The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Violinist Vanessa-Mae in rehearhals — for Olympic skiing Posted: 21 Jan 2013 06:36 PM PST  Vanessa-Mae at her first love: Performing at a concert in Prague in this September 25, 2008, file photograph. — Reuters pics Vanessa-Mae, 34, is in training with the aim of competing in at least five internationally recognised events to qualify for the giant slalom and possibly the slalom at the Sochi Olympics. "People are surprised when they see me skiing — a classical violinist, Oriental, who has lived in the city all her life," Vanessa-Mae told Reuters in a telephone interview. "But it has been my dream to be a ski bum since I was 14. This is something I am determined to do." The violinist is a British citizen but she also holds a Thai passport. She was born in Singapore to a Chinese mother and a Thai father but she was brought up in England when her mother remarried a Briton.  Her second passion, but her dream since she was 14: "To be a ski bum." "I wanted to compete for Thailand because there is a part of me which I have never celebrated — being Thai," said Vanessa-Mae. "My father, like most Thais, has never skied but he's really excited about me doing this as is the Thai Olympic Committee." Vanessa-Mae started skiing at the age of four but music has always been her priority. She made her international professional debut aged 10 and made her mark on the world stage when she broke from tradition and became known for her sexy, glamorous style and for mixing classical music with pop. Her first techno pop-style album, "The Violin Player", was released in 1995 and reached No. 11 in the UK albums chart and she has not stopped touring since, although she has not released an album since 2004. Second passion Vanessa-Mae said she had always wanted to spend more time on her other passion, skiing, so moved to the Swiss alpine resort of Zermatt in 2009 where she is now in training for the Olympics. She hopes to compete in her first event by April. International Ski Federation spokeswoman Riikka Rakic said Vanessa-Mae was one of five actively registered Thai athletes so she has a licence to compete for Thailand but she needs a minimum of five starts in FIS (Federation Internationale de Ski) competitions and certain points to qualify for the Olympics. "She has a full year to qualify and there are many events so there are plenty of options still," said Rakic. A spokesman for the National Olympic Committee of Thailand said Vanessa-Mae would be welcome to race for Thailand if she qualified. So far no Thai athlete has qualified for Sochi. Vanessa-Mae said she knew it would be tough to make the Olympics but she had given herself a year sabbatical from music to do this — and always worked better with a deadline. "When it comes to music I am a perfectionist but when it is skiing, I have no delusions about a podium or even being in the top 100 in the world," she said. "Of course there is a risk that I could break something but life is short and you have to go for it. Just to qualify for the Olympics in my hobby would be a dream come true for me." Once Sochi is over, she intends to return to music. "It's time for a new album but doing this will give me a new perspective. Living my dream of being a ski bum is great but the best job in the world is being on stage, making music," she said. — Reuters |
| From Handel to a rubber duck, Sydney Festival aims to please Posted: 21 Jan 2013 06:19 PM PST  Performer Aleksandra Zamojska in a Sydney production of 'Semele's Walk', which combines Handel's baroque opera with the clothing of British designer Vivienne Westwood. – AFP pic SYDNEY, Jan 22 – When Georg Friedrich Handel composed Semele in the 1740s, he could never have imagined it would be performed by opera singers in outrageous catwalk couture, including towering boots and sequinned kilts. But for Sydney Festival director Lieven Bertels, the combination of beautiful baroque music and billowing Vivienne Westwood gowns in the production of "Semele Walk" was a no-brainer for the Australian cultural fair. "When I saw 'Semele Walk' when it was first performed at the Herrenhausen Festival in Germany, I thought it had Sydney written all over it," Bertels told AFP. "It was the beautiful mix of fashion, an entertaining way of presenting opera as a fashion show. "It has all the good drama that you want in a festival and it is so beautifully performed that it really appeals to a wider audience." From a gigantic, bright yellow rubber duck, to an artist who makes music from the wreck of a rusting car and a performer who ran a full 42km marathon on a treadmill in a public plaza, Sydney Festival has its quirks. Accompanying the more traditional fare such as an exhibition of Francis Bacon paintings, and an injection of classical music, are performances by Aboriginal singer Archie Roach and France's Orchestre National de Jazz. "I think what makes Sydney Festival unique is really that kind of crazy mix and that eclecticism," explains Bertels. "It's something we don't always see in European festivals for instance, where you have high art, or a music festival or a jazz festival. Sydney Festival can be all these things at once." Tens of thousands of people have already experienced some of the January 5-27 gala which kicked off with artist Florentijn Hofman's 15-metre high inflatable duck sailing into the city's Darling Harbour. Of the several hundred thousand people who experience some of the government-supported festival each year, about 15 percent are estimated to be inter-state or international visitors. More than 580,000 people attended last year's festivities and more than 120,000 tickets were sold to paid events. Overall, the New South Wales government estimates the festival contributed Aus$56.8 million (RM181 million) to the state economy. Bertels believes that Sydneysiders really embrace different forms of art, and this has guided him in choosing the 92 events for this year's festival. "One of the great traditions of the Sydney Festival is that there is a lot of free stuff as well. "So there are all these amazing concerts in the Domain which can hold up to 60,000 people. "(But) it's not just these big events; it's also lots of small events." One of these is Dawn Calling, in which Russian Arkady Shilkloper plays his four-metre long Swiss alphorn on different beaches and on ferries in the mornings to greet the sun. "That adds to the festival atmosphere," says Bertels. "And also the giant rubber duck." Bertels said for those bringing shows from Europe or the United States, committing to Sydney means having your sets and costumes in transit for weeks and cuts into the time which could be spent performing. But he says there is no better place to be than Sydney in January, with its warm summer weather, beaches and arts festival, despite the recent record-high temperatures. For Austrian countertenor singer Armin Gramer, the Sydney production of "Semele Walk" is special. "I think it's so far away from Europe; it's the other end of the world." And then there are the costumes, which for his character include crystal-studded stockings and a kilt festooned with silver sequins. "I never had a cooperation with a fashion designer, especially one like Vivienne Westwood," he says of the flamboyant and celebrated British fashionista. "And doing it on a runway is a special thing as well because you're really quite near to... the people. "I like it very much," he laughs. Sydney Festival was designed to bring life back into the city during the slow summer months. It first took place in 1977 and since then has grown to become one of the country's largest annual cultural celebrations. – AFP-Relaxnews |
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