CUE Showcase Recap~
Yesterday was dedicated to raising funds for CUE and its programming.
It began on a windy and blustery Sunday morning at 7am preparing for an 8 person tour of our home. It was a lovely group of people from Berkeley who heard about the Gregangelo Museum through a recent meeting we had about a future event we will be doing with the Berkeley Museum. We open our home to tours and charge a fee of which 100% goes to fund CUESPACE and its Programming. They were a lovely group of people and it was very refreshing to meet a bright young group of people and have stimulating conversations on Sunday morning, rather than my usual cup of coffee and the New York Times.

As soon as we finished the tour Gregangelo and I drove with Milan (see previous post) to Glen Park to grab lunch for the artists showcasing and headed over the Bay Bridge to West Oakland. Henry (V-Troupe member) was finishing up organizing the seating and Cecilia Palmtag our assistant Technical Director was humming along setting up the film projector, audio and lights. After setting up the green room, I began my favorite task of popping Popcorn! It is a mindless task for me and it a great way to relax after the week of high-energy and business stimulants.

Our line-up was great and some incredible stories from the artists. Cassie (see attached image) a 7 year old aerialist her second time in front of an audience wowed the crowd with her finesse and presentation of static trapeze to the song "Somewhere Out There" from the movie "American Tale". What was very moving about her story is that she was adopted from a orphanage in China and is now living in the Bay Area and training in Circus Arts. She is a very special child and through her loving parents is now on a path of self-esteem building, confidence,discipline and rewards that will enable her to succeed in what ever her life path will bring. This is what circus arts brings to youth and is a great catalyst for social change in the community.

We had a great supportive audience and Francis and Scott Wocicki from the tour of our home came to the show and brought friends. This particular showcase was a great success from all the collaborative elements, audiece and volunteers that came together to see, create and support the arts!




Here is the line-up of the show~
Trapeze Arts/Janene- Youth Aerial Troupe

Audrey Rosales- she's doing an aerial net act

Paula Kidwell- Paula is the newest member of V-Troupe. She joins us after a lifetime of training in acrobatics, dance, and stunt work. She trained with Cirque du Soleil in Montreal before braving the circus and performing arts world on her own. Today she is here to present an original acrobatic dance piece.

**Alex Ramon Gonzalez/ magic show (if he shows--I'm lead to believe that he will be there)- Alex is a Bay Area native from Richmond, CA whose talents have won him several awards of national acclaim. He has just returned from a world tour as a Principal Illusionist with Disney, and is best known for his Dove Act.


Fou Fou Ha!- is a Bay Area performance ensemble "Combining buffoonery, intricate dance choreography, drag queens, slapstick, and cheap bourbon, the Fou Fou HA! Dancing girls are a band of mayhem-makers like no other. Their performances always cause laughter and excitement (and at times a bit of brain damage)". Today, Fou Fou Ha brings us a Slapstick Dance number.

Hiromi Yoshida create and edit of our Heliopolis show and previewed it as well.

Here is a video created by HGTV for the show "Offbeat America" about our home.





Sincerely,
Jeffrey

good morning everyone
today is just a continuation of my monthly internship which is getting to a close. But in the mean time i still have a lot of work to do so i can't be worrying about that. i've got much editing to do, which i am a little nervous about because i've said so much about how much i want to do this and that, i now it's finally happening and i hope i can stnad up to my own hype.
Now, what i've been seeing is a lot of the process of how they work an event. i've seen the begining where it starts off as just a phone call, then the negotiating of the venue, artists, price etc.... i've seen and been helping out to the drawing of the contracts. One step i haven't seen is the rehersing of the acts. But i've seen the making of the extravigant incredible costumes. I've had to help out with the set up of the events, not physically helping out with the setting up but, i'vemaking sure the artists are going to be there at the right place at the right time. That was a task i didn't like so much, i don't like being on the phone with strangers....i don't know why. but it's a skill i have to get accustomed with whether i like it or not. And then the final step, the actual event. Of which i have not yet seen, but i have seen pictures. I will very soon come to an event and be able to see the seting up of the venue and the show itself. Gregangelo and Velocity Circus are having an exhibition at the DeYoung museum in San Francisco on Friday 17th of August (2007). I've heard the bustling excitment among the artists as well as the costume designers, costume makers, the artists not even involved and of course the managers of the whole thing. Should be very exciting.
I'm actually going to film the event which, again, makes me nervous. as far as i know, i'm the only one filming this event, so it's all on me...exciting.
well anyway, till tomrrow.
actually tomrrow's my day of so till thursday.


By:Tara Bayat