4 THE DAILY VOICE, THURSDAY, APRIL 3 , 2014 EDITOR JENNY PENG | > ntertainment Public dance rehearsals Free performances are held around the city where the public gets a peek at what goes on at a practice By ALI] CRANE ers and musicians are coming to- gether to collaborate on a series of free public performances. Community Stages, created by Mov- ent, a Vancouver-based, non-profit dance society, is an event that takes place in different community centers across the city. Its goal is to expose the public to the artistic process. All performances are random with no constraints. An example includes a group of dancers at Coal Harbour Com- munity Centre performing modern- style dance accom- la Va panied by a harpist It’s a great F::: now until the end of May danc- on Wednesday. “This is a really unique project be- cause our actual chance fe or rehearsal process anyone in- is happening in public,” said chore- terested to ographer anddanc- ask ques- er Julianne Chap- ;- ple. tions and ‘Its a great see how chance for anyone interested to ask DP erfe or- questions and see mances get how performances made get made.” The project is in its first year, and each month differ- ent dancers are paired with musicians to work with each other for four hours a week. Community Stages enables artists to create a showpiece without any bound- aries or constraints. “If we came out of this with a piece where there was no recognizable dance that would be acceptable because it’s a really open-ended project,” said Chap- ple. “Tt’s a time where we can take risks.” People are welcome to watch the dancers and musicians rehearse but they will not be able to see the finished products until May 24 at the Moberly Arts and Culture Theatre. The collaboration of musicians and dancers is a rare opportunity, accord- ing to harpist Elisa Thorn. “Dancers usually don’t work with live musicians and vice versa,” said Thorn. “It’s a really cool opportunity to develop a shared language between the two.” Julianne Chapple ALI CRANE photo Harpist Elisa Thorn (centre) per- forms with Arash Khakpour (left) and Julianne Chapple. ASH KELLY photo There’s a difference between cherry blossoms and plum trees. Wendy Cutler holds a plum blossom (bottom right) and explains to her walking group that plum blossoms don’t grow in bunches like cherries, and that the bark on the tree is rougher and darker. Cherry blossom festival today From April 3-28, enjoy outdoor activities to celebrate blossom season By ASH KELLY ncouver is arguably at its most beautiful when the cherry blos- som trees are in bloom, but the moment to appreciate their beauty is fleeting. The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Fes- tival (VCBF) was coordinated by orga- nizers to align with the magical bloom. Founding director of the VCBF Linda Poole said now is the time get out there. “The weather’s been fabulous, the cherries are perfect, but the next few days are rain and it affects how long they last ... Just do it now, don’t wait. As soon as it’s nice go see them,” Poole said. Of the many events taking place dur- ing the festival, Thursday’s Cherry Jam is the big show. The free concert will take place amid the cherry trees, which are in full bloom, at Burrard SkyTrain station. Folk singer Michael Averill is look- ing forward to performing Take the Time, a song written by his father. Averill said the theme of the song suits the idea behind the VCBF perfectly. “The reason I’m doing this is it’s a big tribute to my father who was a sing- er-songwriter in the 70’s ... Take the Time is really just literally as it says, even just to stop and smell the roses so to speak ... telling the friends and fam- ily in your life how much you appreci- ate them,” Averill said. The Cherry Jam starts at noon on April 3. Wendy Cutler coordinates the ef- forts of the cherry scouts who start tracking the blooms across the city and map locations that are currently in bloom for everyone to enjoy. “The cherry scouts are set up to go out and find the cherry trees. When we started, we had a list of about 150 trees and now on our map we have 1,300 loca- tions,” Cutler said. Cutler will be leading two free edu- cational walks during the festival, sharing her knowledge of cherry trees, including the misconception that plum flowers are cherry blossoms. “We have at least 12,000 street tree plums in the city and they’re what’s been blooming for the last week or two. They’re kind of round and the blos- soms hang singly from the branch... cherries all hang in bunches.” Event aroun own 1 Cherry Jam: April 3, Nla.m. at indoor concourse at Bur- rard SkyTrain 2 Sakura Days Japan Fair: April 5 & 6 10a.m.-5 p.m. at VanDusen Batani- cal Garden 3 Stanley Park Young Naturalists: Flower Power, April 5 10-12 p.m. at Lost Lagoon Source: vcbf.ca Geeky Wednesday comedy at Rio The Rio Theatre has recently added Geekenders into its lineup and the next show is on April 11 By ASHLEY LEGASSIC Iho says Dr. Who isn’t sexy? W The Geekenders are a Vancouver- based theatrical group that earned the well-deserved category of “nerdlesque.” According to their website they run “events by geeks for geeks,” and their upcoming shows at the Rio Theatre are no different. The group did a sexy spin on the popular Doctor Who TV series called Don’t Blink, at the Rio Theatre on April 2 featuring 12 per- formers to represent the 12 doctors that have been on the show. The routines in this show are ones that haven’t been seen before, according to nerd- lesque showgirl Dezi Desire, who plays the fourth doctor. “It’s going to be a very interesting show, I’m really stoked for seeing everyone’s new rou- tines that they came up with,” Desire said. With over 1,800 “likes” on their Facebook page, the Geekenders already have a fan base, and have sold out previous Rio shows. The Rio Theatre’s website describes this show as a “big ball of wibbly wobbly ... sexy wexy ... stuff.” The traditional “geeky” shows, movies and comics that the Geekenders pay tribute to at- tract a large audience which can expect a par- ody-like spin on them. There is a difference between nerdlesque compared to traditional burlesque or comic conventions, according to Geekenders creator Fairlith Harvey. “A lot of those events that are conventions means youre really busy and walking around,” said Harvey. “There weren’t a lot of parties and there weren’t a lot of chances for people to mingle and make friends.” Harvey says this was her inspiration to cre- ate Geekenders. “Geekenders combines a variety [of] shows [ and has] magic and burlesque and dance and singing and all sorts of comedy. “We thought people need a place where they can make friends, where they’re not just in line waiting for panels,” Harvey said. The Rio says they’re proud to announce the joining of the Geekenders into its “lineup of Geeky Wednesday Comedy,” which is on the first Wednesday of each month. Tickets are available for the Geekenders’ next show, which is at the Wise Hall on April 11.