CONTEMPORARY DANCE STUDIO

One of the fields Montréal stands as a chef de file on the International Scene is that of dance, and particularly contemporary dance.

It's with a hunger to discover more about it that I discovered an independent realization by the dancers of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens: À Suivre, Atelier Chorégraphique (which means in French: To Be Continued, A Choreographic Workshop). A pure delight of evasion and imagination.

The show was divided in mini-performance, each one being the own creation of the group of dancers. The musical and artistic universes were unique and diverse, going from the extraordinary yet disturbing world of Disney's Fantasia to a glowing fingers in the dark on an enchanting classical symphony, through more traditional ballet performances on the beauty of the female body. A dance session to absolutely discover!

For those who are not quite familiar with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, this renowned Canadian Dance institution has been founded in 1957 by Ludmilla Chiriaeff and is devoted to developing ballet in all its forms, while remaining faithful to the spirit of classical ballet. The company's reputation has be reinforced since the appointment of Gradimir Pankov as Artistic Director in 1999 and the renowned choreographers such as Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek and Ohad Naharin.

L'un des domaines pour lesquels Montréal se dresse comme chef de file sur la scène mondiale est incontestablement celui de la danse, et notamment la danse contemporaine. 

C'est armée d'une curiosité à toute épreuve que je m'empresse de découvrir tous les trésors que cette ville a découvrir, et c'est comme cela que je suis tombée sur un atelier assez particulier: celui d'une réalisation indépendante des danseurs des Grands Ballets Canadiens: À Suivre, Atelier Chorégraphique. Un moment de pure évasion et de divagation artistique. Chaque groupe de danseurs avait la liberté de proposer sa propre création de danse contemporaine. 

Parmi les dizaines de mini-performances, on a eu droit à de la danse de doigts fluorescents dans le noir, à une performance surréaliste mettant en scène l'univers déroutant de Fantasia, en passant par des performances plus classique rendant hommage à la beauté du corps ou tournant la société de consommation en dérision (une danse avec des sacs en plastique absolument fascinante et à la limite du street art!). Bref, une réalisation à découvrir.

Pour ceux qui ne seraient pas familiers avec cette véritable institution canadienne, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens est un organisme fondé en 1957 par Ludmilla Chiriaeff, se consacrant au développement du ballet sous toutes ses formes, avec une notoriété exceptionnelle à l'échelle mondiale grâce à de grands noms tels que celui de l'inspirant directeur artistique Gradimir Pankov, et ceux de chorégraphes de renoms tels que Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek et Ohad Naharin. 

CELIA BIRTWELL FOR VALENTINO

Inspiration of the day: a magical combination between artist Celia Birtwell and Italian fashion house Valentino for the Pre-Fall 2015 collection.

MY FIRST DRAWING STEPS

Many people have asked me if I have ever been taking drawing lessons. I didn't, but I started painting at an early age with my grandmother, who paints in her spare time.

I was studying art at high school though, and that's where I discovered drawing. At that time, I loved to reproduce pieces of existant drawings and magazine ads, being as precise as possible.

Through a work of patience and visualization, I could achieve, after many, many corrections, a pretty rewarding output of the original image; And I think everyone is able to draw according to his/her own style of drawing.

One of the artworks I did at school (around 2007)

My advice to you would be : don't be afraid not to be able to draw the final result you want, because that's usually how you give up early, saying you won't be able to do it (or: I'm can't, I'm not good at drawing, etc.).

You probably won't get it from the first try if you're a beginner. The game is to begin with a first approximative sketch, while attentively observing your original pattern (the overall structure first, then the details while you go further in your work) and trying to get closer and closer to it.

I usually begin with something that doesn't really look like the image I'll willing to reproduce. But then, I erase and re-do the part I think is wrong, and it takes me hours and hours doing that to achieve what I call a great work of art and patience.

I'm willing to give advice to those who are willing to learn how to draw the unconventional way. Keep it up, and be persistant: everyone can do it!

So, here are some pieces of lost and found or incomplete works I did. I should get back to it very soon (when it comes to get some free time...).

The two first sketches are one of the oldest I drew :

And then, through practice, persistence and patience, I was able to draw that :

ARTISTS X BLOGGERS

Remember the post I wrote about Igor + André?

Well, while I was reading some new blog posts this morning, I came upon that picture on the Betty Facebook Page :

As I easily recognized the mark of Danny's art (the illustrator of the duo), I thought "wow, I like Betty's blog very much, but it seems I didn't figure out how popular Betty was among the blogosphere and the "fashion" world online in general." 

Then I looked at Igor + André illustrations collection, and I found out Danny drew many portraits of bloggers among the web, named : Blogger's portrait.

Here's the one of Betty :

I found these amazing! And it's also incredible to see how fast a blogger's reputation can grow through that kind of "collaboration". Some bloggers are now having a very special statut in the blogosphere, being considered as experts, role models, and also some kind of stars to some. Seeing how technology can empower each each and everyone of us to build a whole "brand" around their blog and persons in fascinating. 

I remember I did draw a portrait for a blogger once. It was more than two years ago. Here's the link of the post, and here's the drawing :

It was for Pauline, creator of the Pauline Fashion Blog. It was fun to collaborate with her, and beyond the artistic motivation behind the initiative, I also got many benefits from it. 

As she posted my drawing of her very popular blog, her audience could hear of me and go check my blog as well. That boosted my daily visitors number and enabled me to interact with many people who wrote me that I was talented, and who asked me for some advice about how to draw, etc, etc.

I love the way everyone can express himself and get connected so easily through the web. How inspiring our sharing culture online can be! 

SWEDISH GEM: ACNE STUDIO

Oh! And I also discovered a super cool Swedish brand : Acne Studio. Take a look at it here.

I actually discovered the brand back in Denmark when I was visiting the Louisiana International Museum of Modern Art. I spotted some very nice shirts in the museum's shop, right after I saw Hilma Af Klint's exhibit.

I was looking for clothes with paintings graphics on it for a while, looks like I found it :

Nice way to get inspired by renown local artists, luxury and art's mix did it again, and I love the result!

ESCAPADE IN SWEDEN

After visiting Stockholm, I can say that it’s definitely one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.  

The city is just has a spectacular natural setting, set on hundreds of islands in a lagoon.  Stockholm’s old town, the Gamla Stan, is where you can find the most beautiful architecture, characterized by its yellow buildings and cobblestones.

Though I was visiting the city for 4 days, I spent as much time as I could exploring the beauty of it.

What surprised me most about Stockholm was its cultural diversity. Through my 5-months experience in Copenhagen, I got used to a certain way of living I could call "Scandinavian". 

Well, Stockholm was the antithesis of the social coldness I could feel in Denmark. People, from everywhere in the world (you could barely find a foreigner in some neighbourhoods in Copenhagen) were everywhere in the street, playing music, gossiping, dancing. The city is alive, and you feel it's moving everywhere. It made me think a bit of New York City.

Here are some of the shots I took there :

How a selfie could illustrate the multicultural diversity :

"Oh baby! Let's marry in the park!"

We also say Stockholm is the Venice of Scandinavia :

MIU MIU UNCONVENTIONAL APP

"Prada’s Miu Miu is looking to change how consumers communicate digitally by sponsoring the creation of a mobile application tied to its latest commissioned Women’s Tales film" as written yesterday on Luxury Daily.

Miu Miu has tern up with artist and filmmaker Miranda July to design the "Somebody" app, whose features allow you to send a message to "somebody", a friend of yours, verbally, by a stranger nearby also having the app. 

It seem to be perfectly tailored for the current digital consumer, whose habits are mobile-centered. The app evokes sociability, is funny to use and authentic, emotions being one of the fey features. 

Miu Miu is one of the first luxury brands to release such a detailed and quality video. It's really fun to watch, ans "does a great job of highlighting the app and some of the absurdities of our digital culture, going as far as to include ‘the internet of things’ when a plant will be able to ask to be watered". 

Maybe that will become the next Whatsapp!, enabling people to connect together in a very unconventional way. It'd be the opportunity for people to deliver (or not) (your rating as a linker would depend on that) a great message to somebody and feel great about a good action being done, thus leading to the chance to interact with the people you delivered a message to and socialize. 

I personally loved the concept. It's like a game, you never know if you'd be sought to deliver a message, and you could also play some tricks to your friends by involving some well-rated strangers.  The world is connected, we know that, but that's about connecting with the people you didn't have the chance to choose to connect with before. Luck and openness to the unknown will be part of the game. It's brilliant!

Well, here's the video, have lots of fun watching it!