HIGH POINT BALLET BRINGS NUTCRACKER TO TWO TRIAD CITIES

"The Triad may hope in vain for a real white Christmas, but High Point Ballet’s production of Tchaikovsky’s classic Nutcracker promises all the beauty and joy without all the wet and cold. Thanks to the theatre magic of designers Howard Jones and Aaron Porter, the sets and lighting of this year’s Nutcracker are ready to enchant just as thoroughly as the dancing. As always, artistic director Gary Taylor has thoughtfully spruced up the choreography of this classic ballet to best tell the story through music and movement, while highlighting the skills of his individual dancers. Snow falls in a spellbinding cascade, candy comes alive to dance before your eyes, and fairies fly with the grace of angels in this visual feast, sure to delight young and old alike. 

This year, High Point Ballet brings its production to two Triad cities: a triumphant return to High Point at the High Point Theatre and a continued relationship with the Civic Center in Lexington. Performances run in Lexington on December 11 at 7:30PM and December 12 at 2:00PM at the Edward C Smith Civic Center, 217 S Main St., Lexington. Performances run in High Point on December 18 at 7:30PM and December 19 at 2:00PM at the High Point Theatre, 220 E Commerce Ave., High Point. Ticketing information may be found at www.highpointballet.org. Tickets prices are $30.00 for general admission, $27.00 for seniors & students.

Educators and parents of young children looking to introduce students to the classic ballet are encouraged to bring their classes to our special school-day performance, Thursday, December 10 at 9:15AM and 10:45AM in Lexington, or Friday, December 18 at 9:15AM in High Point. This synoptic abbreviation of the Nutcracker ballet is tailored for students and their teachers, featuring a readily available, Common Core Compliant study guide for all your education needs."

- A Press Release

TRIAD's WILL POWELL WINS REEBOK’s CROSSFIT “FITTEST MAN ON EARTH”

Greensboro resident Will Powell has won the Reebok CrossFit Games “Fittest Man On Earth” in the Masters Men 50–54 division played last week in Carson, California. The competition began months ago with an open challenge, where (2000) athletes in each division competed from across the globe. It came to a dramatic conclusion last week as the (20) finalists in each age group fought it out in (8) grueling events over (3) days. Powell took the top title on points after placing in the top ten in every

event, including (2) third place and (1) 1st place finish.

The victory is especially sweet for Powell for several reasons. First, he barely missed placing in the top three in last year’s event after having only trained in CrossFit for eight months. The second reason is that Will tore a ligament in his wrist just a few months ago. The variable CrossFit, which can include anything from Olympic Weightlifting to Sled Drags, can be especially hard on the hands and wrists. “ After my injury, I was trying to find a balance between healing properly and keeping my fitness to a level where I could still compete,” confesses Will in The Fitness Zone, his personal training gym in Greensboro.

WILL POWELL

The injury caused special concern when competitors were asked to walk on their hands for Max Distance. “My coach Ben Gleason and I worked on it that Saturday in California to see how much my wrist could take,” adds Powell. If it wasn’t pure grit that put him over the top, it was strategy. “Last year I did not have the knowledge of the strategy involved in the game that I had this year. I knew that I didn't need to win every event to win it all on points,” concludes Powell, “so I entered each event wanting to place high, but not necessarily first.” The strategy paid off, as Powell brought home the top prize.

To find out more about Will Powell and see a video interview, go to:

www.willpowellfitness.com.

For more on the 2013 Rebok CrossFit Games, go to

http://games.crossfit.com.

This week in YES! Weekly

Feature: Cutting class: The wit and wisdom of Ronald Rosse

Dirt: Governor announces education initiatives: Aims to boost teacher pay, textbook funding

Voices: Magic Matt is masterful in "The Normal Heart"

Tunes: Visions of country: Willie, Alison and the Devil makes three

Flicks: Rogen and Efron get ready to rumble in "Neighbors"

Visions: Twice is nice: Characters hit home in Cash's latest novel

Chow: 2520: The Tavern with class

Pecha Kucha Night allows presenters 6 min, 40 sec. to shine!

Pecha Kucha Night offered as part of the Design, Art, Technology Symposium is an exciting way to discover new ideas and information!
The two day DESIGN MATTERS: Design, Art, and Technology Symposium 2009 (March 5, 6) is in full swing at High Point University. Aimed at students, educators and professionals, The 5th Annual Symposium is centered around the concept that design, as a fundamental component of all creative endeavors, matters to us all.
Thursday evening’s offering, Pecha Kucha Night provided an informative and intriguing way for a highly diverse group of creative people to share their interests with one another. For those not familiar with the concept of Pecha Kucha, think of it as a sort of karaoke for power point presenters. The platform is the same for everyone, you submit 20 slides that are shown for 20 seconds each, giving you 6 minutes and 40 seconds to say what you’re going to say. When your slides are finished, so are you.
This being my first Pecha Kucha, (a phenomenon sweeping 173 cities worldwide, according to their website) I wasn’t sure what to expect, After settling into my seat for the first round however, the most fundamental Pecha Kucha truth was magically revealed to me. Given a finite amount of time and the opportunity for properly projected support materials, just about ANYONE can be interesting on a topic they are impassioned about, no matter WHAT their chosen subject might be!
While certainly the presenters here were all creative types, the choice of material and styles of presentation varied wildly between individuals. In this brief format, feeding you information in palatable little bites, variety was the key and kept the audience’s interest peaked. Some people read carefully prepared dialogue, timed perfectly to change with the slides. Others read but hadn’t worked out their timing, necessitating pauses while they waited for the images to catch up. Still more spoke their pieces directly to the audience with no written cues whatsoever.
Some people outlined the work they do in a general sense, others focused in on a project of specific importance to them. One artist offered a presentation on the work of another artist whose influence touched the lives of many. Several had a humanitarian slant. A few people’s power points centered on ideas, while plenty more held fast to the concrete and tangible.
Even a dry subject might still get extra oomph thanks to its presenter. Some wielded humor or slickly polished banter to get their point across, while others charmed with unvarnished but enthusiastic delivery. I was unfamiliar with 90% of the people presenting but my mind raced off to all the interesting people I do know and how they and their life’s work might captivate in this format. Is the concept short-attention-span theatre at its finest? Perhaps. But I think the compelling combination of multiple perspectives/personalities, mixed well with specified knowledge, makes Pecha Kucha some of the most truly enlightening entertainment I’ve witnessed in a long time.