"Windows" by the Ballet Pixelle

I received a notice that the Ballet Pixelle was doing a performance of their original, ”Windows.” Since I had not been in a while I decided to go over to see it. The greeter met me and checked to see that I had received a playbill as I sat. The background of the stage was a city in the distance. The MC advised us that the performance was a three act play and the music should be set at the beginning of each act. The theme of this  ballet is stated as “Windows are openings that allow us to see a glimpse of a person's life; to be a bit of a voyeur for a moment in time.” 

As the first act opened we were looking through a window at a solo dancer who had just arrived home. Another window appeared with another dancer behind and then a third. Each dancer swayed and danced with passion as we watched and we wondered what each was thinking. Their moves are graceful as they twirl and pirouette, each in their own way. Act 2 took place in a diner as two teens seek to impress a handsome young man. Who won? I was not quite sure. Act 3 takes place in a lovely flower filled field with a young man and woman dancing their happiness in each other, as above an older couple watch and eventually become the dancers. 

The ballet is always enjoyable to watch. There is so much work put into their effort creating the moves and executing them. The stages are very well designed and pleasant to the eye. After the bows by all the performers they come and mingle with the audience offering autographed cards if you would like one. If you have not had the pleasure of seeing a ballet, try it. I admire all the work that goes into each ballet I have seen and look forward to the next one that I can get to see. 

To find out more about the ballet and the company, visit the website : http://www.balletpixelle.org/ .

Gemma Cleanslate

Burn2: DJ Healer and Oberon Onmura

When it comes to Burn2 and DJs, one can’t go wrong with Qwark Allen. He invited me to listen, sending me a TP, and arriving at the desert I found myself in a platform high in the air with over a dozen avs around, Qwark in a sleek steel skin, resembling a “naked robot.” He was certainly one of a kind.

So who else was out there? One of my neighbors told me about another Burn2 DJ: Healer Ladybird. Before the festival, I went over and had a few words with her. She had been logging on since 2007, “I was never into games online but SL hooked me (grin). I used to go to real-life desert raves and was always fascinated with the DJs.”

She had wanted to DJ herself in real-life, but didn’t have the money. She searched for a place that played “underground” music, and found a club called “Piranha.” “They had live DJ that played all genres. .. It became my home ... I hung out there for almost a year until the owner there who was also a DJ, she said if I wanted to learn how to DJ she would let me play there (grin). So she helped me. I got my software & music and practiced like crazy for like 3 months. And I debuted at the club in Feb 2008 (grin).”

She had been attending Burning Life/Burn2 for the past four years, DJing for the past three. She had seen her share off odd sights there, “Even Barack Obama was at my set (grin), well his avatar.” She went on to say the name was a bit misspelled. A favorite build of hers was when someone built some “oil pigs” in the ground that were actually oil rigs.

On Saturday Oct1, the night after the opening day of the festival, she was DJing for a small crowd under a tent, playing psytrance to a small crowd, mostly women. This wasn’t the biggest music event at the desert, but Healer was having fun all the same.

Healer Ladybird’s next event is tonight October 6th.

“I always wanted to DJ in real life, but never got the chance to and SL has given me that chance. It’s my passion, I love to play my music and I hope they like to listen. (grin)”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A couple days later, I was walking around, taking in some of the sights of the exhibits. Some were colorful, some were odd-looking, and some were odd looking and colorful. On my mini-map, I noticed a cluster of avatars at one exhibit, so I went closer to investigate. The exhibit, at the corner of "Rod's Road" and "7." wasn’t too colorful, a pale olive color. But there were several people inside, and a couple girls went up to another man sitting up front, one saying, “I brought my bestest friend to see it.” They soon left, and the man, a Oberon Onmura, looked to me, “ Hello Bixyl, enjoying the Burn?”

I asked Oberon what kind of exhibit this was. He answered, “Well, I'm one of the invited artists. So this is an art installation ... It turns on when someone enters.” I posted out the avs already in there. He chuckled, “Oh no, they live there. The ones in there now are bots, the ‘actors on the scene.’ “

And it wasn’t long before someone else did walk in, and things changed. the lights inside looked different, and some odd music came on. Oberon explained the music was chanting Croatian monks. Maybe it was those bots, but the scene reminded me a bit of some UFO abduction experience.

There were other sights that night, but this was the one that came with its builder.

Bixyl Shuftan

Meet Mikati Slade

While touring SL8 last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Second Life Artist Mikati Slade at her exhibit, “Together”. The colorful exhibit was one of the most fun pieces of art I have seen in a long time. Her art exemplified the theme of this year’s celebration, “The Magic of Second Life.” When I met Mikati, she was dressed in the same bright pinks, yellows, and reds as her exhibit. How fun!

In real-life Mikati is a digital artist from Japan. As part of her formal education she studied classical sculpture and drawing. Her real-life work experience includes illustrations and graphic design. She is a very bright, friendly asset to the SL art community.

The “Together” exhibit was described in a notecard as “Japanese Pop-style,” featuring “a bright, pixelized sculpture made up of cute figures of various looks and other symbols.” I saw lots of hearts, flowers, and happy objects. Looking at the exhibit made me smile.

On her notecard, Mikati wrote, “People are often inhibited by numerous limits and handicaps, such as their appearance, gender, or age. In envisioning a better future, it makes sense to try to address this issue. In Second Life, people can push aside some of the obstacles that trouble them in real life and live, work, and develop relationships in a freer environment. It's the vision of a better future materialized in Second Life today. This is the magic of Second Life.”

Mikati also has exhibits at a French art sim, PiRats Art Network. More of her Japanese Pop art work can be found there at PiRats Art Network (148, 81, 21). Through her designs, Mikati hopes to communicate her ideas about society and people’s identities. We talked about how Second LIfe provides the opportunity to meet people that we would never have the chance to meet in real-life. “Yes,” Mikati said, “Really that’s magic!”

Grey Lupindo