Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Addis Ababa honors Michael Jackson

Unbelievably, it has been a year since the King of Pop Michael Jackson died. His millions of fans all over the world included many in Addis Ababa.
Fans around the world marked the first anniversary of his death, June 25, with various events from candlelight vigils to slumber parties planned in honor of MJ’s extraordinary 50 year journey.
Over 5,000 fans in the US are reported to have marched since dawn to cast flowers and mementos to their idol.
In other parts of the world as well various events were organized to mark the first year anniversary.
In Tokyo, flowers began piling up where 50 diehard fans paid more than 1,000 dollars each to attend a sleepover inside an exhibition space showcasing some of the singer’s belongings.
In Germany, candlelight vigils with music, balloons, posters and Jackson imitators were planned in numerous cities, including Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.
Fans dressed up like Michael in Prague and unveiled plans for a bust of the singer at a city party.
Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa too wasn’t left out of the celebration of the pop star.
Hosted in the city’s main hall, more than sixty young talents came together after weeks’ of preparation to reenact the singer’s sensational music and dance moves on the stage.
“We called on the media for Michael Jackson’s fans with dancing talent to come to us and be part of the event,” Getaneh Tsehaye said. He is a founder of Helget Entertainment and Dance Studio which organized the event.
The entrainment, which co-runs, a studio with Frank Addis Bar and Restaurant, was responsible for finding sixty dancers a venue for the long performance of MJ’s most recognizable, sensational dance moves from his video clips.
On June 30 at city hall invitations were sent to out to fill the place to capacity but hundreds more, mainly youngsters were allowed in. The 10 something Haleget dancers collaborated with others and another performance by Abyssinia Art Academy musical performance flavored the event.
Respect for the King of Pop was the name of the event and from the city’s theatre bureau to various FM radio programs; many put an effort to make it happen.
“From now on we want to honor Michael Jackson with similar events at June 25 every year,” Getaneh said.
Helget Entertainment and Dance Studio, who came to the limelight with an appearance in Love and Dance movie wants to make the event stand permanently and be recognized among the annual global events honoring the extraordinary Michael Jackson. The upcoming association they are helping to establish, The Ethiopian modern music dancers association, should aide the effort. (Compiled by Kirubel Tadesse)

Monday, July 19, 2010

Challenges and Opportunities of the Young & the beautiful

By:- Biruk Gebremedhin


The fashion industry is a fast-paced, ever more complex world of creativity of design, knowledge driven business, and technology that many people find fascinating and alluring.

Modeling art for several years depict how that fashion industry could have made a cultural and economic development through the courage of inspirational, beautiful, elegant and charismatic models.


Fashion is seasonal, and as an augmentation industry gives many challenges in career opportunities. “In order to be successful, you must have a passion for fashion with a real burning desire to work in the industry. For many successful people in this business, fashion is their life-they live it and think it constantly. This industry values work experience and education” said Amleset Muche.


Amleset is one of a very few Ethiopian models featured in fashion runway shows in USA, Italia, China, Poland and here in Ethiopia. Born 1987 in Gonder, she is model, social advocate, film producer and actress who have a multitalented personality. She has studied BA in Journalism and Mass Communication here in Addis and has also acquired further studies in New York Film Academy. She has also honored an International Stylish Award in Poland in 2006.

Despite such a growing business and personal achievements, here in Ethiopia, she argues that, it has a number of challenges on the sector from less public attitude to less payment for their performance. And that is the main reason for her to deviate from modeling into film production. And In 2008; Amleset produced the film- production entitled “Selefiker’ (about love).

Fashion designers conceptualize and create new clothing and accessory designs. They analyze fashion trends and work closely with production and marketing to design, produce, and promote a finished, ready-to-wear product for apparel manufacturers, specialty and retail stores, and individual clients.

The present-day model Hiwot justifies the fashion industry interlink and interdependent nature of business that could not be easily successful without the art of modeling.

Hiwot Assefa, 20, born in Diredawa and a graduate of Tour Operator said “The industry has gradually growing with constraint of budget and thus taken us for less payment for our act with the margin of 500 to 1000 Ethiopian birr per stage. And it is true that such a law wages can not enhance anyone’s concern.” She added “for most models it is a par time job and difficult to be a permanent one”.


With all these challenges, Hiwot performed in Algeria, South Africa, Turkey and here in Ethiopia. She has also awarded Miss Intercontinental Award in Belarus 2006.

To overcome such challenges, She further noted that Modeling agency has to be flourish for uncompromising excellence and attributes our success to the professionalism of our commitment to able to find internationally acclaimed employment in the fashion industry at all levels. And the government has to play its key role with adequate institutions and resource for betterment of the industry.

Source: EthiopianReporter

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Catching up with chef Marcus Samuelsson

Ten years before he won "Top Chefs Masters" in an upset victory, Ethiopian-born Swede Marcus Samuelsson conquered the New York dining world with his contemporary take on Scandinavian cuisine at Aquavit. Later, he took on the challenges of Japanese fusion (Riingo), gourmet hamburgers (Marc Burger) and modern American seafood (C-House).

This fall he's embarking on another ambitious project: an American, farm-to-table restaurant in Harlem. This love of American food culture was clear from his 2009 cookbook "The American Table," which interspersed innovative recipes with stories of regional foods and cooks.

We caught up with Samuelsson (before his big win) at the launch of a new line of cooking ranges he designed for BlueStar Ranges.

Q Tell us about your next restaurant project.
A It's going to be called The Red Rooster and we are going to take the same farm-to-table theme we have (at C-House) and it will have all the same love and care. It's going to be American food, but very democratic and affordable. I already have the space. It should open September-ish.

Q You have such a diverse background. What are your best food memories?

A Sunday dinners with my family at my grandmother's house (in Gothenburg, Sweden) where we all had our jobs to do. She might cook a pork roast stuffed with prunes and serve it with mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts and carrots. Very basic. Maybe we started with a lentil soup and then had apple cake served with a sauce for dessert. It was all very rustic and made from scratch. We had luxury and didn't even know it.

Q What do you think about the Swedish cooking in the U.S.?

A I love meeting Scandinavian Americans and seeing Swedish restaurants in the States. But I do think there is a difference between the Scandinavian American cooking and the cooking in Scandinavia today. The cooking here reflects what food was like in Sweden 150 or 100 years ago with lutefisk and a lot of dishes we don't eat anymore. But then there are certain dishes like meatballs from Ikea that we all still eat.

Q What was it like to cook the Obamas' first state dinner?

A I worked very closely with the first lady months in advance to plan for the state dinner and think about what we would provide for the Indian prime minister. We also talked a lot about childhood obesity and health and what we could serve from the White House garden. When you are gathering food from the garden, the meal could not be more farm-to-table. It's amazing to be gathering food to cook that night and look over and see the Oval Office.

Q How have the first lady's campaigns changed the food conversation in the U.S.?

A Talking about food and health, inviting chefs to the White House and cooking with kids has done so much to get the conversation going. I think it is great that she has put these things all together talking about food and health and obesity. All you have to do is look at all the different blogs and the people joining the discussion to see that it's making a difference. I think we are on the right path and we can fix this thing.

Q What were your goals in designing a range?

A Heat! We have a 22,000 BTU burner while most people at home have 12 or 14. I wanted to blend high power and low temperature control so you can cook more precisely. Interest in food is at an all-time high, and so the consumer demands many of the same things we have in our kitchens. They want the same knives, they want the same cookware we have in the restaurant, and now we can give them some of those things on the range.

meng@tribune.com