Fit2Dance 8th and 9th May Düsseldorf



''Be healthy, stay fit and have as much fun as possible''
This is the simple Fit2Dance philosophy

Sinclair Arts Productions are proud to present "Fit2dance" Workshop 2010

This coming weekend!
Saturday 8th and 9th May
Holmes Place Health Club
Kölner Landstrasse 11
40591 Düsseldorf

The internationally known "Fit2dance" Workshops combine the worlds of dance and movement with the fitness industry and present you a workout that your body will never forget.

There are thirty classes to choose from, ranging from yogaballetfusion, hip hop grooves, zumba, salsa freestyle, capoeira, step and Bollywood workout. With ten international instructors taking you through your paces, step by step, much of the instruction is in English.

A perfect way to meet new friends who share similar interests and a fun way to try new and wonderful ways to move your body and stay in shape.

This Weekender also includes a dance/Fashion presentation from British Designer Sinclair Wear, free F@D cocktails, F2D lunch, F2D massage and live music by "Little Snax"

Not to missed

or call Colin Sinclair on +49 (0)172 284 1769

RhineBuzz Special - mention RhineBuzz in your booking and you will receive 10% off!


Mapplethorpe Opening

John and I spoke with Michael Stout, the president of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation and Eric Johnson at the opening of the Robert Mapplethorpe Retrospective at the NRW-Forum last night.



Michael kindly, with a big smiling face, gave us a personal view of the photographer; they had known one another many years, he was his friend, his lawyer and the person he asked to help build and take care of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation.

I also spoke with Ralph Goertz, who has recently returned from the States where he was able to speak with, and film, people who had been friends with Mapplethorpe and who had worked with him. I asked Ralph if these people were tired of having to answer questions on Mapplethorpe and was very surprised to hear that several of the people in his movie "Shapes" had never spoken about Mapplethorpe before! A enormous coup for Ralf - congratulations - and a wonderful film is the result! You can see it at the exhibition and purchase it in the shop at the NRW-Forum.


The tour will evolve greatly I'm sure as we move through the weeks of the exhibition.

We encourage questions and discussions and are able to contact the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation with unanswered questions which will no doubt come up.

Certainly the response to the packed opening last night was very positive. The photographs are everything - stunningly beautiful, intriguing and quite unlike anything you may have seen before.

Marja from Finnland and Mercedes from Spain who won an invitation to the opening at our Funk & Soul Party in November.

Stammtisch every Friday from February 12th.
Free tour in English 9pm.



Meet and Greet Schumann Quartett


The Schumann Quartett
Final concert May 9th at 5pm

In January over 30 of the RhineBuzz community had a great afternoon with the young Schumann Quartett on Sunday in the robert schumann hall.
Our visitors truly enjoyed the concert and we've had fabulous feedback about the meeting with them before the performance. We were all enamored by the anecdotes the Schumann Family had to share with us, including a little musical history and demonstrations of different versions of what was to come.
I thanked Erik Schumann for taking precious time before the concert to meet us. He replied with:
Dear Caroline,
It was a pleasure. Thank you so much for bringing so many friendly people to our concert!
Best wishes to all RhineBuzz members and see you again soon!


The next erstklassik! Schumann Quartett concert will be on May 9th at 5pm with:

Joseph Haydn
"Spaßquartett" op. 33 Nr. 2 Hob. III: 38
Robert Schumann
Streichquartett op. 41 Nr. 2
Johannes Brahms
Streichquartett Nr. 1 c-Moll

More about these marvellous young musicians here


Aids Gala 2010







Saturday Night at the Düsseldorf Opera House certainly was Some Enchanting Evening


I was fortunate enough to be part of the audience of the first Aids Gala at the Rhine Opera, under the patronage of Düsseldorf Mayor Dirk Elbers and hosted and curated by Albert Eickhoff, founder of Eickhoff on the Königsallee, the store with the most beautiful windows!

We were treated to an evening of incredible music performed by some big names of the opera world singing a program that crossed Verdi with Dvorak, Tschaikowsky and Rodgers. Beautifully accompanied by The Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra and The Chorus of the Rhine Opera who quite obviously really enjoyed being part of this charity gala.
As glitzily German celebrities and politicians took their seats in the house, Herr Eickoff conveyed a very serious message to us all:
Aids is not going away.
Aids remains a tragic topic, but one that has simply been pushed on the back burner as economic crisis and climate change dominate the media.
Of course we can all argue whether it really makes sense to juxtapose dying children with such a glamourous event. I completely share this view - and yet - it does raise awareness once again. These events do raise a lot of money. People are helped. Without these events Aids would sadly be just another story.


Every week in Düsseldorf someone is diagnosed HIV.
Every 77 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed HIV positive.
It is not just a problem of the third world or minority groups.

The facts in Africa are staggering: a child dies every two minutes in as a result of Aids.

We were shown a film from Mozambique where a program supported by the German Aids Foundation can help bring a healthy child to the world whose mother is HIV positive. For €650 the mother and child can be treated with medication that in most cases, ensures that the child is born HIV free.
I urge you today to give to an Aids support program. You can donate online here, this is all in German, or search for your own country's Aids programs and foundations and please donate online now. For instance to the UK's Terrence Higgins Trust.
The money raised at last night's gala, over €130,000, is going to help Aids patients in Düsseldorf and Dream (drug resource enhancement against aids and malnutrition) of the Deutsche AIDS-Stiftung.
On this Sunday, but not only today, please embrace "Tue Gutes und habe Freude daran" - the motto of last night's gala.
Thank you.

+++++++++++++++++++



Robert Mapplethorpe died of Aids in 1989.
30 cents of every entry fee to the Robert Mapplethorpe Retrospective at the NRW-Forum will go the the Hope Foundation.




The NRW-Forum Re-Opens it's Doors

The NRW-Forum opened it’s doors in an impromptu action on 
Friday 15th January 2010.
The new city, fashion and arts magazine Modesch had planned it’s launch at a smaller venue in Flingern but was overwhelmed by the number of guests who planned to attend. Hearing this Werner Lippert offered the larger space at the NRW-Forum so with just 4 days to go, the launch, fashion show and party were just moved to the NRW-Forum!
There were 100s of guests, many of which had never visited the museum creating a really buzzy atmosphere. We met some great people there, including hopefully, the people who will be making the new RhineBuzz movie.

It was easy to understand why the city magazine Prinz listed the NRW-Forum number 1 in their recent 100 Reasons Why We Love Düsseldorf article!

The day before I was at the museum for the unveiling of the new installation of Olafur Eliasson’s Eye See You on loan from the Boros Collection.
Now when you walk into the house you are you are struck by a brilliant orange light, it really is like having the sun in the building!

How many times have I heard in the past few days that the expats in Düsseldorf are really looking forward to The NRW-Forum re-opening soon and the regular RhineBuzz Friday Nights at the NRW-Forum.

Already hailed by Spiegel Online as one of the most important arts exhibitions of the year the Robert Mapplethorpe Retrospective will give us much for the eye, the mind and the heart.
Friday Nights at the NRW-Forum is open to everyone. It’s an especially good place to come if you are new in town. We will soon introduce you to people and tell you the best bits about our great city. The bar is open to everyone, whether you’d like to see the show or not.
We really look forward to seeing you there!





Press conference Eye See You Olafur Eliasson

RhineBuzz After Work Arts at mkp




Come and see what you can do with a paintbrush! Or a whole host of other tools and materials at the Studio in the museum kunst palast.

On the last Thursday of the month RhineBuzz will be hosting an after work evening where you can come and see how creative you can be!
Absolutely no experience necessary, just a willingness to have a go.
Evenings are themed, often have a connection to the current show in the museum and include a few minutes looking at an exhibit to complement what you are doing that evening.
This is not an 'art class', no formal training is happening here - you are simply encouraged to have fun and see what you can come up with; but instruction can and will be given as requested.

All materials are included in the €18 fee per session.
First session February 25th at 7 - 9pm

Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Message me or send an email to caroline@rhinebuzz.com to register. Places are limited, so don't wait until the last minute to book.

Mapplethorpe Cocks and Flowers


Preview before the press conference
When I told some of the regulars of the Stammtisch last autumn that the next exhibition would contain a section entitled 'Cocks and Flowers' they thought I was joking. Here it is.

In the section Robert & Patti,
the Patti Smith portraits exude the protectiveness Mapplethorpe felt towards his friend, his lover, his muse.

The other subjects he photographed however were just that. Subjects.
"When Robert took pictures, it was like he owned the subject. He dominated them completely. He didn't see you as a person, but as an art object." David Cronland about Robert Mapplethorpe.

The exhibition is clear, simple and very strong.
Mapplethorpe's work has an air of honesty about it even if, some of his works are alien to your world, they are scenes which happen every day and have happened every day for all time. They are more real than the air-brushed super models that grace our media every day.
And yet Mapplethorpe remains controversial even today.
Only in 2008 was Mapplethorpe's work actually allowed to go on sale in Japan.

The sections Black Men & White Women and Bodies & Faces, plus two movies about this most enigmatic artist complete this exhibition. There's an incredible amount to discover about Mapplethorpe. We look forward to seeing you there.

New Partner RhineOnline!


Gaby from RhineOnline contacted me ages ago.
I don't know where the time goes, but it's taken up until now for us actually have a conversation and a very constructive and enjoyable one it was too!
So do take a look around RhineOnline, your guide to Cologne, Bonn and Düsseldorf. It's full of all kinds of news and tips from this area, especially from Cologne which is always worth a trip to and it's only just over half an hour away on the train.

Our new site will feature a page on Cologne which will bring you news from RhineOnline on the Dome City.

The New Year 2010


For the New Year we are delighted to welcome Tina Adomako to RhineBuzz.

I met Tina at the opening of the Children's Film Festival in November. Of Ghanian/British origin, she has been working in numerous aspects of the media - film, journalism, publishing - for 20 years here in Germany.
Tina brings with her a keen interest in families, the environment, arts and culture plus an immeasurable wealth of media experience. All this and an English native speaker! My lucky star was quite obviously hovering over me when she came over and said hello.
We look forward to her content for the RhineBuzz Families section of the new site and the added exotic touch she will be adding to many other aspects of RhineBuzz.

Great to have you onboard Tina!

RhineBuzz Funk & Soul







The RhineBuzz Genie


Maurice Allen Lee and his Band

The Quirkiest Character at the Koyote
Our Soul and Funk extravaganza with Maurice Allen Lee and Push-Up is happening on November 20th at the Koyote Club, a new intimate private funk and soul club in the Old Schlachthof on the Rather Strasse 25, 40476 Düsseldorf.
We will present Maurice Allen Lee, soul man from Oklahoma City, USA, live on stage around 9.30pm accompanied by will be a six piece band.
Expect a very soulful show, Maurice is a bundle of energy on stage and of course, there will be all the usual RhineBuzz stuff ... prizes and surprises!
Our prize list grows, we have some great stuff to give away including cds from Putumayo World Music from New York; a gratis night out at the Koyote Club, including drinks; tickets to the Legoland Discovery Centre in Duisburg; invitations to the opening of Robert Mapplethorpe at the NRW-Forum; a voucher from Düsseldorf Marketing and Tourism and two tickets to the Rhine Ballet b.02.

The Koyote Club just opened in August and already has the hottest dj's knocking on it's doors. Between Maurice's live sets our dj Roger will be spinning old funk and soul, you will not keep still!














Something Got a Hold of Me


There aren't many chances to see English theatre here in Germany, so grab the opportunity whilst it is here!
On November 6th at 7pm The English Speakers Circle present "Something Got a Hold of Me" with a provocative and darkly funny performance by The Special Guests Company from Bristol.
Reviewed by the Guardian as "sinister and intriguing" this piece is about religious cults, charismatic leaders, power, persuasion, weakness and how everyone is just looking for something, a little something to make them happy.
"Something Got a Hold of Me" is supported by Bristol Old Vic.
The performance will be happening at the Weiterbildungzetrum, Saal (Hall) 1, Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz, Düsseldorf. This is at the rear entrance of the Hauptbahnhof.
This looks like a really great production, RhineBuzz will be there so do come along and we'll all go out for a drink afterwards.
Special group price tickets €7.50 available from Susan Jones 0211 3179322 or I also have some tickets.

So a good group of us saw this last night.
Thank you to Susan Jones for putting this on, it was a very interesting show; amusing, especially the interaction with Mr Heckler (is he part of it, isn't he?) dark and very real. So real some wanted to leave!
Well done to The Special Guests, we hope to see you in Düsseldorf again some time. Your piece certainly gave us a topic that sporadically came up in our conversation for the rest of the evening!


Sing-a-Long Mary Poppins




We are thrilled to be initiating the International Day at the KinderKinoFest with a showing of the all time family favourite Mary Poppins in English.
Come along to the UFA Palast next to the Hauptbahnhof on November 7th at 3pm to taste the magic of Mary Poppins and her friends. You can reserve your tickets, €3 children and €4 adults, here.
We will have Sara Kraus, from Colorado, singing along and encouraging you to join in, so come to the movies for a very enjoyable day out for all the family!
Before the movie the LVR (Media Center Rhineland) are also offering a stop motion film workshop for the children. Email me if you wish to reserve a place, this is also just €3, but we do only have two places left!
The Children's Film Festival is a wonderful celebration of film where children can become involved in all aspects of film from all sides of the camera.Look out for the brightly coloured brochures which have been delivered to all participating cinemas, kindergartens and schools in the greater Düsseldorf area. A record 10.000 seats have already been reserved! Amina Johannsen and her team are doing a fantastic job at bringing this important media into childrens' lives in a fun and educational way.
I am especially pleased to have received training from the LVR Centre in stop motion film so that in the near future I will be able to offer these workshops in English to the schools of Düsseldorf and surrounding areas.
Please email me if you would like me to contact your child's school about this delightful workshop.

8th November - Our audience enjoyed Mary Poppins and Amina Johanssen was very pleased that so many of you turned up. Many thanks!
We are talking of plans for next year, extending the International Day and offering the English-speaking children an active role in the KKF activities. Wonderful stuff.

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