Swan Lake

While I am not a fan of his ballets, I love Tchaikovsky's ballet scores - especially the score of Swan Lake. Thus, M did not have to try too hard to persuade me to go to a performance of Swan Lake this month. There are two ballet companies showcasing Swan Lake this month, and we settled on the St Petersburg Ballet company's performance at Montecasino.

I can't really judge the ballet performance itself; other than make a few lay man observations. The prince (the male lead), didn't seem to have much presence - in fact, it seemed that the jester and the magician had far more presence and activity than the prince. The jester for example, was far more energetic and seemed to have most of the acrobatic performance. In comparison, Odette (the lead swan), definitely had stage presence and commanded the stage when she performed. The dancers were backed up with a magnificent stage production; in terms of the backdrops and costumes - so it was a visually stunning feast.

As for the music - it was fantastic. It was great to hear the music in sequence and link the music to the actual story. The Johannesburg Festival Orchestra gave an amazing performance; and overall it was a great performance (although I am not rushing to watch more ballet performances).

Movie: The Imitation Game

In my opinion, biographical films should try to portray the character and events as realistically as possible. This is particularly important, as biographical movies have a far wider audience than books and other biographical material - and also to preserve the accuracy of the character and achievements; not only of the main subject but also of the characters around the subject. In all of these respects, by all accounts, The Imitation Game, is a failure in the portrayal of Alan Turing and his fellow cryptographers.

The movie gets too many things wrong. Alan Turing was not a self centred, isolated genius who single handedly broke the Enigma code. The Enigma code was not the only code to be broken, and its success did not happen all at once. Fellow cryptographers also had significant contributions to the project. The military management did not actively hinder the project. And so, the list goes on.

That said, the performance of Benedict Cumberbatch was impressive - and the movie does make a fine inspirational tale. It's just a pity that the real tale is just as amazing and didn't need to be fictionalised.

Movie: Avengers: Age of Ultron

I suppose that it was inevitable - that the villain the Avengers fight are created by the Avengers. It's the logical extension of the Hydra movement hatched in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In the latest Avengers, it is Ultron, an AI built by Tony Stark, that goes rogue, and wants to rush in the age of the machines (like that plot hasn't been done before).

As to be expected, the movie is action packed; corny one liners, generally unbelievable physics and weird geography errors (we go from a rusting shipyard to Johannesburg in the same scene sequence). It is a fun movie, but the movies have become formulaic. Brainless entertainment, can still be entertaining though!

Movie: Dear White People

The synopsis of the movie on Ster-Kinekor's site (and for that matter on IMDB) was rather mundane; but the movie is far better than it sounds. Set in a posh private university, the movie is an exploration of various racial stereotypes, and dynamics - especially told from a black perspective. Well written, with very sharp dialogue - it is a welcome departure from other movies that have explored similar themes. 

The movie takes place around the events surrounding a "blackface" themed Haloween party. For a script that has poses some very strong questions on racial dynamics, it strangely doesn't really explore why the concept of "blackface" is itself degrading; and instead focuses on the specifics in the movie plot itself. Regardless, it is a very sharp commentary on racial dynamics of our times.

Pops Mohamed and The Millenium Experience

Towards the end of the performance, Pops Mohamed talked about how unique South Africa was in the ability to produce the type of music that was performed last night. It wasn't hyperbole - Pops Mohamed has managed to take fusion of cultures and music to a whole new level - combining classical Indian music (featuring tabla and sitar performed by Ashish Joshi and Poorwi Bhana respectively); traditional African instruments (predominantly the kora but also many others, including a San bow, thumb piano and various whistles performed by Pops Mohamed) and Western instruments (saxophones and flute performed by Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse).

And the music produced was equally diverse. There were new compositions that seamlessly weaved in the various instruments; to re-arrangements of classics - an Indian classical raga (led by Poorwi Bhana), Mabuse's breakout 70's hit Burnout, and the Beatles' Norweigan Wood (although that does feature the sitar in the original version). 

If I were to choose amongst the amazing pieces, the two standouts for me was the new composition "African Dreams" and a traditional San piece "Honey song". African dreams combined all the genres seamlessly, with Pops Mohamed and Sipho Mabuse starting an impromptu duel on the saxophone and kora respectively; followed by the rest of the band thereafter. It was spontaneous, lively, fun and an amzing showcase of instrumental prowess. The San piece had story on the collection of honey in the desert; and featured Pops Mohamed playing music with a bow pressed in his mouth. It's difficult to describe - but it was an amazing showcase of a very tribal form of music; but one that was not just beating of drums.

It was a mind-blowing performance, of new music - music that no one really had heard before; and everyone wanting more. There are no recordings (yet) - and I hope there is much more (in terms of both public performances and recordings) to come. And The Orbit once again delivered an amazing musical experience.

The Alma Chamber Orchestra with The Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble

When compared to many European cathedrals, the Regina Mundi church in Soweto is neither imposing, nor ornate - in fact it looks like a warehouse in some respects. But, it has a storied past as a refuge for anti-apartheid activists, a seat of TRC hearings and commemorates some of the iconic events in an amazing stained glass window panel. It is an apt location for a concert on peace - especially in the times of xenophobic violence.

The main sponsor of the South African leg is the Ichikowitz Family Foundation; and its founder Ivor Ichikowitz gave a passionate speech on the need for peace drawing upon the numerous conflicts around the world. All ironic, given that Mr Ichikowitz makes his money from the Paramount Group - a noted manufacturer in the defense industry.

The French orchestra, fronted by concertmaster Anne Gravoin, has had a short tour in South Africa, playing at Linder Auditorium and in Durban in the past week; and this was the last performance - a free concert together with Buskaid.

The programme consisted of a number of movements from Vivaldi (Concerto for four violins, concerto for trumpet), Elgar (romance for bassoon), Mozart (horn concerto) and Bellini (concerto for oboe). The Buskaid joined the orchestra to play Khachaturian's Masquerade Waltz and the South African national anthem, before Buskaid finished the concert off with their traditional selection of kwela, which had quite a few members of the audience singing and dancing along.

Thoughts on Rhodes

Commemorations of Cecil John Rhodes are quite prominent at Univsersity of Cape Town (UCT) - not only the statue overlooking the Cape towards Cairo on the lower bounds of Jammie Steps (the subject of the #RhodesMustFall campaign) but also above the university at the very scenic Rhodes Memorial. 

Rhodes is not the only colonial figure to be commemorated in South Africa or around the world; there are statues of colonial era Kings and Queens across the various colonies; statues of explorers who opened up the world for colonialism such as Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Livingstone in addition to the very specific colonialists, such as Rhodes, who drove for the expansion and exploitation of the colonies.

Nor is Rhodes and his most successful company - De Beers - the only company that profited from the exploitation of inhumane and racist policies. There are banks (e.g. JP Morgan Chase and Barclays) and insurance conglomerates (e.g. AIG and US Life) that profited from the slave trade; companies such as IBM, Porsche and Volkswagen that profited from Nazi era Germany and many other similar arrangements across the recent past. Entire economies and civil engineering marvels have been built underwritten by slavery and indentured labour without a whiff of modern human rights considerations.

At a recent UCT event, the vice chancellor, Dr Max Price, commented that "Rhodes is to black people in South Africa what Hitler is to Jews". On that comparison, it is incomprehensible that a statue of Adolf Hitler would still stand  in front of the entrance of a major German university 20 years after WW2. But at the same time, I do not support the German approach of erasing all mentions of nazism and its associated symbols. Erasing historical details doesn't make history go away - and instead of learning from the past, we end up burying our heads in the sand. UCT itself has changed from the intent of Rhodes' legacy - it is no longer just an institution for white males - but that doesn't mean that his other inexcusable legacies should be forgotten.

And the crux of the debate about Rhodes is more than the statue - it is about transformation of the academic staff. The fact is, the university's own policies and practices makes it difficult to transform. Appointing only staff based on retirements and vacancies means that promising "black" (in the South African EE speak) PhD and Masters students are not retained to drive the transformation. The fact that many of these students are also the first of their families to go to university and are often from financially struggling backgrounds, means that they have obligations that the stipend from a postdoctoral post, even if it is offered, won't be enough. Ultimately, Rhodes' fall won't be enough to address the underlying cause of the protest - and reducing the protest to one of simply about the statue is equally counter productive.

UCT has engaged in various forums on the question of what next. As an alumni I have a vested interest that UCT gets it right. For the statue, I would propose the way of Budapest's Soviet Statue Park. At the fall of communism various Soviet statues were collected and curated in a large outdoor park. Perhaps we can do the same - collect all the colonial (and apartheid) statues and create an outdoor park - perhaps even reuse Rhodes Memorial - so that the deeds and the context of their deeds are not forgotten; and future generations can continue to learn about the history and the implications of their deeds.

Academic staff transformation is a far trickier subject - as this is one area that does take a long time to realise. Academics won't be produced overnight - professors will still take time to write publications and supervise PhD students, and while they can be imported from various other universities; that approach doesn't necessarily improve transformation across South Africa - which should be an equal goal. And the fact that UCT has dithered in this area for so long means that this will still take time to come. 

My suggestion on the matter - create a fund to properly employ "black" graduates from UCT and beyond regardless of the department's vacancies. There is always a need to grow research capacity; so excess staff is not really a problem. These new members of staff can then move on as vacancies do come out - but now with experience and research credits under their belt, so they are no longer prejudiced by timing and lack of experience. This program cannot be a postdoctoral year - it needs to be equivalent of at least a lecturer position that contracts for at least 3 years and staff performance is evaluated in the same manner. Thus instead of chasing away the grads into the corporate workplace, hopefully there will be sufficient retention towards building a meaningful academic staff transformation; and a program that can have meaningful impact across South Africa. And, if there was such a fund, I would contribute.

Movie: The Theory of Everything

Eddie Redmayne's amazing physical transformation as Prof. Stephen Hawking is reason enough to see this biographic movie. Redmayne manages to convey both the darkness of suffering a potentially terminal illness as well as the will and optimism involved in becoming, perhaps the most famous scientist of our time. It is a snapshot of almost 50 years, so it doesn't necessarily always explain how ground breaking his work is; but the movie is not so much about his work but about his life. It's an amazing biopic that thoroughly deserves the plaudits it has received.

Movie: American Sniper

Throughout the film, many characters ask the protagonist "why are you doing this". Chris Kyle, played by a very bulked up Bradley Cooper, never provides a satisfactory answer. American Sniper is not the stereotypical war movie, it is more like the propaganda film within Inglorious Basterds. It puts up a killing machine as a hero, but never explores why he is killing, other than the suggestion that it is to serve and to protect his fellow soldiers. 

But this portrayal leads to an equally interesting alternate. If soldiers are there just doing their masters' bidding - is it not the same as the very "savages" they are fighting? After all, the other side is probably doing the exact same thing - their movie about Mustafa - the Olympian sniper would probably be just as heroic and one sided. 

The victors often write the history; hence it is the American Sniper that is heroic and dies an untimely death. In an alternate universe, there maybe a similar  movie about Mustafa. And neither movie make great movies - just wonderful propaganda pieces.

Ushaka KaSenzangakhona

The biography of the legendary Mzilikazi Khumalo, describes Ushaka KaSenzangakhona as an opera - although it doesn't really have any acting performances; and it is more akin to a cantata. The piece comprises of 4 soloists (vocal), a poet/prase singer, a large choir and a full orchestra - comprising of 4 main parts charting the life of Shaka. There is an interesting Masters thesis which I briefly skimmed through regarding the authorship of the piece, specifically on the history of the orchestration of the piece; which sheds interesting light on both the complexities of musical collaboration, and the effort in tracking the contributions of the various parties in the collaboration.

In some respect, a piece celebrating the life of a warrior king, on Human Rights Day (weekend), is strange - but at the same time, the performance of a Zulu vocal work, written in the style of western classical music, performed at a venue that was once a bastion of Apartheid art performances is also a celebration of South Africa's democracy.

Joburg Theatre's production featured the Gauteng Choristers, Sibongile Khumalo as the lead soloist, joined by Thembisile Twala (soprano), Kananelo Sehau (tenor) and Nkosinathi Emmanuel Maqoma (bass) and the bulk of the JPO as the orchestra - and it was a rousing performance. The praise singer/poetry performance by Mhlonishwa Dlamini, was the only real performer on stage brought a vibrant energy, with many in the audience shouting replies back with equal gusto; and provided an amazing emotional depth to the various acts of the piece.

The piece is really amazing - the musical score, the choral and the vocal soloists combine to perform an amazing musical performance. It's a pity that this show was only for 2 performances - this is something that should be performed and attended by more people!

JPO's 1st 2015 Season, 4th Concert

It seems that the end of JPO's financial crisis is near; although the business rescue documentation continues to make grim reading. But on the strength of the final concert for the 2015 season - there is certainly hope - there was an almost capacity audience, the program and presentation was different; and there were even young members in the audience.

The evening started off with a homage to Johannesburg. WITS Professor Zaidel-Rudolph's Fanfare Festival Overture, originally written for Johannesburg's Centenary Celebration in 1986, but rescored for this performance, started the evening. Charting Johannesburg's growth, it starts of slow and slightly chaotic - but end with a flourish of percussion and African rhythms (from the Marimba and other percussion). 

Pallavi Mahidhara returned once again, this time to perform Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.1. Like her previous performances, this was once again a stellar performance, and got a very enthusiastic response from the audience. 

The highlight of the performance, and one of the highlights of the JPO performances I have attended - is Holst's The Planets - accompanied by a projection show organised via the WITS Planetarium. This is exactly the type of collaboration that is required for the JPO to draw more audiences - combine great music, with great visuals and provide more context for the performances. The projections included pictures from the Mars Rovers, and other NASA missions such as Cassini and Voyager; and provided a spectacular backdrop to the music. 

If this happens to be the last JPO concert - then the JPO ended of with a bang! The final season had variety and drew in new audiences - and new styles of performances. Hopefully, it can continue and carry on in this fashion.

JPO's 1st 2015 Season, 3rd Concert

I missed the first two concerts of the season (as I was not in Johannesburg), and I was pleasantly surprised that the hall was a little bit fuller. Part of that could be due to a school group - I am not sure if they will return for other concerts. Daniel Boico returned to another stint as the conductor.

Schubert's Overture in D (In the Italian Style) started off the evening. I didn't really like the piece - I commented to M, that it sounded like a piece accompanying clowns in a circus at some points. It was neither memorable nor enthralling.

I am a big fan of Beethoven, and Czech pianist Lucas Vodracek, gave an amazing performance of Piano Concerto No 3. Vodracek posture at the piano was amusing - hunched over the keys, focused on making sure his fingers hit the notes correctly - so much so that M commented that it was as if, his body was built to play the piano. The performance was the exact opposite of the Schubert - both enthralling and memorable, and thoroughly deserved the standing ovation. And, as if to show off his virtuosity, he performed a jazz-inspired encore which showed of his amazing speed on the keyboard. The contrast with the Beethoven was jarring - but was an equally impressive performance.

After the break, the orchestra performed Mendelssohn's Symphony Number 4 - another Italian inspired piece to round of the evening. It was a solid performance - but yet again, nothing memorable.

Queue for the iPhone

Over 4 months since the launch of the iPhone 6, I was surprised that there was still a line to buy iPhones at the Apple Store in Hong Kong. The system was very efficient - as you enter the line, an attendant takes the model, the number and colour, and then pick up once you get to the front of the queue; and then another attendant to pay.

In comparison, the Xiaomi store (I alsi bought a Xiaomi Redmi2) was almost empty, the Samsung stores were deserted. And this goes for other phone stores also - Apple seems to be the most dominant brand by far. Based on that, I think the spectacular sales numbers for the iPhone will continue for some time to come.

Cathay Pacific's Premium Economy

I cashed in some of BA Executive miles for my flight back - but unfortunately business class was unavailable - so I had to go with Cathay Pacific's Premium Economy class. I haven't flown this class before; and I was pleasantly surprised.

The problem with modern business and first class is that they seem to have now gone overboard - not only lie flat seats, but with suites, large screen TVs, etc. Premium Economy class is effectively the business class of old (or of domestic/short haul flights) - the seats are wider, but not sofas; they lean back more, but are not beds; there is a lot of leg room, but you can still touch the seat in front of you; the food is great (in this case even featuring Haagen Dazs ice cream) and served on proper cutlery, but it is not a restaurant in the sky.

It is sort of the happy medium - I got a good night's sleep, the service was excellent, and it was a very pleasant journey. Premium Economy might actually be a class I would be willing to pay for myself.

Hong Kong (Street) Markets

It seems that you can buy almost anything on the street markets - food, clothing, electronics, lots of variety in phone cases (and associated accessories), and even gold fish and other things for aquariums. Most of these markets are concentrated around Mong Kok in Kowloon, but there are others. The market stalls seem to run from about 11am to 10pm, at least in the Kowloon markets.

I did do a lot of electronics shopping in Hong Kong, but most of the items were from the electronics shipping malls like Sim City and Golden Computer Arcade. The breadth of variety is amazing, but you do need to know what you want to be able to look for it - it's not necessarily the best place to browse!

The Big Buddha

Built on top of the hill on Lantau Island, the Big Buddha is meant to be visible from afar, and at its base provide amazing views of Lantau. Unfortunately, today was a very cloudy day (it didn't start out that way, and the weather prediction was largely incorrect), and there was very poor visibility. So poor, that it was not possible to see the cable car in front, and only make out the shadows of the cable cars going in the opposite direction.

The hilltop is easiest to reach by the 5.7 Km cable car, which hints at some spectacular views on clear days. On the cloudy day such as today, it provided an eerie, horror film like atmosphere, with no land or cable visible.

The Buddha was built fairly recently (in the late 1980s IIRC), by the Po Lin Buddhist monastery located also on top of the hill. The cable car drops you off at the "village" which is basically a collection of tourist shops.

One of the things I find interesting about Chinese Buddhism is the amalgamation of Chinese and Indian aspects. This is quite well seen in the monastery itself, as well as then approach to the area involving a path guarded by the 12 Divine Generals, some of whom are also gods in Hinduism.

The big Buddha statue is a long walk up steps - and the platform on top features 6 statues of devotees, a small museum (with an amazing panel painting on the life of Buddha on the second floor) and the Buddha itself - surrounded by fog today.

The monastery is also interesting - the new Hall of 10 Thousand Buddhas puts mist rappers to shame on its bling, while there are amazing dragon carvings on the pillars outside the building.

The last part of the area is the "Path of Wisdom", where the Prajnaparamita (Perfect Wisdom) Sutra is engraved on massive logs arranged in the shape of infinity.

The Peak

The Peak is the premier tourist attraction of Hong Kong. The highest point on Hong Kong island, it offers amazing views of the island and Kowloon. There are also good hiking trails although I only did a small portion of the total set of trails.

There is an old funicular that seems to struggle up the hill. The popularity of The Peak means that queues are long - on my way back, there was a queue to join the queue to go down! There is an alien-head looking viewing tower at the top, but the Galleria shopping mall next to it offers almost similar views for free. Better still, walk in the 4km circular trail and get different angles of the skyscrapers below. The vegetation is very lush, and there are plenty of birds and squirrels to spot.

I had tried to time my visit to coincide with a brief patch of sunshine earlier this week, but I had not accounted for the queues. Nevertheless, the late afternoon trip and walk led to great views of the city in the evening, despite the fog.

Lantern Festival

The 15th day of the first Lunar month is the Lantern Festival, and the Hong Kong Cultural centre had lanterns on display, as well as music and dance performances and a Chinese opera performance. I originally came to see the Symphony of Lights show, which was a bit of a squib given the weather and stumbled onto the festival.

Ping Shan Heritage Trail

I first came across this trail in a brochure for a cultural tour of the new territories at the airport. It didn't look that interesting , but since this was fairly close to the monastery I decided to give it a try. I am very glad I did, this was one of the most interesting tourist activities in Hong Kong.

A problem with the trail however, is that relying on Google maps or Lonely Planet is not going to work. Lonely Planet's description is paltry with no map, while Google map helpfully takes you to the middle of the trail, which requires a fair bit more walking (in doubling back).

The trail is organised around the historical buildings of the Tang clan, in the Ping Shan village (which is itself a collection of villages). Dating back over 800 years, the trail is a great juxtaposition of the modern and old. Many buildings are located within residential buildings, so  it gives a great view of real life. It is refreshingly different to the high rise concrete jungle of the rest of Hong Kong. 

I have organised the photos in the order I think this trail should be done, starting at the top of a small hill at the old Ping Shan police station, now the visitors centre. It also feature s a small museum including an overview of local customs and generation all history of the Tang clan (going back 2500 years!). The hilltop also offers great views of the surrounding area.

The Hung Shing Temple, a small temple dedicated to a deity worshipped by fishermen, is one of two temples in the trail.

The entrance hall of Shut Hing Study Hall is difficult to find, located within a small alleyway. It is ornately decorated, when compared to the other two study halls on the trail, but the entrance is all that remains of the hall.

The Kun Tung Study Hall and the adjacent Ching Shu Hin, have some amazing carvings and decorations - probably the best of the trail.

The Tang and Yu Kiu Ancestral halls are the central highlights of the trail. Built as shrines for ancestral worship as well as clan meetings and celebrations, the refurbished halls are quite impressive structures. The Yan Tun Kong study hall is accessible via the alleyways through the village.

The Yeung Hau temple and Old Well are probably the least well maintained and plain items on the trail. There are koi fish swimming in the well though.

The Sheung Cheung Wai is the old village wall, although it is only the wall and the gates that remain. It is fully functional residential area, so it remains functional.

The last stop is the only remaining ancient pagoda, Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda. It is quite smaller than what I was expecting - but still a cool end to the trail. It is also convenient as it is next to the train line back to Kowloon. On the way to the pagoda, there is a small Shrine of the Earth God.

Miu Fat Monastery

I had initially planned to go to Macau for the day, but decided to explore Hong Kong's "New Territories" instead. Hong Kong is a lot larger than I initially thought, and the greenery is quite a change from the city. The monastery is in Lam Tei, about 1 hour by bus from Kowloon.

There are actually two shrines - an older pagoda which is lavishly decorated in traditional style, and a newer glass and concrete shrine, which, while still shiny, is significantly less ornate.

The older shrine is protected by dragons, lions and six toothed elephants (or are they Oliphants from Lord of the Rings?) - and has murals of Buddha in various forms before a lavish display in the main shrine three stories up. The external shrine of Buddha in front of a koi pond is equally cool. The ceiling of the shrine is mostly obscured but features numerous panels, which seem to be the telling of Buddha's life story.

The newer shrine is not as interesting, although I understand it lights up at night. It also features a few different forms of buddha , and it seems like a larger capacity overall, but is rather plain.