OK, I’ll admit it. I went to grad school on a bit of a whim. Sure, getting an MA was always on the “this might be an interesting thing to do some day” list, but it wasn’t necessarily at the top of it. But when the economy tanked, my live-in boyfriend confessed he “didn’t see […]
Meredith Dault
Posted inNews + Opinion
Kick Procrastination’s Ass — right after you’ve read these tips
OK, I’ll admit it: I’m a procrastinator. When I’ve got work to do, I like nothing more than imagining its potential brilliance in my mind for days on end. Of course, by the time I actually have to sit down and get something done, I’m not only strapped for time (having left everything to the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The truth about your T.A.
The first time I saw someone actually write down something I said in class, I nearly laughed out loud. “No no no,” I wanted to say, watching a student dutifully record something I’d spit out unthinkingly from my post at the front of the room, “I’m just your T.A. I don’t actually KNOW anything.” Which, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
How to not get stuck in Halifax
Ah, newbies. Welcome to the city. I was like you once. A born-and-bred Toronto girl, I moved to Halifax to take an eight-month post-graduate degree at the University of King’s College. “No worries!” I told my big city friends. “I’ll check out what’s happening out east, and I’ll be back in no time!” Four years […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Sex work in the shadows
Halifax’s sex workers are regularly assaulted and have even been killed on the job. But as a result of our hypocritical
attitudes toward sex—we can sell anything using appeals to our sexual selves, except sex itself—we can’t find a way to
protect these women. Meredith Dault tells their story. photos Aaron McKenzie Fraser
Posted inArts + Music
Vessna Perunovich’s tight squeeze
It’s a foggy Saturday night outside Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery, and a small crowd has gathered for Vessna Perunovich’s performance, “I Hug the World and the World Hugs Me Back.” The artist is tethered to a lamppost by three long, thick bands of elastic—blood-red against her black dress and white blouse. She stands, her […]
Posted inArts + Music
Eyelevel Gallery turns back the calendar for anniversary show
At first glance, you’d hardly notice the change. As usual, the walls at Eyelevel are hung with interesting work—on this day it’s paintings by Mark Stebbins and Art Krauss. At the back of the gallery, the administrative staff works behind a large desk. Then you hear it. “Ka-chunk.” Gallery intern Chris Foster is busily typing […]
Posted inArts + Music
2b, now and forever
It’s a sunny Sunday morning outside Neptune Theatre’s carpentry shop, an inconspicuous spot tucked away on Creighton Street in north end Halifax. With the smell of sawdust mingling with the freshness of spring’s potential, a group of volunteers work together lugging carefully crafted rectangular flats of wood—there are 52 of them in all, each 14 […]
Posted inArts + Music
Park life
If Noah Logan has his way, Point Pleasant Park will be ready for its next hurricane. The third year NSCAD student has hatched an elaborate plan to keep the trees rooted to the ground the next time gale force winds feel compelled to take ’em down—and it involves chains. “If they blow over,” he explains, […]
Posted inArts + Music
Nova Bhattacharya’s off the map
Though her parents were born in India, Toronto dancer/choreographer Nova Bhattacharya is unfalteringly Canadian. She defines her dance works the same way, highlighting the fact that they are influenced by where she lives and who her influences are, and stressing their accessibility. But unlike many of the country’s acclaimed contemporary dancers, Bhattacharya brings something different […]
Posted inArts + Music
Close encounters
She approaches without warning. A petite woman with a friendly demeanour, she’s not intimidating, particularly, but her question is unnerving in its directness. “Describe a special location,” she says pointedly to a passerby. That’s it: no idle chit-chat, no explanation for asking the question. The woman she’s approached—probably a student—is caught unaware. “Anywhere?” she says, […]
Posted inArts + Music
Martin Belanger’s body talks
One of the things that makes dance so magical—and oftentimes so moving—is its ability to transcend language. Using movement, a skilled performer can make us feel and understand things at a level that can’t be reached through other means. That same ethereal quality, however, can sometimes make dance hard to talk about, especially for a […]