Before Maya Angelou Was a Poet, She Was a Dancer By Lauren Wingenroth

Photo Credit: anastasiaruth.wordpress.com

This week marks three years since brilliant and beloved poet Maya Angelou passed at the age of 86. And of course, we're taking the time to remember timeless works like I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. But we also discovered something that makes us love Angelou even more—and gives us a new perspective on her writing. Before she became renowned for her poetry and memoirs, Angelou was a bonafide professional dancer, touring Europe in a production of Porgy & Bess, studying with Martha Graham and performing with Alvin Ailey (she was even one of Ailey's first partners!). She was also a professional singer and recorded an album called "Calypso Lady," according to NPR. "I was known as Miss Calypso, and when I'd forget the lyric, I would tell the audience, 'I seem to have forgotten the lyric. Now I will dance.' And I would move around a bit," she said in a 2008 interview. Of course, later in her career Angelou acted in various movies and television shows, including the mini-series Roots. Dance Magazine

Birthday girl Jelena Ostapenko blazes into French Open final

Latvian Jelena Ostapenko blazed a trail into the French Open final with a 7-6 (4) 3-6 6-3 victory over Swiss Timea Bacsinszky in a battle of the birthday girls on Thursday. On the day she turned 20 the free-swinging world number 47 launched a fusillade of winners to become the first unseeded player to reach the women’s singles final at Roland Garros since Mima Jausovec lost to Chris Evert in 1983. A match of wildly fluctuating fortunes, with barely a service hold in sight, appeared to be slipping away from Ostapenko when she lost four games in a row to lose the second set against Bacsinszky, who was hoping to celebrate her 28th birthday by going one better than her semi-final run in 2015. But Ostapenko played fearlessly in the decider and pounded away a 50th clean winner to become the first Latvian player to reach a Grand Slam final. The Irish Times

Armenian Cellist Karen Ouzounian’s String Quartet Takes Top Prize in Osaka

Photo Credit: Aizuri Quartet/U.S.
Asbarez/The Strad

OSAKA, Japan (The Strad)—The Aizuri Quartet (U.S), featuring Canadian-Armenian cellist Karen Ouzounian, has won first prize, worth 3 million JPY ($27,000 USD), in the string quartet section of the Ninth Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in Japan. The triennial event took place May 13-21 in the string quartet and wind ensemble categories, which ran alongside masterclasses, concerts, and an informal Festa, with no age or repertoire restrictions. Second prize in the string quartet division, worth 1.5 million JPY went to the Ulysses Quartet from the U.S., while third prize, worth one million JPY went to the Viano String Quartet, also from the U.S. This year’s jury was chaired by cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and included violinists Martin Beaver, Kazuki Sawa and Levon Chilingirian; violists Yoshiko Kawamoto and Homggang Li; and cellist Paul Katz. Third prize winner at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London, the Aizuri Quartet comprises violinists Miho Saegusa and Ariana Kim, violist Ayane Kozasa, and cellist Karen Ouzounian. The ensemble was Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts from 2015 to 2016, and String Quartet in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia from 2014 to 2016. Described as “radiant” and “expressive” (The New York Times) and “nothing less than gorgeous” (Memphis Commercial Appeal), cellist Karen Ouzounian approaches music-making with a deeply communicative and passionate spirit. At home in diverse musical settings, she has become increasingly drawn towards unusual collaborations and eclectic contemporary repertoire. In addition to her work with the Aizuri Quartet, Ouzounian’s commitment to adventurous programming and the collaborative process has led to her membership in the Grammy-nominated, self-conducted chamber orchestra A Far Cry, and the critically-acclaimed new music collective counter) induction. Highlights of Ouzounian’s recent and upcoming seasons include performances of the Elgar Concerto in Chile with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Santiago, tours with the Silk Road Ensemble and Mark Morris Dance Group, recitals at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts with pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute, a tour of Japan with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and tours with Musicians from Marlboro and Musicians from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute. Additionally she has performed with The Knights, Trio Cavatina, and as guest principal of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, IRIS Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. Born to Armenian parents in Toronto, Ouzounian was a prizewinner at the 2012 Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank Competition. She holds Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where she was a student of Timothy Eddy. Asbarez

A Brooklyn eatery that taps into America’s new craze for avocados By Eugenia Coppel and Susana Urra

Avocadería was started by three Italians and only uses fruit from the Mexican state of Michoacán

At this restaurant in the New York borough of Brooklyn, the avocado reigns supreme. All the dishes at Avocaderia come with generous helpings of the green fruit, which is imported from Michoacán. This Mexican state accounts for four-fifths of the national avocado production, and the United States is the main importer. Consumption of the fruit has grown exponentially in America in recent years, and Avocadería’s founders – three Italians in their 20s – have tapped into that. Avocadería touts itself as “the world’s first avocado bar.” One of the founders, Francesco Brachetti, said in a telephone conversation with Verne that their goal was to incorporate elements of the three cultures involved. They called their place a bar because that is what Italians call the establishments where they eat croissants and drink capuccinos. Being in New York, they used the English term avocado (which in Spanish would be aguacate), then gave it a Spanish-sounding ending, ería. Brachetti got the idea for this project soon after moving to Mexico City in 2014 to work for the fashion industry. He soon began consuming avocado, which is a staple ingredient of the Mexican diet, and quickly became a fan. “Eating it comes very naturally to Mexicans, but in Italy it is not very common and the quality is low,” he explains. He enlisted Alessandro Biggi, who was already living in Brooklyn at the time and was familiar with the local market, to help develop the concept. And the chef Alberto Gramigni designed a menu meant to be “healthy and tasty” at the same time. According to The Washington Post, “sales of Hass avocados, which make up more than 95% of all avocados consumed in the United States, soared to a record of nearly 1.9 billion pounds (or some 4.25 billion avocados) last year, more than double the amount consumed in 2005, and nearly four times as many sold in 2000.” In short, avocados are all the rage in America, and Brachetti knows it. “We are not trying to promote them, because they promote themselves: everyone loves them,” he says. “But we do want to convey the fact that besides being delicious, they are also a pretty healthy food.” Avocaderia is located inside the food hall at Industry City, a complex of warehouses located on the waterfront. “There are a lot of offices for creative types, media firms, artists and decorators,” notes Brachetti. These young workers make up the bulk of their clientèle, because, he says, they share their own ideals of a healthy lifestyle. Thanks to them, the three Italians are reaching one of the goals that they had set for themselves: to offer healthy food in the land of cheeseburgers. EL PAÍS

French Open 2017: Jelena Ostapenko shocks Caroline Wozniacki

Photo Credit: Latvian Jelena Ostapenko
French Open 2017 - Quarter-Final
BBC/Getty Images

Unseeded Latvian Jelena Ostapenko became the first teenager to reach the French Open women's semi-finals since 2007 with a shock win against former world number one Caroline Wozniacki. The 19-year-old lost the first five games of her first major quarter-final before winning 4-6 6-2 6-2. She will play Swiss 30th seed Timea Bacsinszky, who beat France's Kristina Mladenovic 6-4 6-4. "I'm really happy, I can't believe it," world number 47 Ostapenko said. BBC

Hysteria

Def Leppard

Oslo is Europe's Green Capital 2019 - finally

Photo Credit: Grensen, Oslo, Norway
archpaper.com

After Stockholm and Copenhagen, another Scandinavian city has won the title European Green Capital, honoring green urban achievements. It is the third time Norway's capital Oslo was shortlisted. Raymond Johansen, the mayor of Oslo, broke into a broad smile when the decision was announced. This year is the third year that Norway's capital had applied for the title - and it is also the third time that the city was shortlisted. A city has to go through the entire labor-intensive application process each time it applies - so Oslo authorities were happy the work has finally paid off. "I am proud to tell you that we have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world," Johansen says. The European Green City Award is an initiative of the European Commission. Since 2010, one city in Europe is awarded the title each year. Winners are announced 18 months in advance. For 2019, the jury announced its decision on Friday in a theater in Essen, Germany - which is the European Green Capital for 2017.
'Long-term vision'
All European cities with a population of more than 100,000 are eligible to apply for the European Green Capital award. The award honors high environmental standards, sustainable urban development and green job creation. Indicators for being a green city include local transport, biodiversity, air quality, waste management and noise. Oslo, with its 660,000 inhabitants, is green not only due to its low carbon footprint of 1.9 tons per capita per year, Katja Rosenbohm tells DW. As head of communication at the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen, Rosenbohm was part of the jury that awarded Oslo its new title. "They have very ambitious targets, for example of having a car-free city by 2050." Rosenbohm also praises Oslo's "front-running activities in electro-mobility." "They say it is about giving the city back to the citizens and taking the space away for cars."
Political will and public engagement
Northern countries tend to do well in general when it comes to protecting the environment, she adds. But that richer countries like Norway might have it easier when it comes to investing in new technologies is not the only thing that counts. "It is not about money. It is about political will and public engagement." Rosenbohm points out that also Lisbon, a city from Europe's south, has been shortlisted this year and "was very impressive for us." Three other cities were shortlisted for the award this year, and presented their concept to the jury in Essen: Ghent (Belgium), Lahti (Finland) and Tallinn (Estonia). In total, 14 cities across Europe had applied. For 2018, Nijmegen in the Netherlands took the title, while Ljubljana in Slovenia won for 2016. Since 2015, the European Commission also honors cities of 20,000 to 100,000 people with the European Green Leaf Award. This year, Leuven in Belgium and Växjö in Finland both won the title for 2018. Last winner of the European Green Leaf Award was Galway, Ireland. DW-Deutsche Welle