UNIT 11 Music and dance

Text 11A

The Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra

This week the Simón Bolívar
Youth Orchestra from Venezuela
hit town in a blaze of colour,
excitement and glamour –
qualities not often associated
with the world of classical music.
The Festival Hall on Tuesday
witnessed scenes of Boli-mania
not seen since the orchestra’s
last visit to Britain in 2007, when
they set the place alight, owing
to their infectious joy, exuberant
antics and unbridled enthusiasm
for making music. The audience
gave the youngsters a standing
ovation; children screamed and
adults squealed with delight at
the end of the concert.
After an essentially sombre, The 28-year-old conductor is a powerhouse,
if exciting, programme, we were all hoping owing to the fact that he jumps on the spot
for some colour in the encores, and boy did to encourage the orchestra, his hair waving
we get it! The hall suddenly went dark, the wildly, every bone of his body bending to
orchestra put on their colourful Venezuelan the notes.
jackets over their black dresses or suits, and the The Simón Bolívar orchestra is no freak
place went wild. As the youngsters launched of nature – it is the product of a 34-year-old
into the first of two encores, both flamboyant project run by the Venezuelan government
Latin American classics that form part of their which gives every girl and boy, however
repertoire, we were no longer in a damp, grey poor, the chance to have not only free
London but in a raucous Latin America of music tuition but an instrument. The result
the spirit. They stood up, shimmied, danced is that no fewer than a quarter of a million
and threw their instruments in the air, before children – three quarters of them below
hurling their jackets into the auditorium. They the poverty line – are involved in making
had clearly done it no end of times before, but music in hundreds of orchestras. The Simón
the pleasure they took in it was palpable. Bolívar Youth Orchestra are ambassadors
The sound they make is immense and for a philosophy, a way of life. Given the
intense; owing to the 180 young faces full widespread contempt in which classical
of concentration and pleasure, the classical music is held by teenagers in this country,
music they make feels incredibly vital. The you couldn’t help feeling that attendance at
inspiration and passion of this music, being one of these life-affirming events should be
played as if their lives depended upon it, nothing less than compulsory.
is due to love, honesty and commitment. Paul Gent, Daily Telegraph

© Cambridge University Press 2013 Cambridge Checkpoint English 8: The Wider World 1

Text 11B
Four-year-old prodigy
Most four-year-olds are content with banging
on a drum and would struggle to get a note out
of a recorder. But child prodigy Mimi Zou has
astounded her piano teacher with her progress
and tomorrow night will give her first solo
performance in London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Mimi, who has been learning the piano for
only a year, is flying from her home in China
to perform. She was discovered by teachers
of the reception class at an international
school in Tianjin. She had been taught by a
local Chinese woman, and was already playing
grade-five-standard pieces.
Steven Griffiths, the musical director of
the school, says, ‘She is not nervous at all. I
have never seen anything like this before. She
can read music. She isn’t just copying what she
is shown.’
Speaking on behalf of Mimi’s family, who
do not speak English, Mr Griffiths said: ‘She
practises for three hours a day, and I give her
a 40-minute lesson once a week. I am feeling
my way really, because I have never taught a
four-year-old before.
© Cambridge University Press 2013
UNIT 11 Music and dance
‘Her mother sits in on the lessons so she
can see what Mimi is doing, and we have a
translator. She is not perfect yet and has a long
way to go, but if she is handled well she has a
great future.’
Mimi, who took to playing the piano
after watching her 11-year-old brother Andy
practising, said that her favourite composers
were Mozart and Bach. Andy has since given
up the piano, after being so overshadowed by
his little sister.
A spokesman for the Royal Albert Hall said
Mimi was almost certainly the youngest pianist
to perform solo there. Tonight, she will take
centre-stage in front of thousands of pupils and
past students of the school, and will perform
from memory a two-minute solo piece in the
style of a Chinese national dance, by Chinese
composer Lvding He.
Mozart is believed to have started playing
the keyboard at the age of three, and was
composing by five. By the time he was 11,
he had composed his first opera.
www.standard.co.uk
Cambridge Checkpoint English 8: The Wider World 2
 UNIT 11 Music and dance

Text 11C

A day in the life of Carlos Acosta, 36, the Cuban ballet dancer
I eat breakfast at 8.30 – oatmeal, bananas,
mangoes, papayas and tea. And owing to the
need for protein, I often have eggs as well.
I’m pretty laid-back about clothes. Most of the
time I wear T-shirts and casual stuff. I have a
couple of expensive designer suits for black-tie
functions. I don’t like wearing them, but
sometimes you have to dress up.
In Havana, I sit on my terrace while I eat
breakfast, looking out at white sand. The sea
is four blocks away. When I’m away, not being
able to see a blue sky every day makes me
miserable. It’s good to have someone to come
home to. Charlotte is a writer. We lead an
ordinary life – shopping, going to movies,
getting my hair cut! And I love to hang out
with my family.
Ballet is like training for the Olympics eight
hours a day, and when you’re performing you
have to take classes. We break for an hour at
12 for lunch in the canteen. It’s not good to
overeat, because after lunch you work on the
repertoire and you know you’re going to have
to jump. Flying in the air feels amazing. When I was younger and could be up there with nothing
hurting it was like ‘Wow!’ The older you get, the more you need ice packs and massage, which I have
at least twice a week.
Life in Havana is hectic. I’m happy to teach at the National Ballet School when they ask me.
Owing to my experiences travelling and performing, I bring a melting pot of different cultures
and influences to my teaching. I know a lot of people in Cuba, but many from my group have left.
Things change. Everyone wants the opportunity to make a better life and earn money. My security
is due to the property I’ve bought and the sound investments I’ve made.
I always suffer from jetlag. I travel a lot with Charlotte, but not when I’m rehearsing. Then
I have to clear my head to concentrate on learning choreography. Sometimes I need to be alone.
Everybody needs their own space. I work on a laptop in my messy dressing room, where I’m able to
cut myself off from everything. I am writing a novel in Spanish. I have the book inside my head and
I know exactly where I’m going. But in the process of writing, things happen. You discover things
about the characters which set up new possibilities. When the writing goes all right, it’s a very
cool feeling.
We eat a late dinner at home. Charlotte does the cooking. I can only make black beans with
rice, which we eat a lot in Cuba. I throw off my shoes. It’s wonderful to pad about barefoot on the
wooden floor, but dancers have such ugly feet!
Sunday Times Magazine

© Cambridge University Press 2013 Cambridge Checkpoint English 8: The Wider World 3
 UNIT 11 Music and dance

Text 11D

Every Body Is Doing It

In Hawaii they Hula
They Tango in Argentina
They Reggae in Jamaica
And they Rumba down in Cuba
In Trinidad and Tobago
They do the Calypso
And in Spain the Spanish
They really do Flamenco

In the Punjab they Bhangra

How they dance Kathak in India
Over in Guatemala
They dance the sweet Marimba
Even foxes dance a lot
They invented the Fox Trot
In Australia it’s true
They dance to the Didgeridoo

In Kenya they Benga

They Highlife in Ghana
They dance Ballet all over
And Rai dance in Algeria
They Jali in Mali
In Brazil they Samba
And the girls do Belly Dancing
In the northern parts of Africa

Everybody does the Disco

From Baghdad to San Francisco
Many folk with razzamataz
Cannot help dancing to Jazz
They do the Jig in Ireland
And it is really true
They still Morris dance in England
When they can find time to
Benjamin Zephaniah

© Cambridge University Press 2013 Cambridge Checkpoint English 8: The Wider World 4
 UNIT 11 Music and dance

Text 11E

Evita
This musical tells the story of Eva (Evita) Perón (1919–52), a woman whose name
evokes powerful feelings in her native Argentina. It begins with the news of Evita’s
death, and then turns to a much earlier scene at her father’s funeral. Eva was the
child (one of many) of a rural landowner and her seamstress mother. Hers was not
a wealthy childhood by any means, and she was continually discriminated against
because of her lowly birth. She is refused admission to her father’s funeral for this
reason. This scene is contrasted with her own funeral, a spectacular affair not
different from that of a beloved head of state.
Eva leaves her village at the age of 15 to go to Buenos Aires and begin her campaign
to become a performer, actress and public figure. In 1944 she meets Juan Perón, an
ambitious young army officer, who is imprisoned when he falls foul of the government
of the time, which was far from liberal. Eva possesses persuasive skills and she uses
her position as a celebrity to get him released. Following their marriage, she remains a
formidable supporter, her help proving crucial to his later becoming the head of state.
Once Juan Perón becomes the president of Argentina, Eva expects better treatment
from Argentina’s high society, but they snub her without mercy. She, in response,
diverts government money from society-led charities and starts the Eva Perón
Foundation. As its president, she works tirelessly and continuously to better the lot of
Argentina’s poor. For this work, and for having risen from poor origins to glory, she
is beloved by huge masses of her fellow citizens, if not by those of high rank. She also
arranges for women in Argentina to get the vote. Her death from cancer at the age of
33, while at the height of her power and influence, strikes the whole world as tragic.
The most celebrated song from this musical of Evita’s life is ‘Don’t Cry For Me,
Argentina’.
Clarke Fountain, Rovi

© Cambridge University Press 2013 Cambridge Checkpoint English 8: The Wider World 5