Sasha Davis trained at the Royal Ballet School in London. She now lives in Houston, Texas. On Wednesday night she saw Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time.

[Sasha Davis, Former Ballerina]:
Theyre amazing. Technically their amazing, in their precision but also in their artistry.

Ms. Davis says Shen Yuns female dancers are very feminine, but very strong.

[Sasha Davis, Former Ballerina]:
And the male dancers are very strong indeed. But everyone is so light on their feet.

One dance student was also impressed by Chinese classical dance.

[Madison Calicchia, Dance Student]:
It was incredible. I couldnt even understand howthey were so technically perfect, with everything that they did. And it was just unbelievable.

Shen Yun takes the audience on a journey from the founding of Chinese civilization 5000 years ago to the present day.

[Madison Calicchia, Dance Student]:
In school I have studied Chinese history, but I didnt understand as well as just watching this show.

She says Shen Yuns dancers were amazing.

[Madison Calicchia, Dance Student]:
I imagine a lot of people in the audience were probably like, lsquo;Oh this is so great, theyre amazingly flexible. And Im sitting there as a dancer going, lsquo;How is that physically possible. I could never do that. It was just amazing.

NTD News, Houston

Tags : Artistry

MILITARY

o Army National Guard Pvt. Ivan Lester graduated from basic
combat training at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla. Lester is the son of
Elizabeth Griffin of Edwardsville. He is a 2010 graduate of Cahokia
High School.

o Air Force Airman Chelsea Trione graduated from basic military
training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Trione
is the daughter of Carla Trione of Perryville, Mo., and Charles
Trione of Caseyville.

BIRTHS

o On Dec. 7, Crystal Cortez of Fairmont City gave birth to a
girl at Memorial Hospital in Belleville.

o On Dec. 5, Sacha Holmes of Collinsville gave birth to a girl
at Memorial Hospital in Belleville.

Submit information for this column to Announcements, Suburban
Journals, 2 Executive Drive, Collinsville, IL 62234, or email
sbaraba@yourjournal.com, subject line Announcements. Our fax
number is 618-344-3831.

Tags : Announcements

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Tags : Announcements

HOUSTON– Shen Yun Performing Arts’ matinee at Jones Hall, Houston, on Christmas Eve made the perfect holiday celebration for family members of all ages.

Business owner Cindy Maines brought her husband and young daughters to the show and was impressed with the artistry.

“It was beautiful. The colors–it’s just very, very nice,” Mrs. Maines said. “Visually, it’s just spectacular.

“It’s very neat, how it comes to life on the stage, that was very nice,” Mrs. Maines said.

Shen Yun’s digital backdrop transports the audience into a world where celestial scenes and lush landscapes are one, and dancers can transition from stage to screen.

‘It made my heart sing’

Tags : Artistry

THE GOOSE CREEK STORM: 10 and under travel baseball team has tryouts at 2 pm on Jan. 7 and Jan. 14 at Alcoa Fields in Goose Creek. Cannot turn 11 before May 1, 2012. Call Keith Dolan at (843) 518-1959.

LOW COUNTRY ELITE AAU BASKETBALL PROGRAM: Parents meeting for any 3rd-11th grade boy wanting to play at 6 pm on Jan. 7 at Armory Park, 5000 Lackawanna Blvd., North Charleston. Sign up at lowcountryelitebasketball.com.

ECBA BASEBALL TRYOUTS AND CLINICS: For 13U-18U showcase teams on Jan. 8. Visit www.ecbaseballacademy.com or email info@ecbaseballacademy.com. Hitting clinic Jan. 7, pitching clinic Jan. 21 and Feb. 18 for ages 6-13; softball hitting clinic Jan. 14, Feb. 11 for ages 8-18; All camps 9 am-noon and $50.

HANAHAN RECREATION DEPT.: Seeks wrestling coach and assistant for ages 6-12. Call Tonya at (843) 266-0723.

LACROSSE COACH NEEDED: Charleston Youth Lacrosse Club need girls coach and assistants.Teams playing together for nine years with about 20 players. Call Peter Collins at (843) 343-7634.

WINTER COLLEGE PREP FEMALE SOCCER CLINIC: CSU womens head coach Eric Terrill will host clinic Jan. 21. For girls in grades 9-12. Cost: $120. Contact Christi Rostin at crostin@csuniv.edu or (843) 863-7931.

HANAHAN RECREATION DEPT.: Needs volunteer basketball coaches. Contact Tonya Hunter to coach at (843) 266-0723.

CHARLESTON HEAT: Tryouts for spring baseball season for 11U-12U on Jan 7. Contact Floyd Mitchell (843) 530-0488.

CHARLESTON YANKEES: Seeks a catcher, pitcher and outfielder for over 30 baseball league. email: Charlestonyankees@gmail.com.

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN WINTER CAMPS: Jan. 21 – All Skills Camp (9 am-4 pm), Ages 7 – HS senior; Cost: $100. Feb. 11 – Father-Son or Daughter Camp (9 am-1 pm), all ages, cost $75. Visit www.csusports.com or www.stuartlakebaseball.com or call (843) 863-7591.

SUMMERVILLE SOCCER CLUB: Spring registration for First Kicks, Micro, and Rec 9-12 programs, ends Jan. 4. Games begin Jan. 21. Visit www.summervillesoccerclub.com.

CITADEL SOCCER CLINICS: For boys and girls aged 4-12, Dec. 28-30. Indoor and outdoor soccer training. Cost $75. Visit www.citadelsoccercamp.com

MENS SENIOR SOFTBALL LEAGUE: Must be 50 or older, or turn 50 in 2012. Call Richard at (843) 312-4222.

NEVER-ENDING LADIES GOLF CLINIC: At Charleston National Cost: $99 for five sessions. Contact Mary Ann at (843) 324-1760, or e-mail MaryAnn@ScottsWorldofGolf.com.

WOMENS BASKETBALL: Tryouts at Arthur Christopher Community Center. Call 724-7338 or 724-7580.

EAST COAST SEMI-PRO BASKETBALL: League looking for men and women to play basketball for teams in Charleston, Summerville, and James/Johns islands. Contact Clay Hampton at 425-9724.

Email Bulletin Board items to bulletinboard@postandcourier.com by noon Thursday for Sunday publication.

Tags : Sporting

With the season starting tomorrow, I wanted to update a blog post I did in 2010. In just the past 18 months the number of proposals for in-game entertainment have skyrocketed. It seems like every day I get a new proposal to invest in a company that is going to revolutionize the experience of going to a sporting event. Without fail the proposal starts out with some form of with the explosion in sales of smartphoneshellip; Then I get the meat of the pitch which is some derivative of stats, pictures, fantasy games, social sharing via FB/Twitter or some new network to replace FB/Twitter.

No thank you. Not for the Dallas Mavericks.

In order to understand why I hate these proposals you have to understand first what the Mavs sell, which is not basketball, the expectation of our consumers the available downtime at a Mavs or any NBA game.

Think back to the first professional sporting event you ever went to. It was probably a parent taking you to the game. What do you remember ? Do you remember the score ? A home run ? A jump shot ? A pass play ? Or do you remember who you were with ? I remember being with my dad at a Pirates game. My dad and my uncle at a Steelers game. Think about your fondest memories at a sporting event. Again, what do you remember ? Hanging with your buddies ? A first date ? A last date ? How you felt after the team won or loss ? A business partner or customer ? Or the score ? Im guessing its not the score.

We in the sports business dont sell the game, we sell unique, emotional experiences.We are not in the business of selling basketball. We are in the business of selling fun. We are in the business of letting you escape. We are in the business of giving you a chance to create shared experiences. I say it to our people at the Mavs at all time, I want a Mavs game to be more like a great wedding than anything else.

You know the wedding Im talking about. The one where everyone is up dancing, smiling , cheering, laughing. The one where Grandma Ethel has her annual vodka gimlet and is trying to do the Dougie. The one where although you have no earthly idea what the Dougie is, you cant say no to your 12 year old niece. The one where the whole place does the Macarena while laughing so hard they are crying. The one where everyone sings out loud to every song and you hug the cousin you havent seen in 10 years and hope you dont see for another 10. It doesnt matter if half the room doesnt believe the couple will still be married at the end of the year. It matters if everyone in the place is having a great time. It matters if its the type of wedding that everyone in the room wished or wishes their wedding was or will be like this one. It matters that you leave the reception and your hands hurt from clapping , your mouth hurts from smiling so much and your throat is sore because you were laughing , singing and hollering so much. Thats a great wedding.

Thats how I want a Mavs game to be.

I want it to be very participatory. I want it to be very social. I want it to be very inclusive. I want it to be memorable. I want it to be so much fun people talk about it to their friends and cant wait to go back. I want every parent to get tears in their eyes when they see their kids jumping up and down whether the score is 2 to 0. or 120 to 84. When they are chanting Lets Go Mavs . When they are dancing and trying to get on the jumbotron.

I want the guy on the date knowing that the longest he will have to talk is during halftime and then after the game, and until the next date, he can talk about the game itself and not have all the pressure of trying to think of something to say while his date can be relieved that she can enjoy the game without him talking. Or vice versa of course. I want everyone coming to a Mavs game to be able to find their own personal attachment to that night. I know I cant control what happens on the court every game, but I can do my very best to make sure that no matter what the score, we have done all we can to make the fan experience like a great wedding.

IMHO, that means eliminating as many of the look down moments in the game as I possibly can. Once you sit in your seat, the only time I want you to look down is to pick up the soda or beer you set down under your seat and maybe to check your phone to see if you got a text from the sitter or your buddy about where to meet after the game.

I want you always looking up. Looking at the game and the entertainment in the arena. You cant cheer if you arent watching. Its my job to give you something other than the game to look up at.

It may be looking at the fun videos we put on the big screen to entertain you.

We are going to try everything and anything we can think of to make it fun and memorable. Just as a DJ responds to the energy and attitude at a Wedding in realtime and tries to choose the right song or activity to keep the fun and energy up, we try to do the same thing at a Mavs game. We recognize that what makes our games unique is that like a wedding, Grandma Ethel can be sitting next to a goth looking 16 year old she has never met before, and if both are watching when the Mavs hit a shot right as the 24 second buzzer sounds, they can high 5 each other like they are best friends. That if Grandma Ethel is chanting defense and being a key 6th man for her Mavs, the 16 year old will feel better about cupping his black nailed hands together to do the same. That if we put a fun video up on the big screen, they both might just sing along

Video and music are two simple components of what we do. We are developing games that our fans can participate in at the arena that hopefully engage them with what is happening on the court. We are coming up with ways to reward our fans for being our 6th man and adding energy to the arena. (I will save those for another post). We are looking for ways to enhance the emotional attachments created at our game.

I cant think of a bigger mistake then trying to integrate smartphones just because you can. The last thing I want is someone looking down at their phone to see a replay. The last thing I want is someone thinking that its a good idea to disconnect from the unique elements of a game to look at replays or update their fantasy standings or concentrate on trying to predict what will happen next in the game. There is a huge value to everyone collectively holding their breath during a replay, or responding to a great play or a missed call and then spontaneously reacting to what they see. You lose that if people are looking down at their handhelds. The fan experience is about looking up, not looking down. If you let them look down, they might as well stay at home, the screen is always going to be better there.

Thats not to say that smartphones dont have a place in other sports. THere is enough downtime in baseball and football games that it helps to offer time wasters. During huddles and change of possessions, I can see a reason to offer look down entertainment. The same between innings, maybe even between batters. The NBA doesnt have those time sucks.

As in every business you have to always ask yourself what your product is and the best way to deliver it. In the NBA our product is fun and energy. The last thing we need to do is encourage our customers to stare at their phones

Read more posts on Blog Maverick raquo;

Tags : Sporting

Descendants of Australias first expedition to Antarctica 100 years ago are gathering in Hobart to commemorate the event.

The expedition was led by pioneering explorer, Sir Douglas Mawson.

His great granddaughter Emma McEwin is among about 100 descendants of that voyage.

Ms McEwin was invited to address the Royal Society of Tasmania, just as her great grandfather did a century ago.

The writer recalled tales passed down in the family as well as love letters between Mawson and his wife Paquita.

In a place where there are no physical landmarks, where everything looks the same, I think having that emotional landmark so to speak was very important, she said.

I would listen to the stories that my father told and my grandmother told about him eating his dogs and the soles of his feet coming away and all those gory details that children love.

On Friday, 100 years to the day, a large flotilla on the River Derwent will recreate the departure of Mawsons historic voyage.

Topics:
human,
research,
antarctica,
tas,
hobart-7000

First posted

December 01, 2011 09:33:15

Tags : Voyage

MUSIC

Alive into 2012! New Years Eve party: Rhythm and blues by Soul Connection, 9 pm-1 am, Knoxville Museum of Art, Saturday, Dec. 31, 1050 Worlds Fair Park Drive. Tickets: $30-$60. Info: 865-934-2039, www.knoxart.org/events/aliveafter5.html.

BOOKS/WRITERS

Bookaholics: Will discuss Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford, noon, Wednesday, Dec. 28, Union Avenue Books, 517 Union Ave. http://unionavebooks.com.

ART/EXHIBITS

Creatures Great (and Small): Workhorse art collective exhibit, Jan. 1-29, Lunchbox Market/Cafe, 607 Market St. Info: 865-525-7421.

Nelson Ziegler and Hollie LaRue: Painted wood carvings and paintings, respectively, Jan. 2-29, Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St. Reception with live music, 5:30-9 pm Friday, Jan. 6. Info: 865-525-5265.

Earth from Space: Smithsonian Institution/US Geological Surveys traveling exhibition of satellite images, through Feb. 19, American Museum of Science and Energy, 300 S. Tulane Ave., Oak Ridge. Cost: Adults, $5; seniors, $4; students, $3; members and children age five and under, free. Info: 865-576-3200

CLASSES/WORKSHOPS

Writing a query letter: Knoxville Writers Guild workshop by author Cyn Mobley, 9 am-noon, Saturday, Jan. 28, Redeemer Church of Knoxville, 1642 Highland Ave. Bring letter or concept. Cost: $65-$75. Register: www.knoxvillewritersguild.org or mail check: KWG Workshops, PO Box 10326, Knoxville, TN 37939-0326. Info: 865-809-8723 or email AdriaAmosKWG@gmail.com.

Vocal performance: Singing workshop by Angel Leona Higgs: 10:30 am-noon, Saturday, Jan. 7, Bill Jones Music, 10412 Kingston Pike. Free. Preregistration required: www.knoxvoicecompetition.com. Info: email angel@angelleonavoice.com or 865-455-5157.

Digital camera class: By Paul Hassell, 9 am-4:30 pm Saturday, Jan. 14, Conference Room, 4 Market Square. Cost: $150. Info: 865-405-0549 or www.paulhassell.com.

Kaleidoscope-making class: Noon-3 pm, Tuesday, Jan. 3, Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike. For adults and children ages nine and up. Cost: $25 per person or $40 for two family members. Benefits Sudanese refugees tuition. Register: Bob Grimac, 865-546-5643, or email grimac@DiscoverET.org.

CLUBS

Longstreet-Zollicoffer Camp 87, Sons of Confederate Veterans: Business and program by Sam Forrester on history of Chattahoochee River area battles, 7 pm Tuesday, Jan. 3, Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 7225 Old Clinton Pike. Free.

Orion Astronomy Club: Paul Lewis, NASA/JPL Solar System ambassador and University of Tennessee director of Space Science Outreach, will discuss Voyager mission, 7 pm Wednesday, Jan. 4, Grove Theater,123 Randolph Road, Oak Ridge. Star gazes, Saturdays, Jan. 7 and 21, Tamke-Allan Observatory, Rockwood. Free. Info: 865-927-5155 or email fieldsde@roanestate.edu or http://orionastronomy.wordpress.com.

Tags : Announcements

Funeral Announcements: Dec. 24

Death notices and funeral announcements for Saturday, Dec. 24. Click on the names of the deceased to be taken to their full obituaries posted on the funeral homes websites.

Tags : Announcements

LONDON, Dec. 4 (UPI) — Economic times are still tough for many British families but parents indicate they will still try to give their children — and retailers — a merry Christmas.

The Daily Telegraph reported Sunday a straw poll indicates parents will dole out about 112.50 pounds (about $175) per child this holiday season. The unscientific poll of 52 Mumsnet users, for ToyNews magazine, found a quarter of them said they would spend more on childrens presents this year than last year.

Britons spend about a billion pounds ($1.6 billion) on toys each Christmas, the British newspaper said.

Joanna Leapman, 41, of Eynsford, Kent, said shell be a bit more generous than the national average, but will not spend not more than 150 pounds (about $235) on each of her children, ages 6-11.

We dont give the children their presents, Santa does. But these days, even he has to watch his costs, she said.

Gary Pogson, 36, an engineer, and his wife Sarah, 39, a full-time mother, said the Hook couple are watching their spending carefully.

I draw up the spreadsheet with all our income and outgoings. I make sure we never go over our limits, he said.

The spending limit is higher for others. Manni Walton, 43, a Microsoft worker, said he and his girlfriend would be spending 750 pounds (a bit under $1,170) on each of their three children, ages 1-8.

The Telegraph said the Toy Retailers Associations dream dozen of gifts expected to be the most popular this year includes just one under 20 pounds ($31). Experian Hitwise analysts project the three most popular gifts will be the LeapPad Explorer electronic tablet, the Lego Ninjago Fire Temple and the Fireman Sam Pontypandy Rescue Set.

Tags : Shopping