| On the one hand, art-loving Calgarians are lucky to live in a city where they can see a dance show, a poetry reading, a play, a concert or an indie movie on any given night. On the other, this creates a dilemma – with so many options, how to choose what to see? Enter Thought Express, the brainchild of Anthony Rebalbos (AKA BreakBoy Rein) and Robey Stothart (AKA Sabo), where you can see it all, in one night, at one venue.
"In Calgary, artists tend to support their own art, their own expression," says Rebalbos. "Dancers go to see dance shows to support other dancers. We want to get dancers out to see spoken worders and vice versa." Rebalbos teamed up with Stothart almost a year ago to create the artist-run foundation whose main purpose – for now – is to throw semi-regular showcase events that feature everything from photography to Cuban salsa, poetry to capoeira. "The response has been phenomenal," says Stothart. "We're constantly gathering a bigger catalogue of artists." Though the events seem to take place more-or-less monthly, says Stothart, "we wanted it to be more sporadic. But we've realized that Calgary has more talent than market – at every event, there are all these people in the audience who have their own talents and want to get involved in the next one."
These showcases are just a beginning for Thought Express, which imagines itself as much more than a local series. "We've got upcoming events in Montreal and Vancouver," says Stothart. "The funniest one is London, England. Anthony's going out there in October." These events will have a similar structure to the Calgary showcases: anything goes. "I wanted to make a worldwide connection with artists," says Rebalbos, "and what better partner than Robey? We're different kinds of artists – he's spoken word and music, I'm dance and martial arts – but we have the same vision, the same ideas. We're going to have as big a network, as big a collective, as it can possibly go."
Coming up in August, they have the vision of a 10-day Thought Express festival. In the meantime, the next Thought Express bash takes place on January 17. Doors at 6:00 p.m., show from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., and a DJ set by Home Breakin Records until 2:00 a.m. The show includes poetry performances by Sabo, Wakefield Brewster, Möe Clark, James Dangerous, Melanie Haywood, Colin Martin, Andy Sparacino, Micah Stone and Sheri-D Wilson, dance shows by the Original Rudes and One Circle, a photo exhibition by Trixie Blumel and a video installation by Brian Batista. The evening is a dual fundraiser for One Circle Dance, which is trying to open up a dance studio to teach breakdancing, and for Sabo, who's heading to Vancouver in February to compete in the Individual World Poetry Slam. $10 at the door, and you can catch more information about Thought Express' ongoing activities at www.myspace.com/thoughtexpress.
You may have seen Ferdinando Spina's sculptures, Millennium Arch and Sentinels of Time, on 4th Street S.W., or his massive mural on the side of the UNICEF building. Now you can enjoy his poetry, too, in Arctic Notes and Prairie Places. The poet/painter/sculptor reads from his work on January 11, noon, at McNally Robinson.
It's week two in a 12-week series: Monday Night Shakespeare! University of Calgary Shakespearean scholar Dr. Jim Black offers free lectures for admirers of the bard every Monday night in the Boris Roubakine Recital Hall (in Craigie Hall C at the university). His next talk is "King John: Artificial Bastards," and upcoming topics include "Much Ado About Nothing: The Law is (Not) an Ass," "Measure for Measure: Criminal Intent" and "Macbeth and the Instruments of Darkness." Join him on Monday, January 15 at 7:30 p.m., or check out www.ucalgary.ca/news/january2007/shakespeare-monday for the ongoing schedule.
He just won the Giller Prize and now he's reading in Calgary: Vincent Lam hits town this week with his award-winning novel, Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures. The book interweaves 12 short stories, following four young medical students and physicians through delivery rooms, dissections, viruses and evacuations, all drawn from Lam's own experience as an emergency room physician. Catch him on Monday, January 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the John Dutton Theatre (W.R. Castell Central Library) for $5. |
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