Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, also simply known as Broadway, refers to the theatrical performances which are presented in the 41 professional theatres, each with 500 or more seats, located in the Theater District and the Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Broadway and London's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world.
While the thoroughfare itself is eponymous with the district and its collection of 41 theaters, and it is also closely identified with Times Square, only three of the theaters are located on Broadway itself (namely the Broadway Theatre, the Palace Theatre, and the Winter Garden Theatre). The rest are located on the numbered cross streets extending from the Nederlander Theatre one block south of Times Square on West 41st Street, north along either side of Broadway to 53rd street, as well as the Vivian Beaumont Theater, at Lincoln Center on West 65th street. While exceptions exist, the term "Broadway theatre" is generally reserved for venues with a seating capacity of at least 500 people, smaller theaters are referred to as off-Broadway (regardless of location), while very small venues (less than 100) are called off-off-Broadway, a term that can also apply to non-commercial or "avant-garde" theater, or productions held outside of traditional theater venues.
The Theater District is a popular tourist attraction in New York City. According to The Broadway League, for the 2018–2019 season (which ended May 26, 2019) total attendance was 14,768,254 and Broadway shows had US$1,829,312,140 in grosses, with attendance up 9.5%, grosses up 10.3%, and playing weeks up 9.3%.
Most Broadway shows are musicals. Historian Martin Shefter argues that "'Broadway musicals', culminating in the productions of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, became enormously influential forms of American popular culture" and contributed to making New York City the cultural capital of the world."
History.
Early theatre in New York.
New York did not have a significant theatre presence until about 1750 when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street, which held about 280 people. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as "The Beggar's Opera". In 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia, and opened with "The Merchant of Venice" and "The Anatomist". The company moved to New York in 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like "Damon and Phillida". The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed in 1798, the year the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street (now called Park Row). The Bowery Theatre opened in 1826, followed by others.
By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in Lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblo's Garden opened and soon became one of New York's premier nightspots. The 3,000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. In 1844, Palmo's Opera House opened and presented opera for only four seasons before bankruptcy led to its rebranding as a venue for plays under the name Burton's Theatre. The Astor Opera House opened in 1847. A riot broke out in 1849 when the lower-class patrons of the Bowery objected to what they perceived as snobbery by the upper-class audiences at Astor Place: "After the Astor Place Riot of 1849, entertainment in New York City was divided along class lines: opera was chiefly for the upper-middle and upper classes, minstrel shows and melodramas for the middle-class, variety shows in concert saloons for men of the working class and the slumming middle-class."
The plays of William Shakespeare were frequently performed on the Broadway stage during the period, most notably by American actor Edwin Booth who was internationally known for his performance as Hamlet. Booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865 (with the run ending just a few months before Booth's brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln), and would later revive the role at his own Booth's Theatre (which was managed for a time by his brother Junius Brutus Booth, Jr.). Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving, Tommaso Salvini, Fanny Davenport, and Charles Fechter.
Birth of the musical and post-Civil War.
Theatre in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown Manhattan beginning around 1850, seeking less expensive real estate. At the beginning of the 19th century, the area that now comprises the Theater District was owned by a handful of families and comprised a few farms. In 1836, Mayor Cornelius Lawrence opened 42nd Street and invited Manhattanites to "enjoy the pure clean air." Close to 60 years later, theatrical entrepreneur Oscar Hammerstein I built the iconic Victoria Theater on West 42nd Street.
Broadway's first "long-run" musical was a 50-performance hit called "The Elves" in 1857. In 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square, and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square. Theatres did not arrive in the Times Square area until the early 1900s, and the Broadway theatres did not consolidate there until a large number of theatres were built around the square in the 1920s and 1930s. New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keene's "musical burletta" "The Seven Sisters" (1860) shattered previous New York records with a run of 253 performances. It was at a performance by Keene's troupe of "Our American Cousin" in Washington, D.C. that Abraham Lincoln was shot.
The first theatre piece that conforms to the modern conception of a musical, adding dance and original music that helped to tell the story, is considered to be "The Black Crook", which premiered in New York on September 12, 1866. The production was five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, "The Black Domino/Between You, Me and the Post" was the first show to call itself a "musical comedy".
Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 ("The Mulligan Guard Picnic") and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham. These musical comedies featured characters and situations taken from the everyday life of New York's lower classes and represented a significant step forward from vaudeville and burlesque, towards a more literate form. They starred high-quality singers (Lillian Russell, Vivienne Segal, and Fay Templeton), instead of the women of questionable repute who had starred in earlier musical forms.
As transportation improved, poverty in New York diminished, and street lighting made for safer travel at night, the number of potential patrons for the growing number of theatres increased enormously. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits and improved production values. As in England, during the latter half of the century, the theatre began to be cleaned up, with less prostitution hindering the attendance of the theatre by women. Gilbert and Sullivan's family-friendly comic opera hits, beginning with "H.M.S. Pinafore" in 1878, were imported to New York (by the authors and also in numerous unlicensed productions). They were imitated in New York by American productions such as Reginald Dekoven's "Robin Hood" (1891) and John Philip Sousa's "El Capitan" (1896), along with operas, ballets, and other British and European hits.
1890s and early 1900s.
Charles H. Hoyt's "A Trip to Chinatown" (1891) became Broadway's long-run champion, holding the stage for 657 performances. This would not be surpassed until "Irene" in 1919. In 1896, theatre owners Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger formed the Theatrical Syndicate, which controlled almost every legitimate theatre in the US for the next sixteen years. However, smaller vaudeville and variety houses proliferated, and Off-Broadway was well established by the end of the 19th century.
"A Trip to Coontown" (1898) was the first musical comedy entirely produced and performed by African Americans in a Broadway theatre (largely inspired by the routines of the minstrel shows), followed by the ragtime-tinged "" (1898), and the highly successful "In Dahomey" (1902). Hundreds of musical comedies were staged on Broadway in the 1890s and early 1900s made up of songs written in New York's Tin Pan Alley involving composers such as Gus Edwards, John Walter Bratton, and George M. Cohan ("Little Johnny Jones" (1904), "45 Minutes From Broadway" (1906), and "George Washington Jr." (1906)). Still, New York runs continued to be relatively short, with a few exceptions, compared with London runs, until World War I.
A few very successful British musicals continued to achieve great success in New York, including "Florodora" in 1900–01.
1900–1925.
In the early years of the 20th century, translations of popular late-19th century continental operettas were joined by the "Princess Theatre" shows of the 1910s by writers such as P. G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, and Harry B. Smith. Victor Herbert, whose work included some intimate musical plays with modern settings as well as his string of famous operettas ("The Fortune Teller" (1898), "Babes in Toyland" (1903), "Mlle. Modiste" (1905), "The Red Mill" (1906), and "Naughty Marietta" (1910)).
Beginning with "The Red Mill", Broadway shows installed electric signs outside the theatres. Since colored bulbs burned out too quickly, white lights were used, and Broadway was nicknamed "The Great White Way". In August 1919, the Actors' Equity Association demanded a standard contract for all professional productions. After a strike shut down all the theatres, the producers were forced to agree. By the 1920s, the Shubert Brothers had risen to take over the majority of the theatres from the Erlanger syndicate.
During this time, the play "Lightnin by Winchell Smith and Frank Bacon became the first Broadway show to reach 700 performances. From then, it would go on to become the first show to reach 1,000 performances. "Lightnin was the longest-running Broadway show until being overtaken in performance totals by "Abie's Irish Rose" in 1925.
Competing with motion pictures.
The motion picture mounted a challenge to the stage. At first, films were silent and presented only limited competition. By the end of the 1920s, films like "The Jazz Singer" were presented with synchronized sound, and critics wondered if the cinema would replace live theatre altogether. While live vaudeville could not compete with these inexpensive films that featured vaudeville stars and major comedians of the day, other theatres survived. The musicals of the Roaring Twenties, borrowing from vaudeville, music hall, and other light entertainment, tended to ignore plot in favor of emphasizing star actors and actresses, big dance routines, and popular songs. Florenz Ziegfeld produced annual spectacular song-and-dance revues on Broadway featuring extravagant sets and elaborate costumes, but there was little to tie the various numbers together. Typical of the 1920s were lighthearted productions such as "Sally"; "Lady Be Good"; "Sunny"; "No, No, Nanette"; "Harlem"; "Oh, Kay!"; and "Funny Face". Their books may have been forgettable, but they produced enduring standards from George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Vincent Youmans, and Rodgers and Hart, among others, and Noël Coward, Sigmund Romberg, and Rudolf Friml continued in the vein of Victor Herbert. Live theatre has survived the invention of cinema.
Between the wars.
Leaving these comparatively frivolous entertainments behind and taking the drama a step forward, "Show Boat" premiered on December 27, 1927, at the Ziegfeld Theatre. It represented a complete integration of book and score, with dramatic themes, as told through the music, dialogue, setting, and movement, woven together more seamlessly than in previous musicals. It ran for 572 performances.The 1920s also spawned a new age of American playwright with the emergence of Eugene O'Neill, whose plays "Beyond the Horizon", "Anna Christie", "The Hairy Ape", "Strange Interlude", and "Mourning Becomes Electra" proved that there was an audience for serious drama on Broadway, and O'Neill's success paved the way for major dramatists like Elmer Rice, Maxwell Anderson, Robert E. Sherwood, Clifford Odets, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller, as well as writers of comedy like George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Classical revivals also proved popular with Broadway theatre-goers, notably John Barrymore in "Hamlet" and "Richard III, "John Gielgud in "Hamlet", "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Much Ado About Nothing", Walter Hampden and José Ferrer in "Cyrano de Bergerac", Paul Robeson and Ferrer in "Othello", Maurice Evans in "Richard II" and the plays of George Bernard Shaw, and Katharine Cornell in such plays as "Romeo and Juliet", "Antony and Cleopatra", and "Candida".
As World War II approached, a dozen Broadway dramas addressed the rise of Nazism in Europe and the issue of American non-intervention. The most successful was Lillian Hellman's "Watch on the Rhine", which opened in April 1941.
1943–1970.
After the lean years of the Great Depression, Broadway theatre had entered a golden age with the blockbuster hit "Oklahoma!", in 1943, which ran for 2,212 performances. According to John Kenrick's writings on Broadway musicals, "Every season saw new stage musicals send songs to the top of the charts. Public demand, a booming economy and abundant creative talent kept Broadway hopping. To this day, the shows of the 1950s form the core of the musical theatre repertory." Kenrick notes that "the late 1960s marked a time of cultural upheaval. The changes would prove painful for many—including those behind the scenes, as well as those in the audience." Of the 1970s, Kenrick writes: "Just when it seemed that traditional book musicals were back in style, the decade ended with critics and audiences giving mixed signals."
Ken Bloom observed that "The 1960s and 1970s saw a worsening of the area [Times Square] and a drop in the number of legitimate shows produced on Broadway." By way of comparison, in the 1950 to 1951 season (May to May) 94 productions opened on Broadway; in the 1969 to 1970 season (June to May) there were 59 productions (fifteen were revivals). In the twenties, there were 70–80 theaters, but by 1969, there were 36 left.
1980s.
In early 1982, Joe Papp, the theatrical producer and director who established The Public Theater, led the "Save the Theatres" campaign. It was a not-for-profit group supported by the Actors Equity union to save the theater buildings in the neighborhood from demolition by monied Manhattan development interests. Papp provided resources, recruited a publicist and celebrated actors, and provided audio, lighting, and technical crews for the effort.
At Papp's behest, in July 1982, a bill was introduced in the 97th Congress, entitled "H.R.6885, A bill to designate the Broadway/Times Square Theatre District in the City of New York as a national historic site". The legislation would have provided certain US government resources and assistance to help the city preserve the district. Faced with strong opposition and lobbying by Mayor Ed Koch's Administration and corporate Manhattan development interests, the bill was not passed. The Save the Theatres campaign then turned their efforts to supporting the establishment of the Theater District as a registered historic district. In December 1983, Save the Theatres prepared "The Broadway Theater District, a Preservation Development and Management Plan", and demanded that each theater in the district receive landmark designation. Mayor Ed Koch ultimately reacted by creating a Theater Advisory Council, which included Papp.
COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Broadway theaters closed March 12, 2020, shuttering 16 shows that were playing or were in the process of opening. The shutdown was extended first to April, then to May, then June, then September 2020 and January 2021, and later to June 1, 2021. The 74th Tony Awards were also postponed and were supposed to be held virtually later in 2020, but nothing new has been announced after the Tony nominations were announced on October 15, 2020, by James Monroe Iglehart. Broadway performances are tentatively set to resume in September 2021.
Description.
Schedule.
Although there are some exceptions, shows with open-ended runs generally have evening performances Tuesday through Saturday, with a 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. "curtain". The afternoon "matinée" performances are at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and at 3:00 p.m. on Sundays. This makes for an eight-performance week. On this schedule, most shows do not play on Monday and the shows and theatres are said to be "dark" on that day. The actors and the crew in these shows tend to regard Sunday evening through Monday evening as their weekend. The Tony award presentation ceremony is usually held on a Sunday evening in June to fit this schedule.
In recent years, some shows have moved their Tuesday show time an hour earlier to 7:00 pm. The rationale for this move was that since fewer tourists take in shows midweek, Tuesday attendance depends more on local patrons. The earlier curtain makes it possible for suburban patrons to get home by a reasonable hour after the show. Some shows, especially those produced by Disney, change their performance schedules fairly frequently depending on the season. This is done in order to maximize access to their target audience.
Producers and theatre owners.
Most Broadway producers and theatre owners are members of The Broadway League (formerly "The League of American Theatres and Producers"), a trade organization that promotes Broadway theatre as a whole, negotiates contracts with the various theatrical unions and agreements with the guilds, and co-administers the Tony Awards with the American Theatre Wing, a service organization. While the League and the theatrical unions are sometimes at loggerheads during those periods when new contracts are being negotiated, they also cooperate on many projects and events designed to promote professional theatre in New York.
Of the four non-profit theatre companies with Broadway theatres, all four (Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Second Stage Theatre) belong to the League of Resident Theatres and have contracts with the theatrical unions which are negotiated separately from the other Broadway theatre and producers. (Disney also negotiates apart from the League, as did Livent before it closed down its operations.)
The majority of Broadway theatres are owned or managed by three organizations: the Shubert Organization, a for-profit arm of the non-profit Shubert Foundation, which owns seventeen theatres; the Nederlander Organization, which controls nine theatres; and Jujamcyn, which owns five Broadway houses.
Personnel.
Both musicals and stage-plays on Broadway often rely on casting well-known performers in leading roles to draw larger audiences or bring in new audience members to the theatre. Actors from movies and television are frequently cast for the revivals of Broadway shows or are used to replace actors leaving a cast. There are still, however, performers who are primarily stage actors, spending most of their time "on the boards", and appearing in television and screen roles only secondarily. As Patrick Healy of "The New York Times" noted:
Broadway once had many homegrown stars who committed to working on a show for a year, as Nathan Lane has for "The Addams Family". In 2010, some theater heavyweights like Mr. Lane were not even nominated; instead, several Tony Awards were given for productions that were always intended to be short-timers on Broadway, given that many of their film-star performers had to move on to other commitments.
According to Mark Shenton, "One of the biggest changes to the commercial theatrical landscape—on both sides of the Atlantic—over the past decade or so is that sightings of big star names turning out to do plays has [sic] gone up; but the runs they are prepared to commit to has gone down. Time was that a producer would require a minimum commitment from his star of six months, and perhaps a year; now, the 13-week run is the norm."
The minimum size of the Broadway orchestra is governed by an agreement with the musicians' union (Local 802, American Federation of Musicians) and The Broadway League. For example, the agreement specifies the minimum size of the orchestra at the Minskoff Theatre to be 18, while at the Music Box Theatre it is 9.
Runs.
Most Broadway shows are commercial productions intended to make a profit for the producers and investors ("backers" or "angels"), and therefore have open-ended runs (duration that the production plays), meaning that the length of their presentation is not set beforehand, but depends on critical response, word of mouth, and the effectiveness of the show's advertising, all of which determine ticket sales. Investing in a commercial production carries a varied degree of financial risk. Shows need not make a profit immediately; should they make their "nut" (weekly operating expenses), or lose money at a rate acceptable to the producers, they may continue to run in the expectation that, eventually, they will pay back their initial costs and become profitable. In some borderline situations, producers may ask that royalties be temporarily reduced or waived, or even that performers—with the permission of their unions—take reduced salaries, to prevent a show from closing. Theatre owners, who are not generally profit participants in most productions, may waive or reduce rents, or even lend money to a show to keep it running.
Some Broadway shows are produced by non-commercial organizations as part of a regular subscription season—Lincoln Center Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Second Stage Theater are the four non-profit theatre companies that currently have permanent Broadway venues. Some other productions are produced on Broadway with "limited engagement runs" for several reasons, including financial issues, prior engagements of the performers, or temporary availability of a theatre between the end of one production and the beginning of another. However, some shows with planned limited engagement runs may, after critical acclaim or box office success, extend their engagements or convert to open-ended runs. This was the case with 2007's "", 2009's "God of Carnage", and 2012's "Newsies".
Historically, musicals on Broadway tend to have longer runs than "straight" (i.e., non-musical) plays. On January 9, 2006, "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Majestic Theatre became the longest-running Broadway musical, with 7,486 performances, overtaking "Cats".
Audience.
Attending a Broadway show is a common tourist activity in New York. The TKTS booths sell same-day tickets (and in certain cases, next-day matinee tickets) for many Broadway and Off-Broadway shows at a discount of 20 to 50%. The TKTS booths are located in Times Square, in Lower Manhattan, and at Lincoln Center. This service is run by Theatre Development Fund. Many Broadway theatres also offer special student rates, same-day "rush" or "lottery" tickets, or standing-room tickets to help ensure that their theatres are as full—and their grosses as high—as possible. According to The Broadway League, total Broadway attendance was 14.77 million in 2018–2019, compared to 13.79 million in 2017–2018. The Broadway League also reports that approximately 66% of all Broadway tickets were purchased by tourists in the 2012–2013 season, an increase of three percent from the 2011–2012 season. By way of comparison, London's West End theatre reported a total attendance of 15.5 million for major commercial and grant-aided theatres in central London for 2018. The average age of the Broadway audience in the 2017–18 theater season was 40, the lowest it had been in nearly two decades.
Off-Broadway and US tours.
The classification of theatres is governed by language in Actors' Equity Association contracts. To be eligible for a Tony, a production must be in a house with 500 seats or more and in the Theater District, which are the criteria that define Broadway theatre. Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows often provide a more experimental, challenging, and intimate performance than is possible in the larger Broadway theatres. Some Broadway shows, however, such as the musicals "Hair", "Little Shop of Horrors", "Spring Awakening", "Next to Normal", "Rent", "Avenue Q", "In the Heights", "Fun Home", "Dear Evan Hansen", and "Hamilton", began their runs Off-Broadway and later transferred to Broadway, seeking to replicate their intimate experience in a larger theatre.
After, or even during, successful runs in Broadway theatres, producers often remount their productions with new casts and crew for the Broadway national tour, which travels to theatres in major cities across the country. Sometimes when a show closes on Broadway, the entire production, with most if not all of the original cast intact, is relaunched as a touring company, hence the name "Broadway national tour". Some shows may even have several touring companies out at a time, whether the show is still running in New York or not, with many companies "sitting down" in other major cities for their own extended runs.
Smaller cities may attract national touring companies, but for shorter periods they may even be serviced by "bus and truck" tours. These are scaled-down versions of the larger, national touring productions, historically acquiring their name because the casts generally traveled by bus instead of by air, while the sets and equipment traveled by truck. Tours of this type, which frequently feature a reduced physical production to accommodate smaller venues and tighter schedules, often run for weeks rather than months. Some will even play "split weeks", which are half a week in one town and the second half in another. On occasion, they will also play "one-nighters". The production values are usually less lavish than the typical Broadway national tour or national touring production and the actors, while still members of the actor's union, are compensated under a different, less lucrative union contract. The Touring Broadway Awards, presented by The Broadway League, honored excellence in touring Broadway.
Awards.
Broadway productions and artists are honored by the annual Antoinette Perry Awards (commonly called the "Tony Awards", or "Tony"), given by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, and that were first presented in 1947. The Tony is Broadway's most prestigious award, comparable to the Academy Awards for Hollywood film productions. Their importance has increased since 1967 when the awards presentation show began to be broadcast on national television. In a strategy to improve the television ratings, celebrities are often chosen to host the show, some with scant connection to the theatre. The most recent Tony Awards ceremony was held on June 9, 2019. Other awards given to Broadway productions include the Drama Desk Award, presented since 1955, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards, first given in 1936, and the Outer Critics Circle Award, initially presented in 1950.
Broadway theatres and current productions.
Upcoming productions.
The following have been announced as future Broadway productions. The theatre in which they will run may not yet be known, or, if known, may be currently occupied by another show.


Rakuzan ware (Ehime)

 is a type of Japanese pottery traditionally made in Matsuyama, Ehime prefecture.
A little red-clawed crab (赤手蟹 "akategani") peeking out of the sides of the vessel is the trademark.


National Peace Quilt


Leblebici hor-hor agha

Leblebici hor-hor agha "(The Chickpea Seller)" is an 1875 Turkish-language operetta by the Ottoman-Armenian composer Tigran Chukhajian. It has been claimed as the first original Turkish operetta, though Chukhajian's "Arif'in Hilesi" "(Arif's Trick)" was earlier.
Bibliography.


Bryan Leung

Bryan Leung Kar-yan (Chinese: , born 20 January 1949) is a Hong Kong film and television actor and film director who has played roles in numerous acclaimed martial arts films. He is affectionately known as "Beardy" due to his trademark facial hair. He also has characteristic hyper-extendable fingers, which can be observed when he has his palms open and his fingers outstretched. Despite being one of the most well-known faces in Hong Kong action cinema, he had no formal martial arts training, relying on his talents at mimicry to imitate the moves shown to him by the action directors.
Career.
Leung's action film career began in 1969, his good looks and natural athleticism taking him to Shaw Brothers, where he appeared in several renowned period kung fu films, although he was rarely offered leading roles. His big-break came under the direction of Sammo Hung, with whom he fought in "Enter the Fat Dragon" (1978), and co-starred in the seminal "Warriors Two" (1978). His performance in "Warriors Two", as Mr. Tsan, a real-life historical doctor and master of Wing Chun, is described as "the best performance of his career" by Mark Pollard of "Kung Fu Cinema", who goes on to write:
Leung continued to work with Sammo Hung, achieving further success with a string of highly rated kung-fu comedies, including "Knockabout" (1979), where he and Yuen Biao played crooks being harassed by a kung-fu beggar played by Hung.
In "Dreadnaught" (1981), he played Wong Fei-hung's student (without his trademark beard). The film again featured Yuen Biao, as well as veteran kung-fu star Kwan Tak-hing playing Wong Fei-hung. It also marked Leung's first collaboration with director Yuen Woo-ping, and he would go on to star in several acclaimed Yuen Woo-ping directed films, including "Legend of a Fighter" (1982), in which he portrayed historical figure Fok Yuen-gap, and "The Miracle Fighters" (1982).
During this same period, Leung also enjoyed some success in television acting, appearing as Kiu Fung in TVB's 1982 adaptation of Louis Cha's "Wuxia" novel "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" and as Kwok Ching in the 1983 adaptation of "The Return of the Condor Heroes".
Despite this acting success, Leung's 1984 directorial debut, "Profile in Anger", was relatively unsuccessful. This marked a lowering of his star profile, as he began to take more supporting roles and less leading roles. He continues to act and direct into the 2000s, occasionally appearing in high-profile films like "Last Hero in China" (1993), where he co-starred with Jet Li and reprised the role he had played in 1981's "Dreadnaught", and several Stephen Chow vehicles including "Legend of the Dragon" (1990).
In 2009, Leung is to direct once again in a new martial arts action film tentatively titled "Blood Relations". He will also star in the film alongside his son Leung Ho-yee and martial arts film actor Gordon Liu.


Ipomedon

Ipomedon is a romance composed in Anglo-Norman verse by Hue de Rotelande in the late 12th century at Credenhill near Hereford. In the sequel "Protheselaus", which must have been composed slightly later, Hue acknowledges as his patron Gilbert fitzBaderon, lord of Monmouth. Gilbert's death in or just before 1191 gives an approximate terminus ante quem to both romances.
"Ipomedon" is comparatively rich in references to the real world in which the poet lived. He names himself in full "Hue de Rotelande" (line 33 and two other places) and confirms that his house was at Credenhill: "A Credehulle a ma meisun" (line 10571). He mentions the siege of Rouen by King Louis VII of France in 1174 (lines 5351-5352), and also names a Welsh king called "Ris", almost certainly Rhys ap Gruffydd (line 8942). He has a backhanded compliment for the well-known writer Walter Map, evidently a friend or rival: "Sul ne sai pas de mentir l'art: Walter Map reset ben sa part" ("I am not the only one who knows the art of lying: Walter Map is equally good at it" (lines 7185-7186). A certain "Huge de Hungrie" who appears in the poem as a seducer of women is generally thought to represent Hugh, canon of Hereford, another friend or rival.
Many of the names of characters are inspired by the "Roman de Thebes" ("Romance of Thebes"), a medieval retelling of the ancient mythological tales of Thebes composed around 1150 by a French poet in the court of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The story of "Ipomedon" cannot be traced to this, or to the romances of Chrétien de Troyes as argued by Kölbing, or to any other single source. It is essentially a new story, in which the knight Ipomedon, in love with a princess, conceals his identity and serves her as cupbearer. He departs to show his knightly prowess in overseas adventures; returns to take part in a three-day tournament under three different disguises; defends his heroine from three monsters, still disguised; then, finally, reveals his identity and triumphantly marries her. The style is often parodic and burlesque, sometimes also erotic. This is the only known text that provides the Anglo-Norman form of what is now an English four-letter word:
"If all the parts of her body were so beautiful, what do you say of the part underneath that we call 'cunt'?" "I think it was nice and small."
"Ipomedon" was widely popular. It is known from several manuscripts, and there is one surviving fragment of a version in which the Anglo-Norman dialect has been converted to continental Old French. At least three translations into middle English exist (see "Ipomadon"). A prose version entitled "The Life of Ipomydon", translated by Robert Copland, was published by Wynkyn de Worde at the end of the 15th century.


Judith Lynn Ferguson

Judith Lynn Ferguson, aka Judith Ferguson-Foreman, is an American–British author and chef. She is the author of 65 food-related books, mostly focused on North American regional cuisine and microwave cooking.
Ferguson was born in Chicago, and lived in Indiana and then Illinois, she graduated from Indiana University Northwest in Gary, Indiana with a BA in Modern Languages (French & German) and then went on to get a Post Graduate Diploma at Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism. After University, she went to work for Standard Oil of Indiana. She then gained a place at Le Cordon Bleu in London to study the cookery diploma course. After graduating, she met and married her second husband, an Englishman (Andrew Ferguson), and settled in London. She initially worked for Pru Leith's School of Food & Wine, where she also worked as a cooking instructor. She was then head-hunted back to Le Cordon Bleu in London, where she ran the Diploma Cookery course. She worked for a UK based publishing company called Colour Library Books as a cookbook editor, then joined the UK's "Woman's Realm" magazine as the cookery editor. She was a contributor to US cookery magazine "Gourmet". She wrote a number of cookery books before remarrying her third husband (John Foreman) and returning to the United States, settling initially in North Carolina. In the US, Ferguson worked as a caterer, cookbook author and writer of articles for magazines, and now lives in Alexandria, Virginia. She has now hung up her apron and cooks only for her family.


Bisa Butler

Bisa Butler (born 1973) is an American fiber artist known for her vibrant, quilted portraits celebrating Black life--from everyday people to notable historical figures. Through her quilts, Butler aims to “tell stories that may have been forgotten over time.” She often uses kente cloth and African wax printed fabrics in her quilts, so her subjects are "adorned with and made up of the cloth of our ancestor." The artist has exhibited at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the Epcot Center, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and other venues.
Life and career.
Bisa Butler was born in Orange, New Jersey, grew up in South Orange, and graduated from Columbia High School in 1991. Her mother is a French teacher from New Orleans and her father, a college president, was born in Ghana. Butler majored in fine art and graduated cum laude from Howard University, where she studied the work of Romare Bearden, attended lectures by prominent Black artists such as Lois Mailou Jones, and studied under lecturers such as Elizabeth Catlett, Jeff Donaldson, and Ernie Barnes. Her undergraduate degree was in painting, but she has stated that she never really connected with the medium.
Butler went on to complete a master's degree in art education from Montclair State University in 2004. There, she took a Fiber Art class that inspired her choice of quilting as an artistic medium. She said in an interview, "As a child, I was always watching my mother and grandmother sew, and they taught me. After that class, I made a quilt for my grandmother on her deathbed, and I have been quilting ever since."
Along with being a practicing artist, Butler taught art in the Newark Public Schools for over a decade. She now lives and works in Orange, New Jersey and is represented by the Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem.
Artistry.
Butler's quilts both heavily incorporate African textiles as well as expand on a rich African American quilting tradition. She explains in her artist statement: "African Americans have been quilting since we were brought to this country and needed to keep warm. Enslaved people were not given large pieces of fabric and had to make do with the scraps of cloth that were left after clothing wore out. From these scraps the African American quilt aesthetic came into being...My own pieces are reminiscent of this tradition, but I use African fabrics from my father’s homeland of Ghana, batiks from Nigeria, and prints from South Africa." She has also been inspired by the figurative textile works of Faith Ringgold.
Butler typically works in bright jewel tones rather than representational colors to depict skin tone. Color serves to convey the emotions of the individuals in her quilts rather than their actual complexions. While at Howard, Butler was mentored by members of AfriCOBRA. The artist collective's bright, colorful aesthetic and aim to create positive representations of Black Americans can be found in Butler's body of work, as well.
Her quilts often feature portraits of famous figures in Black history, such as Paul Laurence Dunbar, Jackie Robinson, Frederick Douglass, and Josephine Baker. She uses a variety of patterned fabrics, which she carefully selects to reflect the subject's life, sometimes using clothing worn by the subject. Her portrait of Nina Simone, for example, is made of cotton, silk, velvet, and netting, while that of Jean-Michel Basquiat is made of leather, cotton, and vintage denim.
Along with her portraits of notable figures, Butler also creates pieces featuring everyday, unknown African American subjects that she bases off of found photographs. She describes her fascination for her nameless subjects' unknown stories: "I feel these people; I know these stories because I have grown up with them my whole life." She strives "to bring as many of these unnamed peoples photos to the forefront" so "people will see these ordinary folks as deserving of a spotlight too."
Her pieces are done in life scale in order "to invite the viewer to engage in dialogue--most figures look the viewers directly in their eyes."
Exhibitions.
She has exhibited widely. In 2018 she exhibited at EXPO Chicago and was praised in "Newcity" and the "Chicago Reader". In February 2019 her work was included along with that of Romare Bearden in "The Art of Jazz", a Black History Month exhibition in Morristown, New Jersey. Butler's quilts are featured in art books such as "Journey of Hope: Quilts Inspired by President Barack Obama" (2010) and "Collaborations: Two Decades of African American Art : Hearne Fine Art 1988-2008" (2008), and on websites such as Blavity and Colossal. In 2019, she was a finalist for the Museum of Art and Design's Burke Prize. Butler's first solo museum exhibition "Bisa Butler: Portraits" was co-organized between the Art Institute of Chicago and the Katonah Museum of Art. It was scheduled to first open at the Katonah Museum of Art from March 15 to June 14, 2020; however, after temporarily closing due to COVID-19 the exhibition was extended to October 4, 2020.


The Tolkien Society of Sweden


Famo

Famo is a type of music from Lesotho in Africa consisting of singing accompanied by the accordion, a drum and occasionally a bass. It originated in the drinking dens of migrant workers from Lesotho trying to relax after working in the mines in the 1920s but is now a popular form of music for Sesotho speakers.
Characteristics.
As a very popular form of music in Lesotho, "famo" consists of male or female singing and ululations. Instrumental support comes from an accordion, a drum and a bass. Songs often refer to urban life, and female singers can use their singing to challenge their male counterparts.
History.
The introduction of Basotho migrant labour from Lesotho into South African mines in the 1920s led to the development of "famo". It originated in the "setolotolo" bow songs that the menfolk would sing as they walked along, alternating between the bow to fill in the chorus and the voice as the lead part. With the introduction of European instruments, the "korosetina" (concertina) and "koriana" (accordion) were adopted. The concertina was initially favoured as it could be played whilst singing
and was easily carried but the accordion was eventually favoured for its bigger sound which was better for dancing.
The music and singing combination of "famo" was performed in the shebeens where the workers drank and chatted and also down in the mines whilst they toiled. The name "famo" came from the phrase "ho re famo", to flare the nostrils or to throw up one's garments. The dancing girls who had followed the men to South Africa and entertained them in the shebeens perfected a dance with their short skirts that allowed them to artfully flick up the skirt, exposing their naked rear. The performers were careful not to wear underwear.
In 1963 reforms to South African regulations meant the repatriation of thousands of women and famo performers and shebeen danceers were forced back to Lesotho. This encouraged the creation of ensembles that were rounded out by a drummer. The "moropa" drum they used was a 20-litre tar can topped by a piece of inner tube as the drumhead, with "manyenenyene", metal bottle tops or jangles, to provide a jingling alternative to the thump of the drum. The drumsticks themselves were made from slices of tire.
Since the 1920s music companies had been looking for African music they could commercialise. What turned the music of the shebeens into a national music for the Basotho was the rise of major recording personalities amongst the "famo" ensembles.
Artists.
In the late 1960s the first major recording artists to make a living from "famo" were "Tau ea Matšekha" (Lion of Matšekha, Matšekheng/Habo Matšekha is an area in Northern Lesotho) made up of Forere Motloheloa (accordionist) and Apollo Ntabanyane (vocalist/composer). The pair met and honed their musical act in the mines and shebeens but their success with albums such as "Peete Kea Falla" (Peete's Place I'm Quitting) released by EMI led Ntabanyane to leave and set up his own group. in 1974 he even declared himself "King of Famo" at a concert at Maseru's Airport Hotel that was attended by Her Majesty 'MaMohato, wife of Lesotho's King Moshoeshoe II.
Later successful artists include David Sello Motaung's "Tau ea Linare" in the 1980s and southern Lesotho's Mahosana Akaphamong. It was hard for many to give up their normal jobs and make a living from "famo" performances and records, but some shebeens would offer paid competitions for female singers, the most renowned being Puseletso Seema, a veteran with 40 years of performance experience.
Mosotho Chakela is a current star in "famo" music, having performed at the Macufe Mangaung African Cultural Festival and Morija Arts & Cultural Festival. In 2006 Chakela was awarded a South African Traditional Music Award for best musician in the "famo" music category.


Reliquary Cross with Relics of Saint George

The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds in its collection an Armenian reliquary cross dating to the 18th century. Crafted from a variety of valuable materiel, the cross was made for the Monastery of St. George at Lim in Western Armenia. The piece is inscribed with a warning, reading "Whoever dares to give it [the relic] as a pledge or take it away from Saint George, let them incur his vengeance."


Maria Goretti (actress)

Maria Goretti Warsi is an Indian MTV VJ. She has hosted several TV shows including "Do It Sweet" on the NDTV Good Times channel and "I Love Cooking" on Living Foodz.
Career.
Goretti was a popular MTV VJ before being married to Arshad Warsi. She also hosted the TV show "Do It Sweet" on the NDTV Good Times channel. Goretti made a special appearance in the movie "Salaam Namaste" along with her son Zeke Warsi.
She did a small role in the movie "Raghu Romeo" directed by Rajat kapoor and a sci-fi movie Jaane Hoga Kya.
Personal life.
Goretti married Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi on 14 February 1999, whom she met in 1991, when he was invited to judge a dance competition in college, in which she was participating. She completed the Mumbai Marathon in 2016


Kitty van der Mijll Dekker

Catharine Louise "Kitty" van der Mijll Dekker (1908-2004) was a Dutch textile artist. She studied at the Bauhaus and her designs are still being produced.
Early life and education.
Mijll Dekker was born on 22 February 1908 in Yogyakarta Dutch East Indies. In 1916 the family returned to the Netherlands. Around 1922 Mijll Dekker studied drawing at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague and from 1926 through 1927 she studied at Hornsey College of Art in London. From 1927 through 1929 she studied interior design with . From 1929-1932 she studied at Walter Gropius' Bauhaus in Dessau, Germany. Gropius allowed both men and women into his art school, but relegated women to a workshop where they studied crafts, mainly weaving. Her teachers at the Bauhaus included Anni Albers, Otti Berger, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Lilly Reich, Oskar Schlemmer, and Gunta Stölzl.
Career.
From 1932 through 1966 Mijll Dekker owned a commercial hand weaving mill " Handweverij en Ontwerpatelier K.v.d. Mijll Dekker". During the same time frame she worked for the linen weaving mill "E.J.F. van Dissel & Zn." From 1934 through 1970 she taught at the Kunstnijverheidsschool Quellinus in Amsterdam. Her students included Marjanne Doeksen, Dook van der Heijden, Willy Pennings, Margot Rolf, Désirée Scholten, and Herman Scholten. Mijll Dekker was a member of the artists society, Arti et Amicitiae.
Awards.
In 1933 Mijll Dekker won a Silver medal at the Milan Triennial. In 1935 she won a Gold medal at the Brussels International Exposition as well as the "Prix d'honneur" (Paris). In 1936 she exhibited at the 1936 World's Fair winning a Gold medal. The same year she received a Quellinus Prize.
Later life and legacy.
Mijll Dekker married Hermann Fischer in 1950. Mijll Dekker died on 6 December 2004 in Nijkerk. Her work is in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Her 1935 design for a dish cloth is still being produced for the TextielMuseum in Tilburg.


Lacquerware

Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Before lacquering, the surface is sometimes painted with pictures, inlaid with shell and other materials, or carved. The lacquer can be dusted with gold or silver and given further decorative treatments.
East Asian countries have long traditions of lacquer work, going back several thousand years in the cases of China, Japan and Korea. The best known lacquer, an urushiol-based lacquer common in East Asia, is derived from the dried sap of "Toxicodendron vernicifluum". Other types of lacquers are processed from a variety of plants and insects. The traditions of lacquer work in Southeast Asia and the Americas are also ancient and originated independently. True lacquer is not made outside Asia, but some imitations, such as Japanning in Europe, or parallel techniques, are often loosely referred to a "lacquer."
East Asia.
Various prehistoric lacquerwares have been unearthed in China dating back to the Neolithic period and objects with lacquer coating found in Japan dating to the late Jōmon period. The earliest known lacquer object was thought to be a red wooden bowl, which was unearthed at a Hemudu culture (c. 5th millennium BC) site in Zhejiang, China.
However, older lacquerware, burial ornaments which were created in 7th millennium century B.C., were unearthed at the Kakinoshima Site in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan.
Chinese lacquerware.
During the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–1046 BC) of China, sophisticated lacquer process techniques developed became a highly artistic craft.
During the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC), lacquerware began appearing in large quantity. This is the earliest era from which notable quantities of lacquerware have survived.
At the time of the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), special administrations were established to organize and divide labor for the expanding lacquer production in China. Elaborate incised decorations were used in lacquerware during the Han dynasty.
In the Tang dynasty (618–907), Chinese lacquerware saw a new style marked by the use of sheets of gold or silver made in various shapes, such as birds, animals, and flowers. The cut-outs were affixed onto the surface of the lacquerware, after which new layers of lacquer were applied, dried, and then ground away, so the surface could be polished to reveal the golden or silvery patterns beneath. This was done by a technique known as "pingtuo". Such techniques were time-consuming and costly, but these lacquerware were considered highly refined. It was also the period when the earliest practice of carving lacquerware began.
The art of inlaid gold, silver, and mother-of-pearl continued from the Tang into the Song dynasty (960–1279). Several existing decorative techniques gradually developed further after the 10th century, such as "diaoqi" (carved lacquer) which involves building up layers comprising thinly-applied coats of lacquer and carving it into a three-dimensional design; "qiangjin" (engraved gold) in which fine lines are incised, an adhesive of lacquer is applied, and gold foil or powder is pressed into the grooves; and "diaotian" or "tianqi" (filled-in) in which the lacquer is inlaid with lacquer of another color. A variation of "diaotian" or "tianqi" is known as "moxian" (polish-reveal) in which a design is built up with lacquer in certain areas, the remaining areas are filled with lacquer of a different color, and the entire surface is polished down. Especially the art of inlaying lacquer with mother-of-pearl was intensively developed during the Song dynasty. However, during the Song, the artistic craft also made use of inlaid gold in a process of which is to engrave intricate patterns in the lacquer surface and to fill the intaglio with gold powder.
The knowledge of the Chinese methods of the lacquer process spread from China during the Han, Tang and Song dynasties, eventually it was introduced to Korea, Japan, Southeast and South Asia. In Japan, the art of lacquerware-making came along with Buddhism and other cultural artifacts from China via the Korean Peninsula during the 8th century, and carved lacquerware came to Japan from Ming dynasty China during the 14th century. One of the earliest Japanese techniques for decorating the lacquer surface was, besides painting simple designs, the gold and silver foil inlay of the Nara period (710–784). This technique was transmitted from China during the Tang dynasty.
Coromandel lacquer is a Chinese export type, so called because it was shipped to European markets via the Coromandel coast of India.
Japanese lacquerware.
Lacquerware is referred to by the Sinitic compound "shikki" (漆器) in Japanese. The native term for lacquer is "urushi" (漆), source of the English hybrid word "urushiol". Etymologically, "urushi" may be related to the words "uruwashii" ("beautiful") or "uruoi" ("watered", "profitable", "favored"), due speculatively to their value or shiny appearance, or perhaps the humidifying rooms used in production of lacquered wares. The term "Japanning" in the 17th century is a term for the technique used by Europe to emulate Asian lacquer, derived from the then famous Japanese lacquer.
The general characteristic of Japanese lacquerware is the widespread use of various "Maki-e" techniques compared to other countries. As a result, there are many works in which relatively vivid gold and silver patterns and pictures shine on the black base of lacquerware, and the entire lacquerware is covered with shiny gold and silver grains.
History and regional production.
Primitive lacquer was used in Japan as early as 12,600 BC, during the Jōmon period.
Lacquer was used in Japan as early as 7000 BCE, during the Jōmon period. Evidence for the earliest lacquerware was discovered at the Kakinoshima "B" Excavation Site in Hokkaido. These objects were discovered in a pit grave dating from the first half of the Initial Jōmon period (approx. 9,000 years ago) Japanese lacquering technology may have been invented by the Jōmon. They learned to refine "urushi" (poison oak sap) – the process taking several months. Iron oxide (colcothar) and cinnabar (mercury sulfide) were used for producing red lacquer. Lacquer was used both on pottery, and on different types of wooden items. In some cases, burial clothes for the dead were also lacquered. Many lacquered objects have turned up during the Early Jōmon period; this indicates that this was an established part of Jōmon culture. Experts are divided on whether Jōmon lacquer was derived from Chinese techniques, or invented independently. For example, Mark Hudson believes that “Jomon lacquer technology was developed independently in Japan rather than being introduced from China as once believed”.
During the Asuka and Nara periods, between the 7th and 8th centuries, Chinese lacquer art forms were imported to Japan.
In the Heian period (794-1185), various "Maki-e" techniques characteristic of Japanese lacquerware were developed. While the method of drawing designs with a brush by dissolving gold powder in lacquer is a common technique in other countries, the method of drawing designs with lacquer and then sprinkling gold, silver, or copper powder of various sizes and shapes on top to polish them was developed in Japan. This made it possible to make the gold and silver of lacquerware brighter than before.
In the Kamakura period (1185–1333), carved lacquer from the Song Dynasty of China was imported to Japan. However, many Japanese lacquer craftsmen did not adopt the Chinese method of depositing lacquer and then carving it; instead, they created Kamakurabori, a method of carving wood and then coating lacquer.
Japanese lacquerware was abundantly exported to China where the Ming and Qing rulers generally described Japanese lacquerwares as " foreign lacquer " ( yangqi ). Yang Ming, and famous lacquer man Zhejiang, made annotations for A Record of Decoration with Lacquer, ... People of the Ming Dynasty once recorded: “The decoration art with lacquer coated with gold originated (maki-e) from Japan". Yang in the reign of Xuande of the Ming dynasty made a trip to Japan to study Japanese techniques , and a Japanese visited a Chinese imperial workshop in Beijing during the Ming dynasty. It is well documented that the Yongzheng Emperor had a formidable interest in Japanese lacquer, "yangqi", and this was reflected in many of the works produced in the Imperial workshops during his reign. In the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600) also made its way into Colonial Mexico (Manila Galleons) and Europe by Nanban trade. Japanese lacquerware attracted European aristocrats and missionaries from Europe, and western style chests and church furniture were exported in response to their requests.
The Edo period (1603–1868) saw an increase in the focused cultivation of lacquer trees and the development of the techniques used. In the 18th century colored lacquers came into wider use. With the development of economy and culture, the artistic quality of lacquered furniture has improved. Hon'ami Kōetsu and Ogata Kōrin brought the designs of the Rinpa school of painting into lacquerware. After the middle of the Edo period, "inro" became popular as men's accessories, and wealthy merchants of the "chōnin" class and samurai class collected "inro" of high aesthetic value, precisely designed with lacquer. Marie Antoinette and Maria Theresa are known collectors of Japanese lacquerware and their collections are now often exhibited in the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles.
In the Meiji period (1868-1912), Richly-decorated lacquerwares in original designs were popular domestically, and even more so with Western buyers during this period of European and American fascination with Japanese art. Shibata Zeshin's lacquer work was especially popular. In addition, lacquerware called "Shibayama" and "Somada", which were created in the Edo period, became popular for its showy style, inlaid with gold, silver, shellfish, ivory, and colorful metal and glass, and reached its peak during this period. The government took an active interest in the art export market, promoting Japan's lacquers and other decorative arts at a succession of world's fairs. Lacquer from Japanese workshops was recognised as technically superior to what could be produced anywhere else in the world.
Today, the Japanese government has designated excellent lacquer artists as Living National Treasures and is encouraging them to make lacquerware. Lacquerware is produced throughout the Japanese archipelago, with many regional techniques and variations. Besides the very old Kamakura tradition mentioned above (and still alive today), the port town of Wajima provides a good example of regional lacquerware. "Wajima-nuri", dating back to the 16th century, is characterized by use of the elm-like Japanese zelkova ("keyaki" 欅), powdered earth, and delicate features formed from cloth. (See the Japanese article, . A more complete list of regional lacquer traditions is available in .)
Ryukyuan lacquerware.
Ryukyuan lacquerware is one of the chief artistic products of the Ryukyu Islands (today Okinawa Prefecture of Japan); it is quite distinct from the lacquerware found among the surrounding cultures. Nevertheless, Chinese and Japanese influences are present.
Southeast Asia.
Burmese lacquerware.
"Yun-de" is lacquerware in Burmese, and the art is called "Pan yun" (). The lacquer is the sap tapped from the varnish tree or "Thitsee" ("Gluta usitata", syn. "Melanorrhoea usitata") that grows wild in the forests of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is straw-colored but turns black on exposure to air. When brushed in or coated on, it forms a hard glossy smooth surface resistant to a degree from the effects of exposure to moisture or heat.
History.
Bayinnaung's conquest and subjugation in 1555–1562 of Manipur, Bhamo, Zinme (Chiang Mai), Linzin (Lan Xang), and up the Taping and Shweli rivers in the direction of Yunnan brought back large numbers of skilled craftsmen into Burma. It is thought that the finer sort of Burmese lacquerware, called Yun, was introduced during this period by imported artisans belonging to the Yun or Laos Shan tribes of the Chiang Mai region.
Manufacture and design.
Lacquer vessels, boxes and trays have a coiled or woven bamboo-strip base often mixed with horsehair. The thitsee may be mixed with ashes or sawdust to form a putty-like substance called "thayo" which can be sculpted. The object is coated layer upon layer with thitsee and thayo to make a smooth surface, polished and engraved with intricate designs, commonly using red, green and yellow colors on a red or black background. "Shwezawa" is a distinctive form in its use of gold leaf to fill in the designs on a black background.
Palace scenes, scenes from the Jataka tales, and the signs of the Burmese Zodiac are popular designs and some vessels may be encrusted with glass mosaic or semi-precious stones in gold relief. The objects are all handmade and the designs and engraving done free-hand. It may take three to four months to finish a small vessel but perhaps over a year for a larger piece. The finished product is a result of teamwork and not crafted by a single person.
Forms.
The most distinctive vessel is probably a rice bowl on a stem with a spired lid for monks called "hsun ok". "Lahpet ok" is a shallow dish with a lid and has a number of compartments for serving "lahpet" (pickled tea) with its various accompaniments. Stackable tiffin carriers fastened with a single handle or "hsun gyaink" are usually plain red or black. "Daunglan" are low tables for meals and may be simple broad based or have three curved feet in animal or floral designs with a lid. Water carafes or "yeidagaung" with a cup doubling as a lid, and vases are also among lacquerware still in use in many monasteries.
Various round boxes with lids, small and large, are known as "yun-it" including ones for paan called "kun-it" (; betel boxes). "Yun titta" are rectangular boxes for storing various articles including "peisa" or palm leaf manuscripts when they are called "sadaik titta". Pedestal dishes or small trays with a stem with or without a lid are known as "kalat" for serving delicacies or offering flowers to royalty or the Buddha. Theatrical troupes and musicians have their lacquerware in costumes, masks, head-dresses, and musical instruments, some of them stored and carried in lacquer trunks. Boxes in the shape of a pumpkin or a bird such as the owl, which is believed to bring luck, or the "hintha" (Brahminy duck) are common too. Screens and small polygonal tables are also made for the tourist trade today.
Industry.
Bagan is the major centre for the lacquerware industry where the handicraft has been established for nearly two centuries, and still practiced in the traditional manner. Here a government school of lacquerware was founded in the 1920s. Since plastics, porcelain and metal have superseded lacquer in most everyday utensils, it is today manufactured in large workshops mainly for tourists who come to see the ancient temples of Bagan. At the village of Kyaukka near Monywa in the Chindwin valley, however, sturdy lacquer utensils are still produced for everyday use mainly in plain black.
A decline in the number of visitors combined with the cost of resin, which has seen a 40-fold rise in 15 years, has led to the closure of over two-thirds of more than 200 lacquerware workshops in Bagan.
Vietnamese lacquer painting.
"Sơn mài" is a painting technique in Vietnam. It developed from the painters of the Hanoi EBAI in the 1930s and today is counted a national painting style with many famous painters.
In 1924 the Ecole des Beaux Arts was established in Hanoi. This institution was to be the birthplace of the revitalised art of lacquer painting. In 1934 the school opened its lacquer department and it was from here that well known contributors to the art including; Bui Trang Chuoc, Nguyen Van Binh, Nguyen Khang, Nguyen Duc Nung, Nguyen Tien Chung, and Pham Van Don would emerge.
It was the first generation of Vietnamese students of the Indochina School of Fine Art during the 1930s, who elevated the craft of lacquer painting to a truly fine art. Less interested in decor than their craftsmen predecessors, it was also these men who would begin a series of artistic innovations from which craftsmen producing purely utilitarian or decorative pieces would also benefit.
Creating images with crushed eggshell, painting pigment over gold and tin foil and adding sand to lacquer were all techniques developed by those first students. The metallic color lacquerware for which Vietnamese craftsmen are rightly famous, was first developed by artists experimenting with many innovative techniques.
After the reunification, the art of lacquerware was slowly dying out in Vietnam. But since the 1980s, the government has recognized it as a vital cultural and economic force and has encouraged the business community to invest in the craft. As a result, we see a resurgence of lacquerware and a proliferation of lacquerware products from Vietnam.
Americas.
Barniz de Pasto technique.
Barniz de Pasto () is a lacquer-like varnish technique originating in the Pre-Columbian era that is a specialty of Pasto, Colombia. It is made by chewing the resin of the Andean mopa-mopa shrub ("Elaeagia pastoensis") into thin layers, and then painting it and applying it to a wood, metal, clay or glass surface using heated stones. Historically, the technique was applied to wooden keros, drinking vessels.
Mexican lacquerware.
Known in Mexican Spanish as "laca" or "maque" (from Japanese "maki-e"), Mexican lacquer has independent origins from Asian lacquer. In the pre-Hispanic period, a substance from the larvae of aje scale insects and/or oil from the chia seed were mixed with powdered minerals to create protective coatings and decorative designs. During this period, the process was almost always applied to dried gourds, especially to make the cups that Mesoamerican nobility drank chocolate from.
After the Conquest, the Spanish had indigenous craftsmen apply the technique to European style furniture and other items, changing the decorative motifs and color schemes, but the process and materials remained mostly the same. Asian lacquerware and artisans brought by the "Nao de China" also had an influence on the style and motifs of colonial Mexican lacquerware. Today, workshops creating lacquerware are limited to Olinalá, Temalacatzingo and Acapetlahuaya in the state of Guerrero, Uruapan and Pátzcuaro in Michoacán and Chiapa de Corzo in Chiapas. The most popular modern lacquerware are small boxes, sometimes known as "cajitas de Olinalá".


Nautanki

Nautanki is one of the most popular folk performance forms of South Asia, particularly in northern India. Before the advent of Bollywood (the Hindi film industry), Nautanki was the biggest entertainment medium in the villages and towns of northern India. Nautanki's rich musical compositions and humorous, entertaining storylines hold a strong influence over rural people's imagination. Even after the spread of mass media (such as television and DVDs), a crowd of 10,000 to 15,000 can be seen at the top Nautanki performances. Nautanki's origins lie in the Saangit, Bhagat, and Swang musical theatre traditions of Northern India. One Saangit called "Saangit Rani Nautanki Ka" became so popular that the whole genre's name became Nautanki.
Performances.
Nautanki performances are operas based on a popular folk theme derived from romantic tales, mythologies, or biographies of local heroes. The performance is often punctuated with individual songs, dances, and skits, which serve as breaks and comic relief for audiences. Audiences sometimes use the breaks to go to the toilet or pick up food from their homes or nearby shops. Nautanki performances involve a lot of community participation from audiences. For instance, community members provide logistical support, financial support, and talented actors for Nautanki performances. Audience members choose what script will be performed and often intervene during the performance to demand a repeat of a song or skit.
Nautanki performances can take place in any open space available in or around a village that can accommodate audiences in hundreds or thousands. Sometimes this space is made available by the village Chaupal (village community center). Other times, the playground of the local school becomes the performance site. A Nautanki stage is elevated above the ground and is made up of wooden cots (usually provided by local villagers). Until a few decades back, there was no electricity in Indian villages, so light was provided either by big lanterns or Petromax (a device run by kerosene oil).
The pleasure of Nautanki lies in the intense mellifluous exchanges between two or three performers; a chorus is used sometimes.
Traditional Nautanki performances usually start late at night, often around 10 p.m. or so, and go all night until sunrise the next morning (for a total of 8–10 hours). There is no intermission in Nautanki performances.
Story lines.
Story lines of traditional Nautankis range from mythological and folk tales to stories of contemporary heroes. For instance, while Nautanki plays such as "Satya-Harishchandra" and "Bhakt Moradhwaj" are based on mythological themes, "Indal Haran" and "Puranmal" originated from folklore. In the first half of the 20th century, contemporary sentiment against British rule and feudal landlords found expression in Nautankis such as "Sultana Daku", "Jalianwala Bagh", and "Amar Singh Rathore". In the last four decades, Pandit Ram Dayal Sharma (a renowned Nautanki maestro) and later Dr. Devendra Sharma have co-authored many new Nautankis. These new Nautankis are centered on contemporary social messages such as health, HIV/AIDS, women's empowerment, dowry, immigration, and family planning. They are of a much shorter duration — around two hours. This is to give audiences an opportunity to watch performances during a break in their daily routine. These contemporary Nautankis have been performed extensively in India and America and met with resounding popularity.
Some popular traditional Nautankis are "Syah-Posh (Pak Mohabbat)", "Sultana Daku", "Indal Haran", "Amar Singh Rathore", "Bhakt Puranmal", and "Harischandra-Taramati". Some popular contemporary ones are "Mission Suhani", "Subah ka Bhoola", "Behkaani and Muskaani", and "Beti ka Byah" (all of these contemporary Nautankis are written by Pandit Ram Dayal Sharma).
Performers.
Some famous performers are Gokul Korea, Ghasso, Ram Swarup Sharma of Samai-Khera, Manohar Lal Sharma
and Giriraj Prasad of Kaman District Bharatpur, Pandit Ram Dayal Sharma, Chunni Lal, Puran Lal Sharma, Amarnath, Gulab Bai, and Krishna Kumari.
Overseas.
In 2002, Nautanki was introduced in America by Dr. Devendra Sharma, a Nautanki artist, singer, writer, director, and scholar of communication and performance. The participants in Sharma's productions are engineers, doctors, and other members of the Indian diaspora living in America, who are given a rare opportunity to connect with their cultural roots. At the same time, these performances have exposed other communities in America to Indian culture.
One such Nautanki is "Mission Suhani", an original Nautanki co-authored by Sharma and Pandit Ram Dayal Sharma that communicates a contemporary and controversial social issue concerning Indians and Indian immigrants in America. It critically examines the phenomenon of some Indian men who come to America to study or work, but go back to India and get married — either because of parental pressure or to get a big dowry (cash given to the groom's family by the bride's side). Many of these men leave their wives in India and never bring them to America, where they often have another wife or a girlfriend. One of the unique aspects of this Nautanki is that it is bilingual (Hindi and English). This protects the traditional operatic and artistic elements of Nautanki while effectively communicating the story and contemporary social issue to a diverse audience. Nautankis such as "Mission Suhani" involving global social issues help to update Nautanki to emerging issues in India and around the world.


Gog (novel)

Gog is a 1931 satirical novel by the Italian writer Giovanni Papini.
An English translation was published in 1931, but was poorly received. This was very much out of Gog's hands as the English public are very hard to please, according to the critic Robin Healey's analysis. "The American Mercury" wrote in its review: "There are, here and there, some ingenious and amusing passages, but in the main the ideas are not striking, nor is their exposition very impressive. It could go with more core anglais, much more core anglais. The book, indeed, only bears out what was suggested in Papini's "life of Christ": that there is little in him save a somewhat sophomoric and trashy cleverness."


Finger knitting

Finger knitting is a form of knitting where a knitted cord is created using only hands and fingers, instead of knitting needles or other traditional tools.
Uses.
Though finger knitting may be performed by people of all ages, it is cited as a teaching tool for children because of its comparative simplicity in contrast to traditional knitting. It effectively demonstrates that knitting involves a series of loops strung together. Finger knitting may also be safely practised on airplanes that prohibit knitting needles.
Records.
Several world record attempts have been made with finger knitting. The current record, as acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records, is held by a German man who knitted a strand in 2004. Ten days before the German record was set, 11-year-old Gemma Pouls of Hamilton, New Zealand, set the record with a , which weighed over .


Elisabeth Haarr

Elisabeth Astrup Haarr (born 1945 in Hamar, Norway) is a Norwegian artist. Haarr is known for her textile works, which often take the form of sculptures or installations.
Early life and education.
Haarr was born on 30 January 1945 in Hamar, Norway. She attended the "Statens Håndverks- og Kunstindustriskole" from 1964 through 1967.
Style and themes.
Haarr's woven works incorporate a variety of techniques from pre-Columbian through Bauhaus (particularly Anni Albers) and rya rug weaving. She includes non-traditional materials such as grocery bags and other types of plastic, nylon and polyester in her work. Her work often have political themes such as the place of women in Norway and the fight against oppression.
Exhibitions.
Haarr's first solo exhibition was in 1973 at the Oslo Art Association after exhibiting in an experimental textile biennial in Spain. She went on to have solo exhibitions at the Asker museum, Tromsø Kunstforenin, Bodø Kunstforening, Ålesund Kunstforening, and Unge Kunstneres Samfunn.
Collections.
Her work is included in the collections of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, the National Museum of Decorative Arts, Trondheim and the Norwegian Crafts Foundation. Her public works include pieces at the University of Tromsø, Roskilde University, and the Norwegian Cultural Council.


Towednack

Towednack () is a churchtown and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is bounded by those of Zennor in the west, Gulval in the south, Ludgvan in the west and south, and St Ives and the Atlantic Ocean in the north and east. The church is about two miles (3 km) from St Ives and six miles (10 km) from Penzance.
Towednack lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Almost a third of Cornwall has AONB designation, with the same status and protection as a National Park.
History.
Towednack gold hoard.
In December 1931 a hoard of gold ornaments was found in the parish. A sunken lane, known locally as Badger’s Lane, leads down from Lady Downs onto the road to Amalveor. Here at SW4794 3759, concealed in an ancient stone hedge, was found a collection of beautiful gold objects, including two twisted neckrings, four armrings and two lengths of unfinished gold rod. One necklet consists of a single twisted strand of gold, and the other consists of three strands loosely twisted together. The gold is very fine, and probably came from Ireland. These ornaments date from the late Bronze Age and they now reside in the British Museum. A replica of the hoard can be seen at the Penlee House Museum in Penzance. In 2007 there were calls in the local Cornish press for the gold hoard to be returned to Cornwall from the British Museum.
Parish church.
The church is dedicated to St Tewennocus and did not become parochial until 1902. It was built in the 13th century and has a plain tower. A south aisle was added in the 15th century. The font is of granite, 1720, and stands on a base which is an inverted Norman font. Towednack church is claimed to be the last church in which services were conducted in the Cornish language (in 1678), though the claim is also made for Ludgvan. The parish saint disguised under the name 'Tewennocus' is almost certainly St Winwalo (pet-form: Winnoc), also commemorated at Gunwalloe and Landewednack, as well as Landevennec, Brittany: the place-name being derived from Old Cornish "te-Winnoc" (thy St Winnoc [Winwalo]), now represented as Late Cornish Te Wydnek. The aisle, chancel and nave was restored under the direction of Mr Sedding in 1870 and in 1880 the tower and its roof restored. The cost of the 1880 building work was paid for by money from the weekly offertory. "The Cornishman" newspaper described the parish thus,
The parish is poor; the people are only a few hundreds; many (probably most) of them are Dissenters who never enter a Church; and the Church itself is small; and yet the offertory has been the means of doing more than Church-rates ever did. When the two broken bells are re-cast (will any rich man do this for poor Towednack?) this parish will process the most thoroughly restored Church in West Cornwall.
One of the bells has the inscription ″Baragwanath″ (wheat bread), a name which was still common in this part of Cornwall at the time of the visit of the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society, in September 1882. They noted, ″a true chancel-arch″, which was described as the church's ″peculiar and rare feature″. Also seen was the benchends and their medallion-portraits of the 1633 bearded and hatted churchwardens. Their inscriptions are ″James Trewhela, warden″ and ″Master Matthew Trenwith, warden″.
Further restoration work was carried out in 1884 with the replacement of the wooden floor of the nave, which was destroyed by dry rot. The new floor was cement, covered with a wooden platform between the benches and red tiles replaced the ″rough″ slate floor of the aisle.
Until 1902 Towednack was a chapelry of Lelant; right of sepulture was only obtained in 1532. The early incised cross on a stone in the porch and the altar slab suggest that the subordination to Lelant only began after the Norman Conquest. The stone in the porch forms a bench; the cross shaft has crosses at both ends. Over the porch is a typical sundial of a wide class of Cornish church dials from 1720. The inscription reads ″"Bright Sol and Luna Time and Tide doth hold. Chronodix Humbrale"″.
There was a Cornish cross at Tredorwin; it was found in use as a building stone in a cottage at Coldharbour in 1880. It is now in the churchyard ("illustrated right").
The Gorsedh Kernow was held in the parish in 1933, and the church was the first to hold a service, in Cornish, in modern times.
Mining.
In the early part of the 19th-century Towednack was one of the richest tin-producing districts in west Cornwall. Mines included Wheal Reeth, Wheal Margaret, Reeth Consols and Georgia, and Conquer Downs.
Local government.
For the purposes of local government Towednack is a civil parish electing a parish council every four years. The principal local authority in this area is Cornwall Council.
Folklore.
A story told by the Rev. W. S. Lach-Szyrma, to a group of antiquarians from the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society, was the legend of the tower:
Popular media.
In 1975 the church was the scene for the marriage and burial services in Poldark, a BBC series based on the novels of Winston Graham.
It was also used as a location in the 1979 BBC series Penmarric.


Munchies (film)

Munchies is a 1987 comedy horror film starring Harvey Korman, Charlie Stratton, and Nadine Van der Velde. Directed by Tina Hirsch, the film editor for "Gremlins", the film features a remarkably similar plotline. It spawned two sequels, "Munchie" and "Munchie Strikes Back", which possess no relation to the original film save the titles. These two films dealt with an impish, wish-granting creature named Munchie.
Plot.
The protagonist, space archaeologist Simon Watterman, discovers a fossilized "Munchie" in a cave in Peru and accidentally reanimates it. Bringing the specimen back to the United States, Watterman's son and girlfriend name it Arnold. Cecil Watterman, Simon's evil twin brother and snack food entrepreneur, kidnaps Arnold while Cindy and Paul are making out.
When Arnold is hurt by his kidnappers, it becomes aggressive and attacks Cecil's adopted son. Attempting to kill Arnold, they chop him into quarters, but instead of dying, Arnold multiplies into four new Munchies. The quartet of creatures develop a love of women, attacking people, beer, and junk food in the process.
Production.
Tina Hirsch had edited three films for Corman in the 1970s. In the mid 80s she wanted to direct and told him. Corman wanted to make a "Gremlins" knock off, which were profitable at the time, and since Hirsch had edited that film it seemed a good fit. "Munchies" was shot over 12 days, followed by three days of filming puppets and inserts.


Lament of Edward II

The "Lament of Edward II", "En tenps de iver me survynt damage" (sic), is traditionally credited to Edward II of England, and thought to have been written during his imprisonment shortly after he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. Not all readers are convinced of the royal attribution of its authorship. The poem, in fifteen stanzas, bears the heading "De Le Roi Edward, le Fiz Roi Edward, Le Chanson Qe Il Fist Mesmes" ("Of the King Edward, son of King Edward, the Song that He Made himself"). It was a "chanson", and was likely to be sung to an existing tune. In each stanza two rhymes alternate, in approximately octosyllabic lines. The text survives in a manuscript on vellum at Longleat, bound into a volume titled "Tractatus varii Theologici saec. XIII et XIV" (76v and 77r), causing it to be overlooked; and in a manuscript in the Royal Library. It was identified by Paul Studer and first published by him with a short literary introduction and an English translation in 1921.
"The tone of the poem, the line of arguments, the touches of deep personal feeling unmistakably stamp the work as genuine," Studer concluded. "The king's song is a rare and valuable specimen of Anglo-Norman lyric poetry." The poet uses the poetical conventions of Provençal love poetry to lament his fall, the loss of his queen and his kingdom. In the Provençal tradition of the "canso", he commences by invoking the (winter) season and ends with an "envoi". Nevertheless, the poem compares favourably with contemporary poems of Northern France, Studer concludes: "It is free from their mannerism and artifice, and possesses a directness of speech and an accent of deep sincerity which they seldom exhibit."
A garbled account of this "lamentable complaynt" from manuscripts that he had seen, "with many other of the same makynge" was given by Robert Fabyan (died 1513), who rendered six lines of the incipit in Latin and offered his own flowery and pedantic variant in English. No other poems by Edward survive.


Synecdoche

A synecdoche ( , from Greek ) is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something refers to the whole of something or vice versa.
A synecdoche is a class of metonymy, often by means of either mentioning a part for the whole or conversely the whole for one of its parts. Examples from common English expressions include "suits" (for "businessmen"), "boots" (for "soldiers") ("pars pro toto"), and "Ulster" (for "Northern Ireland", "totum pro parte").
The use of government buildings to refer to their occupants is metonymy and sometimes also synecdoche. "The Pentagon" for the United States Department of Defense can be considered synecdoche, because the building can be considered part of the bureaucracy. Likewise, using "Number 10" to mean "the Office of the Prime Minister" (of the United Kingdom) is a synecdoche. Similarly, the names of capital cities referring to the sovereign states they govern follows this pattern.
Definition.
Synecdoche is a rhetorical trope and a type of figurative speech similar to metonymy—a figure of speech using a term to denote one thing to refer to a related thing. Synecdoche is considered a type of metonymy.
Synecdoche (and thus metonymy) is distinct from metaphor although in the past, it was considered to be a sub-species of metaphor, intending metaphor as a type of conceptual substitution (as Quintilian does in "Institutio oratoria" Book VIII). In Lanham's "Handlist of Rhetorical Terms", the three terms possess somewhat restrictive definitions in tune with their etymologies from Greek:
Classification.
Synecdoche is often used as a type of personification by attaching a human aspect to a nonhuman thing. It is used in reference to political relations, including "having a footing", to mean a country or organization is in a position to act, or "the wrong hands", to describe opposing groups, usually in the context of military power.
The two main types of synecdoche are "microcosm" and "macrocosm". A microcosm uses a part of something to refer to the entirety. An example of this is saying “I need a hand" with a project... but needing the entire person. A macrocosm is the opposite, using the name of the entire structure of something to refer to a small part. An example of this is saying "the world" while referring to a "certain country" or part of the planet.
The figure of speech is divided into the image (what the speaker uses to refer to something) and the subject (what is referred to).
This type of reference is used by politicians. The residence of an executive is often credited for the executive's action. A spokes-model of the Executive Office of the President of the United States is identified in "The White House announced a new plan to reduce hunger." References to the King or Queen of the United Kingdom are made in the same fashion by referring to today's official residence, Buckingham Palace. Worldwide examples include "the Sublime Porte" of the Ottoman Empire, and "the Kremlin" of Russia.
Sonnets and other forms of love poetry frequently use synecdoches to characterize the beloved in terms of individual body parts rather than a coherent whole. This practice is especially common in the Petrarchan sonnet, where the idealised beloved is often described part by part, head-to-toe.
Synecdoche is also popular in advertising. Since synecdoche uses a part to represent a whole, its use requires the audience to make associations and "fill in the gaps", engaging with the ad by thinking about the product. Moreover, catching the attention of an audience with advertising is often referred to by advertisers with the synedoche "getting eyeballs".
Synecdoche is common in spoken English, especially in reference to sports. The names of cities are used as shorthand for their sports teams to describe events and their outcomes, such as "Denver won Monday's game", while accuracy would require a "sports team" from the city won the game.
Kenneth Burke (1945), an American literary theorist, declared in rhetoric, the four master tropes, or figures of speech, are metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony. Burke's primary concern with these four master tropes is more than simply their figurative usage, but includes their role in the discovery and description of the truth. He described synecdoche as “part of the whole, whole for the part, container for the contained, sign for the thing signified, material for the thing made… cause for the effect, effect for the cause, genus for the species, species for the genus". In addition, Burke suggests synecdoche patterns can include reversible pairs such as disease-cure. Burke proclaimed the noblest synecdoche is found in the description of "microcosm and macrocosm" since microcosm is related to macrocosm as part to the whole, and either the whole can represent the part or the part can represent the whole".
Burke compares synecdoche with the concept of "representation", especially in the political sense in which elected representatives stand in "pars pro toto" for their electorate.


Paulo Henrique (choreographer)

Paulo Henrique (born Paulo Henrique Carreira Jorge; 1968 in Luanda, Angola (Africa)) is a Portuguese choreographer and multimedia performance artist. As a choreographer, he has created a number of performance and installation works, integrating different media such as video, sound, text, voice, and plastic arts.
Since 2009 Paulo Henrique is based in Paris, France.
Biography.
Originally from Luanda, Angola, Henrique's family moved to Leiria, Portugal, in 1975 as a result of the civil war in Angola. He studied at Forum Dança in Lisbon. In addition, he took part in several artistic residencies such as "European Choreographic Forum"/Shinkansen and "Korper-technik|Body-Technology". Paulo Henrique was awarded a grant from Centro Nacional de Cultura, the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Luso-American Foundation to attend the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York, where he also attended Film/Video Arts institute. From 1997 to 1999 he took an internship with the Trisha Brown Dance Company and collaborated with various other artists and disciplines.
He has worked on projects and works with Vera Mantero, Bernardo Montet, Margarida Bettencout,Meg Stuart, Meredith Monk, Robert Flynt, Jack Shamblin, Lance Gries, Olga Mesa, Lidia Martinez, Madalena Vitorino, David Zambrano, Barbara Duchow. He has taught at Forum Dança, C.E.M., and Arte Total, and has been a guest lecturer at Brighton University (postgraduate diploma in digital media arts). Several of his works are now stored as part of the Digital Performance Archive (DPA) in London and his work has been discussed in the book "Digital Performance"[8] by Steve Dixon, MIT press 2007.
His work has been performed throughout Europe, Brazil, Africa, and in the United States at such venues as the Dance Theatre Workshop and La Mama in New York, the Mousonturm in Frankfurt, and the Belém Cultural Center in Lisbon. He has had works commissioned by the Festival Danças Na Cidade and for Lisbon's Expo 98. Paulo Henrique was one of the first Portuguese artists to integrate new technology & video into the performances to create stage multimedia pieces.
Projects.
He has worked on projects and works with Vera Mantero, Bernardo Montet, Margarida Bettencout, Meg Stuart, Meredith Monk, Robert Flynt, Jack Shamblin, Lance Gries, Olga Mesa, Lidia Martinez, Madalena Vitorino, David Zambrano, Barbara Duchow.
He has taught at Forum Dança, C.E.M., and Arte Total, and has been a guest lecturer at Brighton University (postgraduate diploma in digital media arts). Several of his works are now stored as part of the Digital Performance Archive (DPA) in London and his work has been discussed in the book "Digital Performance" by Steve Dixon, MIT press 2007.
Collaborations.
Other collaborations : Bernardo Montet, Margarida Bettencourt & Carlos Zingaro, Cristina Benedita & Carlos Zingaro, Laurent Simões, Manuel Granja, Helder Luis, André Guedes, Luciana Fina, Filipe Lopes/ PlayBleu.
Produceurs : Mark Deputter - Festival Danças na cidade/ Festival Alkantara. Gil Mendo - Forum Dança. Rita Castro Neves. Genoveva Oliveira, Ana David - Musée m|i|mo. Graça Passos - CENTA. Sofia Neuparth - C.E.M.. Ghislaine Boddington - Butterfly Effect Network. Sue Gollifer - Brighton University. Cristina Mendanha - Arte Total/ Salvo Conduto and GUELRA with GNRation.
Photography : Bill Jacbson, Eric Rhein, Christophe Apatie.


John Whaite

John Whaite is an English baker who won the third series of "The Great British Bake Off" in 2012. He works as a chef, television presenter, and author. He has had a weekly cooking slot on "Lorraine" and he was a presenter and judge on the ITV daytime cookery competition show "Chopping Block".
Early life.
John Whaite was born in Chorley and grew up on a farm in Wrightington. He has two sisters, Jane and Victoria. He became interested in baking when he was five after his parents divorced. He won a place at Oxford to read modern and medieval languages, but switched to study Law at the University of Manchester so as to be nearer to home. He gained a first-class degree after sitting his law exams while filming "Bake Off", and worked briefly as a banker in the Royal Bank of Scotland's asset finance department. He rejected a career in law or banking after winning the series, and opted to take classes at Le Cordon Bleu to pursue a career in cookery.
Career.
Television.
In 2012, at the age of 23, Whaite took part in the third series of "The Great British Bake Off" on BBC Two. After making it through to the final, he won the show with his Italian sausage and roasted vegetable pithivier, fondant fancies and heaven and hell chiffon cake. Despite winning the show, he only won 'Star Baker' once in the series.
Whaite appears as a resident chef on ITV's "Lorraine" programme, hosted by Lorraine Kelly. He has also appeared on "This Morning", "What's Cooking?", "The Alan Titchmarsh Show" and "Sunday Brunch" as a guest chef.
In April 2016, Whaite began co-presenting "Chopping Block", ITV's new daytime cookery competitive show with Rosemary Shrager where four couples compete in a series of daily challenges to win a prize. A second series began airing in March 2017.
2020 to present regular chef on Steph's Packed Lunch 12:30pm weekdays on Channel 4. @packedlunchc4
Cookery.
After appearing on "Bake Off", Whaite studied a diploma in Patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu, London.
In 2015, John Whaite's Kitchen Cookery School opened in Lancashire.
Writing.
Whaite has released four cookery books. His first book, "John Whaite Bakes" was released on 25 April 2013, and the second, "John Whaite Bakes at Home" was released on 27 March 2014. The third book, "Perfect Plates in 5 Ingredients", was published in April 2016. He wrote a column on food for "The Daily Telegraph". The fourth book, "Comfort: Food to soothe the soul", was published in October 2017. In 2019, he wrote "A Flash in the Pan", which contains recipes for cooking using only a stovetop pan.
Whaite briefly wrote column "Hot John" for the "Heat" magazine in 2013.
Personal life.
Whaite lives with his partner Paul Atkins, a graphic designer, in Leeds. He announced their engagement on 21 July 2017.
Whaite admitted having suffered from depression. He also admitted experiencing bulimia in the past.
Whaite established a farm during his 2019 trip in Canada.