Latest news with #Dancing
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Bindi Irwin reacts to brother Robert's viral underwear photoshoot: 'I can't unsee it...'
Bindi Irwin "can't unsee" her brother Robert's underwear shoot. The 26-year-old conservationist - who is the daughter of late Crocodile Hunter star Steve Irwin - recently had to endure her brother Robert, 21, stripping down to his boxers for a promotional deal with Bonds as well as appearing shirtless in his Dancing with the Stars announcement and has found it "rough" to see the whole thing go viral. Speaking on the 'Not Gonna Lie' podcast, she told host Kylie Kelce: "There are some things as his sister that I can't just unsee. "When he did the Dancing announcement, he was shirtless, and when he did his Bonds commercial, he was just in his underwear,r and it is…it is rough." Despite her embarrassment over her brother's sudden sex appeal, she "really is so proud of him" because of how he is managing to get their message of conservation out there, what she is choosing to focus on. She said: I really am so proud of him. He's taking the message of conservation to new heights. He's really nailing the, 'Hey look over here,' and steering them in the right direction. "I was probably liking and commenting on his 'steering in the other direction' posts. Rather than his um... "Watching him grab people's attention in such a big way. 'And then pivot and say, 'Here's what we do, here's our work, here's our dedication to wildlife and conservation and you can get involved.' It is wonderful and extraordinary to watch him shine.' The Crikey It's The Irwins star is "a little bit scared" of some of her brother's female fans but still thinks her brother is "doing really well" with how he is coping with all of the sudden attention on his body. She said: "Do I get a little bit scared of the women and girls and some guys who are very intense? It can be a lot! But he's doing really well with all of it and I am very proud of him." Robert recently explained that his new campaign may seem "out of the ordinary", he is appreciative of the "platform" he has so that he can continue to get the message about conversation out into the world. He said: "It seems so out of the ordinary for what I would do, but I get to be with Aussie Wildlife, I get to approach a new audience, a new platform, and get my wildlife conservation message out there to more people. And that is what means so much to me and my family. "I'm representing Australia! So I wanted to look my best and to feel my best and just feel really confident. And so I've done more sit-ups and had less carbs than I ever have in my life, but it's been fun.. "At Australia Zoo, our beautiful wildlife sanctuary, it's great, I've got about 700 acres to just run. So I've been doing a lot of sprints, a lot of hill sprints. "My brother-in-law Chandler, he's a professional athlete so he gave me a lot of great tips. And my mom actually did bodybuilding! She had more biceps then than I'll ever have."
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The worst gig-goers aren't phone-wielding teens. It's creepy blokes zooming in on female musicians
Kylie Minogue's current Tension tour is a glorious spectacle. Dancers prowl around geometric staircases in weird hats, which feels delightfully Pet Shop Boys. There is a disco ball big enough to permanently dazzle every audience member. One visual shows a noirish film of Ms Minogue as a sort of heartbreak-vanquishing detective; a billboard in her rainy street scene incorporates the location of each tour date to ask: 'Feeling lonely in Sheffield? Call Kylie …' And there she is in the middle of it all, resplendent in blue PVC; a spangly red jumpsuit; a kaftan-ish thing sewn together from what looks like neon police tape, emblazoned with the classic jagged Kylie heartbeat monitor logo. Kylie is one of our most generous performers: not above adding The Loco-Motion to the setlist following audience demand, its youthful silliness contrasted with Dancing, a gorgeous disco-country song about mortality. The expansiveness of the show made it all the more galling to be forced to partially witness it through the digital camera of the man sitting next to me, who spent the entire gig – and I mean every single second of it – training his priapic lens on Kylie through wobbly 10x zoom. Everyone has their phone out at gigs now, particularly big pop shows: it's an unavoidable fact of live music. To look down from our side-stalls seats at any point during the show was to see a glittering of little rectangles, and that's fine. Teenagers often get the blame for this, but Kylie's is a fairly middle-aged crowd. I'm not immune either – I usually limit myself to a single gig pic, just so the event lives in my camera roll, but I took maybe a dozen of all the exciting set pieces. But there is something profoundly creepy about Digital Camera Guy, a fixture of most gigs that feature a female performer. I've stood next to this – always middle-aged or older – man dozens of times, watching him maintain a shakily tight focus on the women on stage with his ancient silver Olympus, and wondering what on earth he's going to do with those photos and footage later. Whether his intentions are sleazy or simply trainspottery, his ceaseless scrutiny feels unsettling for female and gender-nonconforming audience members and musicians. As performers in a paid-for, public setting, they're obviously there to be looked at, but there's a difference between a reciprocal exchange with an understanding and respectful audience, and feeling monitored. The inference is that women only exist here to be surveilled, perceived as visual stimuli at best, sex objects at worst. It's bad enough realising that someone is staring at you creepily in public – behaviour that has been prohibited on London's public transport network since 2022 – let alone, I imagine, noticing yourself being watched so intently when you're trying to stage a show on your own terms. In this dynamic, it's the performer who generally commands the room, but the perpetually invasive lens undermines that power, reminding them that they're nothing but an object to be captured. I've spoken to plenty of female performers, some of them distressingly young, who hate the sight of DCG but feel they can't speak out about him for fear of alienating paying fans or being perceived as ungrateful, uppity bitches. I've also spoken to several of my own male friends in their 40s and 50s who worry about being tarred with the same brush, who fear going to gigs alone or standing anywhere near the front in case they're perceived as pervs who haven't come to listen to the music. In case you think I'm overstating this, one of those friends texted me saying he'd stood next to a DCG at Wet Leg in London this weekend, and watched in horror as the man kept unabashedly zooming in on the band's legs and bums. I'm sure most DCGs are not taking photos to get off to later (you'd have a job, through all the pixels). But either way, the lack of self-awareness makes so many other people in the crowd profoundly uncomfortable, leading them to question their entirely equal place in this environment. I felt icky every time I accidentally brushed the guy sitting next to me on Friday. I've had Kylie's rapturous encore closer Love at First Sight as an earworm since then, but that feeling of unease is the thing I really can't get out of my head. DCG: I beg you, stop it.
The Guardian
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Kylie Minogue review – house, techno… doom metal? This is a thrilling reinvention of a pop deity
The lights go down in Glasgow, and Kylie Minogue ascends from underneath the stage like a pop deity: head-to-toe in electric blue PVC, sitting in the centre of a giant neon diamond. After acclaimed runs in Australia and the US, she's kicking off the UK leg of her Tension tour, celebrating an era that started two years ago with lead single Padam Padam – a phenomenon everywhere from gay clubs to TikTok – and continued with her equally hook-filled albums Tension and Tension II. In contrast to some recent over-complicated arena tour concepts from the likes of Katy Perry, the Tension show is admirably straightforward after Kylie's big entrance, allowing her to remain the focus at all times. She races through hits – some condensed into medleys – at an astonishing pace; from 1991's What Do I Have To Do, to Good As Gone from Tension II. For Better the Devil You Know, she changes into a red sequin jumpsuit and matching mic, leading a troupe of highlighter-coloured dancers in front of a minimalist, impressionistic backdrop. There's something of the Pet Shop Boys' art-pop flair in the show's considered design choices, and in Kylie's inherent – rather than costume-driven – flamboyance. The primary aesthetic is the bright electropop of both Tension albums, but there's frequent reminders of the kaleidoscope of genres in Kylie's back catalogue. The country-inflected single Dancing would fit perfectly among the current wave of stetson-clad pop. After briefly missing a lyric – the only break in her consummate professionalism – Kylie invites a backing dancer to join in with her. This relaxed mood continues as she moves to the B-stage, where she sings a cappella snippets of fan requests: early single Never Too Late, Nick Cave duet Where the Wild Roses Grow, even Spinning Around B-side Paper Dolls. A sweet acoustic sing-along of 2020 single Say Something harks back to its lockdown-era genesis (its parent album Disco was 'finished in my kitchen' during the pandemic) kicking in to full party mode before we think too much of real-world worries, past or present. It's not the only song to get a refreshing revamp. Many of Kylie's best known hits are dolled up to suit the clubby vibes of her current era: the tropical noir of On a Night Like This is transformed into a near-future techno odyssey; The Locomotion ('from a far away place … called the 80s!') gets a clubby sheen while retaining its kitsch charm; and Spinning Around has a new piano house mix, a reinvention worthy of this ultimate comeback anthem. The finest rework comes towards the end, as Kylie takes the stage in a gold and black cape for the penultimate act. Shrouded in dry ice, and bolstered by heavy, propulsive drums, she performs cult 1994 single Confide In Me as a drama-laden doom metal ballad, upping the already high stakes of the original to stratospheric levels. It's also a fine showcase for her vocals, allowing her to stretch and reach for big sustained notes. It's a six-star moment in a five-star show: someone get her in the studio with Stephen O'Malley. After this emotional high, there's just enough time to collect ourselves for the final run: taking us from the moody swagger of 2003's Slow to the open-hearted emotion of All the Lovers, to a high energy encore of Padam Padam and Love at First Sight. At the show's end, Kylie seems endearingly overwhelmed by the raucous audience response, but this belies supreme confidence: she knows she doesn't need extraneous bells and whistles to carry this bravura show.
The Sun
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Dancing & gaming among top skills Gen-Z pick up from social media
DANCING and gaming are among the top skills Gen-Z are picking up from social media. A poll of 500 teens aged 13-17 and their parents found budgeting and meditation also made the list of new skills they've picked up. While core life skills such as cooking (66 per cent) and cleaning (62 per cent) are still being passed down from parents, 35 per cent of teens say they're more likely to turn to social media for quick tips and tutorials. It found almost three-quarters (72 per cent) agree social media is a good place for learning new skills, and 10 per cent have used platforms to try out techniques like mindfulness. A further 35 per cent would be willing to try meditation or mindfulness (33 per cent) to relax. The research was commissioned by TikTok, which is rolling out a guided meditation experience to prompt users to wind down for the night with calming music and breathing techniques. The feature will be turned on by default for all under-18s past 10pm. Val Richey, global head of outreach and partnerships - trust and safety, at TikTok, said: 'There's never been more opportunity for young people to discover, learn, and share their creativity. 'But the ability to step back and slow down is just as important. 'More and more, we're seeing teens taking an interest in finding the right balance for them, and we want to help support those decisions.' The research found two-thirds (66 per cent) said it's important to know when to switch off, while 50 per cent agree that trying a new skill improves creativity and builds confidence (49 per cent). And 35 per cent said it makes people feel happier. At the same time, 25 per cent of parents are impressed by their child learning new skills through social media. More than half (58 per cent) say they start exploring a topic simply after coming across it while scrolling. And 91 per cent are likely to use social media as a place to learn new skills in the future. TikTok is also expanding its Mental Health Media Education Fund by donating over £1.7 million in ad credits to over 30 mental health organisations around the world. Val Richey added: 'Whether it's learning a new skill or connecting around shared interests, young people are using platforms in creative new ways. 'Creating space for that kind of growth - online and offline - is something we're proud to support.' A poll of 500 teens aged 13-17, commissioned by TikTok, has revealed the top 30 skills they're learning from social media: 1. Gaming 2. Exercise routines 3. Cooking 4. Doing hair styles 5. Apply make-up 6. Dance routines 7. Drawing 8. Baking 9. A foreign language 10. A musical instrument 11. Coding 12. Painting 13. DIY 14. Self-defence techniques 15. Presentation skills 16. Budgeting and finance tips 17. CV writing 18. First aid 19. Mindfulness 20. How to recycle properly 21. Cleaning 22. How to do CPR on a person 23. Meditation 24. Breathing techniques 25. Sign language 26. Handstands 27. What to do if you fall through ice 28. Crochet 29. How to get yourself out of quicksand 30. How to do CPR on a dog
Daily Record
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Dance Fest delivers spectacular performances in Ayrshire
Dance Fest, Ayrshire's biggest celebration of dance, enjoyed two sell-out shows at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr. The spectacular event showcased the very best of dance from local schools, community groups, private dance schools and stage schools plus a performance from East Ayrshire Youth Dance Company. Performances included Fenwick Primary who presented a dance entitled Dancing through the decades – 150 years of Fenwick Primary while S1 from Stewarton Academy performed an extremely high energy hip-hop routine to 'It's Okay I'm Okay and Work It'. Logan Primary wowed with a dance using various styles entitled Around the World; East Ayrshire's Youth Dance Company performed an incredible hip-hop routine to Lady Gaga's 'Abracadabra'; while St Andrews Primary gave a fantastic performance to Flor Rida's classic 'Club can't handle me'. Dance Fest was produced by Zara Smith, Cultural Co-ordinator, Dance and Movement from East Ayrshire Council's Creative Minds team, and featured a range of different dance styles and musical tastes, including musical theatre, street, jazz, lyrical and hip-hop. The young people put on an incredible show and the East Ayrshire Teacher Performance group impressed the crowd with Bye Bye Bye – a hip-hop routine choreographed by Carrie Craggs, to the NSync song and a jazz routine choreographed by Louise Chudleigh to Get Happy. The tantalising and totally toe-tapping two-night event saw further highlights from Jam Street, i-Dance, Karen E Moir Dance, Dynamite Dance Studio, Icon Dance Company Ayrshire and CentreStage. Zara said: "Dance Fest represents the culmination of weeks and months of practice by pupils and their teachers in schools across East Ayrshire who come together to share their love of dance on stage. It is a spectacular celebration and showcase, which everyone finds really uplifting. The show also reflects the ongoing and much-appreciated support and encouragement from parents, family members and carers." Provost Claire Leitch attended Dance Fest with the Council's Chief Executive, Eddie Fraser, and Dr Julie Carrie, Music Services Manager. She said: "What an incredible evening we spent at Dance Fest. It was a real celebration of dance and was so joyous. All the dancers gave heart and soul to their performances, and I found it very moving – the talent, the commitment and just the opportunity to express themselves through dance. It was wonderful. "Congratulations to Zara Smith for producing a fantastic event and to all the performers."
