2020 The Covid Year

It took me a while to decide how I was going to start this blog as it has been so long since I have written that I did not want to start on a negative note.  That is a little hard as this year in particular has started out not like any of the others.  Myself and Franco Quebec Productions worked really hard in the last 2 years to produce and create a business that we thought would amount to something great this year.  We had bookings (weddings, corporate events, festivals) planned this summer as well as a 7 week run (14 shows) in Rougemont in September to promote the show Cabaret Pastiche. We had worked hard to promote our classes which in turn were also cancelled. Needless to say, we are rather disappointed that it did not work out.       

To all the artists that participated in the Cabaret Pastiche in February, we thank you for all your hard work.  That show in particular is on my list of one of the top ten shows I have done in my career.  It represented a small version of a grand plan that I believe would have led to the type of production I hope to one day achieve. If you missed it you can take a look at https://www.youtube.com/femmechakra . I know this year will be hard for all the artists that rely on their art to survive and I can only hope that you are all finding creative ways to keep busy as we all know that life without the arts is intolerable.  Be safe and my thoughts are with you. We are still working hard to promote and hopefully 2021 will be a very different year. 

On a positive note, the website for Franco Quebec Productions ( https://www.francoquebec.com/ ) is finally done! We are still looking for talent so if you are a band, duo, singer, dancer or have a distinct talent we want to hear from you.  We are hoping to evolve and promoting great talent is one our goals.  Please don`t hesitate to contact me femmechakra@gmail.com. 

Although 2020 did not start well I am grateful that I am healthy, safe and sane.  This is just another diversion from the route that I set sail a long time ago to journey.  Hopefully the rest of the year will be smooth sailing.  I wish you all good health, love and happiness.  I missed so many of you in the last few months that I cannot wait to finally see you.   

  

Looking for Talent / Recherche du Talent

Hey everyone, hope you are having a wonderful summer as of date. Not that I did not want to write a blog in the last 6 months, but I figured if I have nothing interesting, educational or positive to say, what would be the point! Between the winter blues, the battle of the wits and working hard, I`m glad the summer is finally here.   I have no plans this summer except to relax, get back some Zen and hopefully enjoy Montreal and it`s surroundings. 

As September will eventually arrive, I wanted to mention that I am looking into doing something different this Fall.  In conglomeration with others, we are looking for Montreal and surrounding talent: *Singers, dancers, bands, troupes, comedians, DJ`s and MC`s, all ages are welcome.

If you have talent I would like to know.  Please send any promotional clips, videos, CV`s or if you don`t have any promotional tools please contact me as we may hold auditions.  There are no costs involved, the focus is to build a new show as well as to help local talent with booking opportunities.  You or your agent can send all material to femmechakra@gmail.com.  We are looking for both English and French performers (SVP me contacter si vous avez besoin l`information en Francais) and/or if you have any questions. If there are any artists that I have previously worked with that would be interested, please feel free to let me know.  This is a great opportunity for upcoming artists as well as professional artists as the aim is to promote and support Montreal and surrounding talent.  Please share this if you may know someone or a group that is looking to join a great team of dedicated artists.  Applications will be taken until August 20, 2018.

I hope everyone has a great summer and that the weather is beautiful.  I will hopefully be next to water, enjoying the fresh air and/or enjoying great company this season.  Cheers to you!

*Qualifications:

Singers: Looking for solo lead male and female lead singers, cover or original.  Style may range but at this time we are not looking for hard rock or metal performers.  For cover music artists, we are looking for Pop, Hip Hop, Latin, Jazz, Blues and/or 50`s to today versatile artists.  For original music, please be sure you have all the rights to your music and/or specify what studio, producer or agent you have.  Auditions may be open for beginner singers, but you must have photo and CV. 

Back up vocalists: Looking for female back vocalists preferably with some dance experience. 

Dancers: Currently, we are only looking for solo male and female dancers with a background in ballet, jazz, tap, Latin, social, swing, and/or couples dance. We are also looking for solo Oriental and Belly Dancers. Couples and Oriental/Belly Dancers must have 3 to 4 choreographed routines already prepared. 

Bands: Looking for cover bands. If you are a duo or trio, you must have at least 50-minutes of material already prepared.  Full bands (4 or more), a 2-hour full length show is required. 

Dance Troupes (Must consists of 6 or more dancers): Looking for International dance styles, Hip Hop and New Age troupes.  Must have 3 to 4 choreographed routines already prepared.     

Comedians:  Clean programs with a minimum of 15 minutes of performance. 

MC`s/Hosts: Experience in public speaking or MC work, very comfortable with small and large groups. 

DJ`s: If you are an experienced DJ (more than 3 years) having worked at weddings, corporate events, festivals and such, please get in touch.

 

 

Starting the year off with a smile!

Hey everyone! I was going to start the year off by doing a video for my Montreal Art & Fitness, but life can get busy quickly, so I decided a blog would be the best way to start 2018!!!


I`m feeling lucky this year as like everyone else I try and make better decisions for the New Year by setting goals and trying to obtain them.  I really think it is easier when you have something that helps you to stay motivated.   On January 28th I will be performing for Les Productions Pierrette Dubois along side Jacques Vallée for a cabaret show.  I have not done the whole cabaret thing with dancers and costumes in a while, but I thought it would be a challenge to change it up a little this time by adding some of my original songs, some back vocals and some fun new cover songs.  Never would I have thought I would be doing Cher but I`m excited to try something new and it`s great that it is in January as it`s usually a very quiet time for artists.  The show is a bilingual show and Jacques is doing some of his originals as well as some French classics like Les Classels, Jeunesses D`Aujourd`hui and Nuit de Montréal.  It is really nice to be back in a group setting and working as a team.  The show is in Montreal and if you are interested please don`t hesitate to let me know, the tickets are $20.00.

The great thing about it is that I am training again and hopefully this will set the tone for the rest of the year.  I`m not sure if and/or when we will perform again along side but it`s definitely motivating. I am hoping to film the show and if all works out it should be up in February on My Music YouTube Channel.  A heads up to all the artists I worked with, all my shows are now on My Music channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCabV75B6Jq_3mgSExrQIMBQ, check them out, it is super fun going down memory lane.

So that`s my update, I really do hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is starting the year on a positive note.  Again, I wanted to thank everyone that watched the latest interviews with local talent, it really was meant to help support and hopefully next September I can introduce you to a few new and creative hard-working artists.  Thank you for subscribing to My Montreal Art & Fitness  https://www.youtube.com/femmechakra and coming up, I am hoping to catch a few clips behind the scenes. 

I hope everyone has a great January, stay warm and see you in February!

My Montreal Art & Fitness 2017

I really hope everyone had a wonderful summer and that the school year has started out well.  I must say that 2017 has been quite rewarding as well as full of change so far.  It started with a well-deserved vacation to Cuba which was long overdue and quite the experience as it was my first time vacationing alone (You can check it out at https://www.youtube.com/femmechakra).  

I finally managed to upload a lot of my songs and old shows on my new YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCabV75B6Jq_3mgSExrQIMBQ which was fun and brought back many great memories. As I am the queen of the delete button and although it still needs some work, I am proud I put them up and will keep them up.

If you missed my last post, I did manage to take all my poetry and short stories and self-publish my book, A Life of Understanding.   It`s more of a memoire of thoughts that I felt would be something I would like to remember in my old age but you are welcome to read it and give me your thoughts (Link amazon on https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B072N3GPLL and on Blurb at http://www.blurb.ca/b/7998143-a-life-of-understanding ).  

You can of course keep up to date with everything I do on my website www.femmechakra.com which I finally changed from Flash so it is available on cellphones.  You can purchase my book and music, view my bio as well as other resources regarding My Montreal Art and Fitness. 

The last half of the year was focused on my artistic venues, coming up, I will be focusing on having you get to know a few new artists.  As October 31st will be the 3rd anniversary of My Montreal Art and Fitness, every Tuesday, from October 31st to December 12th please help support local talent by watching their interviews and getting to know them a bit better. One of the goals for me doing this project had everything to do with helping others and encouraging art in Montreal so I do hope you will find an artist that you can relate to or one that may inspire you.  You can view all the interviews on My YouTube Femmechakra. A huge thank you to all the artists that took their time, it was wonderful either seeing you again or getting to know you better. 

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Fall season and a Happy Halloween, hopefully the weather will hold out as long as possible and the winter months will not start too early.  Wishing you all love xxoo.

 

My New Poetry & Short Story Book - A Life of Understanding

I am proud to announce that I finally published some of my poetry and short stories. Over the last few years, some of my friends have received my poems as gifts for special occasions as many of them are positive and in celebration of the many people that I cared for a great deal.

I started writing them when I was 11 years old and above each published story or poem is the year that they were written, over the years the writing changes a great deal in style and format. I was reluctant at first as a few of the poems are reminders of hard choices, pain and loss but I am who I am today because of those moments and decisions. It puts into perspective the girl I once was to the woman I strive to be.

I do hope some are motivational and / or people find a reflection in themselves having experienced or felt a certain circumstance or feeling. I`m grateful to have loved, cared and respected so many people and because of them, I was able to create these memories. With all it`s good and bad it does capture a piece of me.

If you would like to purchase a copy you can visit my website for all the links www.femmechakra.com.

The preview and soft cover are available on Blurb and/or you can purchase it on an E-reader at Amazon. Thank you in advance for the support and please do not hesitate to let me know what you think.

 

 

 

New Thoughts, New Ideas and a Positive Attitude

Life is full of ups and downs and some years carry more burdens and hardships than others. I have and always will be a person that strives at being positive. I believe that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel but sometimes taking a break, removing the clutter, re-evaluating directions can make a huge difference. When dramatic life changes occur, it is easier to just move ahead, not concentrate as it`s too hard to feel but in that midst, you can find that the experience will lead to new beginnings, new hope and clarity. That is what I am looking forward to for the rest of 2017.

 As an artist and one that is constantly changing, learning and evolving, I have been told numerous amount of times to pick one direction and go with that as a Master is someone that concentrates on one discipline as oppose to many. For me, that would not be possible. Life is meant to be an experience and although it would be much more lucrative to focus in one area, I love change. I am and have been throughout my life a professional dancer, choreographer, singer, producer and writer. Dr. K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University, as well as other researchers, have found that it takes around 10 years or 10,000 hours of practice to master something. In that context by the time I am 60 I should have 5 master degrees..lol. My point being that I am always going to be a versatile artist as without Art, life would be intolerable.

On that note, I have been told that because I focus on many projects and different venues, people don`t really grasp what I have done, what I am doing and what are my projects. As I have never been good at self-promotion, I have not really put my work into perspective. Hence why I updated my website www.femmechakra.com. This will be my target website as it will be kept up to date. Presently you can listen and buy my music which has been a very long time coming, you can view some of my video productions from my YouTube Channel and get an idea of what I am currently doing. My social links are also available for those specific projects. In general, I am trying to make it as simple as possible to follow. Thanks to those that take the time to read, watch, listen and/or subscribe, I really do appreciate it. I could be a private artist but what fun is that if you can`t share it with someone.

I have a few new projects that I am currently working on that I will be sharing soon and I hope in the coming months to find some new and interesting ideas. Thanks again and if I don`t see some on you over the summer, I hope it is a great one. Hopefully Mother Nature will be kind to us.

Missing Mom, FECU and Happy Mother`s Day!

It`s hard to believe it`s already been a little over a year since my mom passed away. I will never forget how the experience changed my life in so many ways. I`m sure it`s not the same for everyone as not everyone get`s to experience the closeness I had with my mom but at one point or another, if you ever truly love someone and lose them, it can be life altering. I miss her everyday. The phone calls that so frequently annoyed me when she was around. The bond that we had of understanding, accepting and caring. The laughs, the cries and the friendship. The one person that loved me unconditionally, was my biggest fan and that never judged me. Even in death she taught me so much. Never take life for granted as from one day to the next you never know what can happen and be sympathetic and caring when you hear that someone has lost someone as you should never forget how you once felt. I am so grateful that I got to spend so much time with her in her last years and although she is not here, her presence is constantly felt and remembered.

She would have been happy to know that I attended the fundraiser for the FECU, Foundation for the Education of the Children in Uganda. I find it unfortunate how in 2017 children still cannot pursue education. Whether it be here, Uganda or Internationally, all children should have the right to basic education. The FECU mission is to do just that, enable underprivileged children to pursue secondary education. Fr. David Kiyingi, a 24 year Montreal retired High School teacher was born in Uganda and has dedicated his efforts to address such issues. A huge thanks to Nada for inviting me and of course seeing all the old team from Dynamic Entertainment. The singer, Eddie Laudi, was absolutely wonderful. I love the 50`s classic and his charming vocal energy and style fit the occasion perfectly. I met some new and friendly people and spent time with familiar faces, had a great meal, entertainment and all for a good cause! If you would like to support or become a member of this foundation please contact Fr. David Kiyingi at 514-426-5593, (cell) 514-213-5778 or kiyingi.fr.david@gmail.com.

Although my mother is not here to celebrate I do have many people I care about that are doing their best at being the most fantastic mothers they can be. In that regards, I hope you all have a wonderful Mother`s Day as you all deserve it, big kisses!