Cross Currents dance performances this Friday

Dance students from Performing Arts Studio Scotland at Edinburgh College are inviting dance enthusiasts to attend their annual end-of-year production, ‘Cross Currents 2013’ at The Royal Lyceum Theatre this Friday (31 May). Pass Dance students will perform to over 1300 people on Friday, when performances include a free Schools Matinee at 1.30 and two evening shows 5.30 and 8.30.

Inspired by the rugged beauty of Scotland and the Scots, Cross Currents will bring flavours of urban and rural Scottish movement and music, blending inspiration from contemporary, tap and jazz techniques. This eclectic mix will tantalise the imagination of lovers of dance, music and theatre, of those who have the beat in their veins and music in their hearts.

‘Cross Currents 2013’ features the choreographic work of the dance teaching staff who reflects best practice in knowledge and skills by continually working within the industry. Student dancers range from foundation to degree level – and will showcase a combination of styles. PASS at Edinburgh’s College has an excellent reputation for its accomplishments in dance and the annual ‘Cross Currents’ show is one of the College’s highlights of the year. This year we are proud to announce our first collaboration with the music students from the Sighthill Campus. This will be an exciting theatrical experience brought to you by the dedicated team and talented students from PASS at Edinburgh College.

For further information and tickets for the matinee only, please email Jennifer Figures at

Jennifer.figures@edinburghcollege.ac.uk

Tickets for the 5.30pm & 8.30pm performances can be purchased from the Lyceum Box office, telephone 0131 248 4848 or email https://bookings.lyceum.org.uk

Jennifer Kelly

Community Liaison, Edinburgh College

Granton Campus to host ‘Great Big Art Show’

Students who have studied a wide range of creative courses at Edinburgh College are presenting their Art and Design work from Friday 7 to Thursday 13 June at Granton Campus in ‘The Great Big Art Show’.

Now in its fourth year ‘The Great Big Art Show’ will showcase the creative talents of students studying a wide array of artistic courses at the College – including Art and Design, Contemporary Art, Photography, Illustration, Textiles, Theatre Costume, Graphic Design to name a few and students from Access level through to Btec Foundation Diploma and HN level specialisms will be exhibiting at the Granton campus.

Edinburgh College has excellent facilities for those studying creative courses, with several specifically tailored spacious studios, equipped with the latest tools and materials required to produce a wide range of creative works. This is supported by fully qualified staff and strong links with employers, Industry and higher education institutions. Those interested in starting a career in the Creative Industries will be able to see the breadth of courses available and talk to current students first hand about their experiences and be inspired by their progression into further courses and employment.

Indeed this year students across all subjects are receiving a range of successful results into first and second year degree programmes across the UK and onto HN and specialist subjects within Edinburgh College and other Colleges in Scotland. Foundation Diploma students specialising in Sculpture have benefited from an articulation agreement with The Glasgow School of Art with six students progressing directly into second year of the BA (Hons) in Sculpture and Environmental Art this year.

Building on previous successes the ‘Great Big Art Show’ clearly demonstrates the growing reputation of Edinburgh College as a major creative power house and nurturing ground for Scotland’s future Artists and Designers.

The exhibition will be on display at the College from 9am to 4pm on Friday 7 June; from 10am to 4pm on Saturday 8 June and from 9am to 4pm from Monday 10 to Wednesday 12 June. The exhibition will be open until 8pm on the last day, Thursday 13 June.

For further information contact Programme Area Leader Art & Design Neil Manning

Email: neil.manning@edinburghcollege.ac.uk

No drama – Rachel is just sew good!

Edinburgh College student sews her way to success in Canada

An Edinburgh College student has beaten off hundreds of other competitors to intern with the world’s largest arts and creative centre in Canada. HND Theatre Costume Interpretation student, Rachel Johnson, will soon head to the Banff Centre for Arts in Alberta to work alongside internationally respected costume designers and directors.

Rachel, who has previously worked as an intern at Scottish Opera, beat off stiff competition internationally to claim one of only three internship spaces at the renowned theatre. This is the third time a student from Edinburgh College’s Theatre Costume Course has been awarded the internship.

During the 12 week paid training, Rachel will gain extensive experience working in the production wardrobe with ground-breaking artists, creating costumes for ballet, theatre and opera on an international stage. She will also have the opportunity to work with a diverse group of clients including visiting filmmakers and directors.

Rachel, who is originally from Aberlour but currently living in Glasgow, said: “I am honoured to have been given this fantastic opportunity. I will be a part of a team which helps to make the high scale productions at the theatre look visually magnificent for the audience, and I really can’t wait to get over there and get started.”

She added: “The interview process was quite intense but I’m glad my lecturer encouraged me to go for it. I had to create a personal statement, complete in-depth questionnaires and an interview over Skype. I think my 18^th century Marie Antoinette-style ladies dress caught the judges’ attention in particular, which is probably my most impressive piece.”

Anya Glinski, Edinburgh College Theatre Costume lecturer, said: “Rachel is an incredibly talented student and we are very proud that she has managed to secure an internship at this exciting venue. Rachel was initially recommended to train with us by the Head of Wardrobe at Scottish Opera after a successful work experience placement, and has come on in leaps and bounds over the past two years. This will put another feather in her cap and I’m sure the internship in Canada will be an incredible experience.”

Anya added:“We frequently have students accepted as interns with the Royal Opera House, National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as all major companies in Scotland who all endorse our training as one of the best in Britain. The College is well positioned to give students the very best educational experience possible because of its excellent relationships with the top arts employers in Scotland and worldwide.”

College photography students snap up funds for charity

Edinburgh College photography students are hoping to raise funds for two charities as part of their end of year exhibition.

The students are showcasing their latest artwork in Woodland Creatures off Leith Walk, with iconic real life photos of the city and its people as their main inspiration. All of the original photographs have been specially hand-printed and toned in the darkrooms in the College’s own studios.

The Street Photography exhibition runs until 30 May and visitors will have the chance to buy the work with 50 per cent of the proceeds donated to Cclasp and Macmillan Cancer Support charities. Over £100 has been raised for the charities so far.

Photography: Derek Anderson (photographer), HNC Photography student, Edinburgh College

Edinburgh College strikes gold

Edinburgh College students have won a string of awards at a national competition designed to recognise the exceptional talent of beauty students in further education and training. Edinburgh College hosted the national World Skills competition and awards ceremony and entered beauty students to compete for awards against hundreds of students from across the country.

The local collge students, who have consistently won awards at the World Skills competition, picked up two 1st places, three 2nd places and one 3rd place in several competitive beauty categories including aromatherapy and beauty therapy – with a clean sweep of awards in Beauty Therapy Advanced.

19-year-old Beauty student Rachel Rooney from Gilmerton won 1st place in Advanced Beauty Therapy. She said: “My lecturers, Carrie, Nicola and Claire, really encouraged and supported me to go in for the competition and I’m really glad they gave me that extra boost to go for it. I couldn’t have done it without their help.

“I was in complete shock when I heard the World Skills judges call out my name to say I had won – all I could hear were my friends and lecturers cheering me on as I went up on stage to collect the award. I’m so pleased to have won such an amazing award. World Skills is a really well known competition. It’ll look brilliant on my CV and will hopefully give me an edge when I’m looking for a job after College.”

34-year-old Beauty student Lola Lopez, who is originally from Madrid but is currently living in Edinburgh, won 1st place in Aromatherapy at the World Skills competition. She said: “It’s such a massive opportunity to have our beauty skills judged by top professionals. During the competition, the judges came around to observe our treatments and asked us questions about our skill and techniques throughout the competition to really put us to the test.”

Mandy Exley, Principal of Edinburgh College, said: “We are delighted to have been given the honour to host and compete in such a high profile event. World Skills really showcases the brilliant work of beauty students across the country, and highlights the next generation of talented and skilled beauty employees in the industry. We’re incredibly proud of all of our students who have won awards in the competition and look forward to seeing how they perform in the UK national final later in the year.”

She added: “The area of beauty within Edinburgh College is fundamental to the College’s overall curriculum, as well as to the overall contribution to GDP within the UK. The number of people training and gaining employment in beauty has grown by leaps and bounds over the last five years, and we’re very proud to be at the forefront of delivering a skilled workforce within the burgeoning beauty industry.”

Highly regarded throughout the industry, World Skills UK champions and drives excellence in workplace skills and education through competition. The beauty students will soon find out if they will be invited to attend the flagship The Skills Show final later in the year.

Pictured Above: (L-R) Edinburgh College beauty students Shevon McKenna, Lola Lopez, Samantha Plastow, Lindsey McCardie, Kirsty Steel, and Rachel Rooney at the World Skills competition.

And the winner is …

Beauty therapy advanced

· Rachel Rooney (1^st place)

· Lindsey McCardie (2^nd place)

· Kirsty Steel (3^rd place)

Aromatherapy

· Lola Lopez (1^st place)

· Samantha Plastow (2^nd place)

Beauty Therapy Intermediate

· Shevon McKenna (2^nd place)

Edinburgh College students hit the right notes

Students Hit the Right Notes When It Comes To Music Business

Inspiring Edinburgh College students are hosting an event in the capital to showcase the culmination of a year’s worth of work. As part of the HND Music Business course students were required to set up their own independent record labels, scout for new artists and host a single launch party to showcase the results of final year project.

To highlight the artists and some of the most exciting new labels emerging on the east coast, the launch event will be held

this Friday 3 May at The Underground in Teviot Row

Seven independent record labels have been set up by the HND Music Business students, who hand picked artists from across Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Colin McGregor, from Edinburgh, is a student on the course and he will release a single titled ‘September Weekend’ by Glasgow band The Maybes. Colin, who says that the experience has been a real eye opener, will launch the single through his independent record label, Offtrack Records.

He said: “It has been a great experience working towards the single launch and setting up our own record label has been rather surreal. As I have a lot of experience performing, I began this course to get a more rounded knowledge of the music industry and it has been a huge learning curve for me. Edinburgh College has given us real working life experience in that we have had to do everything from setting up our own official record labels and talent scouting for artists to marketing, finance and management.”

During the course, students gain invaluable experience of how an established record label operates, giving them a vast amount of inside knowledge of the music industry.

Singles from each of the artists were recorded at the state-of-the-art CRE:8 Studios at Edinburgh College’s Milton Road campus and they were released simultaneously on Monday (29 April) and are now available for download through iTunes.

The tracks were produced, mixed and mastered by former students from the College’s Sound Production course, and engineered by current Sound Production students facilitating a unique collaborative approach to establishing the labels.

Paul Turnbull, Music Business lecturer at Edinburgh College said: “We constantly strive to provide students with projects that will bring together a variety of disciplines and different strains of knowledge. The students have done an outstanding job in what they have achieved so far and I know the launch night will be a huge success. The experience the students have gained will ensure that students have the relevant knowledge to be successful in the industry.”

Edinburgh College has its own record label, Feast, which was created by three lecturers in late 2010 and is synonymous with the Feast Blog which strives to promote new independent music in Edinburgh and across Scotland. Feast was born through an initiative called Bright Ideas and was set up as a sustainable business from an educational perspective – giving past and present students invaluable experience for future employment opportunities.

Those on the label and at the college have access to its vibrant creative centre which has outstanding facilities for students and musicians, sound engineers and TV Producers and has already been used to host London punk rock band The King Blues amongst others.

The modern fully equipped auditorium allows performance space for gigs, films and other events. Through this affiliation with Feast, the courses at Edinburgh College bring together managers, musicians, bands, engineers and even the filming students in line with education to create original music and videos.

Students at Edinburgh College benefit from study and performance opportunities unrivalled in the sector. Previous students have performed live at the O2 Arena and collaborated in a concert with Jon Lord at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh while recent students have attended master classes in music and sound production with the producer of Oasis.

Students are assisted to find employment through a partnership with ‘Music for Scotland’ or provided with the opportunity to start their own business in a college commercial incubator unit.

Granton Campus hit by food scare

Tuna sandwiches may be the cause of an outbreak of illness at Granton Campus – the former Telford College – yesterday afternoon. Seven students and staff were taken to hospital suffering from an allergic reaction which is being linked to tuna.

Head of Communications at the college Moira Findlay said “An isolated incident occurred this afternoon at Granton Campus of Edinburgh College, where a small number of students and staff suffered an allergic reaction.

The incident is currently under investigation, but it is believed that this may be linked to a batch of tuna sandwiches.

An ambulance team from Scottish Ambulance Service attended to a small number of patients on site, who responded well to treatment. Almost all have been admitted to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, for observation.”

Recruitment Fair at Granton Campus next week

Employment Fair A5 Flyers_FEB 13

Edinburgh College will be hosting a Recruitment Fair at the Granton Campus next Wednesday (27 February) from 11am – 2pm in The Hub, and while the event is primarily geared toward students members of the local community are more than welcome to go along too.

It’s an opportunity to meet employers, get careers and volunteering advice and you also can get your CV checked over at the CV Clinic.

Interested? For further information contact Emma Hill at Jobzone, telephone 559 4869 or email jobzone@edinburghcollege.ac.uk

North Edinburgh set to raise the standard high

NEVER GIVE UP! – Looking to the future

North Edinburgh Arts is the venue for a practical workshop on arts and activism this Wednesday (20 February). Community Learning and Development worker Lynne McCabe tells more:

“I am writing to tell you about a practical workshop on arts and activism which will be taking place in North Edinburgh Arts Centre on Wednesday 20 February from 10 – 3.00 pm. The session has been organised by North Edinburgh Social History Group, CLD and art students from Telford (Edinburgh) College.

The social history group will kick off the morning session with a presentation of archive material which illustrates how the arts have been used to support local campaigns in the past. The students will then do a short presentation about the art work they created following a meeting with the group last year. We will then have a discussion about local issues and hopefully come up with some ideas of how to use the arts to get your group’s message across to a wider audience. This approach has been used very effectively over many years by countless local groups including the western general action group, the feet first chiropody campaign, the anti-water privatisation campaign, Pilton Environment Group and different generations of anti-dampness groups.

A free lunch will be provided for all participants at 12.00 and then we will get down to creating banners, posters, petitions, campaign logos – anything that you think would help to publicise local issues and campaigns. Some ideas already put forward by local activists include a huge banner or piece of art work about the bed room tax or something which could be used to highlight the issue of fuel poverty. We will be assisted in this process by the students and staff from the Contemporary Art Course at the College. The College will also provide us with a range of materials and equipment to use.

This is a great opportunity for people from different parts of North Edinburgh to come together to create a range of campaign materials which will help to generate a bit of publicity about local issues and campaigns.

Places are limited so please book your place in advance. Telephone North Edinburgh Arts on 315 2151 or email them on admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk. I hope that you are able to join us.”