The things nobody tells you about Berlin

Misprejudices self-correct automatically. The first thing one notices is the thing one hasn’t been told in advance.

Bodhisattva in metro

This video will cheer you up even if there is no reason in the world to be anything but miserable. Quite something.

Vertical multiculturalism

Against horizontal multiculturalism - by which we intend a socio-cultural activity oriented towards minorities, or a decorative employment of mainly non-European expressive cultures (Brook, Barba, Mnouchkine), a moussaka which tries to convince us, with a bit of Indian make-up, majestic Japanese costumes and roars of two to three dark-skinned actors, that it is engaging with the rest of the world.

Very quick note: Lisboa

Image from Estudo-V, a blog which is, against all odds, Lithuanian.
Lisboa is as beautiful as ever: weather very much like Sydney’s, but with a history and a society and a certain gravitas only Portugal has. It has become more popular with tourists, which makes me happy, because it’s finally being recognised as a fine, fine [...]

The question of soul

I was struggling, back in Melbourne, to explain what the difference was, when I thought I found it.
“We have a lot of soul.” I told my perplexed friend. “That’s really the best way of putting it. We’re soulful people.”
“What do you mean by soulful?” he asked diplomatically, being of a race that prides itself on [...]

Tell me how many laws I’m breaking, I’ll tell you what country you’re from

Drawing and Painting class in ŠPUD.
ŠPUD is Škola Za Primjenjenu Umjetnost i Dizajn, or School of Applied Arts and Design. In the Croatian high school system, divided between the general academic gimnazije, and academically much more lax trade schools, ŠPUD is an oddity. A lair of self-selected weird kids, of an academically suspect, but artistically [...]

Biennale di Venezia: 6. Festival Internazionale di Danza Moderna

 
 
A slightly different version of this text has appeared on vibewire.net.
 
 

Wayne McGregor / Random Dance Company. Photo: Ravi Deepres.

1. dance in is the air
It is impossible to adequately explain the artichoke-like nature of Venice, with its layers beneath layers: paths for American tourists, paths for Italian tourists, paths for cultural tourists, paths for temporary residents, [...]