Abby Corfan

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On Wednesday night I had the opportunity to watch the Rambert Dance Company at Birmingham Hippodrome. Thanks to Fiona, for giving me her extra press ticket!

I have seen quite a lot of dance shows over the part few years, and have always enjoyed the spectacle and been frequently impressed by the sheer physical effort that the dancers can achieve. But until I saw the Rambert I wasn’t entirely convinced I ‘got’ dance. 

Now although my job involves basically finding ways to persuade audiences that all art is accessible, and that you don’t need specialist knowledge to enjoy something, I personally have not found some art forms to be for me. Some visual art leaves me cold, and I’m not a great opera lover. I like music, both classical and modern; most kinds of theatre and live arts; and I love museums and heritage. I think with dance I was a little on the fence. But not anymore! Seeing the Rambert was a fantastic experience- I was completely blown away. 

We stayed after the show for a talk from the Artistic Director of Rambert, Mark Baldwin, and he explained how the philosophy of the Rambert company is that they work from the very beginning creating work with a composer, choreographer and designer. This was particularly evident in the first piece, Eternal Light; which was an interpretation of Howard Goodall’s beautiful Requiem, complete with orchestra, soloists and choir. The overall result is both detailed and spectacular.

I can’t do the show justice in words (read Fiona’s brilliant review for West Midlands Dance for more info) but it was an arts experience that has stayed with me, and has made me determined to seek out more great dance performances to go see. It has also reminded me why I like working in the arts- because you never know when and how art can take you someplace else.

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I haven’t blogged for a while… No excuses other than I am spending increasing amounts of time at work talking about blogging, and other social media things, and why it is so important for arts organisations. I think I’ve become a little bit bogged down in the theory and  I should be practising what I preach!

To get me started here is a blog I wrote for the Audiences Central website, back in Feb- why social media isn’t about technology:

I have been researching case studies of social media in the arts and come across this interesting example. Many people are put off using ‘social media’ because it seems like you need to invest in technology, build blogs and generally be a bit of a techno whizz. I strongly believe that social media doesn’t need to rely on super shiny gadgets or fancy websites- in fact it’s so much more about the ‘social’ part than the ‘media’.

Which leads me to this example: At York City Art Gallery they recently invited people to comment and write messages under works of art using blackboard and chalk. It was for an exhibition curated by Tracy Chevalier (author of Girl with a Pearl Earring) who chose pieces from the gallery’s collection which depicted parts of stories. These were hung with a blackboard border and gallery attenders were invited to write suggestions for the beginning and ends of those stories around the artworks. This is not a new technology, but it is an application of the principles of sharing, commenting and engaging in a dialogue; which to me is exactly what social media is for.

[Original source for this case study is Jonathan Drori’s speech at the AMA event New Media New Marketing. Read the notes from that event here.]

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I haven’t had chance to write a proper post, although I keep noting things down I should blog about. So to aleviate my blogging guilt here are a couple of links to things I’ve been reading this week:

I came across the Big Art Mob project today- Channel 4 and ACE want people to photograph pieces of public art across the UK, in order to create a comprehensive survey of public art. I really like this idea, but only found it in a tiny link at the bottom of another site so not sure how many people will have heard about it.

On the subject of public art I liked Jonathan Jone’s blog about the white horse for the Ebbsfleet Landmark commission- I like his point about the surrealism the horse will create and how it echoes more historical British landmarks. I wish people would stop calling it the ‘angel of the south sculpture’ though.

I want to blog about this properly but the Arts Council have launched their free theatre tickets for under 26s programme- featuring a number of theatres in the West Midlands.

And finally I read with interest Nina Simon’s article about the concept of wikimuseums. The idea of how you translate the physical into digital is one I’m very interested in, but that’s a whole other post!

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I have been passed on the meme baton from Jon Bounds- the concept being I need to list seven things you might not know about me.  So here goes:

1. I have a pathological inability to stop myself from reading any bit of text I see. This includes roadsigns, boring health and safety posters on office walls, other people’s newspapers, the tiny brandnames on the sides of people’s glasses and so on. I particularly struggle when faced with book shelves as I can’t help but read every single title. I am assured by others this makes me a freak, but I can’t find a way to stop it. It is a serious affliction.

2. I am appalling bad at mental arithmetic. This is a source of great amusement to my family who enjoy giving me sums to do to watch me squirm. I still count on my fingers and am particularly bad at percentages (I can just about do a 10% tip but sale shopping can be tricky!)

3. I have a secret desire to be a proper belting out Christina Aguilera type singer. I would like to do the x factor style key change where an enormous bright light and gospel choir appear behind me. I would be singing ‘Feeling Good’ (the Nina Simone, not Muse version )

4. I am very clumsy and have had some spectacular falls in my time. Most notable incidents include slipping on my legwarmers whilst at an 80s fancy dress party, and falling over in the street (unintoxicated) on my very first date with Ed. Not cool.

5. My most embarrassing moment (apart from falling over) was whilst at uni being the only person who turned up for a seminar on medieval farming. I hadn’t done any of the reading and the seminar tutor insisted on carrying on with just the 2 of us. I improvised for about half an hour before he took pity on me and sent me away. The shame. 

6. I hate mayonnaise which causes me no end of trauma when trying to select sandwiches in shops. 

7. And finally; I was in the chorus for a performance of Cabaret whilst at sixth form college, and at the very last minute was the understudy for the tap dancing gorilla. This combined 2 of my skills; being tall enough to fit into the gorilla suit, and being able to tap dance.

Well that was fascinating I’m sure! I now have to pass this on (although I think most people I know have had it from someone) so here are some twitterers who haven’t: Edward, Fiona, Johnathan, Amy, my brother and my dad!

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I’ve been working on my entry for the YouTube symphony orchestra today- and finding it very hard going! It requires a completely different approach to playing in a conventional orchestra, or even playing on my own.

A couple of things I’ve noticed;

I’m much more nervous about this than any live performance! I have been playing the ‘cello for about fifteen years and am never usually nervous before an orchestral performance. Even when I’ve done solos I’ve not felt this bad! I think this must be because I feel more under pressure at the prospect of being recorded for posterity- with live performance it’s so fleeting that if you make a mistake you can move on and hope no one noticed!

It’s very hard to concentrate on playing an orchestral part on your own without the rest of the orchestra. That doesn’t mean I don’t count the beats while I’m in an orchestra, but more that it’s easier to go with the general momentum of the other musicians. You learn as an orchestral musician to trust the others around you, and to keep one eye on the conductor, one eye on the leader of the section and another on the music!

I have become even more critical of my own sound whilst practising for this. Again it has to do with the nerves, but also because I’ve watched some other cellists’ videos and am comparing myself against them. This is something you would never do in an actual orchestra.

I wanted to try the process not because I think I’m good enough to get through to the live performance in New York, but more because I was interested in how it might work. What I’ve learnt is that you cannot replicate the security of playing with other musicians, and the process of engaging with an online experiment can be as much a learning experience as the final output.

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The National Theatre has announced that they will be launching live screenings of performances at national cinemas up and down the country. These HD broadcasts will begin in June with Helen Mirren in Phedre, with 3 more performances to follow.

Tickets for these screenings will cost £10, which is considerably less even than the train ticket to London. As such it is pretty good value, and should be an interesting experience. It may even lead to regional theatres reciprocating with screenings of productions in London cinemas (although at a cost of £50,000 per broadcast maybe not!) It is a nice example of how arts organisations shouldn’t be afraid to present their output across different platforms, as this can only widen the reach of their performances.

My only concern is whether the screenings will encourage people who attend cinema but not theatre to try something new (which is clearly Nick Hytner’s plan), or whether all the tickets will be snapped up by discerning theatre audiences who are based outside of London.  Either way it is definitely a step in the right direction.

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Interesting news today that Andy Burnham is to announce a competition for British cities to win the title of Capital of Culture. The idea has been developed by Burnham with Phil Redmond as a result of Liverpool’s success as European capital of culture, which apparently generated £176m from tourism and had 3.5 million first time visitors.

The idea is not just to fund cultural projects in cities, but that the winning city would host a number of traditionally ‘Londoncentric’ events, such as the Turner Prize and the Baftas. In addition, the first city will be named in time for 2012 and will receive coverage from the BBC. Burnham has talked about tackling the perception that all good arts activity happens in London, and this idea seems to go some way towards this.

Crucially the competition seems to be focused on how cultural activity can impact upon the regeneration of cities.* And this is where I think Birmingham has a case for the title. If Birmingham City Council are really serious that the Big City Plan will drastically change Birmingham as a city, then this kind of thing is exactly what they should be focusing on. Culture can shape cities, both physically and in the eyes of the rest of the world.  As far as I can tell, the culture section of the Big City Plan seems mainly focused on the existing organisations and venues, rather than the wider cultural life of the city (plus it also covers sport and leisure in the same section!) If there were better physical spaces that were accessible to all for creation of cultural works that would be a start, but projects need more than just a plot of land to make them happen. We need strong leadership and investment, in new ideas but also in those arts organisations that already do a fantastic job of advocating the city to the rest of the world. This is where I feel the Big City Plan falls short, because they are neglecting the idea of cultural regeneration in terms of investment in projects other than buildings. Could the Big City Plan support a developed ArtsFest for example? It will take something spectacular, a festival or outlandish project like Liverpool’s spider to demonstrate the potential of Birmingham as a truly cultural city. But if Liverpool can do it, why not Birmingham?

* This kind of investment in public cultural life during poor economic times is nothing new- Andy Burnham has pointed to FDR as an example when during the great depression he instigated large cultural regeneration projects as part of the New Deal. (I like such historical details )

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Thanks to Hannah Rudman’s blog I have discovered my new favourite use of digital technology in the arts- the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. This is an experiment to create the world’s first collaborative orchestra, and a partnership between international orchestras, concert halls and of course YouTube.

The idea is simple but brilliant- you download your part from a specially composed score by Chinese film score composer Tan Dun, get someone to film you playing your part and then upload to YouTube. You also have to film yourself playing a second piece, and these 2 videos are your audition for the orchestra. The best videos will be combined for the world’s first virtual performance, and then the top rated individual performers will be invited to Carnegie Hall for a performance of the symphony in April 2009.

They have made it open to everyone, amateur or professional (not under contract) and you don’t even have to play a traditional orchestral instrument- as long as you play in pitch of an instrument you can sing, rap or play wine glasses… There are masterclass videos from LSO players, and in order for your rendition to fit with everyone else’s performances there are videos of the conductor to play along with.

It’s beautifully thought through, and such a lovely idea that I can’t just blog about it and not at least have a go. I’ve played the ‘cello for fifteen years now, and regularly play with symphony orchestras. So, I’ve downloaded the part (the first bit pictured here) and am going to attempt to audition for the orchestra. I don’t expect to get anywhere near Carnegie Hall (!) but I will try.

Luckily I have my own in-house DoP so the video should look ok! But I do think it will be hard work because when I play with orchestras normally, it’s easy to keep in time because you’re surrounded by other players. I’ve never had to play an orchestral part all on my own with only a video of the conductor not even a real baton in front of me- I suspect this will take some practice! Also, because it is a contemporary piece, the tempo and key changes regularly- something you normally rely on the rest of the ‘cello section to support you with! 

I’ve got until 28 January to upload my videos- so this fulfills my inevitable New Year’s resolution that I must do more ‘cello practice! I will keep track of my progress here, and upload the final video if it doesn’t sound too horrendous!

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