Performing Arts

Performing Arts and Visual Arts are closely linked. What would a theatre production be without the costumes and props, the coloured lighting, the make-up...?

I had the great privelege last weekend to attend Review Minimax at the State Threatre. Review Minimax is the brain-child of Sunet Wagner. She has a passion for the stage and has created this awesome platform where children at all levels can come and showcase their talents on a real stage, with a real audience and a very real production crew made up of some of the finest, most dedicated people in the entertainment industry.

More than 1300 students spilled across the stage in two days to present reviews, drama, dance, singing, comedy and acrobatics. Primary schools and high schools participated. Everybody is welcome. There is an Eistedford segment where the reviews are given advice by a team of Advisors and awarded trophies for the best performances. Then there is the Open Stage where anybody can perform in any way and just have fun. Kids came on for solo performances and others sang and danced in massive groups.

At the end, they all came on stage to do the Dance4Life dance. Dance4Life is a global organisation that is raising awareness about HIV and AIDS through dance interventions with the youth.

Learn more about these amazing organisations at

www.minimax.org.za

www.dance4life.com

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

+27835689150

Review Minimax

Review Minimax is a performing arts extravaganza!

Sunet Wagner is passionate about the performing arts and she works tirelessly to assist school teachers with training tools that help them to teach students dance and drama at all levels.

Review Minimax is her way of making all of it real on the stage.

During August, primary and high school students will have the opportunity to showcase their talents on this platform at the State Theatre in Pretoria. Children will entertain the audience with singing, dancing and drama and will get the opportunity to perform on the BIG stage for a live audience.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any aspiring performer.

This is not a competition. Review Minimax is an open platform where kids can experience their dreams and receive positive feedback.

I will be one of the Advisors at the Review and I am honored to be part of this amazing event that has the potential to impact positively on childrens' lives.

For more information, contact Sunet at sunet@minimax.org.za

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

+27835689150

Colour Technicians Course

I taught this fabulous group of people this weekend at Oppi Stoep in Lyttleton, Pretoria.

We unpacked colour mixing with dye in great depth to build colour swatch charts that the students can use for their various activities.

The group was made up of clothing manufactureres, fashion designers, school teachers and craft enthusiasts who all wanted to learn how to mix their own colour rainbow.

While the methodology can be rather boring, the personalities in the group certainly were not, and we had a tremendous amount of fun. Just look at their hands! And the big smiles to go with them. It certainly looks as if everybody had fun.

Teaching is an amazing experience for me. I always leave a class feeling as if I have learned more than I have taught, and this class was no exception. This vibrant group of people are all so passionate about what they do, it excites me to think of what they are going to do with the tools that I gave them this past weekend.

Sunet Wagner (http://www.minimax.org.za/) is re-educating teachers in the Visual Arts so that they can teach kids about Dance, Drama, Singing and Crafts. She saw the colour wheel come alive this weekend and is taking her new knowledge to her holiday camp this week.

Bets and Cindy are school teachers and they are going to share their new rainbow experience with kids in their classes at school.

Elsa Young plans to empower rural women with what she learned.

Colleen Jack wants to build a Teambuilding experience that engages all five senses. Hopefully this class will help her with one of the elements that she needs.

Reiniette Katoff makes clothing and plans to use what she learned to batch dye garments and Wilco plans to add a fresh new twist to his underwear collection (Bone Wear).

Hanneke van Linge is re-inventing herself as a craft teacher. She is a serial entrepreneur who is looking for her next business.

Corrie van der Merwe came all the way from Lydenburg to have some fun. She is one of my most enthusiastic students and a gift in my life.

I cannot wait to see the ripples in the world that this weekend's activities are going to set off, and I am grateful to be part of such an amazing process.

Follow the link below to see the rest of the pictures on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melanie-Brummer-Fan-Club/266623571663?ref=ts

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

+27835689150

Cultivating Visual Arts In South African Schools

I am very excited to finally be working on a product for South African schools! Minimax is an amazing company run by Sunet Wagner, a passionate social entrepreneur and performing artist, and Jackie Skeen, her "uber-efficient" right hand.

They run intensive workshops for school teachers to teach them about all the ins and outs of presenting a school stage production. They unpack the process step-by-step to help teachers to know where to start, through to final production. They talk about a wide range of topics like choreography, basic styles, staging and lighting, costume design and planning.

Are you a school teacher? Would you like to upskill yourself in the visual arts? Visit http://www.minimax.org.za/ today and learn more.

In 2010, Minimax is including some of my techniques and offerings as part of their DAC Workshop offering. You might ask yourself what fabric dye and prints have to do with theatre productions? What about sets and costumes? My fabric dye and print techniques can be utilised to create stunning sets, props and costumes on a shoestring budget. Slipstream and Minimax are aware of the challenges facing teachers in today's world and we are customising products to suit those specific needs.

I have always loved the theatre and I still feel like a child when I sit down in a seat in the theatre and wait with baited breath for the production to begin. The culture is slowly disappearing from schools under financial and social pressures and I would hate to see it disappear completely from the school curriculum.

Ironically, I belive that the arts have huge potential to heal both our social and our economic ills, if we could cultivate a strong national culture.

Theatre productions help children to develop self-confidence as they are encouraged to project themselves to the world. They learn presentation skills that they can use as adults in business. They learn about their relationship with the world. They learn that sometimes it can be a good thing to be in the spotlight. They learn about relationships and people as they work together to make the production work. They enjoy positive feedback when the audience engages with them. Some will pursue it further and become part of the economy as actors. Others will have some fun.

It is a great privelege to be working with such an amazing company and I am looking forward to the work we are going to be doing next year!

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie