Plot.

"Dance Academy" is narrated mainly from the perspective of Tara Webster (Xenia Goodwin), a newly accepted first year student at the National Academy of Dance in Sydney, which also doubles as a Year 10-12 high school for the dancers. Throughout the series, she learns to better her ballet technique, as well as learn contemporary ballet and hip-hop dance; while creating lifelong friendships and experiencing many hardships. In the first series, Tara soon befriends fellow students Kat (Alicia Banit) and Ethan Karamakov (Tim Pocock), Sammy Lieberman (Tom Green), Abigail Armstrong (Dena Kaplan) and Christian Reed (Jordan Rodrigues), as well as eventually getting to know her teacher Ms. Raine (Tara Morice).  Series two saw Tara return to the Academy for her second year with the hope of representing Australia in an international ballet competition, the Prix de Fonteyn. This series introduced characters Grace Whitney (Isabel Durant), Ben Tickle (Thomas Lacey), Ollie Lloyd (Keiynan Lonsdale), and Saskia Duncan (Brooke Harman), and saw the characters' reaction to the untimely death of Sammy.  Series three followed the characters as third years at the Academy, competing for a contract with the dance company to become principal dancers. After the temporary contracts have been established, the third years go on tour for "Romeo and Juliet".

Production.

"Dance Academy" is produced by Joanna Werner's film company Werner Films Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Screen Australia, Film Victoria, Film New South Wales and ZDF for Germany., airing rights to "Dance Academy" have been sold to 180 territories, airing on every continent except Antarctica.

Casting and filming.

Series one.

Casting for series one began in early 2009 in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. All cast members had to be skilled in drama and dancing and had to cope with Australia's best choreographers. Filming began on 13 July 2009 and wrapped up in early November. The series premiere was originally planned for a mid-2010 premiere on ABC3, however, like "Dead Gorgeous", the premiere was pushed to ABC1 on 31 May 2010 and ABC3 on 6 June 2010. The first series premiered on Germany's ZDF on 26 September 2010.

Series two.

Production of series two was officially green-lit by ABC and ZDF on 2 July 2010. Casting calls were issued on 14 September 2010, and principal photography in Sydney took place between 31 January and 4 August 2011. Series two premiered on ABC3 on 12 March 2012 and ran for 26 episodes, airing each week from Monday through Thursday, ending on 24 April.

Series three.

Screen Australia approved investment funding for a third series of 13 episodes on 5 December 2011. Filming began 27 August 2012, ended filming 27 November 2012. On 5 June 2013, Alicia Banit and Thomas Lacey appeared on ABC3's "Studio 3" to announce the series 3 premiere on 8 July 2013.

Release.

Online streaming.

The show is available on streaming sites, including Hulu.com and Netflix.com. Entire episodes of all three seasons are also available, for free, on the show's official YouTube channel, however it is not available in Australia.

DVD releases.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has released all episodes from series one through three on DVD—with series one and two across four volumes and series three over two—as well as series collections and a complete series one to three compilation.

Books.

ABC Books has released seven paperback novels, each based on a particular episode and from the perspective of a single character. The books are published by ABC Books and HarperCollins Australia.

Film: "Dance Academy: The Movie".

On 22 April 2015, a feature film adaption of "Dance Academy" was announced along with other feature film projects to have received funding from Screen Australia. The film is a sequel to the television series, set 18 months after the events of series three, and follows Tara's journey as she pursues her dream to become a ballerina star. Pre-production for the film, then titled "Dance Academy: The Comeback", began on 17 April 2016. Shooting for the film began on 29 May 2016, and wrapped on 22 July. The official trailer for the film was released on 25 December 2016. The film, retitled "Dance Academy: The Movie", was released by StudioCanal to Australian cinemas on 6 April 2017. It was released internationally on Netflix under the title "Dance Academy: The Comeback".

Dance Academy is an Australian teen-oriented television drama produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two began airing on 12 March 2012. Series three premiered on ABC3 on 8 July 2013 in Australia.


Biography.

Life.

Kolë Idromeno was of Cham origin and was born on 15 August 1860 in Shkodër. His father, Arsen Idromeno, was originally a Cham Albanian from Arta but resided most of his lifetime in Shkodër, where he worked as a building contractor and married the local resident Roza Saraçi. In his hometown Shkodër, Pjetër Marubi, a close friend of the family, gave Kolë lessons on photography and started at the age of eleven to paint his first paintings with watercolors. With the compulsion and support of Marubi, he moved to Venice and stayed for some months at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, the academy of fine arts. Afterwards, he worked in the studio of an Italian painter.  After his studies in Venice, he started to travel around Europe and decided to move back to his hometown in 1878. There, he engaged himself in a number of different activities, working as in the fields of architecture, sculpture, photography, painting, composing, scenic design and engineering.

Career.

Work.

Kolë Idromeno is considered as the founder of Realism in the country and the most important painter of the Albanian Renaissance, which started in the 19th century. He is referred as Michelangelo of Albania. Idromeno established a very active photographic studio and was the first artist to show motion pictures in country in 1912. In addition, he had kept up a correspondence with the Lumière brothers in Paris. In 1923, Idromeno was the initiator of the first art exhibition in Shkodër and was represented in the first national art exhibition in Tirana in 1931. Until 1896, Idromeno painted mainly paintings with religious themes. Afterwards, he painted probably the first Albanian secular and realistic pictures with illustrating historical events and everyday motifs such as festivals and costumes such as "Dasma Shkodrane". He followed to paint various landscapes, "Oborri i Shtëpisë Shkodrane", and became the first landscape painter of modern Albanian art. His most famous work is "Motra Tone", which shows his sister Tona. This artwork is sometimes referred to as Albanian Mona Lisa. His works were represented in international exhibitions for example in Budapest, Austria–Hungary (1900) and New York City, United States (1939).  One of his best work, not very popular, is the portrait Gjergj Kastriot Skënderbeu painted in 1889. Its owner it is uncertain and the painting has never been in public. As an architect, Idromeno has carved his name into many well-known objects in Shkodra. The list includes Kafja e Madhe, the St. Stephen's Cathedral, Church of Shirokë, first electrical station of the town, Radovan Building, the Prefecture Building, Mosque of Parrucë and most of the residences of villas along the main boulevard in the northern historical district of Shkodra.

Nikoll Idromeno (; 15 August 186012 December 1939), better known as Kolë Idromeno, was an Albanian painter, sculptor, architect, photographer, cinematographer, composer and engineer during the Albanian Renaissance in the nineteenth century. He is widely regarded as a precursor of both realism and landscape art in Albania.


Education.

Woodard was educated privately and at The New School for Social Research and University of California, Santa Barbara.

Nueva Germania.

In 2003 Woodard was elected councilman in Juniper Hills (Los Angeles County), California. In this capacity he proposed a sister city relationship with Nueva Germania, Paraguay. To advance his plan, Woodard traveled to the erstwhile vegetarian/feminist utopia and met with its municipal leadership. Following an initial visit, he chose not to pursue the relationship but had found in the community an object of study for later writings. What particularly interests him are the proto-transhumanist ideas of speculative planner Richard Wagner and Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, who along with her husband Bernhard Förster founded and lived in the colony between 1886 and 1889.  In 2004, acknowledging sustainable aspects of Nueva Germania's founding ideals, Woodard composed the choral anthem "Our Jungle Holy Land".  From 2004 to 2006 Woodard led numerous expeditions to Nueva Germania, winning support from then U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. In 2011 Woodard granted Swiss writer Christian Kracht permission to publish their sizable personal correspondence, largely concerning Nueva Germania, under Leibniz University Hannover imprint. Of the, "FAZ" relates, "[The authors] obliterate the boundary between life and art." "Der Spiegel" posits that "Five Years" constitutes "the spiritual preparatory work" of Kracht's subsequent novel "Imperium".  According to Andrew McCann, Woodard embarked on "a trip to what is left of the place, where descendants of original settlers live under drastically reduced circumstances" and was moved to "advance the cultural profile of the community, and to build a miniature Bayreuth opera house on the site of what was once Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche's family residence." In recent years Nueva Germania has tempered into a more genial destination, with bed and breakfasts and a makeshift historical museum.

Dreamachine.

From 1989 to 2007 Woodard built replicas of the Dreamachine, a stroboscopic device created by Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville which involves a slotted cylinder, made of copper or paper, rotating around an electrical lamp. When observed with closed eyes, the machine can trigger mental states that are comparable to substance intoxication or dreaming. Agreeing to contribute a Dreamachine to William S. Burroughs' 1996 LACMA visual retrospective "Ports of Entry", Woodard befriended the elderly author and presented him with a paper "Bohemian model" Dreamachine for his 83rd and final birthday. Sotheby's auctioned the former machine to a private collector in 2002, and the latter machine remains on extended loan from Burroughs' estate to the Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence, Kansas.

David Woodard (, ; born April 6, 1964) is an American conductor and writer. During the 1990s he coined the term "prequiem", a portmanteau of preemptive and requiem, to describe his Buddhist practice of composing dedicated music to be rendered during or slightly before the death of its subject.


Development.

On 20 June 1941, the United States Navy placed an order with the Douglas Aircraft Company for two prototypes of a new two-seat dive bomber to replace both the Douglas SBD Dauntless and the new Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, designated XSB2D-1. The resulting aircraft, designed by a team led by Ed Heinemann, was a large single-engined mid-winged monoplane. It had a laminar flow gull-wing, and unusually for a carrier-based aircraft of the time, a tricycle undercarriage. It was fitted with a bomb bay and underwing racks for up to 4,200 lb (1,900 kg) of bombs, while defensive armament consisted of two wing-mounted 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon and two remote-controlled turrets, each with two.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns.  The prototype first flew on 8 April 1943, demonstrating excellent performance, being much faster and carrying nearly double the bombload of the Helldiver, and orders for 358 SB2D-1s quickly followed. The U.S. Navy changed its requirements, however, wanting single-seat carrier-based torpedo/dive bombers without defensive turrets, and Douglas reworked the SB2D by removing the turrets and second crewman, while adding more fuel and armor, while wing racks could carry not just one but two torpedoes, producing the BTD-1 Destroyer. The orders for SB2Ds were converted to BTD-1s, with the first BTD flying on 5 March 1944.

Operational history.

The first production BTD-1s were completed in June 1944. By the time Japan surrendered in August 1945, only 28 aircraft had been delivered, and production was cancelled, along with other aircraft types that had been designed from the start as single-seaters, such as the Martin AM Mauler. None saw combat action. In any event, Heinemann and his team were already working on developing the single-seat BT2D that became the Douglas A-1 Skyraider.

Surviving aircraft.

BTD-1 Destroyer, Bureau Number "4959", is under restoration for display at the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center, Elmira-Corning Regional Airport, Elmira, New York. This aircraft had long been in the Florence Air & Missile Museum collection until the museum's closing in 1997. In September 2015 the aircraft was relocated to the Hixson Flight Museum in Rome, Georgia.

The Douglas BTD Destroyer is an American dive/torpedo bomber developed for the United States Navy during World War II. A small number had been delivered before the end of the war, but none saw combat.


Description.

Males measure long and weigh. The male is brightly plumaged with a scaled golden white and red body plumage, grey legs, brown iris and bare red skin around the eye. The head is white with a black narrow band across its eyes. The male has an extremely long silvery white tail barred with chestnut brown. This pheasant is mentioned in the 2008 edition of "Guinness World Records" for having the longest natural tail feather of any bird species; a record formerly held by the crested argus pheasant. The tail can measure up to long.  Females measure long and weigh. They are brown with a blackish crown, a buff face and greyish brown barred tail feathers. The females are about the same size as a male common pheasant.  There are no known subspecies, but there is some variation in plumage.

Distribution and habitat.

The Reeves's pheasant is endemic to evergreen forests of central and eastern China. Where introduced, they also inhabit farmland close to woodlands. The tail of the male bird grows approximately every year.  They have been introduced for sport and ornamental purposes to the United States, Czech Republic, France and the United Kingdom. In the latter three countries, they have built up small breeding populations, and are still released on a small scale for shooting, often alongside common pheasants.  Due to ongoing habitat loss, and overhunting for food and its tail plumes, the Reeves's pheasant is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. There are thought to be only around 2000 birds remaining in the wild.

Behaviour.

The Reeves's pheasant is a hardy bird and is able to tolerate both hot and cold weather. They prefer higher ground for nesting. The female lays a clutch of 7–14 eggs in April or May; the incubation period is 24–25 days. Reeves's pheasants are often aggressive towards humans, animals, and other pheasants, particularly during the breeding season.  Their call is unlike other game birds in that it is a musical warble, sounding more passerine than a galliform bird. Their diet is vegetable matter, including seeds and cereals. They are fairly common in aviculture.

Reeves's pheasant ("Syrmaticus reevesii") is a large pheasant within the genus "Syrmaticus". It is endemic to China. It is named after the British naturalist John Reeves, who first introduced live specimens to Europe in 1831.


Childhood.

Joubert's parents divorced when he was six years old, and he went to live with his mother in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He was not allowed to visit his father and grew to hate his controlling mother. In 1974, she moved the family to Portland, Maine. He attended Cheverus High School.  When he was 13, he stabbed a young girl with a pencil and felt sexually stimulated when she cried in pain. The next day, he took a razor blade and slashed another girl as he biked past her. He was never caught for either attack. In another incident, he beat and nearly strangled another boy. He relished the power of bullying, and began to stab or slash others.

Murders.

In the city of Portland, Maine, on August 22, 1982, 11-year-old Richard "Ricky" Stetson had gone jogging. When he had not returned by dark, his parents called the police. The next day, a motorist saw the boy's body on the side of the I-295. It appeared that an attempt had been made to undress him, and he was stabbed and strangled. A suspect was arrested for the murder, but his teeth did not match a bite mark on Stetson's body, so he was released after a year and a half in custody. No additional leads were presented until January 1984.  Danny Joe Eberle disappeared while delivering the "Omaha World-Herald" newspaper on Sunday, September 18, 1983, in Bellevue, Nebraska. His brother, who also delivered the newspaper, had not seen him, but did remember being followed by a white man in a tan car on previous days. It was found that Eberle had delivered just three of the 70 newspapers on his route. At his fourth delivery, his bicycle was discovered along with the rest of the newspapers. There appeared to be no sign of a struggle. Joubert would later describe how he had approached Eberle, drew a knife and then covered the boy's mouth with his hand. He then instructed the boy to follow him and took him to his truck. He then took him to a gravel road outside of town.  After a three-day search, his body was finally discovered about four miles (6 km) from where his bike had been found. He had been stripped to his underwear and had his feet and hands bound and mouth taped with surgical tape. He had been stabbed nine times. As a kidnapping, the crime came under the jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, so the FBI was called in.  The investigation followed several leads, including a young man who was arrested for molesting two young boys about a week after the crime. He failed a polygraph test and had a false but did not fit the profile the FBI had created for the murderer. He was released due to a lack of evidence. Other known pedophiles in the area were also questioned, but the case went cold due to a scarcity of evidence.  On December 2, Christopher Walden disappeared in Papillion, Nebraska, about three miles (five km) from where Eberle's body was found. Witnesses again said they saw a white man in a tan car. Joubert said that he had driven up to Walden as he walked, showed him the sheath of his knife and ordered him into the car. After driving to some railways lines out of town, he ordered Walden to strip to his underwear, which he did. But then Walden refused to lie down. After a brief struggle, Joubert overpowered and then stabbed him. Joubert cut Walden's throat, so deep that he had almost been decapitated. Walden's body was found two days later five miles (eight km) from the town. Although the crimes were similar there were differences. Walden had not been bound, had been concealed better, and was thought to have been killed immediately after being abducted.

Arrest.

On January 11, 1984, a preschool teacher in the area of the murders called police to say that she had seen a young man driving in the area. There are conflicting stories as to what occurred — whether the car was loitering or just driving around. When the driver saw the teacher writing down his license plate, he stopped and threatened her before fleeing. The car was not tan, but was traced and found to be rented by John Joubert, an enlisted radar technician from Offutt Air Force Base. It turned out that his own car, a tan Nova sedan, was being repaired.  A search warrant was issued, and rope consistent with that used to bind Danny Joe Eberle was found in his dorm room. The FBI found that the unusual rope had been made for the United States military in South Korea. Under interrogation, Joubert admitted getting it from the scoutmaster in the troop in which he was an assistant.  Robert K. Ressler, the FBI's head profiler at the time, had immediate access to the information about the two boys in Nebraska and worked up a hypothetical description which matched Joubert in every regard. While presenting the case of the two Nebraska boys to a training class at the FBI academy at Quantico, a police officer from Portland, Maine, noted the similarities to a case in his jurisdiction which took place while Joubert had lived there prior to joining the Air Force. Bitemark comparisons proved that Joubert was responsible for the Maine killing in addition to those in Nebraska. Ressler and the Maine investigators came to believe that Joubert joined the military to get away from Maine after the murder of the Stetson boy.  Further investigation in Maine revealed two crimes between the pencil stabbing of the nine-year-old girl in 1979 and the murder of Stetson in 1982. In 1980, Ressler's investigation revealed that Joubert had slashed a nine-year-old boy and a female teacher in her mid-twenties who both "had been cut rather badly, and were lucky to be alive."

Trials and appeals.

Joubert then confessed to killing the two boys and, on January 12, was charged with their murders. After initially pleading not guilty, he changed his plea to guilty. There were several psychiatric evaluations performed on Joubert. One characterised him as having obsessive-compulsive disorder and sadistic tendencies, and suffering from schizoid personality disorder. He was found to have not been psychotic at the time of the crimes. A panel of three judges sentenced him to death for both counts. Joubert was also sentenced to life imprisonment in Maine (which did not have the death penalty) in 1990 for the murder of Ricky Stetson after Joubert's teeth were found to match the bite mark.  In 1995, Joubert filed a writ of habeas corpus to the United States federal courts over the death sentences. His lawyers argued that the aggravating factor of "exceptional depravity" was unconstitutionally vague. The court agreed and the state of Nebraska appealed to the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. They overturned the appeal, saying that he had shown sadistic behavior by torturing Eberle and Walden.  Joubert was executed on July 17, 1996, by the state of Nebraska via the electric chair.  As part of appeals on the Nebraska Supreme Court over whether the electric chair in Nebraska is a cruel and unusual punishment, it was revealed that during his execution Joubert incurred a four-inch brain blister on the top of his head and blistering on both sides of his head above his ears.

References.

"Footnotes" "General references"

John J. Joubert (July 2, 1963 – July 17, 1996) was a serial killer executed in Nebraska. He had been convicted of the murders of three boys in Maine and Nebraska.


Early life.

Her mother was a Spanish teacher, and her father worked for an electric company. In 1985, she entered the Conservatoire de Tours with her sister and her brother, attending courses from the ages of 7 to 11. She studied music theory, specifically the violin, piano, guitar, and choral singing. In 1994, she moved to Bordeaux. In 1995, she took singing lessons and played sports for a year in Bordeaux. In 2000, she won a scholarship from the regional council, which allowed her to join a school of modern music, the CIAM (Centre for Musical Activities and Information) of Bordeaux. Her musical influences included 'Four Seasons' by Vivaldi, jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, and other singers such as Enrico Macias, Bobby McFerrin, and Richard Bona, as well as African, Latin, and Cuban rhythms. In 2006, she moved to Paris.

Singing career.

In 2001, she started her singing career in the blues band "Fifty Fingers". She sang in musical groups in Angoulême, especially in a jazz quintet. She became one of the four singers of Izar-Adatz (Basque for "Shooting Star"), a variety band which consisted of sixteen people with whom she toured for two years, especially in the Midi-Pyrenees and the Basque Country. She worked in the studio as a backing singer in Toulouse and performed with many singers, including Maeso, Art Mengo, Vladimir Max, Jean-Pierre Mader, and Serge Guerao.  In 2011, Zaz won an EBBA Award. Every year the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA) recognize the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year.  In May 2010, French magazine "Télérama" announced: "Rumor has swelled in recent weeks: Zaz is an extraordinary voice, and she will be the revelation of the summer!". On 10 May 2010, Zaz released her first album. It contains songs she wrote ("Trop sensible") and co-composed ("Les passants", "Le long de la route", "Prends garde à ta langue", "J'aime à nouveau", "Ni oui ni non"). Kerredine Soltani produced the album on the label "Play On" and wrote and composed the hit single "Je veux". The pop singer Raphaël Haroche wrote her songs "Éblouie par la nuit", "Port Coton" and "La fée". In 2010, she signed a contract for her tours with Caramba and publisher Sony ATV. She was invited to make several television appearances (such as "Taratata" or "Chabada") and was featured in several programs on the radio. On Sunday 6 October 2013, Zaz appeared on BBC One's "The Andrew Marr Show" in London and sang "Je veux" live.  Zaz then toured France (Paris, La Rochelle, Montauban, Saint-Ouen, Chateauroux, Landerneau, Fécamp...), performed at the Francofolies of Montreal (Canada), and sang in Monthey (Switzerland), Brussels, Berlin, and Milan. In autumn Zaz topped the charts in Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria. Matthieu Baligand, her manager and producer at Caramba Entertainment, explained to "Libération": "We talk a lot of her right now and people are waiting her at the turn... Despite the demand, it seems preferable to do her first tour in fifty small places which will render her credible. Zaz is a popular, intuitive artist, who is familiar with music, who can sing, but doing a quality show is something else (...)." In November 2010, the debut album "Zaz" became double platinum and she was awarded "Revelation Song" by the Académie Charles Cros. Zaz also won the European Border Breakers Award: she was named the French artist most played abroad in 2010. According to a survey published by "L'Internaute", Zaz was the most popular French singer in the 2010 ranking.  She is also featured on the song "Cœur Volant" for the soundtrack of the 2011 film, "Hugo". Her live CD and DVD "Zaz live tour Sans Tsu Tsou" was revealed.  Her song "Eblouie Par La Nuit" was featured in the 2013 American neo-noir crime thriller, "Dead Man Down".  In 2012, Zaz went on tour and held concerts in various countries around the world including Japan, Canada, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Slovenia, Czech Republic (Colours of Ostrava), Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Turkey, among other countries.  With her album "Paris" she won the 2015 Echo award for best international female rock/pop artist.  In 2016, Zaz was invited to perform in Zacatecas City, Mexico as part of the Festival Cultural Zacatecas.  In September 2018, Zaz released "Qué vendrá", the first track from an upcoming album titled "Effet miroir" ("Mirror Effect"). The track's title and chorus are in Spanish.

Philanthropy.

In 2011, she joined the Les Enfoirés charity ensemble. Zaz created the project Zazimut to "develop and promote projects for a society more respectful of life in all its forms".

Isabelle Geffroy (born 1 May 1980 in Tours, France), better known by the nickname Zaz, is a French singer-songwriter who mixes jazzy styles, French variety, soul and acoustic. She is famous for her hit "Je veux", from her first album, "Zaz", released on 10 May 2010.


Plot.

The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club (BRMC), a gang led by Johnny Strabler, rides into Carbonville, California, during a motorcycle race and causes trouble. A member of the gang, Pidgeon, steals the second-place trophy (the first place one being too large to hide) and presents it to Johnny. Stewards and policemen order them to leave.  The bikers head to Wrightsville, which only has one elderly, conciliatory lawman, Chief Harry Bleeker, to maintain order. The residents are uneasy, but mostly willing to put up with their visitors. When their antics cause Art Kleiner to swerve and crash his car, he demands that something be done, but Harry is reluctant to act, a weakness that is not lost on the interlopers. This accident results in the gang having to stay longer in town, as one member injured himself falling off his motorcycle. Although the young men become more and more boisterous, their custom is enthusiastically welcomed by Harry's brother Frank who runs the local cafe-bar, employing Harry's daughter, Kathie, and the elderly Jimmy.  At Frank's cafe, Johnny meets Kathie and asks her out to a dance being held that night. Kathie politely turns him down, but Johnny's dark, brooding personality visibly intrigues her. When Mildred, another local girl, asks him, "What are you rebelling against, Johnny?", he answers "Whaddaya got?" Johnny is attracted to Kathie and decides to stay awhile. However, when he learns that she is the policeman's daughter, he changes his mind. A rival biker gang arrives and their leader, Chino, bears a grudge against Johnny. Chino reveals the two groups used to be one large gang before Johnny split it up. When Chino takes Johnny's trophy, the two start fighting and Johnny wins.  Meanwhile, local Charlie Thomas stubbornly tries to drive through, he hits a parked motorcycle and injures Meatball, one of Chino's bikers. Chino pulls Charlie out and leads both gangs to overturn his car. Harry intervenes and starts arresting Chino and Charlie, but when other townspeople remind Harry that Charlie would cause problems for him in the future, he only takes Chino to the station. Later that night some members of the rival biker gang harass Dorothy, the telephone switchboard operator into leaving, thereby disrupting the townspeople's communication, while the BRMC abducts Charlie and puts him in the same jail cell as Chino, who is too drunk to leave with the gang.  Later, as both gangs wreck the town and intimidate the inhabitants, some bikers led by Gringo chase and surround Kathie, but Johnny rescues her and takes her on a long ride in the countryside. Frightened at first, Kathie comes to see that Johnny is genuinely attracted to her and means her no harm. When she opens up to him and asks to go with him, he rejects her. Crying, she runs away. Johnny drives off to search for her. Art sees and misinterprets this as an attack. The townspeople have had enough. Johnny's supposed assault on Kathie is the last straw. Vigilantes led by Charlie chase and catch Johnny and beat him mercilessly, but he escapes on his motorcycle when Harry confronts the mob. The mob give chase, but Johnny is hit by a thrown tire iron and falls. His riderless motorcycle strikes and kills Jimmy.  Sheriff Stew Singer arrives with his deputies and restores order. Johnny is initially arrested for Jimmy's death, with Kathie pleading on his behalf. Seeing this, Art and Frank step forward and testify that Johnny was not responsible for the tragedy, with Johnny being unable to thank them. The motorcyclists are ordered to leave the county, albeit paying for all damage. However, Johnny returns alone to Wrightsville, and re-visits the cafe to say goodbye to Kathie one final time. He first tries to hide his humiliation and acts as though he's leaving after getting a cup of coffee, but then he returns, genuinely smiles, and gives her the stolen trophy as a gift.

Cast.

Uncredited Roles

Release.

Home media.

"The Wild One" was originally released on VHS and Betamax tape formats and later on DVD. In the United States a DVD was released in November 1998 by Sony Pictures. In 2013 Sony Pictures first released it on Blu-ray in Germany with special features including an introduction by Karen Kramer (Stanley Kramer's wife) and three featurettes titled "Hollister, California: Bikers. Booze and the Big Picture", "Brando: An Icon is Born" and "Stanley Kramer: A Man's Search for Truth". A U.S. and Canadian Blu-ray was released in 2015 by Mill Creek Entertainment with no extra features. The film was released in the United Kingdom on May 22, 2017 by Powerhouse Films with a few of the previous extras ported over. The new features include an audio commentary with film historian Jeanine Basinger, a 25-minute "The Wild One and the BBFC" featurette, "The Wild One on Super 8", an i mage gallery and theatrical trailer.

Reception.

Critical reception.

"The Wild One" was generally well received by film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 78% critics have given the film a positive response based on 23 reviews, with a rating average of 7.06/10. Dave Kehr of the "Chicago Reader" wrote: "Legions of Brando impersonators have turned his performance in this seminal 1954 motorcycle movie into self-parody, but it's still a sleazy good time." "Variety" noted that the film "is long on suspense, brutality and sadism... All performances are highly competent."

Controversies.

In the United Kingdom, the film was banned by the British Board of Film Censors for fourteen years, though there were some screenings in film societies where local councils overturned the BBFC’s decision. On November 21, 1967, the film received an 'X' certificate and was first seen by the general UK public at the 59 Club in Paddington, London in 1968.  According to the book, "Triumph Motorcycle In America", Triumph motorcycle's then-importers, Johnson Motors, objected to the prominent use of Triumph motorcycles in the film. However, later, Gil Stratton Jr, who played "Mouse" in the film, advertised Triumph motorcycles in the 1960s when he was a famous TV sports announcer., the manufacturers were publicly identifying Brando as a celebrity who had helped to "cement the Triumph legend".

Accolades.

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

In popular culture.

The persona of Johnny as portrayed by Brando became an influential image in the 1950s. His character wears long sideburns, a Perfecto-style motorcycle jacket and a tilted cap; he rides a 1950 Triumph Thunderbird 6T. His haircut helped to inspire a craze for sideburns, followed by James Dean and Elvis Presley, among others. Some butch gays began to imitate Brando by wearing black leather jackets, a black leather cap, black leather boots and jeans and, if they could afford it, by also riding motorcycles.  Presley also used Johnny's image as a model for his role in "Jailhouse Rock".  James Dean bought a Triumph TR5 Trophy motorcycle to mimic Brando's own Triumph Thunderbird 6T motorcycle that he used in the film.  One story maintains that The Beatles took their name from the girlfriends of the rival motorcycle club, referred to as "Beetles", as referenced in "The Beatles Anthology" (though as aforementioned, the film was banned in Britain until 1967).  The name of American band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club was inspired by the film.  The exchange between Mildred and Johnny is repeated in "The Simpsons" episode "Separate Vocations".

The Wild One is a 1953 American film noir crime film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is most noted for the character of Johnny Strabler (Marlon Brando), whose persona became a cultural icon of the 1950s. "The Wild One" is considered to be the original outlaw biker film, and the first to examine American outlaw motorcycle gang violence.


In Gaelic folklore.

In many Gaelic tales, the "aos sí" are later, literary versions of the Tuatha Dé Danann ("People of the Goddess Danu")—the deities and deified ancestors of Irish mythology. Some sources describe them as the survivors of the Tuatha Dé Danann who retreated into the Otherworld when fleeing the mortal Sons of Míl Espáine who, like many other early invaders of Ireland, came from Iberia. As part of the terms of their surrender to the Milesians, the Tuatha Dé Danann agreed to retreat and dwell underground. (In later interpretations, each tribe of the Tuatha Dé Danann was given its own mound.) Geoffrey Keating, an Irish historian of the early 17th century, equates Iberia with the Land of the Dead, providing a possible connection to the "aos sí."  In folk belief and practice, the "aos sí" are often appeased with offerings, and care is taken to avoid angering or insulting them. Often they are not named directly, but rather spoken of as "The Good Neighbors", "The Fair Folk", or simply "The Folk". The most common names for them, "aos sí", "aes sídhe", "daoine sídhe" (singular "duine sídhe") and "daoine sìth" mean, literally, "people of the mounds" (referring to the "sídhe"). The "aos sí" are generally described as stunningly beautiful, though they can also be terrible and hideous.  "Aos sí" are seen as fierce guardians of their abodes—whether a fairy hill, a fairy ring, a special tree (often a hawthorn) or a particular loch or wood. It is believed that infringing on these spaces will cause the "aos sí" to retaliate in an effort to remove the people or objects that invaded their homes. Many of these tales contribute to the changeling myth in west European folklore, with the "aos sí" kidnapping trespassers or replacing their children with changelings as a punishment for transgressing. The "aos sí" are often connected to certain times of year and hours; as the Gaelic Otherworld is believed to come closer to the mortal world at the times of dusk and dawn, the "aos sí" correspondingly become easier to encounter. Some festivals such as Samhain, Beltane and Midsummer are also associated with the "aos sí."

The sídhe.

"Sídhe" are the hills or tumuli that dot the Irish landscape. In modern Irish the word is "sí"; in Scottish Gaelic, "sìth"; in Old Irish "síde" and the singular is "síd". In a number of later, English-language texts, the word "sídhe" is incorrectly used both for the mounds and the people of the mounds. However "sidh" in older texts refers specifically to "the palaces, courts, halls or residences" of the otherworldly beings that supposedly inhabit them. The fact that many of these "sídhe" have been found to be ancient burial mounds has contributed to the theory that the "aos sí" were the pre-Celtic occupants of Ireland.  Others present these stories as mythology deriving from Greek cultural influence, deriving arguments mainly from Hesiod's "Works and Days", which portrays the basic moral foundation and plantation techniques of the citizens of Greece and describes the races of men, created by the Greek deities. However, many of these views have been deemed unlikely, and the influence can be explained by the similar moral foundations stemming from the two cultures' Indo-European background.

Types.

The banshee or "bean sídhe" (from ), which means "woman of the "sídhe"", has come to indicate any supernatural woman of Ireland who announces a coming death by wailing and keening. Her counterpart in Scottish mythology is the "bean sìth" (sometimes spelled "bean-sìdh"). Other varieties of "aos sí" and "daoine sìth" include the Scottish "bean nighe": the washerwoman who is seen washing the bloody clothing or armour of the person who is doomed to die; the "leanan sídhe": the "fairy lover"; the "cat sìth": a fairy cat; and the "Cù Sìth": fairy dog.  The "sluagh sídhe"—"the fairy host"—is sometimes depicted in Irish and Scottish lore as a crowd of airborne spirits, perhaps the cursed, evil or restless dead. The "siabhra" (anglicised as "sheevra"), may be a type of these lesser spirits, prone to evil and mischief. However, an Ulster folk song also uses "sheevra" simply to mean "spirit" or "fairy".

"Creideamh Sí".

'is Irish for the "Fairy Faith", a collection of beliefs and practices observed by those who wish to keep good relationships with the'and avoid angering them. The custom of offering milk and traditional foods—such as baked goods, apples or berries—to the'have survived through the Christian era into the present day in parts of Ireland, Scotland and the diaspora. Those who maintain some degree of belief in the'also are aware to leave their sacred places alone and protect them from damage through road or housing construction.

The (; older form ) is the Irish term for a supernatural race in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology (where it is usually spelled Sìth, but pronounced the same), comparable to the fairies or elves.


Distribution and habitat.

This species is native to the Mediterranean in southern Europe, southwest Asia and northwest Africa, where it is found in sunny sites, usually on dry, sandy soils.

Description.

"S. junceum" is a vigorous, deciduous shrub growing to tall, rarely, with main stems up to thick, rarely. It has thick, somewhat succulent grey-green rush-like shoots with very sparse small deciduous leaves 1 to 3 cm long and up to 4 mm broad. The leaves are of little importance to the plant, with much of the photosynthesis occurring in the green shoots (a water-conserving strategy in its dry climate). The leaves fall away early. In late spring and summer shoots are covered in profuse fragrant yellow pea-like flowers 1 to 2 cm across. In late summer, the legumes (seed pods) mature black and reach long. They burst open, often with an audible crack, spreading seed from the parent plant.

Invasive species.

"Spartium junceum" has been widely introduced into other areas, and is regarded as a noxious invasive species in places with a Mediterranean climate such as California and Oregon, Hawaii, central Chile, southeastern Australia, the Western Cape in South Africa and the Canary Islands and Azores. It was first introduced to California as an ornamental plant.

Uses.

The plant is used as an ornamental plant in gardens and in landscape plantings. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.  In Bolivia and Peru, the plant is known as retama, (not to be confused with the genus "Retama") and has become very well established in some areas. It is one of the most common ornamental plants, often seen growing along sidewalks in La Paz.  "Retama" has made its way into the ethnobotany of the indigenous Aymara and Quechua cultures.  The plant is also used as a flavoring, and for its essential oil, known as genet absolute. Its fibers have been used for cloth and it produces a yellow dye.

"Nomina dubia".

The status of the following species is unresolved:

Spartium junceum, the Spanish broom, rush broom or weaver's broom, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae.


Biography.

Avraham (Avi) Dichter was born in Ashkelon. His parents were Holocaust survivors. As an adolescent, he joined the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement. After graduating high school, he served in an elite unit of the Israel Defense Forces, Sayeret Matkal, under then Commander Ehud Barak. Upon completing his military service, Dichter joined Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service. In 1986, he earned a BA in Social Science from Bar-Ilan University. He also has an MBA from Tel Aviv University.  In 1973, he married Ilana Wallerstein, a teacher and artist who he had met in high school. They have three children.

Internal security career.

Dichter began his career in Shin Bet as a sky marshal for El Al. After becoming proficient in Arabic and completing field intelligence courses, he began working in the Shin Bet's Southern District, specifically the Gaza Strip. In 1992, he was appointed director for the region. Aiming to improve the Shin Bet's protection capabilities, Dichter was appointed Director of the Security and Protection Division. In 1999, he became Deputy Director of Shin Bet. In 2000, he was promoted to director.  During his tenure, the Palestinians launched the Second Intifada. Under Dichter's leadership, Shin Bet changed its modus operandi and restructured its mission and duties to serve at the forefront of Israel's security and counter-terrorism efforts. The organisation spearheaded counter-insurgency and intelligence operations deep inside the West Bank and Gaza Strip, thereby reducing the number of attacks against Israel.

Political career.

In September 2005, Dichter left office and became a research fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Several months later, he returned to Israel and announced his foray into politics with the newly established Kadima. He was elected to the Knesset on the party's list in 2006, and on May 4 that year was sworn in as the Minister of Internal Security. In this role, he oversaw Israel's law enforcement system including Israel's Police Force and Prison Service.  As Minister of Public Security, Dichter made several reforms in the fields under the auspices of the ministry. These included budgetary and organizational reform, the building of a Witness Protection Program, and the formation of a national crime fighting unit (Lahav 433) similar to the United States' FBI. In 2007, Dichter canceled a trip to the UK over concerns that he would be arrested for war crimes.  After Ehud Olmert resigned as party leader, Dichter entered the leadership election. However, he came fourth with only 6.5% of the vote. He retained his seat in the 2009 elections after being placed ninth on the party's list, but lost his cabinet portfolio as the Likud-led coalition formed the government.  In "Matar v. Dichter", the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a federal class action lawsuit against Dichter on behalf of the Palestinians killed or injured in a 2002 "targeted killing" air strike in Gaza. It charged him with extrajudicial killing, war crimes and other gross human rights violations. On 16 April 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed the case citing Dichter's immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). In March 2009, Dichter banned a series of Palestinian Authority-sponsored events billed as the 2009 Arab Capital of Culture planned for Jerusalem, Nazareth and other parts of the country. Dichter said they violated the Israeli–Palestinian treaty barring PA events on Israel territory. Nazareth Mayor Ramiz Jeraisi criticized the move as anti-Arab. Eight events were cancelled and twenty organizers and participants were detained.  On 3 August 2011, Dichter and 39 other Knesset members signed the proposed.  In August 2012, announced that he was leaving the Knesset and joining the Israeli cabinet to replace Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, who resigned to become Israel's ambassador to China. Dichter was replaced by Kadima's Ahmed Dabbah.  In November 2012, during Operation Pillar of Defense, Dichter said: "We have no other choice; Israel must perform a reformatting of Gaza, and rearrange it, as we did in Judea and Samaria during Operation Defensive Shield." Dichter's call has been echoed in the Israeli press, but bashed by critics of Israel's policy. In a Russia Today article, this was paraphrased as a call to "wipe [Gaza] clean with bombs." In his 2014 poem "The Children of Gaza & the Profits from their Genocide", English poet Heathcote Williams took this paraphrase literally.  Dichter featured in the 2012 documentary film "The Gatekeepers" and discussed the main events of his tenure in Shin Bet.

Avi Dichter (, ; born 14 December 1952) is an Israeli politician and the current Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. A former Minister of Internal Security and Shin Bet director, he resigned from the Knesset and left Kadima in August 2012 in order to become Minister of Home Front Defense, a position he vacated in March 2013.


History.

Romano-British agriculture, highly fertile soils and advanced animal breeding produced a wide variety of very high quality foods for indigenous Romano-British people. Anglo-Saxon England developed meat and savoury herb stewing techniques and the Norman conquest reintroduced exotic spices and continental influences back into Great Britain in the Middle Ages as maritime Britain became a major player in the transcontinental spice trade for many centuries after. Following the Protestant Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries "plain and robust" food remained the mainstay of the British diet, reflecting tastes which are still shared with neighbouring north European countries and traditional North American Cuisine. In the 18th and 19th centuries, as the Colonial British Empire began to be influenced by India's elaborate food tradition of "strong, penetrating spices and herbs". The United Kingdom developed a worldwide reputation for the quality of British beef and pedigree bulls were exported to form the bloodline of major modern beef herds in the New World. Developments in plant breeding produced a multiplicity of fruit and vegetable varieties, with British disease-resistant rootstocks still used globally for fruits such as apples.  During the World Wars of the 20th century difficulties of food supply were countered by official measures, which included rationing. The problem was worse in WWII, and the Ministry of Food was established to address the problems (see Rationing in the United Kingdom). Due to the economic problems following the war, rationing continued for some years, and in some aspects was more strict than during wartime. Rationing was not fully lifted until almost a decade after war ended in Europe, so that a whole generation was raised without access to many previously common ingredients. These policies, put in place by the British government during wartime periods of the 20th century, are often blamed for the decline of British cuisine in the 20th century.  The last half of the 20th century saw an increase in the availability of a greater range of good quality fresh products and greater willingness by many sections of the British population to vary their diets and select dishes from other cultures such as those of Italy and India.  Efforts have been made to re-introduce pre-20th-century recipes. Ingredients not native to the islands, particularly herbs and spices, are frequently added to traditional dishes (echoing the highly spiced nature of much British food in the medieval era).  Much of Modern British cooking also draws heavily on influences from Mediterranean, and more recently, Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines. The traditional influence of northern and central European cuisines is significant but fading.  The mid-20th-century British style of cooking emerged as a response to the depressing food rationing that persisted for several years after the Second World War, along with restrictions on foreign currency exchange, making travel difficult. A hunger for exotic cooking was satisfied by writers such as Elizabeth David, who from 1950 produced evocative books, starting with "A Book of Mediterranean Food", whose ingredients were then often impossible to find in Britain. By the 1960s foreign holidays, and foreign-style restaurants in Britain, further widened the popularity of foreign cuisine. Recent modern British cuisine has been influenced and popularised by TV chefs, all also writing books, such as Fanny Cradock, Clement Freud, Robert Carrier, Keith Floyd, Gary Rhodes, Delia Smith, Gordon Ramsay, Ainsley Harriott, Nigella Lawson, Simon Hopkinson, Nigel Slater and Jamie Oliver, alongside "The Food Programme", made by BBC Radio 4.

Christmas dinner.

Since appearing in Christmas dinner tables in England in the late 16th century, the turkey has become more popular, with Christmas pudding served for dessert. The 16th-century English navigator William Strickland is credited with introducing the turkey into England, and 16th-century farmer Thomas Tusser noted that in 1573 turkeys were eaten at Christmas dinner. Roast turkey is often accompanied with roast beef or ham, and is served with stuffing, gravy, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes and vegetables. In addition to Christmas pudding, trifle, mince pies, Christmas cake or a yule log are also popular desserts.

Varieties.

Anglo-Indian cuisine.

Some Anglo-Indian dishes derive from traditional British cuisine, such as roast beef, modified by the addition of Indian-style spices, such as cloves and red chillies. Fish and meat are often cooked in curry form with Indian vegetables. Anglo-Indian food often involves use of coconut, yogurt, and almonds. Roasts and curries, rice dishes, and breads all have a distinctive flavour.  Signs of curry's popularity in Britain slowly became evident by the later 1960s and 1970s, when some establishments that originally catered almost exclusively to Indians gradually observed a diversifying clientele.

English cuisine.

English cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with England. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but also shares much with wider British cuisine, partly through the importation of ingredients and ideas from North America, China, and India during the time of the British Empire and as a result of post-war immigration.  Some traditional meals, such as bread and cheese, roasted and stewed meats, meat and game pies, boiled vegetables and broths, and freshwater and saltwater fish have ancient origins. The 14th-century English cookbook, the "Forme of Cury", contains recipes for these, and dates from the royal court of Richard II.

Northern Irish cuisine.

The cuisine of Northern Ireland is largely similar to that of the rest of the island of Ireland. In this region, the Ulster Fry is particularly popular.

Scottish cuisine.

Scottish cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with Scotland. It shares much with English cuisine, but has distinctive attributes and recipes of its own. Traditional Scottish dishes such as haggis and shortbread exist alongside international foodstuffs brought about by migration. Scotland is known for the high quality of its beef, lamb, potatoes, oats, and sea foods. In addition to foodstuffs, Scotland produces a variety of whiskies.

Welsh cuisine.

Welsh cuisine has influenced, and been influenced by, other British cuisine. Although both beef and dairy cattle are raised widely, especially in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, Wales is best known for its sheep, and thus lamb is the meat traditionally associated with Welsh cooking.

British cuisine is the heritage of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom. Although Britain has a rich indigenous culinary tradition, its colonial history has profoundly enriched its native cooking traditions. British cuisine absorbed the cultural influences of its post-colonial territories – in particular those of South Asia.


Works.

"Elim" (1629, published by Menasseh ben Israel, Amsterdam) is written in Hebrew, in response to 12 general and 70 specific religious and scientific questions sent to Delmedigo by a Karaite Jew, Zerach ben Natan from Troki (Lithuania). The format of the book is taken from the number of fountains and palm trees at Elim in the Sinai Peninsula, as given in Numbers, xxxiii, 9: since there are 12 fountains and 70 palm trees at Elim, Delmedigo divided his book into twelve major problems and seventy minor problems. The book, however, was heavily censored, so only four of the original twelve major problems appeared in the published work. The subjects discussed include astronomy, physics, mathematics, medicine, and music theory. In the area of music, Delmedigo discusses the physics of music including string resonance, intervals and their proportions, consonance and dissonance. Delmedigo argued that the Jews did not take part in the Scientific Revolution because of Ashkenazi exclusive intellectual interest in the Talmud, whereas the Sepharadim and the Karaites were more interested in natural philosophy and philosophy in general. He called the Jews to reclaim their prominence in philosophy and to incorporate into the non-Jewish surrounding via the exploration of natural sciences.  Some parts of the book were as follows:  He also wrote a defense of the Kabbalah called "Matzreif LaChachma" (Heb. מצרף לחכמה) against the attack upon it by his great grandfather Eliyahu Delmedigo. In the preface of the book the publisher writes that the author himself admitted once that when he was young (18 years old when he went to study in the university of Padua) he used to mock the Kabbalah and fiercely opposed those who studied it, but when he turned twenty seven he had a change of heart when he met two great philosophers, R' Yaakov ibn Nachmias and R' Shlomo Aravi, who were also firm adherents of the Kabbalah and they showed him how closely it resembles the philosophy of Plato, since then there was a renewed spirit within him.

Descendants.

Some of Delmedigo's descendants settled in Byelorussia and took on the Surname Gorodinsky (after the town of Gorodin). A member of this family, Mordechai Gorodinsky (later hebraized to Nachmani) was one of the founders of the Israeli city of Rehovot.

Joseph Solomon Delmedigo (or Del Medigo), also known as Yashar Mi-Qandia () (16 June 1591 – 16 October 1655), was a rabbi, author, physician, mathematician, and music theorist.


Biography.

Kakuta was a native of rural Minamikanbara, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from the 39th class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy, scoring 45th out of a class of 145 cadets in 1911. He served as midshipman on the cruiser and battlecruiser. On commissioning as ensign, he was assigned to the cruiser. Later, as a lieutenant, he served on the battleship and the cruiser during World War I. He then served on the battleship, destroyer "Yanagi", and was chief gunner on the cruisers and.  Kakuta was appointed as equipment officer on the cruiser in 1923. He then attended the 23rd class of the Naval Staff College, and was promoted to lieutenant commander upon graduation. In 1926, he served as chief gunner on the cruiser and subsequently in a number of staff positions. His first command was the cruiser, beginning on 10 March 1934. He subsequently commanded cruisers "Furutaka" and, and battleships and. He was promoted to rear admiral on 15 November 1939.  At the start of the Pacific War in December 1941, Kakuta was in command of Carrier Division 4, consisting of the aircraft carrier, which provided air support for landings of Japanese forces in the Philippines. Kakuta also participated in the Indian Ocean Raid against British bases in India and Ceylon in early 1942.  During the Battle of Midway in June 1942, Kakuta commanded a task force consisting of carriers "Ryūjō" and that conducted air raids against Dutch Harbor as part of the initial stages of the Aleutian Islands Campaign.  Later, as commander of the Second Carrier Striking Force that included aircraft units assigned to carriers "Jun'yō" and, Kakuta directed aircraft operations against U.S. naval forces during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands and the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.  Kakuta was promoted to vice admiral on 1 November 1942. Following the death of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the new Commander in Chief of the Combined Fleet, Mineichi Koga, restructured the Imperial Japanese Navy around the American carrier task force concept. On 1 July 1943, Kakuta was assigned command of the First Air Fleet which included all land-based naval aircraft units located throughout the Philippines and Japanese-held islands in the central Pacific. However, the squadrons suffered massive aircraft and personnel losses from American carrier raids in February 1944. Under Kakuta's direction from his headquarters on Tinian, many of the remaining aircraft units participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, but were unable to play a decisive role, suffering further heavy losses.  Kakuta was the senior military officer on the island during the Battle of Tinian although he was not directly responsible for the defenses. As the Americans closed in on Tinian, Kakuta and his staff made repeated efforts to escape in rubber boats at prearranged rendezvous with a Japanese submarine. After several failed attempts, Kakuta and his staff withdrew to a cave on the east coast of Tinian and were never seen again. It is presumed that Kakuta committed suicide soon after the Americans landed and that his body was buried in a secret location by members of his staff.

, was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He is noted for his role in commanding Japanese naval aviation units in the Pacific War.


Background.

Shortly after Meyerbeer arrived in Berlin in 1842 the opera house was destroyed by a fire. Meyerbeer was invited to compose a brand new work for the festive occasion of the reopening of the opera house. The reigning Prussian king at the time was Frederick William IV, of the house of Hohenzollern. What better theme for this opera than a work celebrating the king's famous ancestor, Frederick the Great? But there was one problem; members of the ruling Hohenzollern family could not be depicted on stage. Therefore, Frederick, whilst the nominal subject of the opera, remains unseen, but is, however, heard playing the flute in the background.  The selection of the librettist was a political issue. Meyerbeer wanted his trusted librettist Eugène Scribe, but the idea of a Frenchman writing the libretto for what was to be the Prussian national opera was unacceptable. The king wanted Ludwig Rellstab, a critic who was Meyerbeer's enemy, in the hopes that this would reconcile the two men. Meyerbeer, an astute diplomat, found a solution: Scribe was to provide the text, in secret, agreeing never to claim ownership, and Rellstab would translate it. Thus, the libretto was credited to the latter, and it was only recently that its true author was discovered.

Casting.

There was to be one other problem. The leading soprano role, that of Vielka, was composed for the big soprano "icon" of the period: Jenny Lind, who was already on the threshold of becoming world-famous. Meyerbeer had heard her in Paris, been very favorably impressed, and decided to engage her for Berlin. But she was in Stockholm during some of the rehearsals, and Leopoldine Tuczek, the company's regular coloratura, and Lind's understudy as Vielka, had been singing the part. The latter felt entitled to the role; Meyerbeer was overruled by the Intendant of the opera house, Karl Theodor von Küstner, and it was given to Tuczek. Lind accepted the situation gracefully, and, eight days later, on 15 December, made a triumphant Berlin debut. In the meantime, the lukewarm success of "Feldlager" was partly blamed on Tuczek, and the opera was withdrawn after five performances.  Lind's success as "Norma" in Berlin was such that she was signed to a new contract, and finally sang Vielka in early January. According to Schultz's biography of Lind, the success was so great that "when it was announced that Jenny would appear a second time in "Feldlager", there was such a demand for tickets that the manager raised the price of admission. The opera was repeated over and over. There was never a night that the theater could not have been filled two or three times, and four clerks were kept busy answering letters and filling the request for tickets."  Following the opening at the Berlin Hofoper on 7 December 1844, "Ein Feldlager in Schlesien" was given in that city fairly regularly until 1891, but it apparently was never considered for export to other cities in its original version. This is probably due to its nature as a work glorifying the Prussian royal family, which made it highly suitable for Berlin audiences, especially on state occasions, but much less so for other European capitals, or even other German cities.

Synopsis.

Act 1.

"Chamber in Saldorf's house"  King Frederick, fleeing from Hungarian soldiers led by Captain Tronk, meets the flute-player Conrad, who is in love with the gypsy Vielka. With the assistance of the retired officer Saldorf, his daughter Therese and Vielka, Conrad is passed off as the king and vice versa. The plan is successful and the king flees.

Act 2.

"Prussian camp"  Soldiers chant patriotic songs praising their respective branches' service for king and country. Suddenly, they hear a rumour accusing Saldorf of having betrayed the king. The loyal soldiers hence want to lynch the alleged traitor, but finally, Frederick appears, thus rescuing him.

Act 3.

"Sanssouci Castle"  Vielka and Konrad are received by the king and ought to tell him what they desire as a reward. When they learn that Leopold, Saldorf's son, is accused of being a traitor, they only ask for mercy which is granted. Finally, a military march resounds, and Vielka, who can now marry Conrad, prophesies the future greatness of Prussia.

"Vielka".

The director of the Viennese Theater an der Wien, Pokorny, requested permission for a production of "Feldlager" with Jenny Lind. This presented a problem due to the historical rivalry between the Hohenzollern and Habsburg dynasties. The libretto was therefore rewritten, at first by Rellstab, later by Birch-Pfeiffer. In the new version, "Vielka", the King became a duke, and Saldorf a General. Whilst the first two acts are similar in plot to "Feldlager", the last act is set in the castle of Count Aubitz and has a very different plot line. There is a complex series of disguises, mistaken identities, and attacks on the life of the duke, in one of which Vielka intercepts a bullet and is killed. In her final aria she has a vision of heaven. This version was premiered in Vienna on 18 February 1847. Lind took over the role of Vielka at the fourth performance.

Reception.

"Feldlager" came halfway between the first and the last two of Meyerbeer's four big five-act grand operas. It was his first attempt in some 30 years to compose a less serious work, or "Singspiel". In it, especially in the first and third acts, it is possible to see the influence of lighter composers, particularly Auber and Flotow. But much of the second act, especially the finale, is pure Meyerbeer of the grand operas. It has even been suggested that the triple march is reminiscent of the gathering of the cantons in "William Tell". Meyerbeer had come up with a similar idea years before, when first the Egyptians and then the Crusaders march onto the scene in the finale of Act I of "Il crociato in Egitto".  The big hits of the opera were Jenny Lind's air with two flutes in the third act, and the finale of the second act, which featured the famous triple march. The work was to be given in Berlin a total of 67 times, the last performance taking place in 1891. After Jenny Lind left, Tuczek reassumed the role, with many other important prima donnas, including Pauline Lucca, following in her footsteps.

"L'étoile du nord".

The opera underwent a further transformation in 1854 as "L'étoile du nord" (q.v.)

References.

Notes  Sources

Ein Feldlager in Schlesien ("A Camp in Silesia") is a Singspiel in three acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer with a German-language libretto by Ludwig Rellstab after Eugène Scribe's "Le camp de Silésie". It was first performed at the Hofoper, Berlin, on 7 December 1844; a version with a revised libretto by Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer, titled "Vielka", opened in Vienna on 18 February 1847. Much material from the opera was later reused for Meyerbeer's opéra comique "L'étoile du nord" (1854).


Background.

A two-prong attack through the Central Pacific and the Philippines was adopted at the 1943 Cairo Conference. Operation Granite II, was a U.S. Navy devised strategy of island hopping, calling for the seizure of Saipan, Tinian and Guam. The Gilbert and Marshall Islands had been seized by the summer of 1944, while some Japanese garrisons were left to starve. Following the conclusion of the Battle of Saipan on 9 July, the US began preparations for attacking nearby Tinian.  Tinian was part of Japan's South Seas Mandate. By June 1944, it had a population of 15,700 Japanese civilians, including 2,700 ethnic Koreans and 22 ethnic Chamorro.  The Japanese defending the island, the 50th Infantry Regiment, which was originally part of 29th Division, were commanded by Colonel Kiyochi Ogata. On May 12, 1943, there were also 2,349 Marines of the 3rd Special Forces Unit (第 3 特別 根 地 隊, Dai-3 Tokubetsu Konkyochitai) and 950 marines of the 56th Naval Guards, who had been transferred there from Truk. These soldiers were under the command of Kaigun-Taisa Goichi Oya. The naval forces took over the defense of the airfields, as they belonged to the facilities of naval aviation. The Japanese naval troops also took over all the heavy artillery guns around the airfields and the 39 heavy anti-aircraft guns, which were set up directly around the slopes. In addition, there were construction crews, flight technicians and staff, so that a total of about 4,110 soldiers of various units defended the airfields. Vice-Admiral Kakuji Kakuta, commander of First Air Fleet, was headquartered in Manila, but was on Tinian on an inspection tour when the invasion started. Kakuta exercised no command authority over the army troops on the island, and also the naval troops were not subject to his direct command.  The US naval bombardment commenced on 16 July, with three battleships, five cruisers and sixteen destroyers. The battleship and the destroyer were both hit by 150mm Japanese shore batteries. "Colorado" was hit 22 times, killing 43 men and wounding 198. "Norman Scott" was hit six times, killing the captain, Seymore Owens, and 18 of his seamen, plus wounding 47.

Battle.

The 4th Marine Division landed on 24 July 1944, supported by naval bombardment and marine artillery firing across the strait from Saipan. With the help of Seabee ingenuity the Marines were able to land along the Northwest coast with its two small beaches and low coral.. The rest of the island had coral cliffs up to 15 feet in height at the water's edge negating any assault plans. Commodore Paul J. Halloran (CEC) CB theater commander provided drawings of a conceptual landing ramp for the 18th and 121st CBs to fabricate. They mounted steel beams salvaged from Saipan's abandoned sugar mill on LVT-2s to create portable assault ramps. If they worked they would allow the Marines to outflank Tinian's prepared defenses. General Harry Schmidt was skeptical and ordered that the ramps be put through a 100-vehicle use test. The Seabee creation was named a Doodlebug. It worked exactly as the Marines had hoped. A successful feint for the major settlement of Tinian Town diverted defenders from the actual landing site on the north of the island. The feint withstood a series of night counterattacks supported by tanks, and the 2nd Marine Division landed the next day. Another piece of Seabee handiwork was brought across from Saipan: the 24 "Satan" mechanized flamethrowers that General Holland Smith USMC had requested from the Army's CWS Flame Tank Group in Hawaii. The terrain on Tinian was much more conducive to their use than Saipan. Saipan and Tinian served as a training grounds for the tank crews and proving grounds for the Corps.  The weather worsened on 28 July, damaging the pontoon causeways, and interrupting the unloading of supplies. By 29 July, the Americans had captured half the island, and on 30 July, the 4th Marine Division occupied Tinian Town and Airfield No. 4.  Japanese remnants made a final stand in the caves and ravines of a limestone ridge on the south portion of the island, making probes and counterattacks into the Marine line. Resistance continued through 3 August, with some civilians murdered by the Japanese.

Aftermath.

By 10 August 1944, 13,000 Japanese civilians were interned, but up to 4,000 were dead through suicide, murdered by Japanese troops, or killed in combat. The garrison on Aguijan Island off the southwest cape of Tinian, commanded by Lieutenant Kinichi Yamada, held out until the end of the war, surrendering on 4 September 1945. The last holdout on Tinian, Murata Susumu, was captured in 1953.  After the battle, Tinian became an important base for further Allied operations in the Pacific campaign. Camps were built for 50,000 troops. Fifteen thousand Seabees turned the island into the busiest airfield of the war, with six runways for attacks by United States Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortress bombers on enemy targets in the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, and mainland Japan, including the March 9/10 1945 "Operation Meetinghouse" firebombing of Tokyo and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. North Field was built over Airfields No. 1 and 3, and became operational in February 1945, while West Field was built over Airfield No. 2, and became operational in March 1945.  Four 1,000-bed hospitals (110,111,112,113) were planned and located in preparation for the invasion of Japan. None were actually built, as the Japanese surrendered after the atomic bombs were dropped, which thus ended the need for the hospitals.

The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July until 1 August 1944. The 8,000-man Japanese garrison was eliminated, and the island joined Saipan and Guam as a base for the Twentieth Air Force.


Life.

Sophia Hedwig was the eldest child of the Duke Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1528-1589) from his marriage to Hedwig (1540-1602), the daughter of Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg. Her parents provided her with a comprehensive and thorough education and started marriage negotiations when she was young.  She married as a 16-year-old on 20 October 1577 in Wolgast to Duke Ernst Ludwig of Pommern-Wolgast (1545-1592). Her father sent Lutheran theologicians to the court at Wolgast, who tried to move the court to accept the Formula of Concord as the authoritative formulation of the Lutheran creed. The court did not accept this formula. Ernst Ludwig ordered structural changes to Wolgast Castle, replacing the medieval northeast wing by a new residential wing. Like her mother, Sophia Hedwig was described as high spirited. She took care of the poor and the needy and was not deterred by a plague epidemic.  Ernst Ludwig died in 1592, after 15 years of marriage. In addition to her jointure, the castle and district of Loitz, he left her Ludwigsburg estate near Greifswald, which he had already given to her in 1586, and the Jamitsow estate at the Peenestrom. She soon swapped the latter for the Zerpenzyn estate, opposite the city of Loitz. She change the name Zerpenzyn to Sophienhof ("Sophie's Court") in 1594. Her children moved with her to her widow seat at Loitz. She wrote a hymn to commemorate her husband's death. It was published by Ambrosius Lobwasser. Between 1597 and 1601, she accompanied her son, who was introduced into the business of government by his guardian and regent Duke Bogislaw XIII.  During her husband's lifetime, Sophia Hedwig had rebuilt the castle at Loitz as a renaissance château. After his death, she embellished it further. She also remodeled and extended the St. Mary's Church in Loitz. The château has since been demolished and no trace of it remains. Some of her contributions to the church, however, are still there, among them the ducal seats, a double portrait of herself and her husband, and numerous coats of arms of their ancestors.  Her husband also gave her an estate in Dersin near Loissin, where she built a castle named "Schloss Ludwigsburg", after her husband. Loitz and Ludwigsburg remained her dowager residences until her death.  When the inventory of her court was taken in 1593, an "Amtshauptmann" was present, as were a treasurer, a comptroller, a "Hofmeister", a governess, a lady-in-waiting and several chamber staff, kitchen staff, cellar staff and stable hands.  Sophia Hedwig was described as interested in economic processes, but also as wasteful and overbearing. She is considered one of the more influential duchesses in Pomerania. Her son survived her by nearly six years; he died in the turmoil of the Thirty Years' War. The war delayed her funeral by almost two years. She was buried in the ducal crypt in the St. Peter's Church in Wolgast. Her tomb was restored a few years ago, as were the tombs of her son, her husband and her in-laws.

Issue.

From her marriage, Sophia Hedwig had three children:

Sophie or Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1 December 1561 at Hessen Castle – 30 January 1631 in Loitz) was a princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by birth and by marriage a Duchess of Pomerania-Wolgast.


Events.

Medals were awarded in the following competitions:

Qualification.

Each event has its own qualification rules, but generally rely on FEI rankings.

Dressage qualification.

For the team competition there was a total of 11 quota spots available. Three team spots were awarded at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games. In addition 7 team spots were awarded at regional competitions (Europe: 3, America: 2, Asia: 2). In addition, should a country have qualified 3 athletes in the individual competition, they also qualify as a team and were allowed to compete in the team competition.  For the individual competition, 50 spots were allocated as follows: 33 to the athletes who qualified from the teams above. In addition, the highest ranked rider from each of seven geographic regions qualified. The top ten riders based on FEI ranking who did not qualify otherwise were given spots as well.

Jumping qualification.

A country may send up to four riders if it qualified for the team competition. Similar to dressage, teams of four riders were qualified at either the World Equestrian Games (WEG) or through a regional competition. The WEG awarded five spots, the regions six (America: two, Europe: two, Asia: two), and the hosts (Great Britain). For the individual competition there was a total of 75 spots allocated as follows: 45 from the above teams the rest regional or through rankings.

Eventing qualification.

A country may send up to five riders if it qualified for the team competition. Similar to dressage, teams of five riders were qualified at either the WEG, a regional competition, or through a composite spot. The WEG awarded five spots, the regions seven (America: three, Europe: three, Middle East & Africa: one), the hosts (Great Britain). For the individual competition there was a total of 75 spots allocated as follows: 55 from the above teams, 7 through regional competitions and 13 through the world rankings.

Competition format.

Show jumping.

Five rounds are ridden to determine individual medals. Riders placing first through 60th (including ties for 60th place) advance to the second round. The top 45 riders of round 2, including ties for 45th, advance to the third round. The top 35 riders of the third round progress to the 4th round, but only up to three riders per team (so if a country has four riders in the top 35, one of those is not allowed to compete for individual medals).  In the fourth round (individual final round A), the slate is wiped clean and all riders begin with zero faults. The top 20 riders in round 4 advance to round 5 (individual final round B), and ride another course. The faults for individual final round A and B and added together to determine individual medals.  The team competition completes three rounds to determine medals. It runs concurrently with the individual competition (riders running over the same course) so team riders are also competing for individual medals. The first round for team competition is the round 2 course for individual medals. The top eight teams from the first team round advance to the second team round (which is the same course as the individual round 3). The scores for these eight countries over team rounds 1 and 2 are combined, and medals are awarded based on those scores.

Dressage.

Teams are made up of three riders, all of whom are also competing concurrently for individual medals. Additionally, countries who can not make a full team may send riders to compete for individual medals.  All riders compete in the Grand Prix, which serves as the first round of both the individual and team medals. The top seven teams (included those tied for 7th) advance to the Grand Prix Special, which is a slightly more rigorous test. The combined scores for those teams in both the Grand Prix and the Special determine the team medals, with the team with the highest score winning gold.  Riders completing the Grand Prix test (first qualifying round of the individual competition) may move on to the Grand Prix Special (second qualifying round for the individual competition) if their team is in the top seven (21 riders total). Additionally, the top 11 riders who do not qualify with a team may also advance to the Special to ride for individual medals. The top 18 riders from the Special move on to the third individual round, the freestyle. Each rider designs their own test for the freestyle, which must be set to music and has several compulsory movements. Riders can tailor a test to their horses' strengths, as well as incorporate movements that are more difficult than those required in the Grand Prix or the Special (such as a pirouette in piaffe) in order to increase their scores. Individual medals are assigned based on scores in the freestyle.

Eventing.

Competitions for team and individual medals ran concurrently. Riders performed a dressage test, a cross-country round, and a jumping round. Team medals were then awarded by adding together the best three scores from a country's team, out of a maximum of five team members, from all three phases, the team with the lowest number of penalty points winning the gold. The top 25 individual scores after the first show jumping round performed a second, final, show jumping round to determine individual medals, with up to 3 riders in the individual running per team. Therefore, those competing for individual spots completed one dressage test and cross-country round, and two jumping rounds.

Officials.

Appointment of officials is as follows:

Medal summary.

Gallery.

Gallery of some of the gold medalists in the equestrian events:

The equestrian events at the 2012 Olympic Games in London were held between 28 July and 9 August at Greenwich Park. Medals were awarded in three disciplines for both individual and team competitions.


Origin.

The banzai charge is considered to be one method of, a suicide attack, or suicide before being captured by the enemy such as "seppuku". The origin of the term is a classical Chinese phrase in the 7th-century "Book of Northern Qi", which states "", "A true man would [rather] be the shattered jewel, ashamed to be the intact tile." Among the rules there existed a code of honor that was later used by Japanese military governments.  With the revolutionary change in the Meiji Restoration and frequent wars against China and Russia, the militarist government of Japan adopted the concepts of Bushido to condition the country's population to be ideologically obedient to the emperor. Impressed with how samurai were trained to commit suicide when a great humiliation was about to befall them, the government educated troops that it was a greater humiliation to surrender to the enemy than to die. The suicide of Saigō Takamori, the leader of old samurai during the Meiji Restoration, also inspired the nation to idealize and romanticize death in battle and to consider suicide an honorable final action.  During the Siege of Port Arthur human wave attacks were conducted on Russian artillery and machine guns by the Japanese which ended up becoming suicidal. Since the Japanese suffered massive casualties in the attacks, one description of the aftermath was that "[a] thick, unbroken mass of corpses covered the cold earth like a coverlet".  In the 1930s, the Japanese found this type of attack to be effective in China. It became an accepted military tactic in the Japanese army where numerically weaker Japanese forces, using their superior training and bayonets, were able to defeat larger Chinese forces. The Japanese here did not face massed automatic weapons but rather the bolt action rifle of the Chinese, which could not fire as rapidly as a machine gun.

In World War II.

During the war period, the Japanese militarist government disseminated propaganda that romanticized suicide attacks, using one of the virtues of Bushido as the basis for the campaign. The Japanese government presented war as purifying, with death defined as a duty. By the end of 1944, the government announced the last protocol, unofficially named, implying the will of sacrificing the entire Japanese population of 100 million, if necessary, for the purpose of resisting opposition forces.  During the U.S. raid on Makin Island, on August 17, 1942, the U.S. Marine Raiders attacking the island initially spotted and then killed Japanese machine gunners. The Japanese defenders then launched a banzai charge with bayonets and swords, but were stopped by American firepower. The pattern was repeated in further attacks, with similar results.  During the Guadalcanal campaign, on August 21, 1942, Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki led 800 soldiers in a direct attack on the American line guarding Henderson Field in the Battle of the Tenaru. After small-scale combat engagement in the jungle, Ichiki's army mounted a banzai charge on the enemy; however, against an organized American defense line, most of the Japanese soldiers were killed and Ichiki subsequently committed suicide.  On May 29, 1943, during the Battle of Attu, the beleaguered Japanese soldiers led by Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki in Attu Island, Alaska, launched a massive banzai charge through American lines near Massacre Bay and were quickly wiped out all night despite intense fighting. At the end of the battle, only 29 remained of the Japanese force that had numbered roughly 2,600, while the Americans lost 549 combatants out of the 15,000.  The largest banzai charge of the war took place during the Battle of Saipan. General Yoshitsugu Saitō gathered almost 4,300 Japanese soldiers, walking wounded and some civilians, many unarmed and ordered the charge. On July 7, 1944, it slammed directly into the Army's 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 105th Infantry Regiment, who would lose almost 2,000 men in the 15 hour pitched battle. In the end, U.S. Army and Marine lines would hold, and almost all the Japanese soldiers taking part in the charge would be killed.  Banzai charges were always of dubious effectiveness. In the early stages of the Pacific War, a sudden banzai charge might overwhelm small groups of enemy soldiers unprepared for such an attack. However, by the end of the war, a banzai charge's participants suffered horrendous losses while inflicting little damage in return, particularly if launched against an organized defense with strong firepower, such as automatic weapons, machine guns and semi-automatic rifles. At best, they were conducted by groups of the last surviving soldiers when the main battle was already lost, as a last resort or as an alternative to surrender. At worst, they threw away valuable resources in men and arms in suicidal attacks which only hastened defeat.  Some Japanese commanders, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, recognized the futility and waste of such attacks and expressly forbade their men from carrying them out. Indeed, the Americans were surprised that the Japanese did not employ banzai charges at the Battle of Iwo Jima.

A banzai charge is the term used by the Allied forces to refer to Japanese human wave attacks and swarming mounted by infantry units. This term came from the Japanese cry, shortened to banzai, specifically referring to a tactic used by Japanese soldiers during the Pacific War.


History.

Castle making is nothing new in Gràcia, and there are historical references which date this tradition back to the last quarter of the 19th century until the first thirty years of the 20th century. Around 1890, a "colla" was created by immigrant peasants who had left Tarragona because of the phylloxera, and was called Xiquets de Gràcia. Possibly, these new Gracia neighbours found in the Vila de Gràcia, which by then was still a small town, the ideal atmosphere to make human castles and become a local "colla". It is known and documented that this "colla" began its activities at least since the 1880s until the year 1900, 1910 and in the second decade of the 20th century. Most performances were executed during the Festa Major de Gràcia.

The beginnings.

The story of the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia begins in the early 1990s, when a group of youngsters related to the network of neighbourhood associations in Gràcia began to talk about the possibility of founding a Castle making colla in the neighbourhood. This idea began to take shape when they decided to celebrate their first meeting in October 1996, and news began to spread that there was a "colla castellera" in the making. The first rehearsal was on November 23 of that same year at the Plaça del Sol, and it gathered around thirty people.  The first public performance of the new colla was in February 1997, on occasion of the Diada Castellera de Santa Eulàlia on Placa de Sant Jaume de Barcelona, where they constructed two pillars of 4 ( One person per story, 4 stories; this is considered as the most simple construction of the whole repertoire) The first performance in Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia, which is considered as the colla's square, was delivered on March 4, 1997. This actuation gathered around sixty castellers, who unloaded several basic constructions.

The first castles.

The official introduction of the new colla into the casteller world was on May 4, 1997, sponsored by the Castellers de Terrasa, the Castellers de Sants and the Castellers de Sant Andreu de la Barca, the Catellers de la Vila de Gràcia unloaded their first six story high castles. This first season had its ups and downs, although the efforts made throughout the year finally bore fruit with the achievement of a seven stories high castle, the 4 de 7, unloaded in order to celebrate their anniversary on November 23.

The transition from castles of 7 to castles of 8.

Throughout the following years, the Colla de Gràcia evolved and became a colla de 7 until October 6, 2002, when during the XIX Tarragona castle making contest, they achieved their first 4 de 8 after unloading their first 2 de 7 on the previous round. Ever since that year, the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia have unloaded a 4 de 8 every year, and have started to gain their place as a colla de 8 and as one of the best 15-20 "colles" of the current casteller world.  Since their first months of existence, the Colla of Gràcia has had its own team of grallers, which has evolved into a learning center for all of those interested in learning how to play the gralla (a traditional Catalan oboe) in the different activities held by the castellers.  On 1999, the Castellers de la Vida de Gràcia received the Barcelona's Honour Medal, and they are also members of the Colles de Cultura Popular de Gràcia.

Rehearsals.

The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia have rehearsed in different spots in the neighbourhood, among which we can mention l ́Escola Josep Maria Jujol, L ́Artesá de Gràcia and the Antiga Escola OSI and in the Escola Reina Escola Reina School, were they rehearsed for 10 years (from 2002 to 2012). Since 2012 they have their own training place, Espai Cultural Albert Musons.

Other activities.

Since the year 1998, the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia broadcast the casteller radio program "Tercos amunt!" on Ràdio Gràcia. This radio program is still being broadcast currently. On 2010 "Tercos amunt!" received the Premi Vila de Gràcia to the best communication initiative.  Until the year 2004, they published a magazine called "L ́espadat" which came out every three months.  But the most important extracurricular activity taken on by the castellers de la Vila de Gràcia, is the ornamentation of the Plaça de la Vila for the festivities of la Festa Major de Gràcia since the year 2001.

Participation in the tarragona casteller contest.

The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia have participated on seven occasions in the Tarragona Casteller Contest. Below are all the contests where the Colla has participated, the castles unloaded and, between parenthesis and in bold lettering, the final position on the ranking.

The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia in the world.

Performances held outside the Països Catalans  Performances held within the Països Catalans (outside Catalonia)

The cap de colla.

The "Cap de Colla" is the highest technical responsible of the colles castelleres.

The Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia (), created in 1996, are a "colla castellera", based in Vila de Gràcia that makes human castles. They made their first public presentation in 1997 supported by the groups Castellers de Terrassa, the Castellers de Sants and the Castellers de Sant Andreu de la Barca. The colour of their shirts is navy blue.


Organisation.

The LaSK had a peacetime organisation since 1972 under the command of the "Kommando Landstreitkraefte" (Kdo. LaSK). Its largest formations between 1956 and 1990 were the Military Districts III and V, which generally consisted of three active divisions each, plus training-, combat support and logistic units. The 1st Motor Rifle Division was additionally attached to the Military District V, but was designated to leave that formation in wartime to play a key role in the assault on West-Berlin. The 6th Motor Rifle Division existed only for two years (1956-1958) as an active formation.  While the two districts held the bulk of the GDR ́s land forces, additional artillery- and support elements, as well as the paratroopers of the 40th Paratrooper Battalion (upgraded to the 40th Air Assault Regiment in 1986) were under direct command of the "Kdo. LaSK".  In wartime both military districts would have been transformed into armies. The 3rd Army in the South, reinforced by the GDR 6th, 10th, and 17th reserve divisions, and the 5th Army in the North, reinforced by the Soviet 94th Guards Motor Rifle Division and the 138th and 221st independent tank regiments of the Red Army. Both armies would have been commanded by the Soviet high-command, while the "Kommando Landstreitkräfte" was to focus on the military supply chain, medical services, internal security and assist in the capture of West-Berlin.  The order of battle of the ground forces (1980–90):

Military District V (North).

The headquarters of the northern district was in Neubrandenburg.  1st Motor Rifle Division (Potsdam)  8th Motor Rifle Division (Schwerin)  9th "Panzer" Division (Eggesin)

Military District III (South).

The headquarters of the southern district was in Leipzig.  4th Motor Rifle Division (Erfurt)  7th "Panzer" Division in (Dresden)  11th Motor Rifle Division (Halle)

Second line divisions.

In the event of a full-scale mobilisation, the six regular divisions of the NVA would have been supplemented by three mobilisation divisions and two reserve divisions. All five divisions would be mobilised on M+2. The cadre of each mobilisation/reserve division remained on hand as the regular staff of training centers/non-commissioned officer (NCO) schools. The five second line divisions were the 6th Motor Rifle Division (Königswartha), the 10th Motor Rifle Division (Ronneburg), the 17th Motor Rifle Division (HQ Petersroda), the 19th Motor Rifle Division (HQ Wulkow, which was not based on a training centre), and the 20th Motor Rifle Division (HQ Bredenfelde).  Mobilisation Divisions - command of the Military District III of land forces (Leipzig)  6th Motor Rifle Division (Königswartha)  10th Motor Rifle Division (Ronneburg)  17th Motor Rifle Division (Petersroda)  Reserve divisions - command of the Military District V of land forces (Neubrandenburg)  19th Motor Rifle Division (Wulkow)  20th Motor Rifle Division (Bredenfelde)

Other units.

The "Kommando Landstreitkräfte" also contained some specially trained units - like the 40th Paratrooper Battalion (later the 40th Air Assault Regiment "Willi Sänger"). The structure and equipment was mostly of Soviet design, and the NVA operated in close collaboration with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. There were also reports of a special NVA diversionary battalion in south Germany equipped with M-48s and M-113s, able to cause confusion amongst NATO forces if war came (thus emulating and improving on the example of Otto Skorzeny's 150th "Panzer" Brigade during the Ardennes Offensive). However more recent reports throw doubt on the existence of any such unit.

Types of units.

Divisions Regiments Battalions Detachments

Equipment.

Small Arms: Armoured Vehicles:

The Land Forces of the National People's Army (German: "Landstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee" - LaSK), was the ground-based military branch of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) National People's Army (NPA). The Land Forces Command, located at Geltow was established on 1 December 1972 as a management body created for the land forces. The NPA itself was created on March 1, 1956 from the "Kasernierte Volkspolizei" (Barracked People's Police).