Christmas Pantomimes

Pantomime (informally, panto) is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom. Traditionally performed at Christmas, with family audiences, British pantomime is now a popular form of theatre, incorporating song, dance, buffoonery, slapstick, cross-dressing, in-jokes, topical references, audience participation, and mild sexual innuendo.
Panto story lines and scripts usually make no direct reference to Christmas, and are almost always based on traditional children's stories, including fairy tales and tales from the Arabian Nights.While the familiarity of the audience with the original story is generally assumed, plot lines are almost always 'adapted' for comic or satirical effect, it being common for characters and situations from other stories to be interpolated into the plot.
The form has a number of conventions, some of which have changed or weakened a little over the years, and by no means all of which are obligatory. Some of these conventions were once common to other genres of popular theatre such as melodrama.

• The leading male juvenile character (the principal boy) - is traditionally played by a young woman, and usually in tight-fitting male garments (such as breeches) that make her female charms evident.
• An older woman (the pantomime dame - often the hero's mother) is usually played by a man in drag.
• Risqué double entendre, often wringing innuendo out of perfectly innocent phrases. This is, in theory, over the heads of the children in the audience.
• Audience participation, including calls of "He's behind you!" (or "Look behind you!"), and "Oh, yes it is!" and "Oh, no it isn't!" The audience is always encouraged to boo the villain and "awwwww" the poor victims, such as the rejected dame, who usually fancies the prince.
• A song combining a well-known tune with re-written lyrics. The audience is encouraged to sing the song; often one half of the audience is challenged to sing 'their' chorus louder than the other half.
• The animal, played by an actor in 'animal skin' or animal costume. It is often a pantomime horse or cow, played by two actors in a single costume, one as the head and front legs, the other as the body and back legs.
• The good fairy always enters from right side of the stage (from the audience's viewpoint) and the evil villain enters from the left. In the medieval mystery plays the right side of the stage symbolised Heaven and the left side symbolised Hell.
• Sometimes the story villain will squirt members of the audience with water guns or pretend to throw a bucket of 'water' at the audience that is actually full of streamers.
• The Chorus, who can be considered extras on-stage, and often appear in multiple scenes (but as different characters) and who perform a variety of songs and dances throughout the show. Due to their multiple roles they may have as much stage-time as the lead characters themselves.

This is what a pantomime show looks like: This is the beginning of the panto Aladdin.
 

I wish you all a happy holiday and an even happier 2011!!

Although Christmas isn't my favourite holiday at all (I find it sad, too materialistic and cruelly discriminatory) I want to wish you all the best and here's a nice traditional carol for you to LEARN!!:

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is a cumulative song, meaning that each verse is built on top of the previous verses. There are twelve verses, each describing a gift given by "my true love" on one of the twelve days of Christmas.
The first verse runs:

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave/sent to me...

A Partridge in a Pear Tree.

The second verse:

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave/sent to me...

2 Turtle Doves

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

The third verse begins to show some metrical variance, as explained below:

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave/sent to me...

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

...and so forth, until the last verse:

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

12 Drummers Drumming

11 Pipers Piping

10 Lords-a-Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids-a-Milking

7 Swans-a-Swimming

6 Geese-a-Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

There are many variations of this song in which the last four objects are arranged in a different order. 

I'm thinking of recording you singing it for posterity but don't panic, you can't do worse than the Youtube Community Choir:

A very interesting tradition in English speaking countries is the way they celebrate the coming of the new year. Instead of eating the twelve grapes at the stroke of midnight they kiss their loved ones a happy new year and sing Auld Lang Syne.
Auld Lang Syne is a poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns and set to the tune of a traditional folk song.  "For auld lang syne" can be translated as "for (the sake of) old times". Singing the song on Hogmanay or New Year's Eve very quickly became a Scots custom that soon spread to other parts of the British Isles. As Scots (and other Britons) emigrated around the world, they took the song with them.
Though you have here the full version of the song, people usually sing only the first verse and the chorus.

The right lyrics to Firework

I'm posting the official lyrics to the song Firework as seen on a video preview posted on Katy Perry's Youtube channel: You'll see that the ones I gave you today (3B) are not right :( so please take note:



And now, to celebrate the coming holidays, the official video:

The Guardian's Short Stories Podcast Series

I want to recommend to you The Guardian's short stories podcast, in which leading authors - including Jonathan Franzen, Margaret Drabble, Julian Barnes and Helen Simpson - pick their favourite short story by another writer, from Raymond Carver to Angela Carter. It runs each day until Christmas and it started today with Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials) reading "The Beauties" by Anton Chekhov.

Here's the text and Here you have the link to the podcast. Enjoy!

The complete list of stories (just go to guardian.co.uk to listen to them):
Philip Pullman The Beauties, by Anton Chekhov (Saturday December 11)
Willliam Boyd My Dream of Flying to Wake Island, by JG Ballard (Sunday 12 December) HERE
Anne Enright Fat, by Raymond Carver (Monday 13 December) HERE
Colm Tóibín Music at Annahullion, by Eugene McCabe (Tuesday 14 December)
Margaret Drabble The Doll's House, by Katherine Mansfield (Wednesday 15 December)
Jeanette Winterson The Night Driver, by Italo Calvino (Thursday 16 December)
Rose Tremain Extra, by Yiyun Li (Friday 17 December)
Julian Barnes Homage to Switzerland, by Ernest Hemingway (Saturday 18 December)
Tessa Hadley The Jungle, by Elizabeth Bowen (Sunday 19 December)
Helen Dunmore My Oedipus Complex, by Frank O'Connor (Monday 20 December)
Ali Smith Conversation with My Father, by Grace Paley (Tuesday 21 December)
Helen Simpson The Kitchen Child, by Angela Carter (Wednesday 22 December)

Human Rights Day

^{Tomorrow, December 10th, is Human Rights Day and I thought I should post something about it, if only as a reminder of what still is just a dream to many people in the world. Just the other day I heard that Spain has one of the highest rates of children living in poverty in Europe.Public spending on the family and children is also amongst the lowest of the world's richest countries.That makes you think, doesn't it?}

A summary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

1. Everyone is free and we should all be treated in the same way.
2. Everyone is equal despite differences in skin colour, sex, religion, language for example.
3. Everyone has the right to life and to live in freedom and safety.
4. No one has the right to treat you as a slave nor should you make anyone your slave.
5. No one has the right to hurt you or to torture you.
6. Everyone has the right to be treated equally by the law.
7. The law is the same for everyone, it should be applied in the same way to all.
8. Everyone has the right to ask for legal help when their rights are not respected.
9. No one has the right to imprison you unjustly or expel you from your own country.
10. Everyone has the right to a fair and public trial.
11. Everyone should be considered innocent until guilt is proved.
12. Every one has the right to ask for help if someone tries to harm you, but no-one can enter your home, open your letters or bother you or your family without a good reason.
13. Everyone has the right to travel as they wish.
14. Everyone has the right to go to another country and ask for protection if they are being persecuted or are in danger of being persecuted.
15. Everyone has the right to belong to a country. No one has the right to prevent you from belonging to another country if you wish to.
16. Everyone has the right to marry and have a family.
17. Everyone has the right to own property and possessions.
18. Everyone has the right to practise and observe all aspects of their own religion and change their religion if they want to.
19. Everyone has the right to say what they think and to give and receive information.
20. Everyone has the right to take part in meetings and to join associations in a peaceful way.
21. Everyone has the right to help choose and take part in the government of their country.
22. Everyone has the right to social security and to opportunities to develop their skills.
23. Everyone has the right to work for a fair wage in a safe environment and to join a trade union.
24. Everyone has the right to rest and leisure.
25. Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living and medical help if they are ill.
26. Everyone has the right to go to school.
27. Everyone has the right to share in their community's cultural life.
28. Everyone must respect the 'social order' that is necessary for all these rights to be available.
29. Everyone must respect the rights of others, the community and public property.
30. No one has the right to take away any of the rights in this declaration.

- [Source: hrea.org]

Cultivating a Realistic Body Image

The next time you can spare a minute, have a look in the mirror. What do you see staring back at you? How would you describe yourself? How do you perceive your body? This perception is your body image, or what you think you see in the mirror.
Unfortunately a person's body image is often very different from their actual body. It is this distortion, this negative body image, that often pushes people to their limit trying to change what isn't actually there. Rather than fight with this phantom image, cultivate a realistic body image based on what your body can do, and how you feel, rather than how you think your body looks.

The Basis for Your Body Image

Many young people base their body image on what they see in the media. Young women want to be thin and willowy, and young men want bulging biceps and washboard abs. Yet what is wandering onto our TV and cinema screens, and popping up in our magazines and websites, are the exceptions rather than the rule. In reality, base your body image on:

• Medically accepted standards, such as a total body fat percentage of under 30% for women and 25% for men, or by calculating your body mass index, a ratio of your weight to your height, to see if it is in the normal weight range of under 25.
• How you feel. When your body feels healthy and strong, then your body image should be as well.
• Respect for yourself. Don't compare yourself to supermodels or celebrities, or even to your friends who have naturally different body shapes. Respect your shape and enjoy yourself.
• Your body! Don't let your emotions get in the way of what you see in the mirror.

Changing a Negative Body Image

It's likely that if you sneak a quick peek in the mirror, you'll have at least one criticism of your body. We live in a society fixated on weight, beauty and fashion, and even the most confident of us will feel down at some time or another. If you find yourself fearful of your reflection, you must take measures to change this before you wind up miserable.

• Participate in a favourite activity. When you use your body, you're more likely to respect it.
• Walk to the shops. Remind yourself that you rely on your body and should treat it accordingly.
• Organise a balanced, healthy diet. Your body can only feel as good as what you put into it, so make sure your fuel is fresh and healthy.
• Quit smoking, drinking and/or taking drugs. Unhealthy chemicals will only make you feel slow and bloated.
• Plan, and execute, a new exercise regime with a professional. If you feel unhappy in your own skin, take measures to change the situation but only with the advice of a professional.
• Seek therapy. If you lead a healthy life and your body fat and body mass index are both in the normal ranges, then your negative perception is likely only in your mind. Talk it out with a professional and explore why you feel the way you do.

Body image is a tricky subject. Most of us know in the back of our minds that we need our bodies to be fit and healthy, but if we're honest we'll also admit that we want them to look well and be the perfect peg for designer clothes while we're at it. Rather than letting these unrealistic goals fester, focus on living healthily and enjoying the results!

[Source: Teen Issues]

Watch the following video by body image expert Dr. Robyn Silverman on that same topic. You may realise you're better looking than you think. You are beautiful and loved!




And now go on and watch Christina Aguilera's video for her song  Beautiful : You are beautiful in every single way!