Ballet Pixelle presents AVATARA

Ballet Pixelle presents AVATARA


Ballet Pixelle presents AVATARA, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.



Ballet Pixelle 

presents~~~~~~~~


AVATARA


Final show: Aug 22, 2010 on Sunday
5pm SLT


http://slurl.com/secondlife/Quat/32/21/107



Finale party at Alien Lounge after show
w/ dj Frank Eizenhart
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Information:



BALLET PIXELLE™ PREMIERES "AVATARA"
A NEW ORIGINAL BALLET
Second Life -- Premiere Date: June 2010


Ballet Pixelle™ (formerly Second Life Ballet) will premiere its ninth  work “Avatara” in June 2010.  Ballet Pixelle™ is the first performing ballet company in the virtual global community Second Life.  Says the Company's founder, Inarra Saarinen, “As artistic director of the Company since its inception, I have enormous pride in Ballet Pixelle™.  Our goal is to investigate and explore the interaction and intersection of physical and virtual dance.  We are excited to celebrate the future of dance.  We are dancing into the digital future!”

Before there was Second Life, there were avatars...

Avatāra (Sanskrit for "descent") refers to a deliberate descent of a deity from heaven to earth, and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation", but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation".  Isn't that what it would be if a virtual being became a physical being?  And if a physical being became a virtual being...

A real, physical dancer wonders what it would be like to exist in a virtual world where she could move past her physical bodily limits --- without regard to her joints and muscles.  And without physics limits -- to hover and fly at will.  Is there such a place?   Can she visit?  What a memory to hold!

********************************************************************

Members of Ballet Pixelle™ come together from all over the world, Japan, Europe, and North America.  Animations are created by Inarra Saarinen and put into dance phrases.  There are no artifical synchronizing devices and the dancers truly perform dancing with each other and the music.  Each performance is truly live and unique, and takes advantage of the characteristics of Second Life to extend the art of the ballet in new directions. “Avatara” is the ninth and newest ballet in the Ballet Pixelle™ (formerly Second Life Ballet) repertoire.  Come see it and participate in this innovative artform.

Performances take place on Sundays at 5:00pm SLT at the Ballet Pixelle Theatre
Come early because seats fill quickly.

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For More Information

For more information on Ballet Pixelle™, search for the group "Ballet Pixelle" in Second Life and join the group to receive notices of all performances, auditions, newsletters, and other news and invitations.  There is also a Subscribe Service in the theatre which allows you to receive notices.

Web site is: www.balletpixelle.org
MySpace page: myspace.com/balletpixelle
Facebook as Ballet Pixelle

Machinimas (videos) and information on previous ballets, information on auditions, current Company members bios and photos, newsletters, press and reviews, etc are available on these sites.

For Ballet Pixelle™ work done under the name Second Life Ballet you can search YouTube for Second Life Ballet or see the www.balletpixelle.org website.

Written by Inarra Saarinen for Ballet Pixelle in Second Life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raftwet Jewell in Virtual Metaverse
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in facebook
raftwet jewell in twitter
the a list! in second life

FTC - Federal Trade Commission - USA

Since 1995, I have been blogging on the internet. Of course, then we called it journaling a log about our experiences. A digitally written diary of the minutiae of our lives. Ridiculously unimportant and filled with personal anecdotes about nothing. Occasionally, I would mention a cool product that I bought or a place that I went to such as a restaurant or store. And, even then, the journals were just my musings.



When the internet exploded with journals, we started calling them blogs. Blah blah blah logs became blogs. The content was still about nothing much, but we could see that someone was reading our little missives and it made a difference in our businesses. Another way to connect with our consumer base.

We started reviewing the things we liked and the things we lived with daily. A restaurant would send a voucher for a dinner or a manufacturer would send a freebie t-shirt. Benign gifts of accolades and thank-you's.

Then, we started getting the big gifts. The stuff that was expensive and made us feel a bit creepy accepting. Sure, we loved their products but it made me feel like a paid agent for their company. So, I made a decision and said, "No more.



The decision was made way back in the late1990's. I would have to check my archived files for those first disclosure contracts. Yes, I had my entire team sign them and the legal language was harsh. If you wrote something and you were given a monetary gift, you were fired.

In this virtual world of international interests, the lines blur. People send gifts to each other for all kinds of kindness. I get gifts from avis from my group, and I return them or delete them after letting them know that I can't accept them. On THE A LIST! the lines blur even more. We are a business group and our members give the group gifts. As long as it is a gift that is shared among the entire group, then Xavier and I feel that it is not a gift for blogging.

The problem is that if a gift is given and I wasn't online and it is sitting in my inventory; that fact alone may taint my reputation if ever the logs were reviewed. It is a difficult situation for me. In THE A LIST! we have asked our contributors to disclose gifts, and we have a disclaimer on those blogs. Because both of us are on American soil with FTC -Federal Trade Commission blogging laws over our heads, we want to try our best to adhere to US laws.



We know how ridiculous laws can be, but this one tries to protect the consumer. I think we know gifts are given to bloggers from Consumer Report. It is obvious that the product manufacturer gave the blogger the product for review. The reason we believe Consumer Reports reviews is that the evaluations can be harsh... very harsh. So, we believe that the products are honestly evaluated and CR has a disclaimer.

I am the blogger on THE A LIST! and I want to make sure that people know that I do not accept gifts from any of the group members unless they have shared that gift with the entire group. So, my blogs do not have a disclaimer. Some of the contributors have a disclaimer on their post because it is a product review and the item was given by the creator.

How the FTC reviews the millions of blogs in the real world or virtual world is interesting in itself. And, the law will fine the blogger and the product creator, too. Ouch! Double slam. So, we try to protect both interests. No gifts period is a good policy. It's best that we stay as squeaky clean as possible. As far as some industries, it's practically a given that those gifts to the avis are for reviews. But, now we disclose that in those specific posts and let you decide.

japan resort photo board

Japan Resort Photo Board at Events Area


japan resort photo board, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.




Saturday morning and I partied too hard last night. With a cup of tea and 
an apple bread, I sit down to visit my friends at Japan Resort.





There is always a great music stream or dj there playing disco, progressive, electro or anything in between.






This is a Japanese community that welcomes everyone from around the world. 
Languages of the planet can be heard on the dance floor. Woot!

Raftwet Jewell in Virtual Metaverse
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in facebook
raftwet jewell in twitter
the a list! in second life

second life mixing with real life

So hard to believe that I have been on the Second Life grid this long. I still remember 2007 when I arrived on the color sims near the a popular sandbox. Building and creating my waterfalls... trying to mimic the world I really live in with the rivers, streams and natural places near my home. I have learned a lot here in Second Life. I learned how to build and though I am still a rudimentary scripter, it's amazing that I can even do that now!

My two regions have been so fun create. Like others, the passion we put into our land is the vision inside our heads. Some builders create fantastic fantasy worlds while others like me try to copy Mother Nature. It has brought a profound appreciation to the real world that I experience.



I am lucky. I travel, I see beautiful places on this earth and I try to bring that experience into the virtual world here. Without any fanfare, my regions are now in Second Life's showcase. I am so proud to have been chosen to be on that list. Look for WETLands in the Parks and Nature category; we are at #4 now. Wow! And, as a co-owner of THE A LIST! my actual land is actually on LL's list!

I have taken thousands of pictures and they are uploaded to my avatar,  rafee's flickr and koinup. I created several RAFTWET Jewell youtube by myself and with my friend,  Aoshi. And, the blogs... gawd, do I ever stop blogging? LOL! But, I needed something more.

A very good friend was on the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch videography team that finally won the Emmy. After a few years of being nominated, this death-defying team won this year. So, I talked to my friend and asked him if he would film a whitewater sequence in real life and incorporate my avatar rafting on WETLands. He was intrigued by the idea and enjoyed visiting both my land and SL.

Enjoy the video and then come on over to WETLands and try the rafts... or just bring a date and hang out in a natural park-like setting and just chill. There's an outdoor ballroom next to the bay area, both romantic and casual at the same time. Have fun!

river on blue galaxy, waterfalls at avilion

Blue Galaxy in Second Life


river on blue galaxy, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.

I've been exploring again with friends and my partner. There are so many beautiful sims on the Second Life grid. I am always stunned at the creators here.






Aoshi sent me a tp the other night to Blue Galaxy. Now, I've been there before, but the textures on the hills and mountains have been changed. They are unbelievably realistic.






The river is gorgeous with rays of light washing over the sky. We stayed for quite awhile talking in chat and just hanging out there.






A few nights later, Xavi and I went to Avilion Ballroom. This is probably my all time favorite ballroom in Second Life. I think almost every romantic couple in SL has been here.






But, the difference that night was the incredible sky waterfalls they created. Gawd, they were fantastic! I have a sky waterfall too on RiverLand that was inspired by SL Botanical Gardens, but this was just absolutely gorgeously created.






There is no end to the beauty of this grid. Try to explore and see what the builders have made just for you.

Raftwet Jewell, the first whitewater rafting avatar in the virtual world!
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in facebook
raftwet jewell in twitter
raftwet jewell's the a list! in blogger

visit mexico in second life

Visit Mexico - Mexico Chichen Itza


visit mexico in second life, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.

Summer travel is almost here! Americas have offerings from the USA to South America. Visit Mexico is a virtual world sim in Second Life offering travel experiences to the Archeological sites of Chichen Itza.








Tonight, Visit Mexico held a concert of live music featuring Second Life's favorite musician, Maximillion Kleene.






I've been coming to this sim since 2007 and I am so glad to see it still being supported by Mexico Tourism! Woot!

Raftwet Jewell, the first whitewater rafting avatar in the virtual world!
raftwet jewell in myspace
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in koinup
raftwet jewell's the a list! in blogger
raftwet jewell's the a list! in myspace

kolor studio particle show

quantum musical entanglements concert in second life


kolor studio particle show, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.

Ethereal music drifting through the particles highlighting the installation at the Quantum Musical Entanglements concert.






Skye Galaxy and Cypress Rosewood weaving a mesmerizing array of musical notes wrapping around our selves.






This is a technological concert merging art, music and avatars fully immersed into the performance itself.






Soothing... enriching the soul... I drift away above all worries and approach nirvana here on Kolor Studio. Thank you Kolor Fall for this beautiful presentation on your land.

Raftwet Jewell, the first whitewater rafting avatar in the virtual world!
raftwet jewell in myspace
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in koinup
raftwet jewell's the a list! in blogger
raftwet jewell's the a list! in myspace

erika radek at sanctuary rock

Erika Radek at Sactuary Rock


erika radek at sanctuary rock, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.

Saturday night is for fighting... NOT! But, I really felt like a hard rock party tonight.






We tp'ed into Sanctuary Rock and 40+ avis were there partying with dj Erika Radek spinning the hard stuff.






Rammstein, Otep, Combichrist and others were ripping the deck off the grid. Sooooo fun! Woot!

Raftwet Jewell, promoting outdoor recreation and lifestyles in the virtual world!
raftwet jewell in myspace
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in koinup
raftwet jewell's the a list! in blogger
raftwet jewell's the a list! in myspace