It is a quiet day today in the office. I met with Lisa Palter and Darkhia regarding admin paperwork for Darkhia and left the meeting feeling very fortunate for the incredible artists in our company. Darkhia Damba is our Mongolian Hand Dancer. Darkhia has been working with us for several years since her arrival from Mongolia and is one of only 2 artists in Mongolia that have mastered the Uran Gar" in 50 years. The Uran Gar is a very difficult and highly regarded folk dance of Mongolian that is connected poetically through movement to spring, nature, and the earth. I stared across the table at Darkhia and in my heart knew I was looking at an artist of extraordinary ability. I am beginning a campaign to publicize her extraordinary self. This campaign will include a new website, video, classes, and features on Darkhia and her performance of the "Uran Gar".

Sottol CUE's Director is here working on a fundraising campaign. CUE is Velocity's social venture http://www.cuekids.org/. I know i am throwing alot at him lately, but his tenacity and ability to maintain and move initiatives forward allows me the luxury of more time to plan and strategize around the business and next year's initiatives. These are interesting economic times and having a life/business partner that looks positively at the future and is literally a whirling dervish keeps us laughing and moving forward. Hence why he named the company "Velocity"...

Hiromi just returned from CUE Space is West Oakland where she was filming footage for Suzanne Ramsey aka Kitten on the Keys. We are creating a new promotional reel for her.

The photo attached is our Holiday display which Gregangelo put together for us here in the office to keep us comfy and warm during these grey and short winter days! It works except I think having all the chocolate and candy is too much temptation for one......


Holiday Greetings to everyone and may all the warmth and joy of the season be yours.

sincerely,

Jeffrey

Greetings!

I am so excited to have Sottol Weng join us! If you read the previous blog he introduced himself and his role. I had the privilege of working with Sottol on the San Francisco Halloween Festival. CUE the social venture arm of Gregangelo & Velocity Arts & Entertainment was responsible for volunteer solicitation and organization for the event. Sottol's big heart, tenacity and follow-thru was impressive to experience. Since then we invited him to become part of our team. He is working with me on very exciting projects for next year..

On another note we were part of YouTube's Live Broadcast on Saturday where we had programmed our "American Icons", Bronkar Beat Boxer, Henry Holloway- stunt stilter, Les Aerialles- Janene's aerial troupe, and of course the Merthlings at the event. Super Gigi lovely assistant for make-up was none other than Gregangelo and Darkhia carried the rest of the make-up call for the troupe. You can see some footage captured at the event at this link-

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Live&view=videos

Hiromi Yoshida our media guru is compiling several new videos including a new "American Icon".

We filmed Jim Berenholtz today for an upcoming project soon to be announced which incorporates his incredible knowledge of ancient cultures, our dance company and ethnic programming.

The photo above is "American Icons" on the YouTube Red Carpet

New Blogger and CUE Director

And now, through the miracle of the Information Age called the Internet, we present... Sottol!

Sottol Weng is the new Velocity Circus blogger and Director of Children United by Experience International (CUE for short). He will be giving you regular play-by-plays of Gregangelo and Velocity Circus performances. In addition, Sottol will be working with Jeffrey to develop and carry out new initiatives for CUE, including the rebrand currently underway.

If you haven't noticed, Sottol has the snarky habit of being self-referencial in the third person.

Sottol brings a palette of skills to CUE and Gregangelo & Velocity Arts & Entertainment, drawing from years of experience in nonprofit accounting, property management, event planning, and fundraising. Most recently, Sottol was Volunteer Coordinator for the San Francisco Halloween Festival. When not blogging, corresponding, and plotting to take over the world, Sottol may be found biking past traffic, browsing on succulent books, dancing in the Mission, or standing impatiently in line at your local granola station.

Frosting, Sprinkles and Sparkles

Last Friday, I got my feet wet as a performer of Gregangelo and Velocity Arts. No, not literally wet. My black shoes were covered in pink faux fur . The occasion? The Christmas Tree Lighting at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco. I was dressed as a pastry and had a puppet on hand that talked as much as I did.

To the joy of youth and seniors alike, Gregangelo and the Velocity crew greeted, entertained, and provided photo ops to hundreds of local and out-of-town holiday revelers. We had a BIG cake that shot foamy snow out its top. Gregangelo wore the shoes of King Candy, handing out sweets and inciting smiles. In the background, you could hear the SF Girls Chorus caroling.

The best part was seeing the spontaneous smiles and good-natured jokes from the seniors in the audience. -My, you look good enough to eat!

The hotel staff were also enthusiastic to see us there. While the hotel seemed to have scaled back a bit from previous years (cider and cookies absent), a good time was had as Gregangelo continued an ongoing relationship with the Hyatt Regency Hotel.