by Candice DeVille | Mar 4, 2015 | Events, Makeup
As a first timer seeing any of the work of Cirque Du Soleil, my first visit to see Totem in Melbourne, was the type you remember forever.
Under the big top at Flemington Racecourse, the Cirque Du Soleil team created the most astonishing wonderland! To be asked which was my favourite act at the end of the evening, was an unanswerable question. The feats of strength, wonder, athleticism and engineering was more than my mind could handle. Utterly mesmerising is the only accurate description.
What made my evening however, was the opportunity to spend time with the cast and crew backstage after the show for a tantalising look into the world of circus folk.
Chatting with the “human mirror ball” about the construction and weight of his costume was utterly fascinating. Each piece has been carefully calculated to ensure maximum reflective surface with a minimal weight rating; something they are continually perfecting. Even the choice of glue must give the right strength of adhesion but not add too much weight to the overall piece. As an inventive fashionista with a penchant for the hot glue gun, I found this whole thought process enthralling.
The closest I was able to come to selecting a favourite act, was these two ladies. Twins from Eastern Europe who’s costumes were so stunning I was mentally sketching out replicas for myself during their act! To me they appeared as gorgeous, mermaid like creatures with fin like crowns and reflective scales. Each costume is (naturally) hand made to their exact specifications and commercially worth $30,000 USD each!! Of course I had to ask the question of how they were cleaned, especially given just how difficult and expensive I know it is to clean my vintage pieces. The ladies have two costumes each, one for the performance and a clean one for the finale. These are each cleaned daily with hand washing and air drying; the process of which is done immediately on site in a bank of washing machines and high powered air dryers for each performer.
The fabrics, trim and other embellishments are all kept in highly organised filling drawers within the costume department. If any repairs or replacements are needed while on tour, it is essential that the correct pieces are quickly and easily accessible. While Cirque Du Soleil have the largest costume workshop in North America, the tour wardrobe and makeup department was nothing short of “system porn” for me.
As an addict of labelling, sorting by colour and finding smarter ways to operate, the set up for the performers and the precision to which it is adhered, was heaven to me.
The sheer attention to detail in these costumes is staggering! The custom printed lycra, appliquéd treatments, individually moulded latex monkey face masks, each of which has had the hair attached strand by strand. Not one detail is over looked, no corner cut and no wardrobe malfunctions that will not be pre-empted and swiftly remedied.
As a makeup artist, I had to know, did each performer complete their own look and if so, how long was the process? For these ladies the process was an “easy” 45 minutes now that they were well practiced. They did state, however, that theirs was the most simplistic of all the makeup applications! So not only do the performers need to be incredible at their own craft, they must also be quick studies in the art of stage makeup and dab hands at arduous daily application.
In order to direct the performers, the makeup designer had prepared extensive proof and instructions sheets. Having prepared these on many occasions myself for models to follow, I can tell you it is no easy task ensuring that the finished product looks remotely like your sketches!
MAC is an official sponsor of and supplier to, Cirque Du Solei. This huge (perfectly labelled) filling cabinet holds enough product to put and entire sorority house into dead faint! Gleaming tubes of glitter gloss, pots of paint, liner, crayons and lashes were lined up like candy. Ben Nye products completed the cabinet of lust (as I like to call it), and had my hand reaching for my credit card on auto pilot.
This small post-it with the stubs of liner pencils brought home to me the true magic of what Cirque Du Soleil really is. One huge talented family, travelling the globe to share their miraculous world and reawaken our own sense of wonder.
Cirque Du Soleil Totem is in Melbourne until March 28th. Be mesmerised!
by Candice DeVille | Feb 11, 2015 | Events, sponsors
I am an ideas woman.
There is nothing I love more than a good old-fashioned brain storming session with like-minded people. Caffeine on tap, white boards and large gestures all make for my kind of mental adrenaline ride. I’d like to think I have much in common with one of my favourite Golden Era icons, Hedy Lammar. Beautiful actress and inventor, without whom we would not have a technology which has become so precious to us; Wi Fi!
It is because of the commonalities between Hedy and myself, that I am incredibly excited by an event that next week brings. Pause Fest is Australia’s premier digital event that began in 2011 and this year the TAC is partnering with Pause Fest to run a one-day Hackathon, entitled “pause the road toll”.
The idea is that on Friday 13th, a whole bunch of digital creatives all get together to brainstorm ideas and compete to win a major development prize. It’s not a day of hard core coding, but rather to workshop ideas with your team, or alone, and come up with something truly revolutionary, helping to effectively reduce the road toll.
Participants are presented with a brief on road safety and then, using their diverse skills and knowledge base, put together ideas that could contribute to a reduction in road crashes. Pause Fest attracts all kinds of digital creatives, start-ups, developers, and early adopters; much like many of my blogging friends. They are people with a passion for problem solving, ingenuity and an elegant technological solution.
The winning idea will be awarded $75,000 worth of prizes, including $5,000 cash and a $70,000 incubation fund to help further develop their idea. So as you can imagine, this is a major, and now sold out event!
The idea behind Pause Fest and the kind of ideas it generates, is fascinating to me. As someone with such a passion for the past, I find an equal satisfaction in fantasising about the future. Living in a time where technology changes our reality day by day, is one of the most exciting things I can imagine. Watching these concepts grow into something that has the potential to save lives, is astounding.
It’s an interesting time in Australia, watching organisations struggle to find new and more effective ways of reaching their audience and communicating their message. The TAC has taken a bold and market leading step in reaching out to the brains trust of the digital community; one that will undoubtedly uncover some brilliant concepts.
To follow along with Pause Fest and the TAC Hackathon, simply check in at their website or follow along on social @TACVictoria
Brought to you by Nuffnang and TAC.
by Candice DeVille | Feb 3, 2015 | Events, sponsors
This post is brought to you by Nuffnang and Strictly Ballroom The Musical
“Oh my giddy Aunt!” This is the first phrase that pops out of my mouth when I was asked today how I enjoyed the opening of Strictly Ballroom the Musical, and yes, I do actually speak like that!
As a dancer myself, (albeit a somewhat interpretive one) I am all too familiar with the world in which this show is set. The pure Australianism of the story, the cast and the costumes is pure gold. If you’ve seen the movie you may be familiar with the storyline, but it still can’t prepare you for the brilliance of the stage interpretation. I don’t want to give away the surprises in store, but when you consider what Baz Luhrmann does on screen, just wait till you see how that translates to stage!
The musical numbers were just as sparkling as the tight pants on stage. Familiar songs had me racing to Spotify to add them, and incredible new pieces from Sia and Eddie Perfect completely and instantly won me over. To get even the smallest taste of what an uplifting and fun show this is, you must see the video trailer.
The characters and costuming in this are so familiar to me that I had to double take a few times, especially with the protagonist’s mother being the dead spitting image (down to her overblown coiffure and tight sparkly dresses) of a woman I often see out on the dance floor. Uncanny!
Strictly Ballroom the Musical is just as relevant, funny and moving as it was when the film was first released. A slice of spangled, parochial Australiana that lives in almost all of our memories and, for some of us, in our todays. Sitting in my seat, looking up at the brilliant red curtains, light bouncing back off their sparkles and onto the audience, we’d become a part of the show before it had even begun.
I’d love to know the total weight of sequins and crystal in the costumes designed by Catherin Martin. I wondered at that as I did my usual, and figured out which cast member I’d most like to mug for which outfit after the show. I couldn’t choose just one. The vision of swirling petticoats, marabou feathers in every rainbow shade and brilliant hair worthy of my Saturday nights, made my heart race and my face slit into a huge grin. I want to be a dancer!
I don’t believe I’ve ever had this much fun at a musical. Already, at intermission, I was Tweeting and messaging friends to let them now that they have to come with me and see it again. This is really one to make an occasion of, and if you can bust out your own sequins and glitter for the event, even better!
With tickets from only $55 from Ticketek, there is no excuse to miss this one.
Tickets can be purchased from Ticketek.com.au, by calling 132849, Her Majesty’s Theatre or any Ticketek outlet.
by Candice DeVille | Oct 23, 2014 | Events, sponsors
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]
Brought to you by Nuffnang and Spokes
There is Spring Racing of another kind in Melbourne each year. It does have horsepower, but not in the four legged sense.
Last Sunday the Mr. and I headed to Phillip Island for the MotoGP, something we’d never done before. We both love bikes but for different reasons. He’s actually the long-term rider; I prefer the aesthetics and how brilliant they look in photo shoots, not to mention the leather outfits. It was a day we both really enjoyed.
Being there as guests of Spokes, we were even more aware than usual of the message of rider safety. As you may have read in my previous post, the Mr. has been involved in seven accidents in his time, fortunately protected by the correct gear.
On our drive out to the Island we were discussing this matter of correct protective gear and watching all the riders as they passed us. I was horrified to note that so many riders and pillions weren’t anywhere near well enough prepared. I saw shorts, t-shirts, chino pants, sneakers and even high-heeled sandals. The thought crossed my mind that should this particular lady come off, she wouldn’t be spending money on pedicures anymore.
It was a great relief to arrive and see plenty of riders in proper protective gear, checking their helmets in at the minding booth. Spokes had a fantastic arrangement where anyone who arrived in proper protective gear received a lunch voucher they were able to cash in at the Spokes Protective Clothing Lounge. Smokey pulled pork rolls, beef brisket… yum!
The first thing we did was head across to the Expo area and check out the various offerings including sunglasses you can smash with a hammer and they don’t break!
The team at Spokes put us both into the virtual reality headsets to test our reaction time. I get quite competitive at these sorts of things, so I was concentrating hard and made my best score of .43 of a second! Yeah!
I took my own protective gear (my ear plugs and sunnies), and we headed off for a special tour of Pit Lane. What a hive of activity! I was relying on the knowledge of the Mr. to translate all the colours and numbers into something I could understand, otherwise it was a blur of chrome and fake tan to me. I did have a little giggle at how alien I looked amongst all the grid girls, but mostly admired their ability to withstand the cold and pain of high shoes all day!
We headed back to the Spokes Protective Clothing Lounge for some of that amazing smokehouse lunch.
It turns out that the issue of wearing the right protective gear was more complex than I first realised. Did you know that there are online sellers marketing items to Australia that don’t meet our standards or are even counterfeit items? I had no idea! I suppose if they’re doing it with something as small as makeup, it stands to reason that bigger ticket items like protective gear would have this problem too. It just hadn’t crossed my mind. It pays to check out www.spokes.com.au for a full list of protective clothing retailers.
With our bellies full and feeling just that much more secure in the knowledge that the Mr. had gear that measured up to standard, we headed off to the grandstand for the big race.
I’m not even going to pretend I know about how this all works. I know the names, I know they go incredibly fast, and I know there is a palpable adrenaline in the crowd. I was informed that no, the tyre covers weren’t “wheel cardigans”, but rather electrically heated tyre warmers. I stuck to looking after my camera.
Trying to capture an image of riders going at around 300KPM isn’t as easy as I had imagined. Even with all my sophisticated gear, this is the best shot I managed to capture of Rossi about to cross the finish line.
It didn’t matter though; the size of the grin on the Mr’s face said it all. I know he was having ideas of returning to the racetrack himself, (yeah…. nah.) while we ladies could only think of the hot chocolate and warm car that awaited us.
The trip home left the Ride Smart message embedded in my mind. After seeing a few spectacular crashes trackside where, sparks flying, the boys still got up and walked away. It meant that every rider that dodged and weaved to find the “better” place in the traffic made me wince. Too many exposed ankles, girls in high-heeled boots and rear wheels nearly clipped.
As we came into the first major town, a woman stood shaking beside her car, the motorcycle in various pieces in the gutter. A crowd sat watching as the police managed the scene. It was only a matter of time before we saw this happen, and again our conversation turned to how prepared the rider may have been for the worst.
I loved watching the race, I was even more enamoured by the bikes on show. Glittering gold, chrome and cheeky slogans. But no matter what, with the Mr. right beside me, I was and am, incredibly grateful that Spokes is out there helping riders learn and prepare to make it back home.
Follow @SpokesRides on Instagram for for great tips.[/vc_column_text][dt_gap height=”30″][dt_slideshow width=”800″ height=”450″ posts=”motogp-2014″][dt_gap height=”30″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
by Candice DeVille | Oct 22, 2014 | Books, Music & Art, Events
‘Brought to you by Nuffnang and ONCE the Musical”
There is something very special, rather delicate about Once The Musical. Something that makes you feel as though you should hold it in the palm of your hand, protecting its small delicate features and sheltering its rawness from the harshness of this century.
It is not the huge, glitzy ensemble cast extravaganza we’ve come to expect from a night in one of Melbourne’s oldest theatres; but rather, it is painfully beautiful in its elegant simplicity.
Once, tells the story of a young Irish man living in Dublin. Having lost his passion for love and music, he hangs ready to accept his life as a hollow existence. The unexpected appearance of a young Czech woman, who hurtles into his moment, becomes the beautiful and funny muse who inspires this moving story.
A sell out on its world premier on Broadway in 2012, Once the Musical has gone on to win eight Tony Awards, A Grammy and Oliver and an Oscar for the piece Falling Slowly
(London cast video)
This multi talented cast performs with every inch of their beings; singing, dancing and playing each and every instrument throughout the show.
The simple and cleverly designed set brings a warmth and intimacy to this show, giving you the sense of being the only one in the room to witness this love story. Even from high in the stalls, you can almost feel the gentle touch of a single hand as it reaches for another.
I’d never heard of Once the Musical before this evening. I’d not seen the 2006 Irish film on which it was based, nor heard any of the music. It was entirely new to me, and this part I think, lead me very quickly to fall into their world.
But there is something else about Once that struck me; if ever there was a musical that felt truly Melbournian at heart, Once is it.
Perhaps it is our multicultural city, our live music and pub culture, or perhaps the hours I’ve spent listening to musicians with just as much real life passion as our leading man. The story on stage reflected only too well the longing, heartbreak and desire that fills the lives of my fellow creatives.
Now that Once The Musical has opened at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne, you really must see it in this city, the city that carries the same heartbeat.
Tickets for Once The Musical are on sale now for performances until December 31st 2014.
Booking early guarantees you’ll be able to get good seats in the stalls (like I did), and amazingly, have the opportunity to join the cast for a drink on stage before the performance and at interval!
Once the musical from Vintage Current on Vimeo.
