Where are the poets?

Where are the poets? Hiding between the pages of books Mumbling loose phrases on street corners Or wringing their hands behind the red curtain I find it funny that a poem has to ‘hold up’ on the page in order to be considered successful. Would you say the same thing for a musical composition or [...]

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Ottawa Fringe Festival: final weekend

So it’s the last weekend of the Ottawa Fringe. Not sure what to see? Not sure how to best spend your time? I highly recommend checking out FullyFringed.ca for a complete list of reviews. That’s right: we fifteen theatre critics have successfully reviewed every single show at this year’s Fringe. Woot! I reviewed five shows, [...]

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Weekend in Bristol: zoo animals, cyclists, and narcolepsy

This weekend the girls and I went on a quick train trip to the Bristol Zoo. The last time I was there was I was nine years old and had my face painted like a tiger, so says my mum. I’ve always said that zoos and farms and music festivals and camping trips and most [...]

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Blogger: not such a dirty word anymore

Since writing my post on The Value of Bloggers back in January, I have become more consciously aware (yes, I realize that phrasing is a tad repetitively redundant…) of arts companies that make special effort to connect with bloggers in the community. Last year the Ottawa Fringe Festival had a special wine and cheese event [...]

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Canada Geese & Modern Dance

Feathers ruffle like Modern Ballet practicum Dancers crinoline

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Dance makes no sense to me…

… and that’s why I love it. One of the first performances I caught at the 2010 PuSh Festival was called Poetics: a ballet brut by this New York group the Nature Theater of Oklahoma. I decided to attend this show on a whim, so I didn’t have the chance to read up on the [...]

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Leaving on a jet plane…

Okay, that’s a lie. I’m actually leaving on Air Canada. But that doesn’t sound half as romantic, and the plane will probably be late, and there will be all sorts of complications, and I’ll lose my suitcase, and there will be jet lag and general nausea… I mean, yay! traveling! This Sunday I am leaving [...]

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The Drowsy Chaperone: Far from a lullaby

Review by Jennie Barnes Sprightly, frenetic, and utterly ebullient, the National Arts Centre and Citadel Theatre’s co-production of The Drowsy Chaperone is certainly not what its wearisome title suggests. Originally conceived as burlesque stag party entertainment by playwrights Don McKellar, Lisa Lambert, Greg Morrison and Bob Martin, this Tony award-winning Canadian show makes its Ottawa [...]

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Ottawa arts community mourns Le Groupe Dance Lab

Originally posted on the Apartment 613 website “It feels like someone has died, like we just pulled the plug.” Ottawa artist Lainie Towell was the Director of Communications for Le Groupe Dance Lab, the only full-time dance company in Canada that devoted all its resources to research and development for choreographers. For over forty years [...]

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National Arts Centre: Gossip!

Just finished reading (or at least skimming extensively…) this incredible book by Ottawa journalist Sarah Jennings entitled Art and Politics: The History of the National Arts Centre. It is super informative and includes every bit of gossip you’d ever want to know about the NAC and all the folks involved. It even includes full colour [...]

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