Watts Witit

As a culture that has survived 5,000 years of change and turmoil
—- yet retained its artistry throughout —- there is much to
tell about the story of China, its land and its people. Shen Yun
attempts that feat, and earns rave reviews and returning audience
members on its annual tours.

The troupe performs Thursday through Jan. 22 at the California
Center for the Arts, Escondido —- its seventh appearance at the
venue. Shen Yun, founded in New York City, emphasizes classical
Chinese dance. The elaborately costumed, well-trained troupe covers
more than 5,000 years of Chinese history with elegance and
grace.

Eye-opening backdrops (shown on a large digital video screen)
place the dancers in multiple Chinese locations, from serene
countrysides to busy cities. The troupe seeks to bring back to
prominence many of the original themes, styles and artistic
viewpoints thought gone forever after the Cultural Revolution.

Every year is a new production, with new sets and dances, said
Vivian Wang, the local promoter of the show. This is 5,000 years
of civilization, so there are many stories to tell.

Song is as much a part of the Shen Yun experience as dance.
Plaintive songs of personal experience are accompanied by piano,
with a full orchestra using all-original compositions to bring
forth a blend of Eastern and Western-influenced music. Strings,
percussion, woodwinds and brass are part of the mix.

If the real spirit of the culture has in some ways been lost,
this performance is a way to revive it, Wang said. There is not
only beauty, but universal values. Those values are recognizable
across many cultures, so audience members can relate to the
messages, no matter their ethnic or cultural background.

The 2012 tour will reach more than 3 million people in 30
different countries, with themes involving loyalty, compassion and
spirituality. Ethnic and folk dance are part of the mix. Shen Yun
also merges modern technology, such as digital projection, to help
enhance the human performances.

Children enjoy the colors and culture, while older audience
members enjoy the themes and lessons, Wang said.

From its starting point of about 90 dancers and musicians, Shen
Yun has grown to three full performance groups and orchestras,
filled with award-winning dancers and musicians from throughout
China and the world.

Many people think of Chinese culture as only involving things
such as the lion dance and dumplings and other familiar icons, but
there is so much more, Wang said. There is a reason the culture
has survived for so long and is still vibrant, and that is its
depth.

Stan Kenton Centennial Celebrated By Manhattan School Of Music Jazz Arts

In honor of Stan Kentons Centennial (he would have been 100 on December 15, 2011) Manhattan School of Music will be giving a two-concert series to celebrate. The first Kenton Centennial concert will be on Friday, January 27 at 7:30 pm in the Schools Borden Auditorium featuring Stan Kentons orchestral music made famous by his Innovations Orchestra. The MSM Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Justin DiCioccio will be showcasing such works as City of Glass, Conflict, Improvisation, Artistry in Rhythm, Ennui, Amazonia, among others. Manhattan School of Music is one of the only conservatories world-wide that offers its students the experience of playing in a Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra that consists of a full orchestra plus a jazz big band.

In honor of Stan Kentons 100th birthday (December 15, 1911-August 25, 1979), the Manhattan School of Music Jazz Arts Program will be presenting a two-concert Kenton Centennial series providing concertgoers a rare opportunity to hear the work of Stan Kenton, both for full orchestra and jazz big band.
The first concert of this Kenton 100th-birthday celebration will be presented on Friday, January 27 at 7:30 pm in the Schools Borden Auditorium. That evening, the MSM Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra and Justin DiCioccio will showcase the orchestral music created by Stan Kenton for Kentons own Innovations Orchestra. Among the works programmed will be City of Glass, Conflict, Improvisation, Artistry in Rhythm, Ennui and Amazonia. Manhattan School of Music is one of the only conservatories world-wide that offers its students the experience of playing in a Jazz Philharmonic
Orchestra (a full symphony orchestra plus a jazz big band).

During the late 1940s and on through the 1950s, works by Kenton and his top composer/arrangers ? Pete Rugolo, Bill Russo, Robert Graettinger and Bill Holman ? ushered in a new era for orchestral jazz that knew no boundaries stylistically. A work included in the Kenton library during those years included Graettingers City of Glass. Longtime MSM faculty member, the late Manny Albam was also a noted Kenton composer/arranger. Kentons music would evolve with the times throughout the 1960s and 1970s, promoting jazz and jazz improvisation with the Kenton Style.

Stan Kenton:
Stanley Newcomb Stan Kenton was born on December 15, 1911 in Wichita, Kansas, later residing in Colorado and California. In June 1941, Kenton formed his first band, later referred to as Artistry in Rhythm from its theme song. This band developed into one of the best-known West Coast ensembles of the 1940s, with its distinct style and sound, sometimes thought to be controversial, later to become known as The Wall of Sound.

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If you want to learn about the history of Berks County craftsmanship, walk into the lobby of the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts at Second and Washington streets and admire a 10-foot tall Christmas tree with nearly 500 ornaments on it, all of them made by about 100 area craftsmen.

And if youre lucky, W. Eugene Burkhart Jr., 64, of Maidencreek Township, a retired special-education teacher and acclaimed pressed-flower artist, might be in the vicinity to give you the history lesson.

Burkhart recently was given the 2011 Andrus Award for Community Service for Pennsylvania by AARP, which recognizes outstanding community volunteers. Burkhart was among 28 people in the state nominated for the honor.

In addition to serving on many boards and committees over the years, Burkhart has conducted numerous floral-craft workshops and classes for seniors citizens, adults and children.

A member of the 225-member Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen, the largest chapter of the state guild, Burkhart said the GoggleWorks holiday tree serves to showcase the skill of craftsmen with a wide spectrum of their traditional and contemporary ornaments.

Among the crafts represented are ornaments made of redware, glass, dried flowers, tin, stained glass, brass, wood, pressed flowers, paper, enamel, papier-mache, needlework, hooked rug and porcelain.

There are teddy bears, miniature pieces of furniture, hand-painted silk, scherenschnitte, basketry, theorem paintings, calligraphy, glass beading, mixed media and much more.

Burkhart said the works of Berks craftsmen were featured last year and in 2009 in the decorations in the Governors Mansion in Harrisburg. In 2005, the local guild was selected to create the ornaments for the Pennsylvania Christmas tree as part of the Pageant of Peace in Washington.

If it wouldnt be for other craftsmen promoting the arts and volunteering their time, projects like this (the GoggleWorks Christmas tree) wouldnt be successful, Burkhart said.

The tree will remain standing and can be viewed by the public throughout the holidays.

It is intended as a public gift: an education in craftsmanship and holiday artistry.

Contact Bruce R. Posten: 610-371-5059 or bposten@readingeagle.com.

Please sit back and enjoy the musical artistry of Vince Espinal as he gives us his rendition of a Billy Joel classic.

So many faces in and out of my life

Some will last

Some will just be now and then.

Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes

Im afraid its time for goodbye again.

Say goodbye to Hollywood

Say goodbye, my baby

Say goodbye to Hollywood

Say goodbye, my baby.

That was spot on, Vince. Good job.

Thank you, Vince said. Id like to dedicate that tune to my good friend Dennis.

If youve been paying attention, you know that Dennis Hollywood Cruz has been in first place almost every week since we got this party started — until Vince turned a two-game deficit into a two-game advantage.

Ive been in first place before, Vince said. Now I think Ive figured out how to stay here. All Ive got to do strategy-wise is let Dennis beat himself.

We now turn to the ex-leader of the Pacific Daily News Pigskin Prognosticators standings. What happened, Dennis?

Its like Vince said: I beat myself, Dennis said.

Explain yourself.

I tanked it; I lost on purpose; I went against my gut in order to lose, Dennis said.

Why would you do that?

I couldnt take it, Dennis said. I was in first place ever since ever since –

Hey, watch it, or some guys might Fokai you for infringement.

Sorry, Dennis said. As I was saying, I was in first place yet you guys didnt give me the respect.

We disrespected you?

Of course you did! Dennis said. You cast aspersions on my sexual preference; you intimated a woman could beat me at arm wrestling; and, worst of all, you said I was chubby!

Thats not disrespect: We made fun of you. Its apples and oranges, really.

No, its not, Dennis said. I cant help it if Im chubby: Im an endomorph.

A what?

An endomorph, Dennis said.

Is that like a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger?

No, its my body type, Dennis said, Although Power Rangers are cool.

Which one is your favorite; is it the Pink Power Ranger?

On the eve of the retirement of Scott Niedermayer’s No. 27 by the Devils, Slap Shot spoke with a teammate, opposing executive and television analyst about the defenseman’s artistry and competitiveness.

Ken Daneyko, Devils defenseman, Niedermayer teammate 1992-2004: “Scott’s maybe my all-time favorite teammate. He sacrificed his personal stats for our team concept. Look what he did when he went to Anaheim. The Ducks weren’t serious contenders for a championship for a while. Scott started getting more than 60 points a season and played a big part when they won the Stanley Cup. He won with us, with Anaheim, in the Olympics, the Memorial Cup. The guy was a winner, a champion.

“His gift for skating and his conditioning were incredible. I think it was in his second season, we got bag-skated the day after a bad game. Really torturous. The rest of us can barely walk back to the locker room. I’m dying. I can barely breathe and same thing with the rest of the guys. Scotty walks in and there is just a single raindrop of sweat on his forehead. I said to him, ‘Man, that was a hard practice.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, it was hard.’ He was too nice to show any of us up. The thing with that skate was, the rest of us were digging into the ice. Scott, with his amazing stride, was floating a half-inch above the ice.

Craig Button, former Calgary and Dallas executive, current analyst for TSN: “I first saw Scott play in juniors in Kamloops when he was 16. His coach was Ken Hitchcock. You saw the skating right away. What Scott did was evolve. He came to New Jersey as a highly touted offensive guy, but playing for Jacques Lemaire in that system afforded Scott the opportunity to become an unbelievably well-rounded defenseman. He was, for me, one of the best defensemen to ever play the game.

“Still waters run deep. Never get fooled by the professor look. He had a high level of intensity. He could play in any situation in the game, and the more important the game, the better he was. He was such a thorn in our side when our team in Dallas played New Jersey in the 2000 Stanley Cup finals. Quite simply, it came down to this: we had no answer for Scott Niedermayer. If we forechecked him hard, he just made the pass and got out of the zone. If we didn’t forecheck hard, he skated the puck out of the zone. All through that six-game series, Scott was a guy you couldn’t get a grip on, couldn’t mark very well. He controlled games. His number will be coming up in another year for the Hall of Fame. He’ll be a first-ballot selection.”

Brian Engblom, analyst for Versus and NBC: “He was an absolutely fabulous player to watch. He had an ability to pass by people, in a cruising mode, and an ability to read a game — both offensively and defensively. Coming up through the New Jersey system and having to pay attention to defense first made a huge difference in the longevity of his career. Whether it was in the Stanley Cup finals or the second week of October, he would make great plays at key moments of the game. His record at the NHL and international levels is stunning.”

If you dont like the comic artistry of Jerry Lewis, Encore’s extensive new bio-documentary isn’t going to change your mind. But you might come away with at least a bit more appreciation.

It’s hard not to, when the two-hour special opens with a medley of testimonials from Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Carl Reiner, Steven Spielberg and other A-listers, all declaring Lewis is at worst a genius and quite probably a level above.

All that movie stuff that just looked silly and goofy and random, explains Murphy, was really the product of a brilliant comic mind that knew exactly which bit would fit each moment perfectly.

THOUSAND OAKS, California (Reuters) – South Korean KJ Choi described Tiger Woods as an artist after relinquishing his overnight lead to the American former world number one in the Chevron World Challenge second round on Friday.

Choi had been three strokes clear at the start of a breezy day in the Santa Monica Mountains but he ended it three adrift of his playing partner Woods, who carded a five-under-par 67 that was, at times, brilliant.

To put it simply, today he played like an artist, Choi, speaking through an interpreter, told reporters about Woods after being outscored by six shots.

He really played well. Its pretty clear that hes really recovered and is back in his old form again. He missed a few putts, but it was really good to see him play well.

While Woods recorded two eagles and five birdies on the way to matching the days best score, Choi battled after the turn en route to a 73 and a tie for second with American Matt Kuchar at five-under 139.

The 41-year-old Korean, renowned for his ability to cope with windy conditions due to his low ball flight, frequently mis-judged club selection on the hillier back nine in gusts of up to 20 mph.

At the par-three 15th, he hit successive balls into the water guarding the front of the green before running up an ugly quadruple-bogey that dropped him four shots behind Woods.

I wasnt on my top form today, said Choi, an eight-times winner on the PGA Tour. Not that thats an excuse, but I didnt really have a good sleep last night. I really struggled, especially on the back nine.

I think it was really misjudgment on the wind on the tee shots. I just wasnt really feeling all that great, but the good thing about it is that Im still in it and just need to get a lot of rest today.

Choi was relieved that two more rounds remained in the elite event that brings together just 18 players.

My body is a little fatigued right now and I just need to get my condition back, he said. There are still a lot of holes to play, so Im looking forward to it.

(Editing by Julian Linden)

Dick Meister is a long-time San Francisco writer. Contact him through his website, www.dickmeister.com.

I didnt get much sleep last night. I was kept awake thinking of a film – The Artist – I had just seen. It stands out, even in the harsh light of day, as one of the very best of the many movies, silent and sound movies alike, that Ive watched over the past 60 years. (Read the Guardians take on the film here.)

Although the widely-acclaimed movie was made this year, The Artist is a silent film, except for an excellent music soundtrack that sounds like the live orchestral music that accompanied major silent films. That practice ended, of course, with the coming of talkies.

Thats the movies major theme, the end of the silents – a theme it handles even better than other excellent films covering the topic, such as Singin in the Rain. I wont go beyond noting the theme, for fear of disclosing the plot, but, believe me, its a very well-plotted and well-acted theme.

It was filmed in the United States, and two of its co-stars, Penelope Ann Miller and John Goodman, are American, but its really a French film. The director, Michael Hazanavicius, is French, as are the two lead characters, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo. They play it straight with none of the mugging and exaggerated gestures that were common in the silents of yesterday.

But, boy, do Dujardin and Bejo look like the silent stars of yesterday, he classically handsome with pencil-thin mustache playing a silent film idol in the late 1920s, she with the pert, almost always-smiling look of a twenties flapper seeking film stardom. Their acting is indeed special, as is that of an incredibly talented fox terrier named Uggie, Dujardins romping, steadfastly loyal canine sidekick.

All that, and dancing, too – especially the stars dynamic hoofing to jazz melodies that could have come straight out of the twenties. They will surely turn you to toe-tapping and maybe the urge to leap up and do a little body swaying yourself.

The San Francisco Chronicles exceptional film critic, Mick LaSalle, describes Dujardins performance as extraordinary and lovely, the first truly great silent film performance in about 80 years. Amen to that, and to LaSalles assessment of The Artist as a profound achievement . . . a product of serious study, honest appreciation and love of silents.

Maybe it could even lead to a resurgence of the silent film, a medium that has not been of much interest to contemporary audiences. For the average persons exposure to silents – if any – has been primarily through the speeded-up, bleached-out, sound-enhanced silents shown occasionally on television, that greatest of all the enemies of thoughtful, imaginative silence.

Watching silents presented as intended is an experience unlike any other, one that brings the actors and their audiences particularly close, far closer than most sound films. It requires special skills of actors, film directors and editors, who cannot rely on the crutch of words and sounds to reach the audience.

It requires great involvement and concentration by the audience as well. Silent film viewers are free to exercise their right to interpret cinematic actions as they wish, to imagine for themselves the retort of the gun, the scream of the heroine, the lonesome whistle of the train.

They are free to imagine all thats being said, be it in French, or any other language. Silent films are truly universal and truly a distinctive art form apart from sound films.

Relatively few people have been privileged to see silents as they were meant to be seen. The Artist gives them that rare opportunity.

Dick Meister is a long-time San Francisco writer. Contact him through his website, www.dickmeister.com.

South Floridas recital stages have seen a procession of fine violinists over the past few years, but theres a good chance that the very finest of all performed Saturday night at the University of Miami.

Ray Chen, 22, has that rare constellation of attributes technical mastery, dramatic flair, a uniquely appealing tone and sheer largeness of playing  that add up to that overused and often undeserved term, virtuoso.

Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia leaving him with an Aussie manner that charmed the Gusman Hall audience during his brief remarks he won two of the most prestigious competitions in the violin world, the Queen Elisabeth and Yehudi Menuhin, and has a Sony Classical recording contract. He studied with Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and his playing clearly bears the stamp of Rosand, whose committed, emotional style, warm tone and revival of forgotten 19th-century concertos made him the arch-Romantic of his era.

Chen, who appeared as part of the Sunday Afternoons of Music series, gave a performance of Brahms Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor that came close to exaggeration but never crossed the line, as he deeply inhabited the works changing moods grave and sinister in the swiftly running notes of the first movement, agonizingly emotional in the climactic high notes of the second movement. The final movement was the best, as he hammered away at the opening chords in an almost brutal manner, opening a headlong, hard-driving performance that was as powerful and energetic as one is ever likely to hear.

Chens committed style of playing, however, overpowered the first work on the program, Mozarts Sonata for Violin and Piano in B-flat Major, K. 454. He played it as if it had been written by Tchaikovsky, with heavy bow pressure, excessive vibrato and too much sliding. Who breaks bow hair playing Mozart?

For the second half, Chen chose three works that demonstrated he is a musical athlete of the highest caliber, capable of rapidly playing two or three notes at the same time, zipping up and down the finger board and making his bow do pretty much anything he wanted. He did it all with a style and clear pleasure in showing what this small string instrument could do.

He opened with the Sonata No. 2 for unaccompanied violin, title Obsession, by the Belgian violinist-composer Eugène Ysaÿe. The work puts fragments of Bachs Prelude in E Major for violin against the grim Dies Irae chant, in an enormously demanding polyphonic web. Chens bowing allowed the chant to come through the surrounding tangle of notes as if were a single melodic thread, giving an impressive demonstration of how much sound and complexity can emerge from a solo violin.

In his hands Saint-Saëns Havanaise was a few minutes of steamy tropical melody and virtuoso fireworks. As fast as he played, the music never lost shape and you never had the sense that his fingers were running ahead of his musicianship.

Saint-Saëns Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso displayed Chens extremely crisp style of playing rapid notes, with just enough bite to articulate them in a manner that allowed his fast playing to stay clear and comprehensible. He brought to both these Saint-Saëns works an extroverted style and intensity that brought them off as the showpieces they are.

He was unobtrusively accompanied on the piano by Julio Elizalde, whose best moments came in the sharply articulated performance of the Brahms sonata.

As his first encore, Chen played John Williams Theme from Schindlers List, bringing to this emotional melody a sweetness and pathos that had eluded even Itzhak Perlman. The young violinist truly has a gift for soaring melody, and surprisingly this was the first point in the recital where he could put it on display. As his second encore, he played the Étude-Caprice No. 4 in A Minor by the 19th century Polish virtuoso Henryk Wieniawski, a nonstop rush of triplets that showed Chen can play extremely fast as well.

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A Special Holiday Gift Of Knowledge: The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry Released by Author Brian K. Hemphill

For Immediate Release

NEW YORK/EWORLDWIRE/Dec. 15, 2011 — One special book of knowledge that can provide weeks, years, and even decades of enjoyment for readers has emerged this holiday season: The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry: A Philosophy for Creating Everything Artistic (http://www.ElementsOfArtistry.net). Designated an editors choice book selection by iUniverse, The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry is an all-artist guide aimed at the visual artist, writer, or performer on your gift list. The book identifies the nine sets of root elements common to all artistic fields.

According to the author Brian K. Hemphill, Writers, visual artists, and performers learning the fundamental elements common to all the arts become more expressive in their artistry. Even designers and craft artists will be able to use this information to produce more appealing artistic work.

The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry uses hundreds of relevant art examples, citations, and quotations from prominent art professionals, philosophers, scientists, past and present, to support the more than 40 chapters of the book. Throughout his warm and insightful narrative, Hemphill offers advice from authors, painters, sculptors, dancers, choreographers, actors, film directors, musicians, teachers, psychologists, scientists, philosophers, and critics, writing on all forms of art, including visual arts, literary arts, dramatic arts, musical arts, dance arts, and hybrid art forms.

Some of the topics the book addresses include:

- Why form is the foundation for all expressive art works and performances
- How to use arrangement to add drama and tension to artistic work
- How to foster the three aspects of technique to dramatically improve artistic expression
- Why perception and observation are critical to general artistic development
- The role of emotionality in expressing the artist and engaging the spectator
- How to unlock the subconscious powers of the creative mind
- How to use imagination to create unique artistic expression
- How to add vitality to artistic work with spontaneity and improvisation
- How artistic faith and inspiration can help the artist transcend artistic limitations

For the advanced artist, teacher, and art critic looking to understand artistic depth and nuance, The Elements of Creative Artistry presents 36 new elements that branch from the nine root elements to suggest additional avenues for artistic investigation and development. Although mainly written for the artist and arts professional, the non-artist who has a general love for art will also gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of art.

For its breadth and depth of knowledge, The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry would be a welcomed holiday surprise for both adult and young adult readers. The soft cover and hardcover editions of the book can be purchased through Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. The e-book and other formats can be purchased at iUniverse.com.

About the Author
Brian K. Hemphill is an artist, author, blogger and teacher. He has explored a number of artistic disciplines including fiction and poetry writing, visual art, drama, film and video production, dance, and music. He now offers one-one-one coaching sessions, workshop presentations, and book talks about the factors that foster artistic creativity and expressiveness. Hemphill lives in the New York metropolitan area.

Book Title:
The Elements of Creative and Expressive Artistry: A Philosophy for Creating Everything Artistic
Publisher: iUniverse Publishing
Publication Date: September 2011
Number of pages: 600
ISBN FORMAT PRICE
9780595483013 6×9 Perfect Bound Softcover $33.95
9780595603893 E-Book $9.99
9781462005840 6×9 Dust Jacket Hardcover $43.95

Brian K. Hemphill
Author: Brian K. Hemphill
Telephone: 862-849-6453
Fax: 973-350-7849
Email: bkhemphill@
Address: PO Box 33, Newark NJ 07101

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CONTACT:
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ArtistTech Publications
PO Box 33
Newark, NJ 07101
PHONE. 973-485-9018
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EMAIL: artistTech@aol.com

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