New Swan Lake

Picture by Antti Aimo-Koivisto, Lehtikuva

After a long SQ flight and a nice but rainy weekend in London, I am now in freezing cold Helsinki. My time here could not have started better. I went to see and feel a new version of the famous Swan Lake at Finnish National Ballet (FNB) today.

The performance was stunning. FNB's new Artistic director Kenneth Greve had made a modern interpretation of Ivanov's and Petipa's classic choreography. The lead dancers were great although the choreography seemed to be quite difficult for some male dancers. Tchaikovsky's music had gone through some modernization as well but it did not bother.

As a visual person I looked most critically the sets and the costumes. I was very impressed by the actual swan lake set. The lake was beautifully portrayed in a simple yet sophisticated and mysterious way. It was made using only lights and smoke. Costumes were great too, especially I liked von Rothbart's dark toned and a bit scary outfits. And his little helpers in black hoods - they were super cute!

There is only performance left this season, this Friday. Catch it if you can!

Restocking

It is time to do restock my Finnish tar shampoo, brief English introduction here. Today I am heading to Finland for a short cooling holiday. Keep checking the blog for freezing updates from the North!

Hello Kitty Lab

Picture from kittylab.com.sg

My favorite kitten has landed in Singapore! Hello Kitty is celebrating her 35th birthday in Singapore with Hello Kitty Lab for two weeks, starting from November 14th. I payed a visit this rainy day and it was worth the trip to the other side of the island.

As everyone knows, Hello Kitty is a famous scientist. She was doing one of her experiments and something went terribly wrong. There was a huge explosion in her laboratory and her head doubled its size turning Hello Kitty into Dr. Kitty, who is now giving Singaporeans a chance to make their own experiments in the Hello Kitty Lab.

Actually the lab is a small town where visitors play games designed by Dr. Kitty. If one wins, they can add features to their own Hello Kitty creation. The tasks vary and put the visitor on a good mood. The lab is extremely nicely designed and eye is given to the details. After finishing the lab, every visitor is given a Kitty ID card with a picture of their newly created Kitty character. If one finishes the lab tour in 35 minutes, he will be given a medal.

For those who like Hello Kitty, Hello Kitty Lab is a must visit. I believe others like it too. The venue is open until November 29th.

Unfortunatelly taking photos was not allowed in the Hello Kitty Lab. Here are some samples from the lab.

The tallest building in Hong Kong

Behind this worn out but lively street stands the tallest building in Hong Kong, the International Commerce Center. It has now reached its peak and is 484m tall with 118 floors. The lower levels of the building are already in use although the higher floors are still under construction. The ICC is being built above the Kowloon MTR station next to The Arch where I once almost moved to.

Waiting for the perfect shot

It was another storm this evening. I tried my best to catch a lightning, but I missed the biggest bangs. Here are today's best shots. As it is monsoon season, there lots of storms to come...

Sunset before rain

Casino taking shape

I took a quick look at the direction of MarinaBay Sands building site today and I saw the three towers being connected finally. I can not wait to see the whole complex ready. I am especially interested in the SkyPark which is going to be 340m long connecting all the three pictured hotel towers. The roof top of MarinaBay Sands is going to host not only bars and restaurants, but huge garden and swimming pools too. They must have an amazing view up there!

Here is an illustration of how the SkyPark is being built.

Picture from MarinaBay Sands. See it larger here.