Goodbye

Dear friends,
As you may have already noticed, the last post in this weblog dates two months ago. The adventure of "Of earth and clouds" is just come to an end.
The month of September saw a significant change in my professional career and I am preparing hard for it, while continuing to pursue my projects. This work has kept me away from the blog and the commitment that I can see in my future made me aware that I should think about other spaces to continue the conversation.
My blog remain at your disposal. I hope that others can continue to find something interesting between these lines and I sincerely thank everyone who took the time to read my posts and write to me.
I hope to have soon good news and maybe meet you elsewhere.

Holidays

I'm going on vacation. See you at the end of summer!

Playing for change

Playing for Change is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people.
A mobile recording studio was built and equipped with all the best equipment, to travel towards music, everywhere.

Playing for Change is also a Foundation, since 2007.
Musicians from all over the world are brought together to perform benefit concerts that build music and art schools in communities that are in need of inspiration and hope. The Playing for Change band also performs shows around the world and the journey don't stop:

Poem for an insect

Insects usually leave me completely indifferent. Well, I find funny ants and caterpillars, and terrifying spiders. But now my vision of these little animals and of the world (I’m not exaggerating) will never be the same. The merit of this transformation lies a film by Marie Perennou and Claude Nuridsany, "Microcosmos”. Released in 1996, it deals with the life of the inhabitants of a tiny meadow. At these dimensions, the world gains gigantic proportions and the small details we never pay attention to, reveal all their charm. Surely in the world in which we live there is no lack of imagination. Enjoy!

There's a piano on the street

... no, there are 30 pianos on the street, all around London, as you can see in this map: http://www.streetpianos.com/london2009/

Each piano is available to whoever wants to play: artists and simple passers-by.
Everyone can share their art, invite other passers-by to sing along. And they did it :-)

The "Play me, I'm yours" project by Luke Jerram aims to build a relationship through music .
Here you can see how is going: http://www.lukejerram.com/projects/play_me_im_yours

When will we bring these pianos to Varese - Italy?

Just do it

Ok, it's a claim. But it's not only a claim. It's a great suggestion. Every time my excuse don't le me go and follow my dreams, I'd like to remember this: Just do it.

The snare drum

Let’s continue the journey into the world of percussions, that began with the article "Body percussion”. Today I’d like to speak of the snare drum. The snare drum is a component of the drum kit, but it can be used alone in the orchestra or in band. The typical sound of the snare drum is produced by strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the bottom drumhead. The sound of the snare drum also depend on the material by which the stem is made. The snare drums made by metal have a brighter sound, while wooden ones usually produce a warmer sound.
To give you an example of what can be done with the snare give a look at this video by Bruno Vitolo (funkybru), who I greet and thank:

The gift of marriage

During the last weekend I received two gifts: the first one came from Alessandra and Stephen, who invited me to their wedding, the second one by my uncles Emanuela and George celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. 
Participate in the marriage of a couple of friends is always nice: you take part in their joy, but you also have the opportunity to renew your own. From the celebration on Saturday, I brought home a passage of the homily. The priest invited the newlyweds to wonder every day: what should I do today because my husband (my wife) is happy to be in the world? I remember what another friend of mine, who is also a priest, said: we got married every day, not only the day of wedding; every day, you have to choose your spouse again and begin a new page of love. How can people get bored in front of such a perspective? 
A lot of pages of love have certainly been written by the couples that together with my uncles have celebrated last Sunday an important anniversary: 10, 25, 40, 50 and 60 years of life together. 
I like that every year we find  a special moment to recognize the value of the choice of these people, to thank them for the love they give each other and also demonstrating the courage to remain united. The faces of love are beautiful  at any age.

Body percussion

Last autumn my friend R. asked me if I wanted to play with his wind orchestra for the Christmas’ concerts: they needed somebody who could play the glockenspiel. The glockenspiel is a delicious instrument that can easily hurt your ears (to the uninitiated it looks like a xylophone, but it is made by metal). It’s a percussive instrument, but it needs a player that can read a musical staff. So my friend thought that a pianist might, after all, get by quite well. And indeed I was quite good, and I became curious about the world of percussions, so funny and varied. 
Having spent years practicing on the keyboard, every time I try to play a new instrument I look for information of all kinds: what is it, how it is used, who plays that instrument and what kind of music ... Browsing YouTube I was literally ecstatic looking at the performances of true masters. 
So today I’d like to inaugurate a series of post on percussion instruments, talking about a curious and interesting practice: the body percussion. Body percussion - as its name indicates- is a rhythmic type of music that uses the body of the musician as an instrument. It is used in schools to drive the children to the world of rhythm, but it has all the characteristics to be considered art. Just look at what Keith Terry does in this video. Enjoy!

My website is new

Done! I've done it! www.federicaperuzzo.it is completely renewed!

Restyling

I'm working at the restyling of my website: www.federicaperuzzo.it. I'm changing the way it looka, revamping the content and adding something new (alleluia). I hope it will become more fashionable, but above all more useful (!). "Of earth and clouds" will follow the fortunes of the main website, of course. That's way you can notice this sudden change of color and of the header, in line with the global  project (wow!). 
I hope to finish the work by next week. Stay tuned!

Irish dance in Rome

If you want to find out more about Irish dance. danzeirlandesiaroma.com is the right website for you (an english version is available). The blog documents the activities of the Gens d'Ys Academy (with particular attention to the school based in Rome), in the sections Diario di scuola, Ceili / Serata danzante, and Stage Shows and events. The sections Dances and History of Irish dance instead collect interesting information on the dances, their history, their spread and the songs that accompany them. Finally, there is no lack of information about the history and tradition of Ireland. 

As I have studied irish dance at Gens d'Ys Academy for a year, I have to thank the author of this blog, Intruder, for his work and his commitment in sharing his passion.

A fall is not the end

Today I received a great gift. Through one of the blogs that I follow I had the opportunity to watch the video below and to know the incredible Nick Vujicic:



I think Nick is a blessing for us all. May the strength and joy that we can see in his face, his actions and his words infect us all to expand the boundaries of our heart and our soul. Only Nick knows through which suffering his exceptional vitality has grown up: may his example remember us that we have everything we need to be happy.

http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

Prayer

"May peace dwell in you. May you know and trust that you are exactly where you need to stay. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that arise through the faith in yourself and in others. MAy you use your gifts, and pass to others the love that you've received. May you be happy to be the person you are, as you are now, in this moment. Let this awareness to penetrate to your bones and give to your soul the freedom to sing, dance, pray and love. All this is here for each and all of us. "

Thanks Martina for sending to me this prayer. I want to share it because it’s a treasure.

The Breastplate of St. Patrick

 I Bind to Myself this day,

the Strong Virtue of the Invocation of the Most Holy Trinity,

the Faith of the Most Holy Trinity in Unity,

the Creator of the Elements.

 

I Bind to Myself this day,

the Power of the Incarnation of Christ and His Baptism,

the Power of His Crucifixion with His Burial,

the Power of His Resurrection with His Ascension,

the Power  of His Coming to the sentence of the Judgement.

 

I Bind to Myself this day,

the Power in the Love of Seraphim,

in the Obedience of Angels,

in the Hope of Resurrection unto Reward,

in the Prayers of the Patriarchs,

in the Predictions of Prophets,

in the Preaching of Apostles,

in the Faith of Confessors,

in the Purity of Virgins,

in the Deeds of Holy Men.

 

I Bind to Myself this day,

the Power of God to guide me,

the Might of God to Uphold me,

the Wisdom of God to teach me,

the Eye of God to watch over me,

the Ear of God to hear me,

the Word of God to give me speech,

the Hand of God to protect me,

the Way of God to lie before me,

the Shield of God to shelter me,

the Host of God to defend me

against the Snares of Demons,

against the Temptations of Vices,

against the Lusts of Nature,

against Every Man that meditates Injury to me,

whether far or near,

whether alone or with many.

 

I have invoked all these Virtues,

against every hostile, savage Power

warring upon my Body and my Soul,

against the Enchantments of false Prophets,

against black Laws of Heathenism,

against the false Laws of Heresy,

against the Deceits of Idolatry,

against the Spells of Women,

Magicians and Druids,

against all Knowledge which binds the Soul of Man.

 

Christ protect me this day

against Poison, against Burning,

against Drowning, against Wounding,

that I may receive abundant Reward.

Christ be with me, Christ before me,

Christ be after me, Christ within me,

Christ below me, Christ above me.

Christ at my right Hand, Christ at my left,

Christ in the Heart of every Man who thinks of me,

Christ in the Mouth of every Man who speaks to me,

Christ in every Eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

 

I bind to myself this day,

the strong Faith of the Invocation ot the Most Holy Trinity,

the Faith of the Most Holy Trinity in Unity,

the Creator of the Elements,

Salvation is the Lord’s,

Salvation is from Christ,

Thy Salvation, O Lord, be with us for ever.

Amen.

I brought home with me this prayer when I returned from my trip to Ireland last summer, a trip for which I have much to thank. I would like to celebrate by this the feast of St. Patrick, as well as with rivers of beer.

Teachers on Facebook?

"What do you think about Facebook?"  asked me a friend of mine, who is a teacher in a high school. I answered: 'It is a tool, nothing more, nothing less than a tool. It can be useful and at the same time you can do lot of nonsense with it. You can lose a lot of time, you can save a lot of time. It depends on you. I have a profile on Facebook. When I registered, I asked myself: what is it for? Later I was surprised because I found a lot of old classmates and friend that now are living so far from me and I had the opportunity to stay in touch again. Now I’m trying to find the best way to use it." 
I know the the real reason of her request, because I had already discussed about that with another friend, who is a teacher too. She’s suspicious about Facebook, not for the characteristics of the tool itself but because some collegues of hers use of in a way that she judge improper.

 I do not want to investigate the matter, because I’m not the right person to do that. I respect the position of the teachers who decide not to have a profile because they don’t want to get involved in strange relationships with their students, and I imagine that those who decide to have a profile are motivated by good intentions.

I would rather to submit you the opinion of my husband, who commented as follows: given that Facebook is used by students, I think that teachers should have a profile themselves and be educators also on Facebook, showing a “good” style, a “good” way to use it. Even a profile on Facebook and its use may be a way to be an example. 
Articles alarmed and alarming that reveal the destructive potential of social networking makes frankly me laugh. And I ask myself: aren’t we capable of discretion? Has our reason been sucked by the cyberspace? Or it never existed? If a technology is able to control myself I do not think that the problem lies in technology, but in my weakness. The real problem is not that young people use Internet, but the fact of having or not ahead of them adults who are really adults, credible witnesses of a way of being interesting, beautiful, good; people who walk through their life with their limits and their virtues, conscious of that and constantly working to improve themselves and the rest of the world, even through Facebook.

Stefano non ridere!

1-2-3 prova, sa sa sa

Blog title...

dopo un venerdì al pianoforte, passerà il sabato davanti al PC!

dopo un venerdì al pianoforte, passerà il sabato davanti al PC

Tra due giorni è domenica!!!

Blog title...

Domenica ci si riposa... Yuhuuuu!

Domenica ci si riposa! Yuhuuuu

Irish dance basic steps (3): the side step

In previous posts we saw how to dance the skip and the rising step. The first allows us to move forward and backward, while the second step is made on the spot.
Now we will see how to go rightward and leftward, and with that we’ll have seen all the steps we need to dance the Siege of Ennis.

The starting position is always the same: the right foot is in front of the left, while the right heel touches the left foot, and the points are slightly spread.
Moving to right: bend the right leg rising the foot (= hop), move the right foot rightwards (= two), move the left foot behind the right foot (= three), still move the right foot to right (= four) and the left behind the right (= five), and repeat once again for a total of seven steps (= six, seven).

Moving to the left: bend the left leg backward (= hop), and move forward the left foot to the left (= two), move the right foot behind the left, closing (= three), move again the left foot to the left (= four) and the right foot behind the left (= five), left foot again moves laterally (= six), and the right follows, behind (= seven).

Irish dance basic steps: rising step

In the previous post we saw how to execute a skip, or promenade step, which we use to move forward and backward in the Siege of Ennis and Jig.
Now let's give a look at the step known as Rising Step or Rise and Grind Step.

The weight is on the left foot. The right foot is stretched forward, with the tip resting on the floor.
1) We jump on the left foot, holding the place (= Hop), while the right leg is bent and moves upwards crossing the left one.
2) We jump again on the left foot, and at the same time we bring the right leg behind us (= hop back). The right foot is now on the floor and we move the weight on it. While doing this movement in the knees remain close to each other.
3) We repeat the movement 2), this time jumping on the right foot and bringing back the left leg and foot (="one").
4) We move the weight on the right foot (= "two").
5) Then the weight is on the left foot (= "three").
6) And we finish moving the weight on the right foot (= "four").

Now we are ready to begin again from 1), jumping on the right foot and lifting the left leg.
Do you find it difficult? I agree...

Irish dance basic step: skip or promenade step

Having brought the movie of a "Siege of Ennis" I thought it would be interesting to explain how to dance it.
But first you need to know the steps that are used in this dance: skip (or promenade step), side step (or 7 step), rising step. Well, I'll have to test my analytical-descriptive skills...

One of the main features of Irish dance is that arms are generally still along the body. Steps are performed on point, bringing one foot always in front of the other one (or behind, depending on the direction!), in a straight line.

Let's start with the skip.
Position: right foot in front of the left foot, right heel touches the left foot keeping the tips slightly open).
1) having the right leg close to the left knee, bend the right leg, bringing the foot upwards, with the peak tension (= hop, on the weak time of the music or take off): This movement is a kind of intersection, then you point the right foot forward and you load the weight on it (= one, on the beat or time)
2) move the weight on left foot, which remains behind (= two)
3) bring back the weight on the right foot (= three): in this way the left leg is free to move and bend backward (= hop) preparing the next step.

At this point you start over again (1) with the left foot. However, since the left leg is behind you do not do the "cut", but just bend backwards your leg, bringing then the foot forward: hop, one, two, three, hop, one, two, three ... up to exhaustion.
If you want to move back, the movement is similar, only the 1) is made bringing the right foot behind the left.

(PhotoCredits: ronnie44052 on Flickr)

Good 2009!

January has gone and there is still no trace of the author of this blog. Where she is? Well, she has relaxed a lot and has much thought during her Christmas holidays, nourishing herself by good books and being in a pleasant company. She slept a lot and enjoyed the luxury of living without schedules, except those of meals:)
Then she dived into the work. At first I thought about saying "have been sucked from work”, but I realized that it is not true: the choice was well weighted, although this will entail a long pause on other fronts.
The wind orchestra is well aware of that: I am systematically skipping the rehearses... But sometimes it is worth making a small sacrifice.
However I’m going on dancing. Give a look to the Siege of Ennis (I can’t remember all the steps, so I’ll have to watch this video a lot of time):