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PREVIEW: Russian ballet classics at Eastbourne

Russian ballet classics Giselle and The Nutcracker come to Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre with magical performances on Friday, December 5 and Saturday, December 6.

Giselle
Giselle

PERFORMED BY the acclaimed Russian State Ballet and Opera House and accompanied by a 30-piece live orchestra, these shows are a perfect treat for all the family to enjoy during the festive season.

Giselle is considered one of the greatest of all the romantic ballets and one of the most sought-after roles in ballet, as it demands technical perfection, outstanding grace and lyricism, as well as great dramatic skill.

It tells of the story of a peasant girl who dies of a broken heart when she finds out the man she loves is engaged to someone else. Can her love save the remorseful Albrecht from his certain fate?

Nutcracker
Nutcracker

An eternal seasonal favourite, The Nutcracker tells the story of Clara whose godfather, Drosselmeyer, gives her a Nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve. When the doll turns into a Prince, the magic begins and Clara is swept away on an unforgettable adventure. As spell-blinding today as it was when it was performed 120 years ago, this is an ideal introduction to the magic that is classical ballet.

Tchaikovsky’s instantly recognisable soundtrack featuring compositions such as the Waltz of the Flowers and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy make this one of the most highly accessible and popular ballets.


 

Event: Giselle

Where: Congress Theatre, Eastbourne

When: Friday, December 5

Time: 7.30pm

Tickets: £24, £29, £31, £33, concessions and children’s prices available!


 

Event: The Nutcracker

Where: Congress Theatre, Eastbourne

When: Saturday, December 6

Time: 2,39pm & 7.30pm

Tickets: £24, £29, £31, £33, concessions and children’s prices available!

To book tickets online, click here:

Or telephone Box Office: 01323 412000

Iconic photographer Barry Lategan finds new muse ‘Ladyboy’ artist XXXora

Barry Lategan is credited as one of the most prolific British fashion photographers of all time, being a Vogue front cover veteran, as well as discovering the first British supermodel Twiggy.

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LATEGAN MET his newest muse, artist XXXora only one month ago at the Chelsea Arts Club and they have been collaborating artistically ever since.

He said: “I had never seen a girl like this in Silver before. I started photographing her straight away outside the Chelsea Arts Club with her friends. She gave me her business card and I just saw X’s, so now I call her “X”.

Lategan has travelled the world on assignments conveying models in modern and ancient lands, against the urban architectures and prehistoric landscapes.

From November  21-28 the Islington Arts Factory will host ‘The Silver Bo(X) – The Tree’, a joint art exhibition which sees Barry Lategan and XXXora cross-pollinate bodies of work and present the preliminary fruits of their labour.

Building on Lategan’s highly acclaimed photographic work of Trees which have appeared in some of the world’s most prestigious publications, such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Tatler, XXXora and her Silver Bo(X) serve as protagonist for this new series of photographic works.

Lategan’s work merges with XXXora’s ongoing Silver Bo(X) exhibitions which have been attended/supported by Graham Norton, Sir Derek Jacobi, Richard O’Brien, Frances Segelman, Courtney Love and Game of Thrones actresses Natalia Tena, Oona Chaplin and Lena Headey since their launch in 2014.

XXXora’s inaugural Silver Bo(X) exhibition brought her into the public consciousness earlier this year, appearing on the front cover of the Independent On Sunday and becoming the first “Ladyboy” artist to appear on the front cover of a British newspaper.

‘The Silver Bo(X) – The Tree’, invites the audience to witness the ignored Androgynous middle sexes that are foundational and exist in all aspects of nature, including our own species. Both artists thus revealing the true spectra of genders in nature and reclaiming the forgotten existence in Western Culture of Androgynous Genders.

Both artists will showcase a selection of these works to the public for the first time, including Lategan’s iconic Yew Tree photograph which was commissioned by Royal Mail for the official Millennium Stamp, on Saturday, November 15, taking centre stage at the Smirnoff supported Winter Pride Art Awards, which are being hosted at Tobacco Dock in East London .

XXXora was a finalist at last year’s Winter Pride Art Awards and returns this year with several performance art pieces which will be photographed by Barry Lategan for works to be exhibited in early 2015.

The first is called ‘The Binary Heard’ which will see two pet sheep (one black, one white) having their wool sheered into boxes and the other is called ‘The Ladyboy of Liberty’.

Barry Lategan and XXXora’s collaborative work will also be included in an exhibition of the Winners, Finalists and Runners-up of the Winter Pride Art Awards that will take place at new British art gallery Lacey Contemporary from November 18-29.

Brighton & Hove City Council show confidence in Brighton Pride organisers

Brighton and Hove City Council have granted landlord’s consent for 5 years for Brighton Pride CIC to produce the Pride Festival on Preston Park, organise the Brighton Pride Parade and also the ticketed village party for the next 6 years.

Brighton 2014

THE 2014  PRIDE Festival and Pride Village Party was universally hailed a resounding success, delivering a safe and diverse weekend of community entertainment with overwhelmingly positive feedback from visitors, community organisations, local businesses and Sussex Police.

Brighton Pride is the UK’s biggest and most successful Pride festival with the village party event attracting a diverse audience from across the globe to appreciate the world class artists, DJs and performers supporting the event including Fatboy Slim, Katy B, Blue, Boy George, Sam Bailey, Alison Moyet, Paloma Faith and winners of Britain’s Got Talent 2014, Collabro.

As well as winning the Sussex Life Tourism Ambassador Award in 2014, for the last two years, Brighton Pride CIC has  had a purpose and smashed their fundraising targets, raising over £110,000 for the Rainbow Fund to distribute in grants to LGBT/HIV organisations who deliver front line services to LGBT people in Brighton and Hove through their independent grants programme.

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A spokesperson for Pride said: “We are thrilled to have been granted consent from the city council to organise Pride in the City until 2020. The agreement allows us to continue to develop partnerships that help us build on the success and sustainability of Pride.

“Campaigning to highlight global LGBT communities and community fundraising is at the cornerstone of everything we do and we are extremely grateful for the continued support of community and Brighton & Hove City Council, Sussex Police and East Sussex Sussex Fire Service.

 2015 will see Brighton Pride celebrate their 25th Anniversary of Pride in the City and will be the biggest Pride celebration to date”

Pride in 2015 will take place over the weekend of August 1 & 2, 2015

For more information about Brighton Pride, click here:

Sam Bailey at Brighton Pride 2014
Sam Bailey at Brighton Pride 2014

Joining a Healthwalk has just got easier – literally!

A new series of Healthwalks, setting off from city libraries, starts this weekend leaving Jubilee Library on Saturday 15 at 11am.

Healthwalks leaves Jubilee Library at 11am on Saturday, November 15
Healthwalks leaves Jubilee Library at 11am on Saturday, November 15

THE NEW ‘Walk & Reads’ are part of a joint initiative between Brighton & Hove Libraries and the Healthwalks scheme to provide opportunities to enjoy a healthy walk starting from local libraries.

Walkers will not only benefit from getting out in the fresh air and making new friends, they can also enjoy a cup of tea afterwards and a chance to browse the libraries collections of books – finding interesting routes for local walks and mood-boosting fiction, chosen by local people.

Tomorrows walk is 3 miles long and will explore the historic North Laine and twittens; newcomers to Healthwalks are advised to arrive 15 minutes early to give them time to complete the simple registration process. This will be followed by monthly Healthwalks, each leaving from a different library.

A combination of reading and walking is a perfect way to keep body and mind in shape.

Walking briskly for thirty minutes per day 5 days a week, has enormous health benefits, including reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke by half, managing weight loss, lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of developing dementia in later life.

Reading is a hugely effective way to lift your mood. Reading for as little as 6 minutes is sufficient to reduce stress levels by 60%, slowing heartbeat, easing muscle tension and altering the state of mind. A good book can transport you (mentally) away from the everyday humdrum to a more interesting place.

Cllr Geoffrey Bowden
Cllr Geoffrey Bowden

Councillor Geoffrey Bowden, Chair of the Economic Development and Culture Committee said: “This innovative scheme marks a whole new chapter in our popular Healthwalks programme.

“Combining reading and walking (not necessarily at the same time!) has the potential to reach out across the city and provide huge benefits for people’s mental and physical wellbeing.”

Brighton & Hove City Council’s Healthwalks scheme recently won a prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service; the highest accolade possible for organisations that provide services that are led by volunteers.

For full details of the ‘Walk & Reads’, and the full programme of other Healthwalks across the city, click here: or pick up a copy from your local library.

If you would like to volunteer to lead Health Walks in the city, email:

Or telephone: 01273 292564.

If you are interested in joining a book group, click here:

Libraries also offer information books about diet and exercise and Reading Well Books on Prescription to support people in managing mild to moderate mental health conditions

Today is World Diabetes Day

Type 2 diabetes reversible with lifestyle changes – calculate your risk using a simple questionnaire.

World Diabetes DayTYPE 2 DIABETES can be reversed with lifestyle changes, according to European Society of Cardiology spokesperson Professor Eberhard Standl, from the Munich Diabetes Research Group in Germany.

Today is World Diabetes Day and this year’s theme is Healthy Living and Diabetes. People can calculate their risk using a simple questionnaire and find out if they need to take action.

Prof Standl said: “The dramatic increase of type 2 diabetes worldwide has exceeded expectations. Globally there are 400 million people with type 2 diabetes and a similar number with the pre stages of type 2 diabetes. The epidemic seems unstoppable but there is very good and strong evidence that people can stop diabetes with lifestyle changes.” 

People who are at high risk of diabetes can prevent it from developing. Equally, early on after type 2 diabetes develops it can be reversed to a pre stage. Both groups can be identified using a simple questionnaire that asks about age, body mass index, waist circumference, physical activity, consumption of fruits and vegetables, use of anti-hypertensive medications, history of high blood glucose, and family history of type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

Prof Standl said: “The questionnaire is very easy and people can do it themselves. A score of 12 or higher indicates that you should take some preventive action. Regular physical exercise is the most important thing you can do, followed by eating fibre rich foods, limiting saturated fats and losing weight.”

He continued: “Many people hardly move during their working day and even during leisure time. To reverse or prevent type 2 diabetes, the goal is 30 minutes of decent physical exercise every day. This could be brisk walking, jogging, swimming or cycling and should be combined with muscle training.”

Fibre rich nutrition in the form of whole grains is another way to reverse or prevent type 2 diabetes. Fibre delays the digestion and absorption of many foods and helps the gut to get enough of what’s called the incretin effect, where insulin levels increase and cause blood glucose to go down.

Prof Standl explained: “When you eat fibre, you get more time and more power to dispose of all the carbohydrates.”

People who want to reverse early diabetes into a pre stage of diabetes, or prevent type 2 diabetes from developing, need to lose about 5% of their body weight. “To lose weight you have to limit your fat intake, particularly saturated fats, which are found in foods such as butter, sausages, fatty cuts of meat, cakes and cheese.”

Prof Standl said: “There is no question that people who have had type 2 diabetes for just a short period of time can reverse it with a low calorie diet. This can be effective within 3 to 5 days. Of course the continuing challenge is to maintain the lower body weight.”

Prof Standl concluded: “Adopting lifestyle changes that prevent or reverse type 2 diabetes in the short term can also prevent death from card iovascular disease over the long term.

“If you take the questionnaire and find out you’re at risk of diabetes, it’s not too late. Making positive changes by being more active, eating a healthy diet and losing weight can reverse diabetes and are also good for your heart.”

To fill in questionaire for estimating risk of diabetes and measuring BMI, click here:

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