3d illusion arts: Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Danza Voluminosa – Cuba’s Plus-Size Dance Group
Finally! Brazilian Burger Chain Introduces Edible Paper Wrappers
Dutch Artist Spends 20 Years Building Life-Size Replica of Noah’s Ark

Danza Voluminosa – Cuba’s Plus-Size Dance Group

Posted: 24 Dec 2012 02:43 AM PST

If you thought the world of ballet dancing was reserved exclusively for the slim and petit, well, it's time to think again. Because the Cuban dance troupe 'DanzaVoluminosa' (literally meaning Voluminous Dance) is here to prove you wrong. Comprising of eight dancers and a combined total weight of over 1,600lbs (more than 200lbs per dancer), these heavy beauties have taken the tutu way past its traditional size 'zero'.

In a recent video report on DanzaVoluminosa by the Associated Press, the founder of the troupe Juan Miguel Mas explains, "The most important thing is that it elevates the self-esteem of the overweight. It helps them to not be sedentary and get out and move, live, work, investigate and love their bodies, too." Juan says that the purpose of the dance troupe is to find harmony, and the fulfillment of being human. The group was founded way back in 1996 and had been a hit in Cuba ever since. In 2004, it was the subject of a documentary film called Defying Gravity. Hailing from Cuba's capital city of Havana, the group is focused on breaking traditional stereotypes and giving overweight performers a chance to realize their dreams. The dance troupe is the brainchild of Juan Miguel, who wanted to find a way to adapt modern dance techniques to suit the physical possibilities of overweight people. It has so far produced three full-length choreographies and thirty shorter works. The latest offering from DanzaVoluminosa is called 'Crisalidas' or 'Chrysalis'.

Photo: Havana Cultura

Indeed, it is quite refreshing to have a group such as DanzaVoluminosa in our world, where the obsession over becoming thin and staying that way has crossed all the limits of sanity. Especially in an industry where bodies are intensely scrutinized for the tiniest flaw, this kind of an attitude towards body image is just what is needed. It was just earlier this year that Mariafrancesca Garritano, an Italian ballet dancer, was fired from La Scala after she claimed that the dance company put pressure on her to lose weight. In contrast, DanzaVoluminosa's prima ballerina, Mailin Daza, weighs over 20 stone. Mas explains, "We provide a context for obese people to develop artistically, to create a language and a structure that helps them to interact with society." Being a part of the company is therapeutic to its members as well, because they are able to work through the feelings associated with being overweight. In the 16 years that it has been active, the dance company has formed relationships with several prominent poets, painters, musicians and playwrights.

Photo: Cuba Absolutely

But DanzaVoluminosa is not only limited to fat people. Mas says that they have worked with dancers who have gained weight, who have retired, all those artists deemed 'good for nothing'. They've even worked with dancers suffering from AIDS. "We like to find a place for all these people in our show," he says. Mas studied at the Ballet Nacinal de Cuba, and later at Danza Contemporanea, with master choreographer Ramiro Guerra. Sometimes Mas and his dancers do not mind poking fun at themselves, especially with the troupe's light-hearted take on Swan Lake and the comedic version of Can-Can. But for all of the passion displayed by Mas and the overweight dancers, reception isn't always great. "We've played in places for the first time where people have shouted at us, 'look at those fat people!' We still hear giggles sometimes, but when audiences see the sense of purpose, the work that has gone into the show, our concentration – well there's huge applause at the end." I just watched a video of their performance and I must say, every bit of the applause is well deserved.

via Daily Mail

Danza Voluminosa – Cuba’s Plus-Size Dance Group was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

Finally! Brazilian Burger Chain Introduces Edible Paper Wrappers

Posted: 24 Dec 2012 01:49 AM PST

Have you ever been so hungry that you actually munched on your burger’s paper wrapper without even noticing? It happens to me all the time, and while I don’t think it’s a big deal, some people are actually disgusted when that happens. But thanks to Brazilian fast-food chain Bob’s, they don’t have to worry about it anymore.

Slate.com reports U.S. consumers alone threw away over 75 million tons of packaging waste, in 20101, and only half of that was recovered through recycling. Food packaging is a real environmental issue and scientists have been working on edible wrappers for years. At the start of 2012, Harvard scientist reported they have developed a WikiCells, “novel edible forms” that could be used to wrap, bottle and package food, and take the flavor of whatever they contained. Now, almost a year since their announcement, a Brazilian burger chain has launched an intriguing ad showcasing edible wrappers. It’s unclear whether they are based on WikiCells technology, but judging by the clients reactions, they don’t taste bad at all. These novel burger wrappers look like traditional paper ones, which kind of confused Bob’s customers, but the restaurant reports their campaign was so successful than nobody threw out the edible wrappers.

Although it was only a marketing campaign based on Bob’s tagline, “Não dá pra controlar” (You can’t control yourself), which suggests their burgers are so good you can’t control yourself, the edible paper wrappers could one day solve part of our world’s environmental issues.

via Huffington Post

Finally! Brazilian Burger Chain Introduces Edible Paper Wrappers was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

Dutch Artist Spends 20 Years Building Life-Size Replica of Noah’s Ark

Posted: 24 Dec 2012 01:20 AM PST

Inspired by Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis, Dutch artist Johan Huibers built a modern day replica spending a whopping $1.2 million on it. His reasons for building the vessel – he feared the effects global warming would someday have on his country, flooding included. The idea came to him in 1992, when he had a dream about his native land submerged in a flood similar to the one in the Book of Genesis. He continued to think about it until he finally did something about it. And the result is a 130m long, 29m wide, 23m high ark that he completed in 2005. Weighing almost 3000 tons and built from Swedish pine reinforced with steel, it is quite hard to believe that ark might be seaworthy at all, but this modern-day Noah assures us it does indeed float.

A carpenter by profession, Johan Huibers has now opened his full scale ark to the public and is attracting thousands of tourists from the world over. Located in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, the ark is something that would even surprise Noah, for it has a restaurant, two cinemas and of course, a menagerie of life-sized plastic animals. Towering over the flat Dutch landscape, the ark is easily visible from a nearby highway. Across the arks main hold is a huge space of stalls, where visitors can view a large collection of stuffed and plastic animals like zebras, gorillas, lions, tigers, bears and buffaloes. There's also a petting zoo, where less dangerous real-life animals like dogs, sheep, rabbits, ponies and a few exotic birds are housed . On each level of the boat, around its edges, are displays about the history and dress of the ancient Middle East, a few scenes from the life of Noah, and games for kids like water pumps and levers that lift bales of hay. But the ark is not just about tourist attractions. Down below, there exists a honeycomb system of hatches, each opening an area where food could be sealed in for long-term storage. The curvature of the upper deck could be used to collect rainwater and also to let the horses and other animals get some exercise. Huibers says that his boat gives people a pretty good idea of how Noah's ark would have worked in practice.

Jojan first built the half-scale version in 2004 and let it float over the country's canals, before the larger one was complete. When tourists flocked to see the prototype which was open to public, the proceeds went directly into funding the full-scale version. According to the original story, the ark was supposed to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high. It's hard to interpret this ancient system of measurement, but Huibers did it based on the length of the forearm, determining that the final length had to be maybe about 450ft long. Over half the length of the Titanic, this modern-age boat is called the 'Johan's Ark'. Huibers completed the mammoth task with the help of his two children and some friends. He says that his motivation was ultimately religious, wanting to make people think about their purpose on Earth. "I want to make people question that so that they go looking for answers." The city of Dordrecht might just need the ark sometime in the future, given that it is quite prone to floods. One of the world's deadliest floods occurred here in the 15^th century, claiming about 10,000 lives. Let's just hope nothing like that happens anytime soon, and if it does, perhaps Johan's Ark could save everyone. Meanwhile, he's dreaming of a new project – to get the Israelis and Arabs to cooperate and build a water pipeline from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea. Well, now THAT would be a miracle of biblical proportions.