: Media Inc. Adelaide | Adelaide City Council | Feast Festival | Adelaide Fringe | Australian Dance Theatre / International Centre for Choreography | ActNow Theatre | The Parkestone Foundation | Mildura Fringe.

Current mood, on a deeply personal level…
‘Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.’ Lao Tzu

And on goals… to try and emulate this boldness and resilience.

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The numbers don’t lie. In a study conducted by Ditch The Label in 2017, more than half of young people (13-26 year olds) in the UK and US said that they don’t identify as exclusively straight.

It shone a bright spotlight on a new generation of people who are more open about their sexual identity, refusing to conform to the status quo and more confident than ever to be true to their authentic selves. It’s likely what has helped turbo-boost the reclaiming of the word ‘queer’ from a derogatory term used against LGBTQ people from the end of the 19th century through to the 1990s, when LGBTQ groups – such as New York City activists Queer Nation – started to identify using the once pejorative word.

At the turn of the millennium, ‘queer’ was increasingly used as an umbrella term for people who ascribe to non-normative sexual and gender identities. As Queer As Folk and the original series of Queer Eye won legions of television fans in the early 00s, the word began to be embraced by more people from within the community.

The past few years in particular have seen young people use the identifier, revolutionising its use from one of discrimination to that of fluidity, freedom, and fabulousness. For some, however, they’ve had to dismantle their relationship with the word, shedding memories of playground taunts and public hate speech to recognise the power it can hold with its revitalised interpretation.

To get an understanding on what ‘queer’ means in 2019 here are the personal views of some prominent figures in the community as part of an article by Lewis Corner.

Era 7 (2017) Acrylic on canvas by @James Verbicky, great to come across this fun painted  collage piece. Read about the artist here https://www.artspace.com/james-verbicky/era-7# 

This winter feels like a good time for a bit of a reality check. With a few pending projects to think about, I’ve been probing some conceptual branding ideas lately, and lo, what I’ve discovered is a pre-occupation with stylization. Not least of all mine, and particularly with regards to Eastern trade routes and ethnicity; traditions and customs; faith-based practice; folk expressions and cross-pollinaton; gender roles, migration and self-preservation; musicality, performance studies and technology.

With an Artist-In-Residence spot at LWDance Hub coming up in July-August, I’d be glad to share my new buzzword for that enigmatic phenomenon called ‘style’. Estilo! Adapted from Latin (and later Portuguese and Spanish), ‘estilo’ is Filipino for ‘style’ which can also translate as grace, way of doing things, fashionable skill among others. Definitely some intrinsic attributes that I would say are constitutive to aspiring to uphold a sense of bravura when it comes to artistic endeavour. But how could I begin to describe the idea of a group of gung ho creatives looking at coming together in a dialogic space centred around that post-modern idea of collaboration?

My highschool gym coach was resolute about safety not being a compromise when it comes to team work. Likewise, working with an artform such as dance that can be quite visceral, trust is a vital aspect when it comes to how the composite parts might function harmoniously as a whole. ‘Breathe to prepare’ we we’re told at dance school and without hesitation we followed. This at best was applied at all costs ie. whether performing a simple porte des bras, while ploughing through a complex petit allegro sequence or navigating a big travelling jump combination.

Concurently then, as I find myself somewhere not unlike the ‘inter-sections where Art, Theatre and Fashion collide’ enclosed herewith, and mindful of the potential ‘artistic de rigeur’ that organic creative processes might fashion, I really hope that #thestylecollaborative can serve as an inspiring hashtag and platform for an exciting In-Studio Development with some cool Adelaide crew.

#lwdancehub #thestylecollaborative #instudiodevelopment #danceemancipation

Love this collection, Fenty X Puma Spring Ready-To-Wear (2017) which for me shall remain timeless, designed by Multi-disciplinary Artist Rhianna . Here are some excerpts thanks to @vogue, words by Chioma Nnadi.

“When it comes to street style, Rihanna is an expert shape-shifter, and is constantly toying with proportions at both ends of the spectrum: She’ll happily step out in an amorphous tracksuit one moment, then turn up with a sexy body-skimming slip the next.”

“She struck the same tension between tender and tough with her menswear pieces, including a floral brocade boilersuit that was draped off the shoulder of one bleach-blond male model. Hitting that gender-neutral sweet spot with convincing streetwise attitude—think: a do-rag fashioned from lilac lace and jumbo pearl necklaces in place of traditional gold dookie chains—isn’t easy, but it’s something that comes as second nature to Rihanna, who confidently flirts with all aspects of a cool guy’s wardrobe.”

Read the full article and see the whole collection here

Government House Open Day

Was a great day to get amongst it today with other fellow subjects at the Government House Open Day. Captured a few moments here with the Canon EOS 600D #sundaybest #governmenthouse #impeccablegarden #colonialstyle #architecture #paintings #portraits #highart #beautiful #historical #artifacts #historyfestival #familyfriendly #grateful