Erica Linz Interview - Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away

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Published: Wednesday, 12 December 2012 20:37

An interview with Arielist Erica Linz

December 2012 Feature

By Alexandra Kitze, 8th Grade, Marin Country Day School

Have you ever tried doing flips while simultaneously hanging on to a rope? Oh wait, it forgot one thing. You're 55 feet up in the air with no safety nets and your life depends on your strength entirely. I didn’t think these things were possible until I saw Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away, starring aerialist Erica Linz, and produced by James Cameron, producer of Avatar and Titanic. This movie brought me into another wild dimension full of acrobatics and extraordinary cinematography. It has vibrant colors, beautiful, mind blowing costumes, set design, dancing and every kind of gravity defying acrobatics that you can imagine. If you have seen the live Cirque du Soleil performance, then you’re in for a big treat. If you haven’t, this is your chance to see a combination of seven Cirque du Soleil shows in one captivating ride that takes you underwater, across a desert and into outer space.

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Feature Interview with Mickey Hart

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Published: Monday, 27 February 2012 21:03

Mickey Hart — The Beat Goes On

By Chiara Arrellano, KC Badala, Emily Castilla, Lizzie Chadbourne, Carolyn Frost, Carolyn Hansen, Taylor Galla, John Hassen, Sarah Moses, Danielle Slatkin, Maddy Suennen, Tyler Sylla, Bridget Went

Some speak more with their body than their voice and the words they create. Some speak with that special glint or smile in their eyes, others with their eyebrows or their posture. Mickey Hart communicates with his hands. They were always moving. Whether they were putting emphasis on a subject or definition to a word, they were always pulling us deeper into his story, into his trance. We were mesmerized taking it all in, as these hands were the ones that kept the beat for one of the most famous bands of the 20th century.

“It was just magic,” said renowned drummer of the Grateful Dead, Grammy winner and member of the world-renowned duo, the Rhythm Devils, Mickey Hart. Inspired by his drumming parents, Mickey described his experience playing the drums as something out of this world. “In a way, I was coded for this, it’s part of my DNA.”

Humble Beginnings

Mickey began drumming very early. Mickey’s father left him a drum pad and drumsticks which began his love for the instrument. Mickey just started banging away one day. “My whole world would come alive, something magical would happen.” After several years of smashing away on the pad, he asked his mom to teach him how to play.

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