GISPA Music is on a roll. After two and a half months of getting to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, we have GISPA Music is on a roll. After two and a half months of getting to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, we have become a tight knit musical family. The past few weeks have been very exciting. For one, we are already working on composing pieces for the year end production. Our collective minds are working hard together to find a certain atmosphere that will be presented inside the storyline. On Friday, November 2nd, GISPA Music had the amazing opportunity to be the opening act for Ashley MacIsaac at the Artspring Theatre. The performance ran very smoothly and was a blast. Before the show, we actually had a wonderul workshop with Ashley and his guitar player, Chris. This time was spent listening to Ashley’s wise words about the music business, and working together to compose a funky twist on an old fiddle tune, which would later be the closing act of the show. We were thrilled when Ashley invited us all back on stage to perform an encore – the perfect end to a great day. So far, GISPA Music has been on two field trips to see Train and Ed Sheeran live, and we are now getting ready to see Passenger live at the Vogue theatre on December 12th. After seeing him open up for Ed, we were so impressed by his stage presence and passion that we’re going to his own show. Two and a half months of bliss, six and a half to go. This year is certainly off to a good start for GISPA Music.

More to come shortly as the dancers and actors are also bringing in some high calibre workshop teachers and clinicians. Most of them appreciate the opportunity to come into Ganges in a float plane.

The GISPA actors joined the GISPA dancers this past weekend to see Kidd Pivot’s The Tempest Replica. It was exciting to travel together and learn a little bit more about one another’s art forms. There are new Crystal Pite fans because of it. The show was highly theatrical and absolutely stunning aesthetically – the opening storm sequence was particularly arresting.

More to come.

 

We have just finished a great workshop with Daniel Martin from Up in the Air Theatre. What a treat it was to have the whole company together at ArtSpring theatre for two days, working on Suzuki and Viewpoints, building our ensemble and creating a reference point of vocabulary and creativity as we begin our second month of classes.

The actors are off to Vancouver later in the month to see The Electric Company Theatre’s Initiation Trilogy on Granville Island. This sounds exciting as the audience roves between three different locations. Plus, it’s by the Electric Company so our excitement and expectations are high. And, we have a workshop through them the next day.

In the music world the group has just returned from a trip to Vancouver to see Train and Matt Kearney. This week they have a workshop with Aidan Knight followed by a return to Vancouver to see and hear upcoming phenom singer/songwriter Ed Sheehan.

The dancers are going to be seeing Kidd Pivot’s The Tempest Replica where Crystal Pite explores motifs from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. I am jealous and hope to get onboard this trip as a chaperone or as a whole company trip.

Meanwhile all three strands are composing and creating original work inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci and we will share the work with one another later this month. I’ll keep you posted.

 

Now that we’re in our second week of school and have spent a few classes in our individual strands it’s time for our first whole company class on Wednesday. We’re looking forward to creating the 2012/13 GISPA family.

Meanwhile, field trips and workshops are being scheduled and dates are getting booked for ArtSpring as we look forward to a new and exciting year.

The actors are going to see the Electric Company Theatre’s Initiation Trilogy in October.

GISPA’s Haroun production. A resetting of Salman Rushdie’s classic story.

Click the images to enlarge:

GISPA’s Goodperson production.

Click the images to enlarge:

Haroun: a new GISPA collective creation.
Haroun: a resetting of Salman Rushdie’s classic story.
Haroun: May 15-17, 2012 at ArtSpring Theatre.