Best HOLLYWOOD Movies

Apart from Bollywood movies entering 100 crore club we also have many hollywood movies which have made a huge hit in the box office monies like Harry Potter, Man Of Steel, Batman, Iron man series are some of the movies that Kids love to watch.
HIT MOVIES OF 2000: 1) A.I Artificial Intelligence 2)Battle Royale 3)Dancer in the dark etc.. were some of the best movies in the year 2001,Amelie, Black Hawk Down, etc..are the best movies of that year.
In the year 2002, Bowling for Columbine,was a documentry movie which many people enjoyed watching. in the year 2005,Broken flowers, Brokeback Mountain etc.. in the year 2006,movies like Borat and many more have also released.. in the following years many such movies have been released which was worth watching.
Presently i.e in the year 2013 movies like Iron man 3, Despicible me 2, man of steel,The Croods, Pacific rim , etc... have been the best movies Of the YEAR

-Meenakshi.R-

BOLLYWOOD movies which belong to the 100 crore club

In the year 2008, Gajini was the first movie to get into the 1oo crore club in just 16 days it earned 116cores at the box office. the next movie is 3 Idiots it released in the year 2009 it earned 202 crores in 9 days,In the year 2010 movies like dabbang and golmaal 3 earned 140 and 108 crores in 10 and 17 days respectively.

In 2011 several movies were a great success at the box office movies like Ready, Singham, Bodygaurd, Ra.One, Don 2 were a success...
In the year 2012 , movies like Agneepath, Housefull 2, Rowdy Rathore,Bol Bachan, Ek Tha Tiger,barfi!, Dabbang 2 etc.. have had a huge hit at the box office.
In 2013, the present year our indian cinema is celebrating its 100th birthday with a number of hits like Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and a very recent movie which hit the box office in just 3 days and entered the 100 crore club the movie is none other than Chennai Express..

-Meenakshi R

History Of Cinema

HISTORY OF FILMS:
The history of film began in the late 1880s with the invention of the first movie camera. Motion pictures were initially exhibited as a carnival novelty and developed to one of the most important tools of communication and entertainment, and mass media in the 20th century and into the 21st century. Most films before 1930 were silent. Motion picture films have substantially affected the arts, technology, and politics
1895 to 1906
The first eleven years of motion pictures show the cinema moving from a novelty to an established large-scale entertainment industry. The films represent a movement from films consisting of one shot, completely made by one person with a few assistants, towards films several minutes long consisting of several shots, which were made by large companies in something like industrial conditions.

Meenakshi R

Top Ten Music Genres

Music is something which eases, sets all of us free from stress and tiredness. For there are the kinds of music to accompany situations, feelings, moods and everything else. This art expresses through its different styles – the moments of love, the happiness, and the gloomy days, dancing feet, driving down the lonely highways or the humming hearts of separation, aesthetic pleasures. It communicates in the forms of rhythmic words, instruments, and story-telling. It has been divided into genres and sub-genres. It’s the kind of art which is performed soundly, and not only is played or heard, but also is felt with soundness.

Music lovers find themselves familiar to the kind of music that makes them jump off their bed or tap their feet or clap their hands depending upon their choice of music genre. Music, which is divided into different genres are named and defined by the musical techniques, the styles, the context, content and spirit of the themes. Also, sometimes geographical origin too identifies a music genre, some geographical categories often include a wide variety of sub-genres and some of the genres may also overlap. Out of innumerable music genres, here is the list of 10.

1. Indian Classical

• This music genre may particularly be of Indian subcontinent, but is one of the oldest forms of art music. This oldest music tradition of India has been found in Vedas too which proves its existence from the pre-historic times. The two sub-genres of Indian classical music are Hindustani (the North Indian style) and the Carnatic music (the south Indian style). It is often believed, and is true, that Indian classical is the basic learning of music. This genre of music includes ghazals, bollywood songs, bhangra, jugalbandhi, qawwali and even bhajan-kirtans too. It has both instrumental as well as vocal forms of music. The reason why it is still popular is because of its history. It is one of the first forms of music.
• M S Subbulakshmi, Bismillah Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain are some of the legendaries who made a major contribution in popularizing Indian classical music.

                             

2. Latin

• This category includes music from Latin America and other Caribbean countries, and shares the cultural elements of Africa, native America and Europe.  The percussion instruments included in this type of genre music are Clave, maracas, cowbells, congas, bongos, timbales, tambora, bombo, guiro, cajones, cascara, shekere, tres, marimbula. Latin music is influenced from the Spanish, who introduced the string instruments. It is vocal as well as instrumental music, which earlier was played for religious purposes, but now is considered as dance music. With strong beats, it is naturally syncopated dance music and is highly rhythmic.
• Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, Selena, Belinda are some of the highlighted Latin artists.

                                       

3. Trance

• This music genre is the electronic form which originated in Germany, during the 1990s. Trance songs are soft melodious rhythm tracks and are repeated endlessly which induce an emotional high feeling. It touches the emotions of an individual who is deeply into it, trance is a state of mind which indulges it perfectly. What sets trance apart from the other styles of music is the high rate of BPM i.e. beats per minute that ranges from the mid 120s up to the 160s. The amount of synthesized sound in this genre tends to be melodic and progressive too, while the beats remain static.
• Some of the Trance lovers’ favorite artists are Tomcraft, Tosch, Tiesto and Skazi.

                                          

4. Rap

• This is a genre of Afro-American style of music which originated during the 1970s. The form of emceeing/ deejaying is such that the rhyming lyrics (rhythm and poetry)are chanted to musical accompaniment. It is more like a poetry which is spoken; the only difference is, it is performed with beats. The dancing style of this genre is called hip-hop. It was part of the Afro-American style of music in the 1960s which meant “to converse”, and after that, presently it is used as a term denoting the musical style. The term “rap” is closely associated with hip hop music and the terms are often used interchangeably. Rap, stylistically, occupies a gray area between speech, poetry, prose and singing. The word, originally means “to hit”, is used to describe quick speech or predates the musical form. And the attitude is rebellious in a lyrical expressing form.
• Some of the famous rappers are Eminem, Lil Wayne, Usher, Flo rida, Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dog and 50 Cent

                                      

5.  Country music

• Country music is another genre of American popular music which originated in the rural regions of southern United States in the 1920s. The roots basically have been taken from the south-eastern genre of American folk music and western music. Country music consists of ballads and dance tunes with generally simple in forms and harmonies accompanied by instruments, mostly strings such as, electric guitars, steel guitar, drums,  fiddles, banjos and mandolin or mouth organ. The term country music, now, is used to describe many genres and sub-genres. It is more like a vital form of rustic music which has been derived from European styles of folk and dance music.
• Few country music singers who have left a mark are Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash 

                                     

6.  Pop

• The term “pop” is originally derived from an abbreviation of “popular”. Pop music, thus, is a genre of popular music which originated in its modern form in the 1950s, deriving from rock & roll style. The description of pop music includes any style as this genre is very eclectic. It borrows elements from other styles which include urban, dance, Latin, rock and country and these are actually the core elements which define pop. These are generally short-to-medium length songs which are written in a format, often in which chorus is highlighted and contrasted with the verse, as well as the common employment of repeated choruses, melodic tunes, and catchy-hooks.  Typical instruments which are featured are vocals, electric guitars, drums, bass, and synthesizer.  The main concern for such music is usually being pleasurable to listen to, rather than having much artistic depth or meaningful themes.
• Singers who are primarily known for singing pop musics are Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Beyonce and  Michael Jackson, who is still referred as the “King of Pop”

                                        

7.  Rock

• Rock music is a popular one which actually originated as “rock & roll” in the United States, 1950s. During this period, the sound of rock traditionally centred around string instruments, which emerged in its modern form and became popular then. Rock is a song-based music, usually with the help of verse-chorus form, which is a predominant musical form in rock since the 1960s, but the genre has become diversely common and difficult to define.  It’s a harder and loud form of music or in easier words, is a form of music with strong beats.  Some of the earliest rock stars are Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard who led to the popularization of rock music and culture in the history.
• The rockband are uncountable but some who took the world of this particular genre by storm are Pink Floyd, Metallica, Nirvana, The Doors, Black Sabbath and Megadeth

                                    

8.  Opera

• Opera is a genre in form of art in which singers and musicians perform in a dramatic way combining text and music, usually in theatrical settings. Traditional opera, consisted of two modes of singing. One is dialogue based, in which the plot-driving passages are sung in a style designed to imitate and emphasize the inflections of speech,and the other is ,an “air” or formal song  in which the characters express their emotions in a more structured melodic style. In some forms of opera, the recitative is mostly replaced by dialogues. Melodic or semi-melodic passages occur in the midst of dramatization and are sung with a free rhythm dictated by the accent of the words.Orchestral music,acting, stage, supporting the stories through music is what unites opera.
• Maria Callas, Anna Netrebko, Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Nicolai Gedda are some remarkably acclaimed opera singers.

                                     

9.  Folk

• The term, folk music, originated in the 19th century but is applied to music which is older than that which means it has existed since long before but became popular in this century and made a mark in the lists of music genres. Some types of folk music are also called world music which includes traditional music.
• The music is often related to national culture. It is either from a particular region or culture. Apart from instrumental music that forms a part of folk music, much folk music is performed vocally, since the instrument which is played is usually handy. As such, most of the traditional folk music has meaningful lyrics and themes (tells stories) with or without instrumental accompaniment.
• Artists who contributed to this music genre are Laura Marling, Marissa Nadler, Josh Ritter, James Taylor.

                                       

10.  Dubstep

• This one is a genre of electronic music, generally instrumental and the feeling is darker. It emerged late in the 1990s in UK, featuring elements of bass and drum. Though it started as an underground genre – a fusion of dub and 2- step music. Gradually, with time, this genre made its place in the music chart and became one of the successful styles commercially. It is not only likeable because of the sound, but also because of its rhythm and the feeling of bass sounds.

                                       

-Megha Rao

The King Of Pop And Dance!

When you hear the words "The King Of Pop" you immediately think of Michael Jackson. but Michael is not only the "king of pop". He is also the "king of dance"!

The moonwalk is a dance technique that presents the illusion of the dancer being pulled backwards while attempting to walk forward. A popping move, it became popular around the world after Jackson executed the dance move during a performance of "Billie Jean" on March 25, 1983. This special was broadcast May 16th, 1983. It subsequently became his "signature move", and is now one of the best-known dance techniques in the world.

                                     

An illusion is involved in creating the appearance of the dancer gliding backwards. Initially, the front foot is held flat on the ground, while the back foot is in a tiptoe position. The flat front foot remains on the ground but is slid lightly and smoothly backward past the tip-toe back foot. What is now the front foot is lowered flat, while the back foot is raised into the tiptoe position. These steps are repeated over and over creating the illusion that the dancer is being pulled backwards by an unseen force while trying to walk forward. Variations of this move allow the moon walking to also appear to glide forwards, sideways, and even in a circle. 

- Megha Rao

Dances All Over The World

Dance is a type of art that generally involves movement of the body, often rhythmic and to music. It is performed in many cultures as a form of emotional expression, social interaction, or exercise, in a spiritual or performance setting, and is sometimes used to express ideas or tell a story. Dancing is entertaining to some and passion for some others. Some people also take up dance as a profession

Here I've listed 10 most popular dance styles performed all over the world.

10. ADUMU

• It is a Maasai dance that has originated from Africa. Interestingly, this dance is mostly performed to human voice since the Maasai did not encourage the use of drums during their festivals and other rituals. All the body parts are used in this particular dance and even during a ritual the dance is participatory.

             

9. BELLY DANCING

• This particular form of dancing originated from the Middle East, in an Arabic country. Every single part of the body is involved in this dance style but the most dominant of those parts is the hip. There are many different forms to this dance and it differs from country to country. The modern belly dance evolved in the western countries and it is popular globally. Belly dancing was popularized during the Romantic Movement that took place in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The dance requires a great deal of flexibility and is not easy.

             


8. TAP DANCE

Special shoes are made for dancing the tap. The sound of your shoe hits the floor as a musical instrument. It is more like creating music with your feet and dancing to it at the same time. It is very interesting but really hard to learn. Rapid feet and leg movement is an absolute requirement. The roots of tap dance go deep into the African American dancing.                                                  

7.  IRISH DANCE

•  As the name suggests, the style originated from Ireland. It is a group and is a part of a broader social activity. There are many different forms of this dance Did you know that it was popularized in 1994 with Riverdance? It involves very fast leg and foot movements while your arms mostly stay stationary. It is very difficult to master especially the solo dances. The dance is performed with traditional Irish music.

           

6.  BREAK DANCE OR B-BOYING 

• Break Dance or B-boying  is a form of street dancing style popularize by Michael Jackson. The dance consists of four primary elements: top rock, down rock, power moves and freezes/suicides. This style of dance is very acrobatic and has elements of gymnastics in it. This style of dance calls for strength, skill, balance and technique among other things. A practitioner of this dance is called a b-boy, b-girl, or breaker. These terms are preferred by the majority of the pioneers and most notable practitioners.

          

5.  BALLET

• This is a performance dance and it originated in Italy during the fifteenth century. The dance developed in France and Russia and evolved from performance dance to concert dance. It is a very complicated form of dancing and is taught in different ballet schools all over the world. The dance is usually choreographed with vocal or orchestral music. It involves pointed work, flow and very precise acrobatic movements. The ballet went from romantic, to expressionist and neoclassical ballet. The word originally translates into ‘to dance’.

          

4.  KATHAK 

• This happens to be one of the eight forms of classical dances in India. It originated in Uttar Pradesh and can be traced back to the ancient people living in northern India. They were called Kathaks. After the sixteenth century, Kathak was influenced by Persian Dance. The name of the dance is derived from Sanskrit which means 'story'. The classical dances can be compared to the ballet dance. These dances are very complicated and usually have a meaning to them. 

          

3. SALSA 

• Salsa is a synchronized dance genre from Cuba. Salsa is normally a partner dance, although there are recognized solo forms. Salsa is usually danced to the salsa music although most people perform the steps with Latin American music as well. You can perform salsa as an improvisation but generally it is choreographed. This dance style is very popular throughout the Latin America and over time it spread through North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and the Middle East.

              

2.  BHANGRA 

• Bhangra refers to a dance coming from the Punjab in India. It was performed to celebrate the harvest but that practice ended when the sub-continent was divided into Pakistan and India. It is originally developed in India and it took its current form somewhere in the 1990's. Bhangra is danced to a very specific kind of music specifically tailored for Bhangra. It is mostly very random with some very common dance moves. This form of dance has traveled to the western cultures as well because of a lot of movement from the sub-continent to the western countries.

               

1. HIP HOP

• Hip-hop dance refers to “Street Dance” styles primarily performed to hip-hop music or that have evolved as part of hip-hop culture. It includes a wide range of styles primarily breaking, locking, and popping which were created in the 1970's and made popular by dance crews in the United States. Hip dance consists primarily of moves executed close to the ground.

           


-Megha Rao 

Who is the True Shakespeare????

William Shakespeare

• We have all heard of the well renowned poet, dramatist and play writer, William Shakespeare of Stratford, born in 1564. He has written many plays, sonnets and various other forms or literary texts. However, taking into account that Shakespeare was only a business merchant and that most of his plays and sonnets had verses from England Royalty, there has been a heated debate about the authorship of Shakespeare. 
• There are quite a few people who are considered to be the real Shakespeare and who may have been the true authors to his fabulous pieces of work. One such suggestion is Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. 
• There are 2 groups formed on the same debate, i.e, the Stratfordians (in support of Shakespeare) and the Oxfordians ( not in support of his authorship). 

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players.

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts.

-The Seven Ages, William Shakespeare

-Sahithi.C

What is Making News

World's Smallest Mona Lisa

The Mini Lisa

• Georgia Institute of Technology: The world's smallest Mona Lisa has been 'painted' and constitutes about 30 microns in width, i.e, the size of one human hair. Each pixel in the photograph is spaced by 125 nano meters.
• The painting was created by using not pens or pencils, but a new technology called  ThermoChemical NanoLithography (TCNL), in which  incredibly precise variations in heat produced lighter or darker shades or gray in a special dye.
  
• The process was not an easy one and did not achieve the sharpness and precision of the original painting. This new painting has been named the Mini Lisa and is definitely a great achievement so far.

-Sahithi.C

MF Hussain

• Maqbool Fida Hussain, commonly known as MF Hussain was born on September 17, 1915 in Maharashtra , India. He was popularly known as the Indian Picasso, due to many of his fine pieces or art such as Horse and Saraswati. 
• MF Hussain was noticed for the first time in 1947 when he won an award for the annual exhibition of the Bombay Art Society. From then, there was no turning back for this great painter. 
• Due to his astounding contribution to the field of art, cinema and writing, Hussain was awarded with the following awards...

• The Golden Bear
• Padmashri
• Padmabhushan
• Padmavibhushan

• However, in February 2006, Hussain was criticized by many because or portraying Hindu gods and goddesses in their nude forms. Due to this he was exiled from India. He died on July 9, 2011, leaving behind a whole new collection of art, making our country proud and allowing the members of the future generations to mesmerize themselves with such beautiful paintings

Horse

MF Hussain

   

If art is to nourish the of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever   it takes him. -John F. Kennedy

-Sahithi.C

Top 10 Enrapturing Paintings

Mona Lisa

• The most famous painting of all time, the Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci during the Renaissance in Florence. He began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503 or 1504 and finished it shortly before he died in 1519.



Mona Lisa

Starry Night

Starry Night

 
• The Starry Night was painted by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. The painting shows the village of Saint-Rémy under a swirling sky, in a view from the asylum towards north.

The Last Supper

• The Last Supper is a 15th century mural painting in Milan created by Leonardo da Vinci and covers the back wall of the dining hall at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

• 

  Leonardo da Vinci

The Creation of Adam

• The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, at the commission of Pope Julius II, is one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance. The ceiling is that of the large Chapel built within the Vatican in Rome.

Guernica

• Guernica is one of Pablo Picasso most famous paintings, showing the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians.  Picasso completed the painting by mid-June 1937. The painting can be seen in the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid.

Girl With a Pearl Earring

• Sometimes referred to as “the Dutch Mona Lisa”, the Girl with a Pearl Earring was painted by Johannes Vermeer. Very little is known about Vermeer and his works and this painting is no exception. It isn’t dated and it is unclear whether this work was commissioned, and if so, by whom.

 Scream

Scream

• The Scream is a series of expressionist paintings and prints by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, showing an agonized figure against a blood red sky.  Edvard Munch created several versions of The Scream in various media.

Night Watch

• Completed in 1642, at the peak of the Dutch Golden Age, The Night Watch is one of the most famous paintings by Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn.  The painting is on display in the Rijks museum in Amsterdam.

Water Lilies

• Water Lilies (or Nympheas) is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionist Claude Monet.  The paintings are on display at museums all over the world.



The Last Supper

Birth of Venus

• The Birth of Venus is a painting by Sandro Botticelli created around 1485–87. It depicts the goddess Venus (or Aphrodite as she is known in Greek mythology) emerging from the sea upon a shell in accordance with the myth that explains her birth. 

-Sahithi.C

Hello!

Hello everyone!

As you all might have seen, this page is mainly about Art and Culture. This will include several other topics like Dance, Music, Drama, Cinema, Paintings and various Cultures. This is a group project done by students of class 10. It consists of the following members..
Megha Rao (Leader)
Sahithi C.
Meenakshi R.
Veda K.
Nikkhil G.

Please do view this blog and give comments below.