Nuanced moves: The Idea behind “Echt” Dance Festival

By Galya Dimitrova

Real, authentic, unique. This is how the upcoming “Echt” dance festival could be described. Named after the German word for “genuine” and “honest”, the event is about exploring the holistic approach of the body through dancing. The show assembles four performances, each representing the main idea in a one-of-a-kind way.

“There are four dancers doing four different subjects rather than just dancing. So there are four different avenues and bringing them together is the idea of projection, which all of us are going to use in our performances to tie the whole project as one” says Katie, whose part features a film and an installation, documenting all four process if curating the work.

“Echt” consists of multiple elements – dance, visuals, theatre and music. Its variable structure aims at conveying every performance in the most creative and unprecedented possible way. Crizzel explains she expressed her personality on the process of planning and that reflected towards her work:

“Everyone knows me as a funny person, making jokes quote a lot whether it is awkward or not, so the whole idea of emphasizing the awkward moments in dances came from there”

And even though planning and preparation are key elements of the festival, “Echt” is also about a lot of spontaneity. Tara, who will portray the relationship between the patient and the therapist, describes her performance as “a mixture of improvisation and set work”:

“It is very naturalistic because it is an exaggeration of mine and also other personalities that people can connect with.”

The show features live music performance as well, which will be the background of Greta’s exploring the realistic idea of potential:

“Compared to all the other dance festivals that we know about, our festival is unique because it displays four performances at once, so it is worth coming because it is a rare event,” she says.

“Echt” dance festival takes place in The Hub’s “Square One” venue on 14^th May from 15:00 to 21:00pm. For more information and ticket prices, check out the events Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1381008085509096/?fref=ts There will be two performances throughout the day, promising something different in each time.

Photo by: Craig Beverley

 

Short Cuts to Feature-Length Success: Alice Lowe on the Great Importance of Short Films

By Galya Dimitrova

Back in November 2013 I attended “Aesthetica Film Festival” in York. All the screenings I attended were brilliant for different reasons. In my views, every form of media that could convey a great idea in a limited amount of time, space and budget for that matter, deserves more admiration and respect than any major Hollywood-like production. The production of a short film could be the most valuable and in the same time most challenging project of everyone involved – from actors to directors. It is also an experience proven to be very personal, especially if this is your first big filmic venture. Your time is constrained, your budged could be little to non-existing and it is highly likely that you have several roles to deal with because your crew is not so big, too. In the same time, you have the freedom to experiment and introduce your unique ideas to the world. You have the chance to make the audience see the audience see the best of your work (regardless if it is performing or production) because you are not dependant on as many other factors as if you were involved in the production of a successful film company. Working on a short film gives you the opportunity to make “ars gratia artis” and fill your portfolio with a piece you are very proud of and enjoy being part of.

 

These and many other things I remembered when I stumbled upon a

Alice Lowe, ASFF. Source: Internet

notebook where I hurriedly scribbled down notes from the screenwriting master class I attended in the festival. The lecturer was no other than Alice Lowe who, for those who need introduction, has starred in “Hot Fuzz”, “Kill List”, “Sightseers”, “Black Books”, and I was happy to see her in “Sherlock” recently (S03E02, The Sign of Three). She talked about scriptwriting of short films with such passion, that I remember her talk alone inspired me to write down some ideas and work on them. She talked about the many problems that scriptwriters, producers and actors face when creating a short film and gave advice from her own experience how to overcome them. “A short film gives you strength”, she said which gives a proper food for creative thoughts, bearing in mind that it comes from a person who despite “struggling to make ends meet” has always been “all experimental”.

 

As a tribute to her memorable speech, I decided to list 10 of the best, most memorable quotes from this afternoon that would hopefully make you rediscover your creativity if you have been a bit stuck, or dive in it if you have just undertaken some artistic projects:

 

10. “It is always stronger to be able to be able to show something because it is un-ignorable.”

 

9. “The real work starts when you hand it over to someone else to have a look at it.”

 

8. “If I hadn’t been developing my own short films, I wouldn’t be able to move onto feature films.”

 

7. “Sometimes the first take might be your best.”

 

6. “Rehearsals are luxury in film making “

5. “It is possible to make a short film with nothing if you’ve got the right contacts.”

 

4. “Find a muse that could be really powerful; somebody who makes your creative juices running.”

 

3. “Improvisation is a very strong tool in comedy. If you have written something and it doesn’t make you laugh, then you have to change it.”

 

2. (my personal favourite) “All comedy is serious. I take it dead seriously. It is as technical as any kind of acting. If you have a comic role, play it as seriously as possible. Nobody thinks his life is a joke.”

 

1.“None of the films are perfect. They were never meant to be.”

 

As you could probably se for yourself, Alice captures the essence of the work around a film. The main message she got across was that frustration and struggling is absolutely normal and also “the most daunting thing on earth”. But going through all these nuances of the creative process is worth it because “the point of making a short film is getting your own vision, make your own mistakes, finding your own voice and learning”. She stands for brevity when it comes to work, backing up the idea of taking chances. She herself shared how back in the days she decided to make a short film per month with some like-minded colleagues of hers. This is how “Stiffy” came about – a short comedy film with a little bit disturbing undertone as the plot could basically be summarised in the sentence: An orderly is courting a corpse he falls in love with. Nevertheless, the idea is brilliantly executed and it proves what Alice says that a short film could be created with a minimum budget and crew as long as the plot is original and the writer doesn’t submit to frustration and fear of failure. In IMDb “Stiffy” has a hating of 7.4/10, its rank keeps growing and one review describes it as “very amusing and inventive”. Alice’s idea and work on it justifies the definition she gives about her mindset: “a funny mixture of loving really natural and really surreal stuff”.

 

It felt great to be in her lecture. Being a writer as well as an actor, she is a person with a strong presence, very elegant sense of humour and definitely a professional to look up to. Those of you out there who are specifically working on creating comedy could benefit a lot from her advice, the main one of which could be: “Try to truthfully portray what is happening to a human being”. It should work for any kind of scriptwriting. In fact, the quote that I loved the most because it is funny and very deep and true at the same time is : “The difference between comedy and tragedy is how many people are alive in the end.” It was worth meeting Alice just for the sake of hearing this.

Source: BAFTA Guru

CUSU needs you: student union elections are now open

By Galya Dimitrova

For every of you who wants to stand out with their abilities as a leader, organiser and campaigner, now is the time to act and stand for the Student Union’s elections. Nominations have been open since 6^th January and will close at 16pm on 30^th January. The positions you could be a candidate for are Sabbatical Officer, part-time Executives (Faculty Chair), Council Block of 20, Liberation Councillor and a Section Councillor.

 

The big change this year is the self-nomination. All you should do now is fill in a nomination form you could find on the Students’ Union page: http://www.cusu.org/news/article/cusu/Election-Nominations-NOW-OPEN/. Your submission now depends only on you and no one else.

Two representatives of the Sabbatical Team, Ross McGroaty (Communications) and Matt Stone (Sport and Wellbeing) explained what qualities one should have to make a successful candidate as a Sabb Officer:

“We are looking for someone who is not afraid to speak their mind and has a personal approach to the position. They also must have the ability to work well with others, have confidence and generally, be a leader”.

The elections are running from 21st until 28th February. There will be a Question Time on the first day of election week where every candidate will be given two minutes for a speech.

“It is a chance for you to drill on what you want to change”, says Ross and adds:

“Ryan (Democracy and Campaigns Officer) is very passionate about students knowing what the positions do and building their profile all the time”.

The competition will be strong as they are looking for six to seven candidates for every position.

This year we are saying goodbye to Ryan and Chidimma (Representation and Welfare) as they have reached the two-year limit of experience with the Union. So the new representatives of their positions will have to work extra hard to maintain the high profile they have built and introduce the students to even more improvements.

So if your head is buzzing with ideas of how to improve life on campus, nominate yourself for a position right now and start working on a manifesto. Good luck to all candidates!

American Company Boosts Midlands’ Employability

By Galya Dimitrova

(Published in the October edition of The Source newspaper)

More good news for the graduates in search for jobs and placements in the West Midlands is coming along. This time career opportunities are coming from the world-leading American events firm Freeman, which recently announced it is planning to settle its UK headquarters at Ryton, Shropshire.

Construction work for the new founding has already started at the former Pegeot site in the town.

Bosses at the event services company, which provides events for attractions such as Mademe Tussauds and the British Grand Prix, say up to 350 jobs will be created and employees will range from painters and decorators to marketing and administration staff.

Freeman’s UK chief executive David Walley told Coventry Telegraph the new site “ticked all the right boxes.”

“Its location is perfect for us, there are great transport links and also the Midlands is known to have excellent craftsmen and a skilled workforce that we could tap into.”

So with the completion of their new building (expected by March next year), the company will be ready to offer a chance to everyone, interested in working for them. Its workforce will hopefully be moved on site by May, which gives you plenty of time to think about that opportunity and maybe prepare your CV for them.

Coventry University’s reputation keeps on rising

By Galya Dimitrova

Coventry University has made a major step up in the league tables again.

Just a few months ago, in June, Coventry University rose 13 places to 33rd in the Guardian University Guide 2014. Thus, it did not only achieved its highest ever position but also ranked in the country’s top 20 for the quality of teaching in several subject areas, including art and design, business management, mathematics, modern languages and linguistics, and media studies and communications.

The rating is based on results of the National Student Survey (NSS), which gives students a chance to give feedback on their academic experience. Every opinion remains completely anonymous but the gathered information is used for improvements and comparison how the different universities keep their courses to the standard. Over 283,000 students around the UK completed the survey in 2013, placing Coventry in the top 15 of all universities around the country. According to its outcome, the University does particularly well in the teaching quality category, with 94% of students surveyed agreeing that tutors are “good at explaining things” and 93% saying staff members are “enthusiastic about what they are teaching”.

The University vice-chancellor Professor Madeleine Atkins said:

“The strong results we see for teaching quality, and for added value, are a reflection of the focus we continue to place on giving our students a high-quality academic experience and excellent facilities. Our continued investment is helping to make Coventry one of the most attractive places to study in the UK.”

 

The students themselves didn’t miss the chance to praise the University for its big improvement on meeting their expectations and needs. Twenty-one-year old Fashion graduate Danielle Warren, who took part in the survey this summer, said:

 

“In the fashion department the tutors and technicians are brilliant, providing support to help us develop a vast skill set and knowledge of all aspects of the industry. A key part alongside the course is to gain experience outside of the University from placements and internships. Over the three years, with my experience from the industry, I have become more confident in the skills I’ve gained and I feel prepared and excited to start work.”

Coventry University scored success in another area as well. It was ranked the top university in the Midlands for its work supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure they achieve success in employment or further study.

Figures published by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) – the independent body established to promote fair access to higher education – show that Coventry spends 10.8% of its tuition fee income on work to support its students through their courses and onto employment, which is more than twice the national average.

With those two major developments from the summer, Coventry University seems more than ready to meet the challenges of the new academic year.
 

A music innovation brings fame and fortune to a student

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     By Galya Dimitrova
A Coventry University student is set to become Britain’s latest social media millionaire.

Twenty-year old Gianni O’Connor, who studies BA Advertising and Business, came up with an idea for a music-sharing website during a finance exam and immediately wrote the formula on his paper. Over the following night he built the website – Micsu, which was launched just a couple of months ago. Users log in through their Facebook account. Their music tastes are then monitored and cross-referenced with their social groups – and the website recommends other tracks and artists. You can also see what your friends are listening to.

Although he first created it in July 2012, he did not tell his family about it for months. Thanks to friends he enlisted to refine the needed coding and the sponsorship he received for the development, Gianni’s idea was finally realised and already has more than 50,000 users.

Despite his success, Gianni is determined to complete his final year at university. He spends his time off uni with his family – his mother, stepfather, three brothers and sister – in Middlesex, where he is from.

In an interview for Daily Mail, he says his life is still not much different to his colleagues: “I just did something I love and it took off, but at the same time I’m still just a normal student. My student life is exactly the same as everybody else. We live in a classic student house in Coventry. We’ve got plates lying around and a ceiling-high stack of pizza boxes.”

Gianni’s ambitions for developing his business idea even further don’t stop here, as he has set up his own firm as well, Tigerjaxx. It has published free website and iPhone versions of the site. His success is an example of how far you can go with a good idea and inspiration to work on something you really enjoy, no matter of your age and professional experience.

Photojournalism: Godiva Awakes

By Galya Dimitrova

Today the citizens of Coventry celebrated the symbolical Homecoming of their patron – Lady Godiva. A huge puppet representing the heroine of the city crossed the streets to Broadgate (city centre) in a solemn procession, followed by excited crowds all along.

Lady Godiva greeting the people of Coventry

The Homecoming featured various activities throughout the city including Godiva Cavalcade, carnival dancing, Godiva exhibition, Godiva Awakes choir, numerous entertainments in the city centre and more.

The tradition is a good way to celebrate Coventry’s cultural heritage and engage the interest of community groups from all ages.

More images on http://pinterest.com/romantina/coventry/ (even more coming soon)

In Pursuit for the Dream Career: Jeffrey Cramer

By Galya Dimitrova

It is good to see when post graduates actually make steps towards getting into the carrer they have been preparing for while doing their degree. I met Jeffrey Cramer, who plays the guitar,  about a month and a half ago at a rehearsal for a degree show and was amazed of the talent he and the other musicians demonstrated. The actual live performance was even better. But I just had to see how he is doing outside university, so to say, in a “real life” situation. So last Sunday I went to a performance of the band he plays in, “The Contagious Grooves” and left more than impressed. After this, I just had to make an interview with him and show what students are capable of, even before they have gained a lot of professional experience. There is no age for a talent, and neither are any boundaries. Here is what Jeffrey shared with me about his music and his professional development in the future.

How long have you been playing for?

I started playing piano at the age of 6. It was the instrument that I learned to read music on, and was my introduction into music I played it till I was 11 years old… I never fully enjoyed the instrument, however, and found it hard to practice due to my lack of interest in the repertoire.

Jeffrey Cramer. Photo: personal archive

And how about the guitar? Did you start playing it because you felt it is more exciting than the piano?

Well, when I was 11 started to listen to old style rock like Hendrix and Eric Clapton, as well as Nirvana. It was also because of my piano teacher, who was also taught me guitar, I listened to him play when i sat in on my sisters guitar lesson waiting for my piano lesson and thought it was a beautiful and exciting sounding instrument.

Piano just never really did it for in the way guitar. I fell in love with it as soon as i started playing.

It was also becoming a popular instrument in school around this age, and a lot of people were learning to play. I pissed a few people off during my time in school when i joined bands because I took music so seriously. I was practicing 4 hours sometimes more every day, which was something that never happened with piano.

All this confirms my observations that you are passionate about it and dont play just for the sake of it.  Is there a song or an instrumental piece that you can play over and over again without getting enough of it?

Well, when I went through a phase of playing classical guitar I used to absolutely and I guess still do play Bach’s Sarabande in E minor BWV 996 from his lute suite. I think it is one of the most beautiful pieces written for guitar. But nowadays the first thing I play on a guitar when i pick it up is just improvisations. Sometimes I improvise to things that come on in the background of tv or films, whilst watching.

That is so interesting!  Which films for example?

Just yesterday I was watching the tv show ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ and just mindlessly improvising to the gospel/funk soundtrack in the background. I’ve done it to a few things, though, which I can’t remember off the top of my head. Found an example of the music that shows up on it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0BuojigeQ4&list=PL273588B05C210D7F

Have you been thinking of creating music for films and tv shows?

I once made an imaginary soundtrack about 3 years ago based on the imagery of the graphic novel “Maus“. That was just for fun, though. I think if an opportunity like that came, I would definitely take it. I am particularly in love with video game music:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IpmezdSifw

Amazing! Will you have a go on that if you get the chance?

Yeah, but i think that is more in the composition side of things. My field is more on playing and performing. I’m much more likely to be the one playing on the soundtrack than composing it. But I haven’t had any opportunities such as that as I am only just starting my career really and I don’t think something like that will come a long till I have been doing this much longer, as it is completely about networking/who you know. Also a lot of these tv shows use electronic intruments that are played directly into the computer by the composer nowadays, which means there isn’t as much work there. I would imagine as the show are saving a lot of money. This is in tv a lot nowadays in particular. “Everybody Hates Chris” is an exception as that has real musicians. But shows like for example law and order are completely digital. It’s a much harder industry nowadays. A lot of the work appears to be from playing live.

Indeed. Just a few days ago you had an amazing gig with “The Contagious Grooves” in the Canal Basin, here in Coventry. Tell us more about the band, how did you form it and what kind of music do you play most of the time?

Performing along with the band. Photo: personal archive.

Whenever I was in London, I attended a lot of Funk/Jazz jam nights put on by professional players. I really enjoyed the music, particularly the brass and felt that it made a huge impact when performing live with them. I’ll show you an example of the jam nights:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-6_upd48_w

I also started listening a lot of The RH Factor. I started to make a setlist, which I sent to a few people in the the band and we decided we were gonna play. Originally my setlist was a lot jazzier but i had to compromise a little and play a little more funk. I play all sorts of music these days. I’ve played on R’n’B, Pop, Rap;  I have a gig with a soul singer this Sunday. I also play jazz more these days.

However, jazz is a complicated genre and i still have a lot to learn before i feel i can consider myself an adequate jazz player. It is a recent interest which i wish to delve further into.

So you see yourself as a potential jazz player and you want to work on it?

Definitely, it is something which has caught my ear over the past 2 years and I feel it is a chance for me to explore music from a completely different perspective regarding theory and harmony.

Most impressive!  Glad to see that there are still musicians who see future in that kind of genre!  Do the other guys from Contagious Grooves share your passion?

I would say so yes, there was a lot of work put in and whilst I was choosing the musicians I made extra sure they would be dedicated to it. We did lose one or two members to begin with but the people who stayed definitely enjoy it. It was scary, though, as I had never attempted anything like this before.

But it works and you perform with so much energy and this is why the gig was so good!  How do you come up with the names of the songs? I am tempted to ask in particular about “Hot Sauce”as it is my favourite.

Haha, well, we named that on a whim, it just had a real groove to it and we weren’t concerned about it having a serious name as such as we were just having a bit of fun. It was our first original and I think in the future we wish to do much more complex compositions with more musicians. Me and Kirk (the sax player) want to work on composing more things for the group. Getting in keyboard players and singers and seeing what happens. Me and him are big fans of Roy Hargrov and Snarky Puppy and would like to go down that route more in the future.

All the best with it! The outcome will be interesting, I am sure! Do you have gigs in London and when is your next gig in Coventry?                                             

“Contagious Grooves” at the gig in the Canal Basin last Sunday.

We are taking a break for a while to have a rest, the past 12 weeks have been extremely stressful and I think we all need it. “Taylor Johns” have asked us to do a gig there a month but the details are not completely organised, they also asked if they could book some studio time with us as they are also in charge in of the label ‘Tin Angel Records’. I expect we will be doing more shows over the summer, but as of yet we have not decided anything.  I will go on to do more gigs in London and trying to progress my career as an individual, too, which right now is my main goal. My next gig on Sunday is in South-East. But i will definitely be happy to play with those guys again in the future.

As a last question, where do you want to play most? Which place do you see as the peak of your career if you perform there?

I would really enjoy playing on the Jools Holland show, that would be a really big thing.

 I know people who have.

I somehow thought you are going to say New Orleans…

Haha, maybe I could in the future some time, but playing on Jools Holland usually means you are definitely getting somewhere.

I wish you then that you play there more than once.

Thank you.

You can like the page of “Contagious Grooves” on Facebook at

< https://www.facebook.com/pages/Contagious-Grooves/165798933584759?fref=ts >

International Music Night – Because Life Is So Much Better With Music!

By Galya Dimitrova

It is nearly summer, and all university activities are coming to an end. So is the Culturae Mundi  Spring season. It will be an exciting and memorable ending that you will have the pleasure of coming back to in your mind during the long hot (or not) summer nights here or abroad.                                                                                                                                                            

Music adds an irresistible taste to the lives of each and every one of us, regardless of our nationality, language, gender or culture. This is why we present you International Music Night – the event on which performers from various backgrounds will show you the best of their culture thorough singing, playing or both! Treefolk Band, piano player Rickie Lee Cooper and Crispy Candy will entertain you with their musical performances, while Indumini, Sophia, Shayo Grass, Lavinia and Ajakpovi Golo will enchant you with their voices. Later on the programme the Street Dance Society will blow you away with some fresh movements on some fresh music. But the end of the performances does not mean end of the party at all! All of you who come along will have the chance to dance to international music, so you definitely don’t want to miss the free style part after the programme!

So, come along and lose yourself in the music from all over the world! Let’s say hello to the summer with what unites people best – beautiful music and incredible voices!

We start at 7pm at Square One, The Hub, this Thursday. International Music Night – because everybody speaks music!

Cov Uni In Brief: Edition_8 (08.05.2013) TO BE UPLOADED

By Galya Dimitrova

This edition is recorded, however, it is still to e edited and uploaded, which we keep postponing because we were busy with work connected to the course.

We were in a bit of a rush while recording it because the radio studio has been booked constantly these days. But it will be up soon and I believe the outcome will be very good. From now on we will try to improve to add more and more in each session and hopefully, soon it will be much better than it has ever been.