Entertainment

Downtown Kingston is Lit

Downtown Kingston Light Installation
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I don’t even know if the term “lit” is popular anymore but I am going to roll with it for the purpose of this post which is to tell you about Kingston’s beautiful light installation downtown. The bright, twinkling, (they literally twinkle), lights are certainly needed at the end of this dreadful year. No, they will not act as the light at the end of this pandemic tunnel, however, with Christmas around the corner it’s important to find the silver-linings available to us and hold on tight to them! We can’t control  the current state of the world but we can control how we react to the madness! Continue reading →

The Blue Man Group is Coming to Kingston! A Q&A with the Captain

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The Blue Man Group is coming to Kingston! The trio will be performing at the Leon’s Centre on March 21! The group’s Captain, Barney Haas, took a few minutes to answer some questions about the show via email. Read below to learn more about what to expect from their performance! And if you want a chance to win tickets, check out my Facebook or Instagram page to enter to win. 

Keep up with Kingston: How did you start performing for the Blue Man group? What made you want to tour with the group?
Barney Haas: Always having been a drummer, I was fascinated by the show and so I auditioned back in 2012. A series of further auditions finally led to finding myself in the training process in New York, and that’s where the adventure begun. Now it’s been 6 years and the show has taken us all around the globe. Continue reading →

Q&A: Luther Wright and Colleen Brown of Major Love

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Major Love is the moniker of Canadian songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Colleen Brown. They will be performing as a part of Skeleton Park Arts Festival this Saturday! In honour of their upcoming performance, read about the band’s latest album, learn who Colleen considers to be her guitar heroes as well as her advice for budding musicians in the interview below with fellow beloved musician and this year’s SPAF host, Luther Wright. 

Luther Wright: This is not your first time playing the festival but you have since settled in the area.  How are you enjoying being part of the Kingston arts/music scene? Continue reading →

Q&A: Don Maynard on his upcoming Art Installation at the Skeleton Park Arts Festival

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Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of I love this city because I make at least one new friend every day and each is more inspiring and fantastic to be around than the last (3)
Have you heard? The Skeleton Park Arts Festival   is kicking off on June 20-24! This festival does a beautiful job at sharing and displaying the work of Kingston’s most talented artists and brings the community together for great food and music. A very exciting installation being featured is by Don Maynard called the Skeye Project. It will feature the work of local filmmakers on a floating movie screen held up by helium balloons. Oh the whimsy! Something you should be sure to check out. Don has answered a few questions via email about his work and upcoming show (June 22 – 9 pm in Friendship Park) below. Read on to learn more.

Keep up with Kingston: Please share a bit of your background in creative projects like the Skeye Project?
Don Maynard: It was ten years ago in 2007 in Kingston that I did a similar project, Tidal Mass at the NGB studios, which involved a large public installation in collaboration with about 13 musicians. NGB Studios, Kingston. There were 1,850 used fluorescent light bulbs, steel, 250 compact fluorescent light bulbs, steel rods and it was 29″ x 32′ x 54′.

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Q&A: Kay Kenney on Movement Market’s Juvenis Festival Show

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The Juvenis Festival has kicked off in Kingston showcasing the work of some of our city’s most talented young artists! Kay Kenney of Movement Market/SERIES took a minute to answer questions via email about her company’s participation in the festival. This Thursday until Saturday, Movement Market/SERIES will be showing in the old American Apparel storefront on Princess. Read about the new dance platform and upcoming performance in the Q&A below.
Keep up with Kingston: Tell me a little about yourself and your dance background? 
Kay Kenney: I grew up in Kingston ontario. I’ve danced since the age of 4 and studied at the Kingston School of Dance in the old tett centre building. I grew up training in the classical Cecchetti ballet method where I received up to my Intermediate certificate. Over the years I was interested in branching out and began studying all types of methods, such as; jazz, hip-hop, latin, ballroom, musical theatre & contemporary dance, to prepare me for post-secondary training.
I am a 2012 graduate from the Professional Contemporary Dance 3 year diploma Programme at The School of Dance in Ottawa. Since graduation, I have been working as a company dancer for Social Growl Dance, under Artistic Direction of Riley Sims (Toronto) & a company dancer as part of Ottawa Dance Directive, under artistic direction of Yvonne Coutts. I have trained and worked with professionals all over Ontario and Quebec and will be headed to Berlin in June to create a new work for Social Growl Dance to premier in March 2019.

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Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal is coming to The Grand!

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balletsjazzdemontrealphoto5Kingston is in for a treat on April 12th! Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal will be performing at the Grand Theatre and you don’t want to miss this performance. The Grand’s Performing Arts Manager in Cultural Services Jayson Duggan shares why Kingston is so lucky to have BJM.

Can you tell me why you’re personally so excited to see their performance this year?
The  appearance of BJM on April 12th will be without a doubt a highlight of the 10th Anniversary Grand OnStage season. We have been fortunate to present many Canadian icons over the last eight months as part of our anniversary celebrations, and BJM is another outstanding example of the creative brilliance and extraordinary talent flourishing across Canada. I have had the opportunity to see this program performed by BJM and I am looking forward to the reaction and response from the Grand OnStage audience. It is definitely a show that should not to be missed! Continue reading →

Queer Songbook Orchestra Stops in Kingston, Includes Local Artists

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The Queer Songbook Orchestra is a special compilation of songs by Queer-identifying musicians with an ensemble arrangement. As part of the Human Rights Arts Festival in collaboration with The Skeleton Park Arts Festival, this show will be at The Isabel next Tuesday, March 20 featuring Leah Fay (July Talk) and local artists LJ Weisberg and Alyssa Cooper.

The performance will include works by Billy Strayhorn, kd Lang, Stephen Sondheim and more and will explore narratives from the performers and how the music has shaped their identities.

I had a chat with local poet Alyssa Cooper, who will be reading the narratives. See below to learn more about the show and Alyssa’s participation. Continue reading →

Pay What You Want at The Grand Theatre

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I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the exciting events happening at The Grand Theatre this season, specifically within the dance program. Kingston is so lucky to have incredible dance companies travel here and share their talent. In order to make sure that Kingstonians take advantage — without the financial strain —  The City of Kingston is introducing Pay What You Want for next week’s 3,2,1 Dance! on February 15, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.  Continue reading →

Q&A: Dancer Valeria Galluccio Discusses Upcoming Kingston Performance with Compagnie Marie Choiunard

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Photo: Sylvie-Ann Paré / Dancer: Lucy M. May

Attention all dancers and dance enthusiasts! Internationally-renowned dance company Marie Chouinard is coming to Kingston on January 30th. Marie Chouinard has created choreography based on Stravinsky’s iconic score, The Rite of Spring. As well as a piece based off the book Mouvements by Henri Michaux. Learn more about the details of the show, here.

It’s wonderful to learn about a show from the perspective of a performer. Dancer Valeria Galluccio has been part of Marie Chouinard since 2011, she took some time to answer a few questions about the upcoming show via email. See below to learn about her experience and why she is looking forward to the Kingston performance.  Continue reading →

Five Shows I Can’t Wait to See This Season at The Grand

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I am so excited to announce a fun sponsored collaboration with The Grand Theatre. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve grown up attending shows like The Nutcracker at The Grand but they offer so much more than a holiday ballet. Performers travel from around the world to share their talents with us Kingstonians and we are incredibly lucky to have this theatre that can house these performances in such an intimate and beautiful space.

I’ve picked a few of the shows I look forward to and I’ll have an opportunity to interview someone who is a part each of these shows ahead of each performance. Plus, I’ll be pairing each article with a contest! Continue reading →