#snow na’vi art

[eywaseclipse]

Snow Na’vi relaxing in her favorite geothermal hot springs while it snows a little. ❄️🏔️

[iammadsdemons]

Just had to post my fave with the cute comic I made of mansi and his kids 🥺💖

[howgalling]

am I making a big alien OC YES OKAY . God. Anyway I’m getting jiggy with it and doing a cave system based aquatic na’avi.

Also Any other nd people absolutely fascinated with the body language /eye contact conversations that happen in avatar way of the water?? SO MUCH DETAIL,..

[furiouspersonakitten]

Want to draw a reference sheet for Sonya but my hands just can't do it after a long day 😔

Weekends are coming so i will get to it eventually (i hope)

For now, have a funny sketch about drinking snow na'vi (they wear fur clothes to keep themselves warm)

[planetslove]

wip of a snow na’vi tsahik idea i had in the middle of the night that made me pick up my tablet and open procreate for the first time in a very long time. update: forgot how to draw… shocker

(so pls don’t mind that it looks like doodoo caca peepee wawa)

anyways… i’m suddenly motivated to start drawing again because i actually want to make this oc look better and create an actual story for her. so if any artists have any drawing tips or advice PLEAK PLEAK PLEAK PLEAK PLEAK PLEAK PLEAK PLEKASPLWAKSE PELAM

fank yew

[muddi-gutz]

Fixed this art according to the updated ref sheet :)

[janners]

it’s funny how i got into a writers block but got out of my art block 💀 anyways i made my own info for a snow mountain Na’vi, feel free to use it if you’d like

[the-tigr0u]

【𝑪𝒊𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝑪𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒊】

♔〘IƊƐƝƬIƬƳ   RҼƇƠRƊ〙♔

F U L L  N A M E

-Ciara Livia Cocanovacci-

N I C K N A M E S

-Sevin (Cutie)-

-Pup yayo (Little bird)-

-Tsawl nari (Big eyes)-

N A T I O N A L I T Y

-French-Italian-

G E N D E R

-Woman-

S P E C I E S

-Human-

A G E

-29 y.o.-

B I R T H D A Y

-23 of August-

A S T R O L O G I C A L  S I G N

-♍︎ Virgo ♍︎-

F A M I L Y

-Franco Cocanovacci (Father♱)-

-Elise Cocanovacci (Mother♱)-

-Patience Aurora Cocanovacci (Little sister)-

R E L A T I O N S H I P  S T A T U T

-Single-

-Moderately easy to have in a relationship, as she’s very shy and reserved-

-She never had anyone in her life before-

P R O F E S S I O N A L  S T A T U T

-Paleontologist and Archaeologist, as well as Cryptozoologist-

-Study the fauna of Pandora and the culture Na'vi’s people-

-Was once part of a group of scientists, but deserted when the knew that her research would serve the army in their offensives against the Na'vi-

-Is now part of an anti-military group in the snowy mountains to help the Snow Na'vi-

-Her status may change depending on the context-

"  W i l l  y o u  s t i l l  l o v e  m e  w h e n  I  g o t  n o t h i n g  b u t  m y  a c h i n g  s o u l  ?  "

♔〘  lƠƠƘՏ 〙♔

H A I R

-Naturally dark brown-

-Short plunging square haircut with a bang-

-Colored in gradient at the tips, from dark blue to turquoise, or from magenta to turquoise-

-Can still tie up her hair-

E Y E S

-Brown-

-Big, bright and curious gaze-

-Wears round glasses-

S K I N

-Porcelain and soft-

H E I G H T

-1m62  (5,3 ft.)-

W E I G H T

-///-

C O R P U L E N C E

-Chubby-

-Generous curves-

-Relatively small and discreet-

S C A R S / M A R K S

-On the right hip-

-On the right ankle-

-A burn on the left scapula-

T A T O O S

-None-

P I E R C I N G S

-Lobe from both sides-

C L O T H I N G  S T Y L E-Loose and comfortable clothes-

-Loose and comfortable clothes-

-Often clothes with wide sleeves-

-Is very fond of the Pin-Up style-

-Loves cute or quirky jewelry-

-Wear a lot of poncho, fake fur, scarves, and gloves when she has to go out in the mountains or when it's colder than usual-

" -  I f  y o u  d a n c e ,  I ' l l  d a n c e  -

-  A n d  i f  y o u  d o n ' t ,  I ' l l  d a n c e  a n y w a y  -

-  G i v e  p e a c e  a  c h a n c e  -

-  L e t  t h e  f e a r  y o u  h a v e  f a l l  a w a y  - "

♔〘ƤՏƳƇӇƠlƠƓƳ〙♔

S E X U A L I T Y

-Pansexual-

P E R S O N A L I T Y

-Shy, modest and reserved-

-Introverted, often lonely-

-Sometimes clumsy-

-Whimsical and dreamy-

-Rather fragile and sensitive in appearance-

-Studious and curious, she likes to learn-

-Very smart and clever-

-Sweet, generous and warm once open to others-

-Adorable and always ready to help-

F E A R S

-Apiphobia (Fear of bees and any other insect of the same kind)-

-Thalassophobia (Fear of the seabed, the abyss)-

-Nyctophobia (Fear of the dark)-

-Claustrophobia (Fear of tiny spaces)-

P A S S I O N S

-History-

-Literature-

-Science-

-Saxophone-

-Art-

L I K E S

- Music - Reading - Writing - Learning - Playing Saxophone - Painting and drawing - Traveling - Nature walks - Roses - Winter and snow - Tea and hot chocolate - Fireworks - Admiring anything and everything about Pandora - Learning about Na’vi’s culture -

D I S L I K E

-Bees/wasps/bumblebees/etc. - Heat - Conflicts - Feeling forced or constrained - Loud noises - Onions and honey - The smell of cigarette - To swim - The army

C I G A R E T T E

-No-

D R U G S

-No-

A L C O H O L

-Rarely-

-Can’t handle much of it-

" -  I t  d o e s n ' t  h u r t  m e  -

-  D o  y o u  w a n t  t o  f e e l  h o w  i t  f e e l s  ?  -

-  D o  y o u  w a n t  t o  k n o w ,  k n o w  t h a t  i t  d o e s n ' t  h u r t  m e  ?  - "

♔〘ƠƬӇҼRՏ〙♔

E X T R A S

-She speaks several different languages, including Na'vi fluently-

-She was supposed to have an Avatar but the latter is defective, and she left the RDA before her Avatar arrived. So the Avatar can be brought later or depending of the context.

-She learned to shoot and maintain firearms because of her uncle who forced her to when she was young-

-She learned archery and tomahawk throwing with the Snow Na'vis tribes-

-She learned self-defense, although she’s not very comfortable, she's still learning how to fight-

-She loves the cold but gets sick very easily-

-She has a talent for singing-

-Her scars are from a car accident during her childhood-

-Her burn on her collarbone is from a childhood cigarette burn-

-Her voice : Lauren Paley-

P O S S I B L E  S C E N A R I O S

-Ciara may end up in the forest areas or ocean areas of the first two films, depending of the context-

-Can welcome newcomers to the anti-military group-

-It is also possible to establish a context while she was still part of the scientists linked to the army, before she joined the anti-military group-

-It is possible that Klaro is part of the RP, the two arrived together on Pandora and are very close-

C R U S H S

-Miles Rick Quaritch-

O T H E R  P O S S I B L E  R E L A T I O N S H I P S

-Jake Sully-

-Good friends, protection-

-Neytiri -

-Close friend, confidante, protection-

-Neteyam-

-They know each others, but not very close-

-Lo'ak-

-Good friends, confident-

-Kiri & Tuk'tirey-

-Good friends, protection, playmates-

P L A Y L I S T

F U L L  P L A Y L I S T  H E R E

[cosmoshiden]

Anthropology in sci-fi: Star Trek vs Valerian and Laureline

anQuite recently I watched a film adaptation of the classic French space opera comic Valerian and Laureline. The film, Valerian and the City of a thousand Planets, depicts a group of indigenous aliens wielding high tech weapons to pull off the kidnapping of a commanding officer of the United Federation. As such it is up to the space mercenaries Valerian and Laureline to rescue the general. Now I will not go into a review of the film, but rather it’s depiction of Indigenous populations that sets it apart from productions such as the tv series Star Trek and the film Avatar.

For starters, let us discuss how Star Trek fares. Star Trek’s approach is based on the infamous “Prime Directive” in which starfleet will not intervene on a so-called “pre-warp” civilization’s development. This entails that they will not give an indigenous population on a planetary body technology that entails the baggage of imperialism as it has been done to people in the Americas, Australia, and other parts of the world. However, a pre-warp civilization is not to be permitted into the Federation. Why is that? Apparently, starfleet only permits membership if they are “warp capable” or possessing the technology of warp drives. This creates a problem in that it appears that the Federation is rather elitist and prejudiced towards civilizations that do not possess warp drives. It also does not help that the Federation holds a social evolutionist view of civilizations, especially as they have concepts such as the “Richter Scale of Culture” to distinguish pre-warp and warp capable civilizations, which was first introduced in the 1967 Original Series episode Errand of Mercy. This is a very outdated concept even at the time it was introduced, as founding North American cultural anthropologist Franz Boas developed the concept of cultural relativism circa 1887-1920, and was recognized in 1940. So, with that, Star Trek’s view on Indigenous populations assumes that they cannot understand technologies such as warp drives. 

Moving onto the 2009 film Avatar, the movie presents the cat-like Na’vi as having contact with humans and learned their language. Yet, the Na’vi are never presented learning how to use human technology or even trading cultural artifacts, such clothing or art. This is a stark contrast to how Indigenous populations such as the Inuit on Baffin Island learned to use rifles, snow mobiles, and Western maps to enhance their already efficient methods of transportation with sleds, harpoons, and navigation of the Island. In other words, we never see the Na’vi using human weapons against them, or adopting human customs other than English. Instead, at the film’s climax, they are shown using bows and arrows and spears. This depiction comes off as racist and stereotypical and is ahistorical as natives in the real world used rifles to fight colonizers such as the Lakota adopting horses and guns. 

Now looking into Valerian and the City of a thousand Planets, the natives of whom are called the Pearls, adapt human technologies in order to begin their adventure. In the film, after their home planet is destroyed, the Pearls adapt the use of starships from the burned out hull of a cargo ship, and from a computer program that was translated in their language. It is from here that they learned to speak dozens of languages, computer science, physics, botiny, chartology, astronomy, mathematics, and so forth. In my view, the Pearls are nonstereotypical as they are shown to not only pick up and comprehend the world outside their comfort zone, but that they can be innovative, inventive and creative. This depiction avoids the stereotype of natives using hand-to-hand combat and short-ranged weapons and that they are not shown to be child-like. Though, having only recently viewed the film, it remains to be seen if they managed to remove the white savior trope presented in Star Trek and Avatar. One other note, it’s implied in the film that indigenous populations are welcomed in Valerian’s and Lauraline’s version of the Federation, unlike in Star Trek.

In the future, I believe that Star Trek’s and Avatar’s creators should take a few notes from Valerian and Lauraline about depicting natives. It’s been over 60 years since Star Trek debuted, and they still depict Indigenous populations in a stereotypical manner to this day. Avatar does not do any better either. Hence, it’s time to drop the ethnocentricism and social evolutionism. 

[sleepingdragonhq]

Hey everyone, under the cut you will find the list of everyone’s costumes as well as lists for the couples romantic and platonic. You can find the poll for the costume contest here. We have added a few more awards this year. As always you vote for the top five in each category, five points for first place, four points for second and so on. You should be voting for individuals in every category except the couples ones. Please vote before the 31st of October as we will be announcing the winners from that point onward. If we have missed any on any of the lists please let us know !!

Aaron Hale - Frankenstein

Adabella Skeeter - Sandy (Grease)

Adeline Mulciber - Beetlejuice 

Aiden Wolffe - Bucky Barnes (Marvel)

Aisha Vane - Wednesday Addams (Addams Family)

Alastair Watson - Iron Man (Marvel)

Albus Potter - Victor Van Dort (Corpse Bride)

Alec Fray - Spiderman (Marvel)

Alexander Hawthorne - Ace Ventura (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) 

Alison Wood - Ellie Sattler (Jurassic Park)

Alice Longbottom II - Eleven (Stranger Things)

Annika Parkinson - Wonder Woman (DC)

Archer Selwyn - Peter Pan (Disney)

Ariadne McLaggen - Elastigirl (The Incredibles)

Ariella Belefleur - Anastasia (Anastasia)

Aryana Robins - Mia Thermopolis (The Princess Diaries)

Ash Highmore - Pot Head

Aurora Claremont - Daphne Blake (Scooby Doo)

Axel Wolffe - Ghost

Benjamin Ollivander - Dr. Facilier (Disney)

Bentley Lockhart - Dorothy (Wizard of Oz)

Brett Holland - Kim Possible (Kim Possible)

Brigid Callaghan - Trixie Tang (Fairly Odd Parents)

Caleb Cresswell - Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones)

Camille McGonagall - Barbara Maitland (Beetlejuice)

Candice Cresswell - Alice (Alice in Wonderland)

Casey Abrams - Judy Hopps (Zootopia)

Caspian Berrycloth - Zebra

Cassius Cresswell - Ron Swanson (Parks & Rec)

Celestina Shacklebolt - Storm (X-Men/Marvel)

Charlotte Watson - Princess Buttercup (The Princess Bride)

Chase Sayre - Simon Snow (Carry On Series)

Clara Arquette - Cinderella (Disney)

Colm McCarthy - Vampire

Cynthia Clearwater - Red Riding Hood (Fairy Tales)

Cyrus Clearwater - Darth Vader (Star Wars)

Daniel McKinnon - Jason Dean (Heathers)

Darcy Mulciber - Medusa (Mythology)

Declan Rowland - Timmy Turner (Fairly Odd Parents)

Diana Rosier - Anastasia (Anastasia)

Dominique Weasley - Eleven (Stranger Things)

Edith De Lapin - Taylor Swift (Lover Era)

Edward Lupin - Oogie Boogie (The Nightmare Before Christmas)

Eleanor Pucey - Harley Quinn (DC)

Electra Carrow - Emily (Corpse Bride)

Elena Flores - Morticia Addams (The Addams Family)

Elide Weasley - Wednesday Addams (The Addams Family)

Elodie De Lapin - Taylor Swift (Reputation Era)

Erin McCormack - Holly Golightly (Breakfast at Tiffany’s)

Evan Parkinson - Captain America (Marvel)

Evangeline Pickering - Elastigirl (The Incredibles)

Evelyn Carrow - Belle (Beauty and the Beast)

Everett Pickering - Tin Man (Wizard of Oz)

Felix Hopkirk - Thor (Marvel)

Fletcher Duke - Flower Thrower (Banksy Art)

Frank Longbottom II - Nick Wilde (Zootopia)

Fred Weasley - Superman (DC)

Gabriel Larkin - Danny (Grease)

Gale MacDougal - Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who)

Grace Turner - Wendy (Peter Pan)

Griffin Jones - Catwoman (DC)

Gwendolyn Hawkes - Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians)

Harper Lee Clark - Princess Anneliese (Princess and the Pauper)

Hazel MacDougal - Cher (Clueless)

Hugo Granger-Weasley - Unicorn

Hunter Adams - Mad Hatter (Alice in Wonderland)

Jace Greengrass - t-shirt that says “costume”

James Ashcroft - Starlord (Guardians of the Galaxy)

James Potter - Mario (Super Mario Bros)

Jasper Locklear - Prince Phillip (Sleeping Beauty)

Jaxon DuQuan - Skeleton

Jonah Finch - Joker (DC)

Josephine Flamel - Violet Beauregarde (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

Joshua Selwyn - Spiderman (Marvel)

Juliet Highmore - Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)

Kristoff Flynn - Gomez Addams (The Addams Family)

Laurel Ollivander - Devil

Layla Rowle - Poison Ivy (DC)

Liam Alvarez - Miles Morales (Into the Spiderverse)

Lily Potter - Max (Stranger Things)

Levi Highmore - Ghost

Long Huojin - Edward Scissorhands (Edward Scissorhands)

Lorcan Scamander - Spiderman (Marvel)

Louis Weasley - Jim Hawkins (Treasure Planet)

Lucienne Wolffe - Scary Alice

Lucy Weasley - Erika (Princess and the Pauper)

Lyra Malfoy - Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)

Lysander Scamander - 7 (7/11)

Mackenzie Potter - Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros)

Madeline Brown - Rachel Green (Friends)

Malachai Arquette - Prince Charming (Disney)

Manon Flamel - Captain Marvel (Marvel)

Marcus Carson - Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones)

Mason Jones - Ghost

Matthew Asprey - Niffler

Matthias Vallois - Dimitri (Anastasia)

Meredith Wayfelle - Coraline (Coraline)

Molly Weasley II - Wednesday Addams (The Addams Family)

Mortimer Claremont - White Rabbit (Alice in Wonderland)

Natalya Dolohova - Na’vi (Avatar)

Nate Wood - Tyrannosaurus Rex (Jurassic Park)

Nesta Greenwood - Fiona (Shrek)

Nova Slughorn - Devil

Octavia Coleman - Mummy

Odette Flume - Beret Girl (An Extremely Goofy Movie)

Orlando Lockhart - Firefighter 

Peggy Carson - Pepper Potts (Marvel)

Penelope Hawthorne - Khaleesi/Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones)

Pepper Rosewood - Pirate

Perseus Mulciber - Khal Drogo (Game of Thrones)

Pippa Rosewood - Pirate

Poppy Zabini - Eleven (7/11)

Rayna Sayre - Rebel Spy (Star Wars)

Reid Anderson - Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)

Rory Goldstein - Owen Grady (Jurassic World)

Scorpius Malfoy - Bas Pitch (Carry On Series)

Sebastian Nott - Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles)

Seraphina Macaulay - Velma Dinkley (Scooby Doo)

Seung Krum - Deadpool (Marvel)

Sofia Clarke - Wonder Woman (DC)

Tallulah Abbott - Clown 

Theodore Oliver - Hector Rivera (Coco)

Theseus McLaggen - Adam Maitland (Beetlejuice)

Thomas Goyle - The Riddler (DC)

Tobias Atwell - Wolverine (X-Men/Marvel)

Toby Anderson - Westley (The Princess Bride)

Vera McKinnon - Heather Chandler (Heathers)

Verity Nott - Gamora (Marvel/Guardians of the Galaxy)

Victoire Weasley - Jessica Rabbit (Roger Rabbit)

William Ashcroft - Clark Kent / Superman (DC)

Romantic Couples

Aiden & Evan - Bucky Barnes & Captain America

Alastair & Peggy - Tony Stark/Iron Man & Pepper Potts (Marvel)

Albus & Electra - Victor & Emily (Corpse Bride)

Archer & Grace - Peter Pan & Wendy (Peter Pan)

Bentley & Everett - Dorothy & Tin Man (Wizard of Oz)

Chase & Scorpius - Simon & Baz (Carry On Series)

Declan & Brigid - Timmy & Trixie (Fairly Odd Parents)

Frank & Casey - Nick Wilde & Judy Hopps (Zootopia)

Gabriel & Adabella - Danny & Sandy (Grease)

James & Mackenzie - Mario & Peach (Super Mario Bros)

James & Verity - Starlord & Gamora (Marvel/Guardians of the Galaxy)

Jasper & Lyra - Prince Phillip & Princess Aurora (Disney)

Joshua & Seung - Spiderman & Deadpool (Marvel)

Kristoff & Elena - Gomez & Morticia Addams (The Addams Family)

Lysander & Poppy - 7/11

Malachai & Clara - Prince Charming & Cinderella (Disney)

Matthias & Ariella - Dmitri & Anastasia (Anastasia)

Perseus & Penelope - Khal Drogo & Khaleesi/Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones)

Sebastian & Ariadne - Mr. Incredible & Elastigirl (The Incredibles)

Tobias & Celestina - Wolverine & Storm (Marvel/X-Men)

Toby & Charlie - Westley & Princess Buttercup (The Princess Bride)

Platonic Couples

Aurora & Seraphina - Daphne & Velma (Scooby Doo)

Axel, Levi & Mason - Ghosts

Alice & Lily - Eleven & Max (Stranger Things)

Eleanor, Griffin & Layla - Harley Quinn, Catwoman & Poison Ivy (DC)

Gale & Juliet - Tenth Doctor & Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)

Harper & Lucy - Princess Anneliese & Erika (Princess and the Pauper)

Nate & Alison - T-Rex & Ellie Sattler (Jurassic Park)

Pepper & Pippa - Pirates

Theseus & Camille - Adam & Barbara Maitland (Beetlejuice)

[pictureofsoph1sticatedgrace]

Frozen the Musical - My Act One Thoughts

Hi friends! So... here we go! I saw Frozen twice while I was in Denver - once on August 18th and once on August 19th. A few things you should probably know before we delve into all my thoughts: 1. I’ve been a musical theatre nerd for most of my life. I went to a performing arts high school for musical theatre, and majored in theatre arts administration in college. 2. I am also a Disney nerd - always have been and always will be. I did the DCP in Walt Disney World and absolutely adored it. 3. Frozen has been my absolute favorite movie in the entire world since I first saw it back in 2013. I’ve made very good friends with Anna at all kinds of local parties and gatherings, run Frozen camps, and more. So... we can imagine how COMPLETELY ELATED I was when they announced they were creating Frozen on Broadway. Which leads me to point 4... Caissie Levy. I saw Caissie in Ghost back in 2012 and was ASTOUNDED by the sheer talent I was witnessing. Caissie has without a doubt become my absolute favorite performer, but more than that, she’s become an incredible mentor. So when I found out she was going to be LEADING this show, I MIGHT have lost my shit just a little bit (read: a lot).

With all that said... I hope that makes it clear that I know my way around good theatre, but I also have some implicit bias. I will try my best to stay as objective as I possibly can (which will probably be not at all tbh) while also fangirling my heart out.

Now. Let’s talk Frozen the Musical! Prepare for a novel.

- Preshow. They have some really cool sound effects and a projection of the Northern Lights that move around. It’s really pretty, and helps to put you in that mystical setting.

- The show opens with the newly introduced Hidden Folk. Let’s talk about them for a hot second. I get why they moved away from the trolls - having seen the stage show at the Hyperion out in Disneyland, the trolls would have been too campy and weird for what they’re trying to do with this show. I love the concept - the traditional Norwegian Huldufolk are the perfect fill in. The execution, IMO, needs some work. Crystal necklaces that light up just like in the movie? Super cool. Glowing eyes in the pitch black? REALLY cool. Long, swingy tails that make them look like non-blue Na’vi from Avatar? Not so much.

- Hearing Vuelie in person with that incredible ensemble was enough on its own to basically send me into a coma.

- THE YOUNGINS. Oh my LORD. They are so ridiculously good - especially the Young Annas, Audrey and Mattea. Their comedic timing is so good... you really can’t help but laugh every time they speak (”like run naked in the breeze!” I died).

- “Anna and Elsa” is adorable and just introduces us to the sisters. They also worked in a chunk of the cut song from the movie “We Know Better”, which was perfect and made me extraordinarily happy.

- “A Little Bit of You” is so stinking cute. And then Elsa hits Anna and your heart hurts. So thanks for that, Lopez crew (I’ll be saying that a lot tbh).

- The scene where the Queen summons the hidden folk is one that I would not be surprised to be tweaked. She started chanting and people started giggling (because tbh it is a little strange - it sounds incredibly dramatic), which is definitely not what you want happening there.

- Elsa asks Pabbie to remove her magic altogether because she’s afraid of what she’ll do, which just hurts my heart. He asks her to close her eyes and tell him what she sees, and it’s basically a premonition of the coronation - she sees a monster. Tears.

- Elsa is also the one who basically says “keep Anna away from me while I figure this magic thing out,” which is also devastating because that adds another layer of her guilt to what we knew from the movie.

- Another change from the movie - the girls are still their young selves when their parents die at sea. OUCH. I think it’s more effective, honestly.

- Caissie got entrance applause and that was the first time I cried. #proudmama

- Let’s take a moment to talk about PATTI FREAKING MURIN. I’m not going to lie to you - I was really worried about what they were doing with her in all the promotional stuff we saw, but I had no reason to be. Patti is the perfect Anna. She is adorkable, silly, fun loving, and tender and vulnerable when she needs to be. Anna is undoubtedly my favorite princess... Patti lives up to it.

- There are a few lyric tweaks in “For The First Time In Forever” to go with the action on stage - i.e. there are not 8,000 salad plates, so it wouldn’t make sense to sing about them.

- The scepter and orb glow at Elsa’s touch and it’s REALLY cool.

- The moment when they opened the gates and the whole ensemble spilled in... the second time I cried. It was so epic and just a beautiful, beautiful moment. All those voices harmonizing... it was overwhelming.

- Sven got entrance applause. I’m still trying to figure out how he’s maneuvered?! Literally the most lifelike reindeer puppet you could imagine.

- Obviously we have no horses on stage, so Anna and Hans bump into each other and fall into Kristoff’s ice cart, which is a nice touch.

- Anna makes an heir and spare joke - another reference to a cut song from the movie (my favorite one, so I was thrilled).

- John Riddle as Hans... he’s SPECTACULAR. He’s not a ginger, but I guess I’ll forgive him because he is incredibly good looking and SO charming. And that voice! He makes you fall in love with him. Which makes you hate him even more later on.

- Queen Anointed is GORGEOUS in every sense. There’s a little section of choreography as the church bells ring that was very, very cool - the ensemble moves in and out of line with each chime. Hard to explain, but visually gorgeous.

- As the ensemble is singing, Elsa is basically silhouetted upstage while the priest puts on her cape and they walk the orb and scepter in. The lighting here just made me melt.

- Dangerous to Dream. There’s already been some pretty good discussion about this (see @frozenartscapes and @not-rotting for that fun), but oh MAN. After the first verse, Anna runs in and kneels downstage with her hands over her heart and Elsa sings directly at her. UGH. After she’s crowned, she observes the festivities and sings the rest of the song as Anna is shown enjoying it - dancing, being lifted up on a chair, etc. All while Elsa just looks on longingly. My heart.

- Robert Creighton as the Duke is the wonderful blend of funny, creepy (”Let me tame you with my tango” and “you’ll be looking for a king, no doubt” ugh), and dastardly that the role demands.

- The camaraderie between the sisters as Anna disses the Duke is perfection.

- Love is an Open Door. WHERE DO I START. Take the movie and ramp it up by about 800%. Sexual tension is not off limits here. Anna runs her hands over Hans’s chest, Hans grabs Anna’s butt, there’s some panting, there’s a very cute dance break where he has her leg up by her face in a split and she’s like “ow ow ow ow ow” and then she somehow ends up on the ground beneath him... and then as the song ends, he buries his face in her chest and then they proceed to make out for at LEAST 30 seconds as all the coronation-goers filter in. It is hilarious, and on the second night recording, you can literally hear me go “I thought this was a family show!” lmao.

- Elsa freezing the ballroom - the spikes shoot out of the wall and I was legitimately concerned someone was going to be impaled on stage. It’s so organic and realistic!

- After Elsa runs out of the ballroom, you see the various townspeople as they run to safety... then Elsa stumbles forward, catches herself on the proscenium of the stage, and then the proscenium freezes in what was my first “WTF IS HAPPENING” moment of the show. The projections there... omg. Otherworldly.

- Ah, and now I get to talk about Jelani as Kristoff. GUYS. He’s SO GOOD. His voice is divine. He is SO PERFECTLY SASSY, but like Patti, when he’s a softie, he just melts your heart. He and Patti play so well off of each other - their witty banter is everything you’d hope and more. Kristanna shippers, rest assured, your hearts will flutter.

- I mentioned in a previous post that right before “What Do You Know About Love”, Kristoff literally rips off Anna’s dress before she changes into Kristoff’s clothes and that was the moment I died. My shipper heart.

- Speaking of... “What Do You Know About Love”. WE FINALLY HAVE A KRISTANNA DUET, Y’ALL. And it was worth the wait. It’s 5 minutes of stellar witty banter. God bless. The music is also CATCHY AF.

- The bridge! It’s very, very cool. One of my favorite scenic elements in the show.

- “You’ve got some guts.” “You’ve got some... brains.” I’ll leave it at that.

- When Olaf makes his grand entrance, you hear his voice all around the theater. Which caused absolutely everyone to collectively lose their shit while turning around in their seats. Hilarity.

- The Olaf puppet, for anyone who hasn’t seen yet, is done very similarly to Timon from The Lion King. Anytime Greg moves his feet, Olaf moves. Same with the hands.

- Greg as Olaf. There were moments I had to remind myself that Greg did NOT, in fact, voice Olaf in the movie. He’s that spot-on, but of course with his own flair. 12/10 casting.

- “In Summer”. It’s just as ridiculous as you might imagine, though not as campy as it is in DCA with the random backup dancers in flippers and scuba gear. There’s just random birds flying in on a stick instead.

- “If there’s one thing Arendelle can handle, it’s snow.” - Anna, cut immediately to “I CAN’T HANDLE ALL OF THIS SNOW!” - The Duke.

- “Hans of the Southern Isles (Reprise)” - aka the “I’m Hans and I’m gonna manipulate the entire town into believing I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread but HEY I’m humble no big deal” song.

- The moment you’ve all been waiting for (along with literally everyone in the theatre who audibly squealed at the first notes)... “Let It Go”. Aka the moment I officially LOST. MY. SHIT. I waited to talk about Caissie until this moment because this is the first time we get to see her in all her belty, sparkly glory. She. Is. Perfection. She looks the part, she acts the part, she sings the SHIT out of it.

- I will say - the song is back in its intended key, which means it’s a half step lower than we hear in the movie (cut to a clip of Idina being like “but what if I sing it a half step up just this once?” and then hating her life as every child on the planet began to sing the song). But that makes it no less belty and beautiful. Rather than just letting that last note kind of fade like you hear on the soundtrack, Caissie takes it up to the high heavens and the sky opens up and you melt into a puddle on the floor. Wait... that was me. Definitely me.

- Scenically, I wanted a little bit more. The projections are cool, and the massive wall of Swarovski crystals that dropped from the ceiling was sparkly enough to blind me. But other than that, the stage felt a bit empty. The rumor is that they have another plan for Broadway - which makes sense since they’re in a temporary home and it wouldn’t make sense to build any really massive set pieces until they’re in a place where they can do that. They know they could pretty much put Caissie in a trash bag, throw her on stage to sing this song, and the crowd would still lose their minds. Save the magic for the big guns. At least, I hope that’s what’s going to happen!

- The dress change. There was a clip floating around from the show Friday night, and the timing of the flash was off, so it’s unfortunate that’s the one that got passed around (even though it’s still freaking incredible!) because you can kind of see the magic. Saturday night, you couldn’t see a thing and LORDY BE. It is truly magical. And the dress! It’s STUNNING. I sobbed both nights. Like... ugly crying, heavy sobbing.

And with that... I went into the lobby going “I’M GONNA PASS OUT MOM, I SWEAR. I’M GONNA PASS OUT MY FACE IS TINGLY I’M GONNA PASS OUT” because I was so overwhelmed and it was intermission.

Thanks for tuning in for Act 1... Act 2 to come later!

[eywaseclipse]

Spent some time working on this. Got inspired by @thewarmblanket snow clan post and watching informational videos on Greenland lol. I love learning. And this snow na’vi is based off Inuit culture. Including the traditional tattoos called Tunniit. Did I mention this is a free draw with my non dominant hand? 🤗

“The process and method of making Tunniit is called kakiorneq in West Greenland and kagierneq in the east (both can be translated as "sewn with a needle").

The tradition of making and wearing Tunniit has mainly been passed on by Inuit women, as a sign of their spiritual responsibility and sewing skills. The kakiorneq and kagierneq techniques traditionally involve the use of a needle and sinew thread (thread made from the muscle of the reindeer's hind legs) dipped in a mixture of soot, oil and urine to create a line under the top layer of the skin. An alternative method involves the use of a sharp tool to make a small hole in the skin, followed by the application of a sooty substance to create a distinctive dot.”

[iammadsdemons]

Mizu and his friend kasi where wondering around playing accident got into some trouble thankfully baba is always nearby

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Yes that’s Lyle, he seemed the easiest to draw at the time.

[muscledemandsrespect]

BEING AVATAR FOR THE DAY!

I want to share an extremely rare behind-the-scenes experience I recently had with Cirque Du Soleil in Finland. They’re the world’s largest & most profitable circus troupe, and I’ve been fortunate to have seen several of their shows – and have been uniformly delighted by their exceptional choreography, their enchanting imagination, and their unbridled connection to the human soul. In Helsinki, I viewed Toruk: The First Flight, at Cirque Du Soleil ahead of the London premier, which debuted last night, on the 23rdJune. For a few magical days, I was immersed in the world of Avatar, as this Cirque iteration breathes new and unusual life into James Cameron’s remarkable epic. I watched the show and spent a full day backstage meeting and interviewing the artists about their gruelling lives as world-class performers (click MORE for the full interviews), worked alongside the costume designers and makeup artists, tried out the equipment with the performers, and experienced what life as an Avatar at Cirque Du Soleil might be like for a day. I left with new levels of respect and humility for the raw talent of these super-humans. Read on to see for yourself why this is one show you (and the family) NEED to catch!

  THE SHOW

The first thing that hits you is the sheer scale of the stage and production. There are 43 artists in the cast (1 actor, 1 singer, 1 percussionist, 1 kite specialist, 1 boomerang specialist, 6 puppeteers, and an enormous number of acrobats including 1 contortionist)

To complement the physical performances, there’s digital media too;  no fewer than forty video projectors with a projection surface of approximately 20 000 square feet, (more than 5 times the size of an IMAX screen) transforms the stage within seconds creating new shapes, textures and colours, which helps to emulate the world of Pandora. The colours have a bioluminescent quality in shades of blue, purple and green. Next to the Na’vi’s 25 shades of blue which were invented for the costumes and 4 blue-base skin tones to depict the different DNA variations among the Na’vi beings, it looks truly magical and is quite the overwhelming visual spectacle. 

THE NA’VI

Whether you’re an Avatar mega fan or not, you’ll easily be able to follow the story, so don’t worry, pre-knowledge is not required! The First Flight differs from other Cirque shows I’ve seen in the past and not just because of the vast stage, unlike the conventional structure you may have come to expect from Cirque – the artists don’t speak the invented Cirque language, but instead they speak Na’vi and the storyteller who beautifully guides you on the odyssey speaks English. There is less live music, there are more spectacular acrobatics, but it is all part of the storyline with several artist on stage at the same time. In some ways, it’s a little bit more like a musical than a traditional act. Also, you won’t find any of the slapstick clown humour which renders this format so universally appealing; that said, the most important ingredient it shares with Cirques is that it takes you on an imaginary immersive journey, and it does it with the same excellence you’d expect from this venerable troupe. I was completely blown away – it was pure escapism; the music, the scenography, the venue and undiluted talent. Remarkable.

  Lydia, the Viper Wolf

Lydia who plays a Viper wolf and is part of the 14-puppet crew who represent the creatures of Pandora. The largest puppet is the titular Toruk, which has a mammoth wingspan of 12 meters and weighs approximately 115 kg. All the puppeteers are equipped with microphones and make their own animal sounds for perfect synchronisation with their movements.

Kiter

…. Is head of the 19 kites that feature in the show: that comprises 6 quads (kites equipped with four-lines), 11 kites on poles, and 2 giant ‘traction kites’ which fly over the audience. A traction kite is typically large enough to pull a vehicle on land, snow, ice or water, and it is exceptionally difficult to mobilise with any degree of control – I can attest to that personally! How these kite magicians extract such precision will remain unknown to me!

Interview time! I sat down with a number of the performing artists, but focussed on fellow brit, Lydia Harper, the double cloud and Chinese pole artist, whos responses are forged into the following fascinating insight into the life of a world-class performing artist!

TRAINING LIKE A CIRQUE’R!

What’s your training background?

My Background and introduction to Cirque is quite different to everyone else’s. I was an actress in my youth and went to the national centre for circus arts. I got in to it more from a performance side and then got in to the physical side of it. A lot of people that I work with are gymnasts or dancers who ‘started training when I was two and I’ve been doing back flips for years….’, whereas I started when I was 15 years old, which is considered late. Most people have been doing this their whole life. It puts me at a slight – not disadvantage – but at a different level when it comes to training, whereas there are some people who just don’t need training as much because their body is conditioned to do this, whereas my body is conditioned to eat crumpets and watch tv and drink tea so I have to train in a different way to them. So at 15 I had to do a bit of catching up to get to the same level.

What sort of training did you do?

The sort of training I did was trapeze and rope, and when I went to circus school I started learning Chinese pole and cloud swing. Cloud swing is like a loop of rope, some people do it swinging and do big tricks. I do it in a very contemporary fashion. I have these two loops – one above the other, I hang off one and drop off the other one.

When did you decided you wanted to get into Cirque?

It was sort of a joke, I just emailed a show reel to them, just out of the blue, going I really need a job… these are all the companies I’d like to work for… expecting them never ever to contact me. Most people have to do this really big audition process, they get cut, two day gruelling auditions… I kinda skipped all of that and about 7 months after I sent in my show reel they sent me an email asking if I’d like to join the show. I feel super lucky and like ‘teee heee, I didn’t have to audition’!

In this show we have a lot of what’s called ‘generalists’, which means we’re very good at lots and lots of different things. You can say ‘hey can you do this new trick, we’ve got these ropes and we want you to be able to use them like this. And then we’re like yeah ok. Whereas in other show in Cirque Du Soleil they have specialists – you have a contortionist, you’ve got jugglers whereas on Toruk we do everything.

What’s a typical day like in terms of training now that you’ve been here for four years?

I’m an artist coach so I have to be here (in the gym) very early; i’ll do about 45 minutes to an hour warming up, and some physiotherapy. I’ll do like 20 minutes on an exercise bike, I usually do interval training, then I’ll do a shoulder warm up sequence, so lots of exercises for my rotator cuffs, and the hanging shoulder shrugs, then I’ll do some hanging leg lifts, and then a lot of core work, then I move on to my gluteus and legs. I do a lot of gluteus strengthening and hip releasing exercises as well. We have two physiotherapists who tour with us full time. They are there for general maintenance, helping us build training programs, for instance if your knee is getting a little bit sore because you’re doing a lot of jumping they’ll suggest a program as to how to strengthen that.

Then I’ll do some on stage training so if there’s something in the show that we need to work on, integrating new artists, making some artistic changes, we’ll have on stage training sessions. Then I’ll do my makeup which takes about an hour, then in the middle of that I’ll have meeting about who’s doing what in the show. Then we do the show, the after the show I’ll do a strengthening workout including free weights, pull-ups, squats and squat jumps. I do my strength training workout after because I want to be in the best possible shape for the show. I don’t want to exhaust myself by lifting heavy weights prior to the show, so I do it afterwards. It’s quite a nice cool down as well!

So to summarise, we have a 45 minute warm-up which includes at least 20 minutes of HIIT training, followed by a two-hour show, followed by a weight session in the gym, and finally a 15-20 minute cool down. That’s a good solid 5 hours!!

What would you say is your top tip to help with recovery?

Drink loads of water, because you sweat so much more than you know. We really notice the difference when we don’t drink enough. For example when we were in Australia recovery took a lot longer because we were so hot and dehydrated. I reckon I drink about 5 1/2 litres of water a day.

We also get massage therapist who come and visit us in each city. We can sign up for massages each week. Our physiotherapists give hands-on treatments if we need any soft tissue release. I’m a fan of dry needling; so I get dry needling in my back and scream but that’s really nice as well. So everything you could possibly do for your body, just do it! 

What does you weekly training routine look like?

So I train three days a week for 5 hours, because we have 2 shows and no training. On a Monday we travel so we have that day off and we have Tuesday off too, but most of us will go train for an hour – resistance or yoga or something. Still exercise but much more chilled.

How do you complement your training with nutrition?

Everyone is very different. I expected everyone to have the same sort of diet but it’s completely different. For me personally I don’t do very many carbs. Like I don’t do pasta and rice but I do loads of protein and salads. I don’t eat pasta but I do eat cake. Whereas some will go just rice beans and pasta and then no cake out caterers provide such an array so there’s really something there for everyone.

How do you balance work life situation… how do you make time for yourself?

You really have to force yourself to especially when travelling to different cities every week. You want to go out and explore the city but we just came out of doing four weeks with nine shows in a row which was quite intense so then this weekend my ‘me time’ was going to a sauna, going to a tiny coffee shop and just reading a book. It’s a hard balance. Like it’s a beautiful day outside but I got here at 10am and I’m not going to leave until 10 pm so I don’t know what the weather is like so you need to find the things that make you feel human… I have a lot of Lush bath products, and I have to have my lush bath at the end of a long week and that’s the sort of thing that makes me feel human again.

What’s your favourite thing about working for Cirque Du Soleil?

Everyone thinks you’re really cool! It’s amazing to be able to travel the world and make people happy. That’s what Cirque du Soleil does, it’s this magical world where you go and see a show and your mind is blown – the costumes, the characters, the music, the acrobatics – it’s all just incredible. To be a part of that is really really special whilst you get to tour the entire world doing it.

What’s the coolest place you’ve been to?

New Zealand was my favourite country ever but I’m pretty excited to go to the U.K. because I’ve been touring for four years so now, I’m coming home!

KITE FLYING WITH CHRIS GOFF, KITE SPECIALIST!

What got you into Cirque, Chris?

I started playing kites when I was six years old. My dad wanted something for the whole family to do something outside rather than spending so much time inside inside watching movies or whatever. So he bought some kites, we headed out onto a field. A local kite shop saw me and asked how long we’d been flying and my father was like, 30 minutes. This was in Stockley park just outside of London. It ended up that I had a natural ability for it and it allowed me to travel around the world and it brought me to here. I was the only one in my family apart from my dad who actually took it up.

Did you apply to Cirque?

I didn’t originally apply to Cirque. The I got a message out of the blue asking if I’d like to met the kite team. It’s quite a niche skill, and now I’ve been here for 2.5 years!

Once you joined was there a lot of training involved?

Completely, first I went to Montreal for 3 weeks (it’s a Canadian company), learning how to do makeup lessons, 2-3 acting lessons a day. Then I had a trainer who helped me get my fitness levels up as I’d never done anything like this before. It was a real shock to the system. 

What was the hardest part for you?

The hardest bit was the acting, and just feeling comfortable. Also the fact that the costumes you’re in are complete Lycra so there is no hiding in that. You have to be completely comfortable just being yourself, not being self conscious in front of 7000+ people.

What else do you do on the show aside from the kite discipline?

Most people on the show need to do at least two clans (the different Avatar tribes-people), so I do the Mataky which is the first one, then I do Takamay, then I do Kattaney – the kites.

What’s a typical day like in terms of training regime?

A typical day now is as follows… what I really like is that there are no early mornings – you normally start in the afternoon. You come to work about 1 o’clock if it’s a one-show day. You do gym work mostly after the show because you don’t want to do too much beforehand. For me, the kites are very light-weight, and it’s all about muscle memory, so if you work out before the muscles are pumped and you’re going to pull too hard. With the giant kites it’s all on the legs so you don’t want to do too much leg work beforehand. With the giant kites you need to be able to run a good 20% faster at all times because if it ever begins to fall you need to run faster. So you never want to be sprinting full speed but you always have to have that there if needed.

Going back to what my normal day is like, I come in and stretch in the morning as you stiffen up overnight. Then I eat. I eat a good hour before the show because it’s not much fun being in a harness when you’re still digesting food. Then you do the show and I’ll eat after the show.

Photo Credit: Jesse Faatz

What does your typical diet look like, if you have one? 

The good thing is you can eat really whatever because you’re constantly burning so much energy. The catering is amazing at Cirque. The body does tell you what you need and crave, so I pay attention to it and act on it. 

What difficulties have you come across on your time with Toruk?

We’ve experienced it here, for example last week the wind was totally different to the week before because we had humidity. So the kites were suddenly feeling heavier. The air’s denser. We did Mexico City so there was literally no air. We were pulling this massive kite, it was still flying but you’re so high up with the altitude so you’re pulling this kite but you can’t feel it because it’s so light!

What tips do you have to anyone who’s interested in getting into kite flying? 

My tip tip would be spending a little bit more money when buying a kite because often the problem is the kite doesn’t fly properly and then people get bored and never fly again. Especially if you go to a proper kite shop they will advise you on what’s best. It’s so healthy for you, these days most people walk around with their heads down so just to spend a few hours in the middle of a field looking up, is so different. Also kites are cheap. Once you’ve bought your kite you’re only reliant on the wind, the rest is down to you. Before I had this job, I flew once a week and if I didn’t fly once a week it would change my whole posture and attitude. When you’re flying outside you’re feeling the wind and I can map the wind now from just feeling it behind the neck!

I hope that has been an intersting journey into the backstage secrets of the latest offering from Cirque Du Soleil! You can book HERE – enjoy

Faya x

The post BEING AVATAR FOR THE DAY! appeared first on Fitness on Toast.

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[iammadsdemons]

Some of Mansi and Koda’s children, aka their little frostlings 🥺❄️💖

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Ma’rek- mansi and koda’s oldest son, Warrior/hunter in Training, he is a clever, cheerful and responsible son and older brother, though he can be very overly confident that does tend to turn into arrogance.

He really loves his girlfriend her name is Sae 💖🥺

age 18-19 and is 10ft

Nicknames- Mochi

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Roätx- mansi and koda’s oldest daughter, prodigy Warrior/hunter in training, she’s very fierce when it comes to her lessons but is very much the opposite and very much enjoys causing chaos with her brothers, she prefers to stay close with them most of the time.

Age 16 years old, 9.8ft

Nicknames- lotus

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Raie- mansi and koda’s second oldest son, Warrior/hunter in Training, he is a very sweet boy, though he can be rather rude and has some anger issues, but playing the drums for festivals helps and he is betrothed to the daughter of another clan. age 16

Nicknames- snowstorm/ storm

( belongs to livieeartworks on ig)

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Ìnuyä- mansi and koda’s youngest daughter, she is very kind, very curious child too and is tsakarem, she’s very much your typical girl and she loves horses. age 13 years old

Nicknames- snowdrop

• Is look down on by some of the older members of the clan because she was born in a different region from different na’vi of the snow mountains which is also her second home with the Ra'Baeonriikä'roakx (fan made clan by @rukicchisanarts )

[iammadsdemons]

Mansi being a cute baba 🥺💖