In a world torn by political, ethnic and religious conflict, only art has the power to unify, inspire, elevate, and heal. Our institutions make claims on our attitudes and loyalty; it is intrinsic in their nature to direct our energies towards fulfilling their collective goals. They are self-perpetuating. By limiting our perspective, they often divide us from each other. At the extreme, they may even split us from our deepest and most authentic selves. Though serving in many cases, a positive purpose, institutions are agenda-driven. Thus they may steer us away from self-knowledge and personal responsibility when emphasis on image, hierarchy, dogma or power, overrides more constructive human concerns.

Art, on the other hand, both the making and the viewing of it, encourages us to view the world in new ways, as well as to look into ourselves. A world without art would be intellectually and spiritually barren. Imagination makes all things possible, and art is the most profound outgrowth of the human imagination that is not subservient to external purposes (though of course, there are exceptions). Therefore, even in its all its confusing flux and diversity, art is perhaps the “purest” phenomenon among human endeavors.

On a personal level, the richness and mystery of life have intrigued me since I was a child living in rural Pennsylvania. I reveled in the sensuous beauty of forests and rolling hills. Read the rest of this entry »

Being a stand-up comedian is probably one of the toughest jobs in the world. Spending days, weeks, months, and even sometimes years perfecting a single comedy routine is a demanding job in itself. Going on stage and moving the audience to laughs can often be even harder.

While every stand-up comedian has his or her own ways of ensuring a successful show, there are a few tips that you may want to try to help your show go even better.

Use Your Experiences As Inspiration for Comedy

You may be the “fiction” comedy lover who likes to make jokes out of completely made-up situations, people, and settings. But many comedians use their personal experiences as the basis for the storylines in their jokes. Of course, not every situation we go through in life is comedic (let alone worthy of producing laughs). But a little exaggeration and a few imaginative additions to our real-life stories can make almost any experience “funny.”

Are you a parent? Then maybe you could build a funny story out of all the foam-padded, childproof-your-house gates, furniture protectors, and floor mats. Do you work with animals? Maybe you have a real-life incident where you were nipped that would make the crowds double over in laughter if you turned it into a story about a maniacal cat that nearly bit your head off because it did not get its hair combed to its liking. Clearly, you get the idea: real life can feed your comedy. Read the rest of this entry »

What makes the difference between a dancer who has the audience going wild with enthusiasm over her show versus one who is barely able to hold their interest? Of course, there are many factors that can influence this, such as dance skill, but one that many dancers don’t think about is the one that comes within them: what their motive is for the performance and what they’re really trying to accomplish when they step out on stage.

Art is meant to disturb. Science is meant to reassure. – Georges Braque, Pensées Sur L’Art

What is your primary motive when you walk on stage to present an Oriental dance performance in front of an audience? Is it to deliver an artistic presentation, provide entertainment, or satisfy your own personal agenda?

Why Dancers Perform in Public

There is a difference between dancers who aspire to perform in public and those who don’t. Dancers who want to perform may do so because: Read the rest of this entry »

To watch free movies is the gift of technology to today’s fast life. In today’s fast and busy life everyone lives apart from the rest of the world. In the hectic schedule of our life we forget to communicate to others. We all are just busy in meeting, business trips and many more things which probably make our life revolving around one thing that is work, work and work. Living under the working pressure is certainly not life.

Entertainment is one thing which helps us to get relief from the working pressure we are facing. Well it is quit difficult to get time from our busy schedule for entertainment. But the technology has the answer to this. Watch Free movies online is one of the best way to entertain yourself.

Well now there is no need to go to the theaters and spend a lot of precious time in transportation and of course more precious money on movies. You only need access to your internet account to enjoy movies online. Entertainment at home and free of any disturbance of advertisement is simply a great thing. Everyone will agree. You don’t even need to have a DVD player or be at home to watch movies online. You can watch movies online anywhere where you have internet connection like your mobile phone or laptop. Read the rest of this entry »