Minggu, 21 Mei 2017
Ringling Brothers circus stages final show
After 146 years, America's most celebrated circus Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus has staged its final performance in New York.
Owners of the company said the tough decision had been made due to falling ticket sales and high operating costs.
"As far as this great American institution, it is a sad moment," ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson said.
For the performers, it also means the end of a tight-knit community that lived on a train in between shows.
Owners of the company said the tough decision had been made due to falling ticket sales and high operating costs.
"As far as this great American institution, it is a sad moment," ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson said.
For the performers, it also means the end of a tight-knit community that lived on a train in between shows.
The final performance of what the company described as "the greatest show on earth" was streamed live online.
Just before the show, David Vassallo, a clown at the travelling circus, told Reuters: "For every artist it's a dream to be part of this show, the greatest show on earth."
"I cannot even describe how happy it was for me to be part of that and I'm sad of course to wake up from this amazing dream."
Ringling Bros was the last American circus that travelled by rail.
Until Sunday, the company's train was the primary residence for most of the performers, who hail from 13 different countries.
"I learned to walk on the train, my parents were living on the train when I was born," Ivan Vargas, a sixth-generation circus performer, told the BBC earlier this month.
Vargas, 26, whose family is originally from Mexico, was born in between Sunday performances.
'You watched hundreds of people burst into tears' - by BBC's Jessica Lussenhop
The final blow was delivered on 14 January 2017, late one night after the last in a "six pack" of performances in Orlando, Florida.
Posters printed in English, Portuguese, Ukrainian and Mongolian had gone up earlier in the day announcing a mysterious, mandatory all-staff meeting.
So when Feld Entertainment executives delivered the news that the circus was shutting down completely, it landed hard.
"You watched hundreds of people burst into tears at the same time," recalls ringmaster Kristen Michelle Wilson, Ringling Bros' first female ringmaster.
She had just given up her job, apartment and car to join the circus four months earlier. But the show had to go on. "The next day, we came in and did two more shows."
The five months leading up to the final performances haven't been easy.
Feld set up career counsellors at each stop. One by one, performers who found new gigs dropped off the tour.
Foreign performers without new jobs will lose their work visas shortly after the final show, and the Felds are covering plane tickets and reimbursing mileage for road trips home.
Animal rights campaigners - who had been accusing the Ringling Bros of animal abuse - have welcomed the decision to shut the company.
They held a protest in New York, carrying placards "We shut you down!" and "Bye-bye animal abusers".
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39995384
Just before the show, David Vassallo, a clown at the travelling circus, told Reuters: "For every artist it's a dream to be part of this show, the greatest show on earth."
"I cannot even describe how happy it was for me to be part of that and I'm sad of course to wake up from this amazing dream."
Ringling Bros was the last American circus that travelled by rail.
Until Sunday, the company's train was the primary residence for most of the performers, who hail from 13 different countries.
"I learned to walk on the train, my parents were living on the train when I was born," Ivan Vargas, a sixth-generation circus performer, told the BBC earlier this month.
Vargas, 26, whose family is originally from Mexico, was born in between Sunday performances.
'You watched hundreds of people burst into tears' - by BBC's Jessica Lussenhop
The final blow was delivered on 14 January 2017, late one night after the last in a "six pack" of performances in Orlando, Florida.
Posters printed in English, Portuguese, Ukrainian and Mongolian had gone up earlier in the day announcing a mysterious, mandatory all-staff meeting.
So when Feld Entertainment executives delivered the news that the circus was shutting down completely, it landed hard.
"You watched hundreds of people burst into tears at the same time," recalls ringmaster Kristen Michelle Wilson, Ringling Bros' first female ringmaster.
She had just given up her job, apartment and car to join the circus four months earlier. But the show had to go on. "The next day, we came in and did two more shows."
The five months leading up to the final performances haven't been easy.
Feld set up career counsellors at each stop. One by one, performers who found new gigs dropped off the tour.
Foreign performers without new jobs will lose their work visas shortly after the final show, and the Felds are covering plane tickets and reimbursing mileage for road trips home.
Animal rights campaigners - who had been accusing the Ringling Bros of animal abuse - have welcomed the decision to shut the company.
They held a protest in New York, carrying placards "We shut you down!" and "Bye-bye animal abusers".
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39995384
Minggu, 14 Mei 2017
Eurovision 2017: Portugal's ballad wins contest
Portugal have won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in the competition's history.
Salvador Sobral, 27, won with his love ballad Amar Pelos Dois, which was written by his sister.
He said on receiving the trophy: "We live in a world of fast food music. This is a victory for music... music isn't fireworks, music is feeling."
Lucie Jones, representing the UK with I'll Never Give Up on You, came 15th. Bulgaria came second and Moldova third.
Jones, a former X Factor contestant, received 111 points for her performance but didn't seem too upset, tweeting: "I wonnnnnnn!!! Oh no wait..."
It is a considerable improvement for the UK, after last year's entrants Joe and Jake came 24th with 62 points.
Jones secured the UK's highest placing since 2011, when boyband Blue came 11th with 100 points.
Sobral, who has a serious heart condition that saw him miss the first week of rehearsals, reprised his song at the end of the show and was joined by his sister Luisa for a duet.
Their song, which translates as For the Both of Us, won top marks from both from the televoters and the countries' professional juries, getting 758 points altogether. This dwarfed Jamala's win last year for Ukraine with 534 points.
Portugal had been one of the favourites to win, along with Italy's entry, which came sixth.
It wasn't all about the singing, though - last year's winner Jamala had her performance briefly interrupted by a man flashing his bottom.
BBC Monitoring reported that Ukrainian TV identified him as "scandalous" Ukrainian prankster Vitaliy Sedyuk. Jamala continued to sing "unfazed", the broadcaster 1+1 TV said.
The stage invader, wrapped in an Australian flag, was swiftly wrestled off the stage by a security guard.
Graham Norton, who was guiding UK viewers through the contest on BBC One, apologised to anyone who was offended by the incident.
The contest this year took place in the Kiev International Exhibition Centre in Ukraine. The host country could only manage 23rd place out of 26 this time round.
Portugal will now host the contest next year.
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39911839
Salvador Sobral, 27, won with his love ballad Amar Pelos Dois, which was written by his sister.
He said on receiving the trophy: "We live in a world of fast food music. This is a victory for music... music isn't fireworks, music is feeling."
Lucie Jones, representing the UK with I'll Never Give Up on You, came 15th. Bulgaria came second and Moldova third.
Jones, a former X Factor contestant, received 111 points for her performance but didn't seem too upset, tweeting: "I wonnnnnnn!!! Oh no wait..."
It is a considerable improvement for the UK, after last year's entrants Joe and Jake came 24th with 62 points.
Jones secured the UK's highest placing since 2011, when boyband Blue came 11th with 100 points.
Sobral, who has a serious heart condition that saw him miss the first week of rehearsals, reprised his song at the end of the show and was joined by his sister Luisa for a duet.
Their song, which translates as For the Both of Us, won top marks from both from the televoters and the countries' professional juries, getting 758 points altogether. This dwarfed Jamala's win last year for Ukraine with 534 points.
Portugal had been one of the favourites to win, along with Italy's entry, which came sixth.
It wasn't all about the singing, though - last year's winner Jamala had her performance briefly interrupted by a man flashing his bottom.
BBC Monitoring reported that Ukrainian TV identified him as "scandalous" Ukrainian prankster Vitaliy Sedyuk. Jamala continued to sing "unfazed", the broadcaster 1+1 TV said.
The stage invader, wrapped in an Australian flag, was swiftly wrestled off the stage by a security guard.
Graham Norton, who was guiding UK viewers through the contest on BBC One, apologised to anyone who was offended by the incident.
The contest this year took place in the Kiev International Exhibition Centre in Ukraine. The host country could only manage 23rd place out of 26 this time round.
Portugal will now host the contest next year.
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39911839
Label: actor, artist, contest, news, tech
