Posts tagged as:

Arts

Five Tips to Survive the Countdown to Showtime

by Julie

As many of you know, my partners and I recently completed and executed our second annual fund raising cirque show. In the circus, dance, and theater worlds the countdown to showtime can be both an exciting and stressful time. On the one hand you have all of the magic and beauty of the creative process, [...]

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Whhhooo R U?

by Julie

She often can be found lounging on a leaf mid-afternoon, or weaving her silken cocoon (at her leisure of course), which will eventually transform her into a gorgeous butterfly. This creature doesn’t just perform the same old tricks… Not a chance. Our Caterpillar is a master hand-balancer and aerialist who specializes in the “wow” factor! [...]

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“It was meant to be”

by Julie

I often catch myself saying “It must have been meant to be!” Hmmm. Is this really the case? I find when I’m “doing” I have an awful lot of “it was meant to be” experiences. Likewise, when I’ll delaying, procrastinating, thinking and sitting, I tend not to have so many of those moments. Is it [...]

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Sometimes Life is Heavy…

by Julie
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This week I had the pleasure of watching one of Toronto’s hottest contemporary Dance Companies, Desiraeda Dance Theatre, perform their newest creation WEIGHT. The show is a passionate, hard-hitting, raw dance production which explores the depths of human relationships and all of its complexities. Exquisite choreography by the fabulous Niki Wozniak and stunning dancers combined [...]

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Six Impossible Things

by Julie
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Image via Wikipedia “Sometimes I dream up six impossible things before breakfast” – Alice, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland For the second year running, my incredible sisters/business partners and I are embarking on one of the most challenging endeavors undertaken by our company. We are self-producing another full-scale cirque production in which all proceeds will [...]

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“So, what do you do?”

by Julie
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When meeting someone for the first time, one of the first questions we are usually asked is: “So, what do you do for living?” Some people have a quick and easy answer: “I’m an accountant” or “I’m a corporate lawyer.”  Others, like me, struggle to choose the right words to articulate our work (because “circus [...]

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Making Your Deadline

by Julie
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“Challenges make life interesting, however, overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. ” Mark Twain Some people call it “shipping.” Some call it “being on time.” I prefer to look at it as arriving at your final destination – and you got there because you committed to your deadline. This past week I felt like [...]

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Cirque du Soleil, Totem

by Julie
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Step right up… The latest and greatest creation from Cirque du Soleil is named “Totem” and I can’t wait to check it out live! Below I’ve included the official trailer as well as CDS behind the scenes videos. I hope you enjoy watching as much as I did! Totem Videos I don’t know about you [...]

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“I can’t” and the Defeatist Mentality

by Julie

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re probably right.” – Henry Ford A little piece of me died inside yesterday when I heard a mother say to her (very talented) teenage daughter: “You can’t make art your career because it’s too competitive.” Sigh. I honestly can’t think of a worse dream-crushing [...]

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You’ve Got to Work!

by Julie
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When we talk about “work ethic” what comes to mind? Typically, we are groomed to punch in at 9:00 AM and punch out at 5:00 PM. That’s convention. That’s what’s expected – no more, no less. BORING! Can you honestly think of an example of a person who has achieved great things by just going [...]

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Dreams vs Nightmares, Video Three

by Julie
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“Creativity is allowing oneself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” Scott Adams The final film in this Circus Blog Video Series is about dreams, reality, and the merging of the two entities. Ladies and gentleman, without further adieu, I give you: Video # 3 Dreams vs Nightmares Related articles by Zemanta [...]

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Racing Against Time, Video Two

by Julie
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“Things that are done, it is needless to speak about – things that are past, it is needless to blame.”  Confucius The second documentary highlighted in my Circus Blog Video Series focuses on idea execution to deadline. Personally, I find it hard enough to get ideas out the door, but throw in a pressing deadline [...]

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Another Powerful Word – “Yes”

by Julie
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Following my post titled Our Most Powerful Word  – “No” I felt strongly that a counter post was warranted.  So, in the spirit of fairness, balance, democracy and equality – here it is. The benefits of saying “yes” are many. Short of being a “yes man” or a “yes woman,” it is great to be [...]

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Do It Up!

by Julie
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Alright. Time to make a fuss folks -time to GET NOTICED! If my “Got An Idea?” post didn’t get you off your seat -maybe this post will. It’s time to get excited, get inspired and get working on the one thing that you’ve been meaning to do. Worried about your idea turning out to be [...]

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Olympic Aerials!

by Julie
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Each Olympic Opening ceremonies have their “high” points. For me, it was when circus performers maneuvered snowboards and skis in harnesses high above the crowds at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games opening extravaganza. As it turns out, those aerialists were direct from the National Circus School in Montreal. Read on for more details and enjoy! [...]

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Performance Under Pressure

by Julie
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Image via Wikipedia In the spirit of the Olympics I thought I’d re-blog this awesome post published by the team at Speaker Spotlight about performing under pressure: Performing Under Pressure at the Winter Games Circus artists, and generally those of us in the performing arts, often must execute while under tremendous amounts of pressure. As [...]

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