Lethbridge Portrait & Wedding Photography & Design by Tanya Plonka

The poster for this year’s Explosion of World Dance and Music, hosted by Ammena Dance Company, is done! If you haven’t been to this show the last two years, the focus is on belly dancing but there is an eclectic mix of many different dance styles, and even a few musical acts.

Tickets for the show go on sale tomorrow! If you are interested in going, buy your ticket early because they sell out quickly.

I’m going to be dancing on one of those drums shown in the poster, oh boy. I’m also putting up a couple other designs I made that we aren’t using, as well as some shots I took of Lana, all after the cut…

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I am in the middle of a few projects and have been itching to make a blog post, so here are a few teasers of the design projects I have been working on…

An Explosion of World Dance and Music 2009 takes place on March 14, and tickets go on sale February 1…

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I had a great time taking pictures of Texas Flood, not only because Dino is in the band now… and not only because Paul brought some extra lights to spruce up Slice’s otherwise drab lighting… but mostly because they are such a fun band to watch, and Paul makes the best “guitar faces.” (okay, the lights and Dino help out a lot :P ) Shawna and Karen were a delightful addition on the few songs they sang for too!

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One of my favorite bands to see live, Big John Bates and the Voodoo Dollz, were back in town this Thursday to rock our socks off. I can never understand why so many guys there would rather mosh (ie, slam their bodies into other men) when there are women burlesque dancing right in front of them they could be watching instead. What's the deal with that??

I also got some props after :)
From their blog:

Our Lethbridge show last night was a hoot, so they’re keeping the bar pretty consistent for us. We had a rockabilly-feeling band open the show with a fun swinging set, I saw the tallest man in town, Johnny Smalls (that’s his really-real name… no lie) and didn’t see if the talented photographer Tanya was there. Hopefully she was, and I just missed saying hello to her and her camera.”

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When I picked up Disney’s weekend schedule my first weekend there, I literally shrieked when I read who would be playing in Tomorrowland, because after all these years I am still a huge fan girl, no matter how much I tried to deny it…

I first saw Suburban Legends in 2002, and again in 2003, so it’s been a loooong five years for me (they never tour in Canada). As soon as I saw them they became one of my favorite bands. Since then the lineup has gone through HUGE changes. First trombone player Dallas was killed in a hit and run, then old band members flocked out. Vince returned as their singer (he was formerly one of their trumpet players), and when I checked them out on MySpace I was disappointed; the ska was gone, and now they were silly funk. I understood ska is just not a big thing right now, but oh it broke my heart. I wasn’t happy with the new music I was hearing on MySpace.

After seeing them live, I have totally changed my mind, and they are still one of my favorite bands. They are the most energetic, entertaining live band I have ever seen. Their music has gotten so much tighter since I last saw them, and every new band member is a huge asset (there are only 4/8 of the members from when I saw them). And they still have dance choreography! They get the crowd involved through the entire thing (singing and dancing competitions) and when the crowd’s energy starts to wane at the end of the night, they work their butts off to bring it back up (which most bands don’t bother with).

I couldn’t pull myself away from their engaging show and went all three nights to all five sets, phew! (Even enduring a lady who thinks Canada is communist?! -She thinks we are a terrifying socialist country, but by socialist really meant communist, and no we aren’t even socialist, haha!)

They played nearly every song they have ever written. This meant they still do all the ska songs! I was wondering what it would be like with Tim no longer on vocals, but Vince totally nailed it and then some. Sadly there were only several of us there skanking, but my heart was content.

I want mooooooore. They are touring with the Aquabats (!!!) but not here. We DO like ska here, guys :(

Check them out on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/suburbanlegends

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Back in September, Dino’s band Cicala played an awesome show on top of the old firehall, with his friend Evan joining in on piano, as well as opening the show. It was a beautiful night and a great atmosphere. I wish I could listen to more music while gazing over the city lights!

(view more at my website)