Dear Readers, Now that our (Canadian) Thanksgiving dinner parties are happily over, but being grateful for what we have is something we all know we should do a bit more often……And yet, encouragement to be ‘grateful’ is not always the kindly act it seems. It may sound like we should be content with how things already are, as my 9-year-old, Maya, said to all the invitees at the Thanksgiving dinner table, “I am so grateful for bread-and-butter, nothing else matters!”,  politely opting out of eating healthy dishes on the table. Awww, kids these days. How about ambition, expectation or aspiration?  How do we know that we’re not settling for less?  Do you feel sometime that the moment of gratitude for simple joys in life is somehow at odds with a central human nature to strive for excellence? Life is like a puzzle, indeed….. October issue is on the theme of artist’s long and winding way lying in between the vision and the act; featuring long timers like Etsuko Inoue, Dr. Richard Niles, and Salome Nieto, all have been my sources of inspiration, and then young Craig Lee, an artist in the making.  Salome recently introduced me to this wonderful quote by Tatsumi Hijikata, a creator of Butoh dance:  “Again and again we are reborn. It is not enough simply to be born of the mother’s womb. Many births are necessary. Be reborn always and everywhere. Again and again.”  I will hold on to this insight when I think of gratitude and taking on bigger challenges….    And on that note, everyone, Happy October! Happy Halloween!     Keiko Honda, Ph.D. Editor-in-Chief...

    By Haley Cameron Photos: Noriko Nasu-Tidball   When Etsu Inoue first came to Vancouver from Fukuoka, Japan back in 1989 it was to explore. The twenty-four year old had caught the travel bug while working for a Japanese airline, prompting her to apply for a Canadian working holiday Visa. Fast forward twenty-five years and Inoue is still exploring — but these days it’s with water colours and calligraphy.   “There is so much more nature here than in Japan,” Inoue shares, explaining how she came to stay in British Columbia and what inspires her creative work. “And there is quite a strong community of artists,” continues Inoue, a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists who is graciously appreciative of her local support systems.   When Inoue first landed in Vancouver she remained in the tourism industry, working with a local tourism company until 9/11 and SARS fears began to hurt the travel sector. “That’s when I started pursuing my art and calligraphy more seriously,” she shares.   Inoue first began studying calligraphy at the age of eight, when it was introduced to Japanese children as a part of their regular academic curriculum. Since leaving Japan, Inoue has continued to train under the guidance of her master, whom she calls Kisui, using his artist name. “I’m still learning,” laughs the humble student, explaining that she sends her work back to Japan for feedback once per month.   Her water colour work is an entirely different story. “It is all self-taught,” she says. She began pursuing painting professionally fifteen years ago. “Before that it was always a hobby; I love painting very much,” says the artist. Inoue has customized her watercolor painting by incorporating materials traditionally used for calligraphy. “I use the washi...

By Aryan Etesami Photo courtesy Craig Lee For this month’s issue, I am very excited to introduce to my dear readers an intelligent and hard-working young man: Craig Lee. Craig who is currently in his late 20’s, was born in Richmond, BC and raised in the Surrey area for most of his childhood. After graduating from high school, Craig entered the Criminology program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University with the intention of becoming a police officer in the RCMP, but soon realized that his true passion in life lied elsewhere. Craig left the Criminology program and decided to make the transfer to Simon Fraser University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2012. Having always been complimented on his superb listening skills, Craig just knew he wanted to a therapist ever since the age of 12! After earning his undergraduate degree, Craig went on to gain his first real Counselling experience through volunteering at a crisis line in Surrey, while also helping a child with autism over the period of year. Convinced he wanted to pursue a career in Counselling, he began sending out applications to those Graduate schools that resonated with him the most, and finally came to choose Adler’s School of Professional Psychology to further his formal education in the field. Craig admired Alfred Adler’s (whom Craig’s chosen graduate school was named after) ideals of community contribution and social interest, and set it out for himself to follow in his footsteps. He initially entered the Masters of Counselling Psychology program and shortly after, Craig was co-facilitating a support group consisting of 10 women in the North Vancouver area, as part of his community service practicum and working alongside a professional Art Therapist, Dr. Duanita Eleniak. Within a year into...

  By Dr. Richard Niles Photo courtesy Dr. Richard Niles   I have been a professional arranger in popular music since 1975. Most people, even some musicians, have little idea what that means. Many think that studio musicians make up their parts in a joyous act of spontaneous inspiration. So what do arrangers do, anyway? Consider the explosive, instantly recognizable brass melody in the opening bars of “Dancing In The Street” by Martha and the Vandellas. Who wrote it? If you assumed it was written by the songwriters, Marvin Gaye, William Stevenson and Ivy Hunter, you would be wrong. Paul Riser, one of Motown’s staff arrangers, composed that melody and decided on the instrumentation of trumpets, trombones and saxophones to play it. Riser, usually un-credited, composed instrumental lines such as this to enhance many hits and act as a “hook” to the listener, encouraging them to buy the records.        My book presents the work of some of the most influential arrangers in pop, artists who have been uncredited, undervalued and misunderstood. Yet, despite being “invisible” to the public,  during a critical period of popular music history arrangers have played a significant part in the evolution of musical genre and content. In the U.S. arrangers have the opportunity to be recognized by the Grammy  Awards in two categories—Best Instrumental Arrangement and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists. At least winners and nominees can use this to promote themselves and bring in more offers of work. In Britain and the rest of the world there is no such award. The financial rewards of an arranging career are limited. Arrangers are paid a fee for each job. It’s not huge. Keep working, get jobs in every week and you can pay the mortgage. Arrangers receive no royalties unless they...

Choreography and performance: Salome Nieto Artistic Direction: Eduardo Meneses-Olivar Exploring the scope and depth of her Mexican culture and bringing her curiosity over its marvelous reality and surrealism as the starting point for this work, Vancouver’s Salomé Nieto uses religious iconography, beliefs and traditions as inspiration for this work, an investigation into the themes of devotion, ritual and myth. Camino al Tepeyac is a metaphor for the convergence of two cultural and religious beliefs in one female deity that is the origin and end of all things. The Mexicas called her Tonantcin (Our Mother Coatlicue) and after the conquest her name became Virgin of Guadalupe and the Mother of the Mexican people in the Catholic faith. pataSola Dance wishes to acknowledge the support of the 2014 International Butoh Festival in Argentina, the project “Puedes Volar Mariposa” directed by Master Gustavo Collini-Sartor, the auspice of the Mexican Embassy in Argentina and the Canadian Embassy in Argentina during our stay in Buenos Aires, and the support of Canada Council for the Arts, the BC Arts Council, the Province of British Columbia and Shadbolt Centre for the Arts for the full production of Camino al Tepeyac. Camino Al Tepeyac runs from Wednesday November 19 2014 to Saturday November 22 2014 in the Studio Theatre Reserved 6450 Deer Lake Avenue Burnaby BC V5G 2J38 pm Approximate running time: 120 minutes Ticket through box office 604-205-3000 Tickets are now available to purchase at tickets.shadboltcentre.com Here is the sneak preview of Camino Al Tepeyac    ...

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