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Posts Tagged ‘Celebrity’

Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia
 Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia
Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia


QUATTROPASSI AL PESCATORE is an authentic expression of the Mediterranean Sea against the background of the powerful Sardinian landscape.

Quattro Passi al Pescatore
Quattro Passi al Pescatore


The only restaurant pieds dans l’eau on the Costa Smeralda, the restaurant offers sophisticated service and elegant design elements with unique fabrics and materials. For the first time, the menu was designed in collaboration with two Michelin Star Quattropassi restaurants and is inspired by Mediterranean cuisine, highlighting fresh and local ingredients.

Quattro Passi al Pescatore
Quattro Passi al Pescatore

Sensational Seafood at the Waterfront

A Porto Cervo institution for seafood lovers, Quattro Passi Al Pescatore offers a menu of inspired Sardinian cuisine in a stunning waterfront venue at the heart of the Vecchio Molo.

Quattro Passi al Pescatore
Quattro Passi al Pescatore

Quattro Passi Al Pescatore, attached to the Cervo Hotel, was the first restaurant to be built on the Costa Smeralda, back in the 1960s, and today offers one of the most exciting local seafood menus in an exclusive waterside location.

Quattro Passi al Pescatore
Quattro Passi al Pescatore

Formerly known as Il Pescatore, the restaurant has recently been completely renovated and redesigned, with a contemporary rustic look and a new menu created by two Michelin-Star chef Antonio Mellino. With views over the turquoise harbour and yachts bobbing in the sea beyond.

Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia
Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia

Conveniently located just a short tender ride from the marina, Quattro Passi Al Pescatore is an ideal choice.

Address: Costa Smeralda, 07020 Porto Cervo, Italy
Phone: +39 0789 931624

Located in: Promenade du Port

Menu · destinationcostasmeralda.com

Quattro Passi al Pescatore
Quattro Passi al Pescatore

As the name suggests, AcroYoga is a fun fusion of yoga and acrobatics. Although some records indicate that AcroYoga was being practiced as far back as 1938, it has only truly started to gain traction at the turn of the millennium.

Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia
Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia


There are six benefits of AcroYoga:


#1: Improves balance

One of the fundamental elements of the AcroYoga practice is balance. Whether you are practicing poses that involve flying, or simply relying on each other to create a beautiful shape together, both require balance. 

 Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia
Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia


#2: Strengthens core

Whether you are the base holding another person up in the air, or the flyer trying to balance yourself while performing an intricate pose, both would not be possible without core stability. The beauty of AcroYoga is that it engages and strengthens the entire core and back in a functional way, as opposed to only building vanity muscles.

Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia
Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia


#3: Increases flexibility

Many AcroYoga poses require active and passive flexibility. In flyers, the target is often hip mobility or backbends, whereas the base can work on their hip flexors and shoulders. 


#4: Stability and coordination

Even regular yoga can be disorienting, especially if it involves being upside down. In addition to manipulating your body into the right position, those who practice AcroYoga have to rely on another person (or people) for balance and support. Although it presents a great challenge, it also results in better spatial awareness, stability, and physical coordination.

Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia
Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia


#5: Improves communication skills

It is extremely important to have a clear line of communication with your AcroYoga partner, as well as the spotter if you have one. Communication is what allows you to practice safely and efficiently. The more you practice, the more you will learn to clearly communicate your needs and boundaries, a skill that can be extremely useful on and off the yoga mat.


#6: Builds trust

Every person involved in AcroYoga practice has to work closely with others. In order for the practice to be fruitful and enjoyable, it is important to establish trust between all participants, including the spotter. It’s incredibly fun!!

Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia
Michelle-Marie Heinemann Scaglia and Silvio Scaglia

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Eva Longoria has been an actress, a producer, and an activist, but now, she’s taking on a brand-new role as a first-time mom.

On Tuesday, Longoria welcomed a baby boy named Santiago Enrique with her husband Jose Antonio Bastón.

Eva and Jose shared the first photo of their little boy with Hola! USA, telling the site, “We are so grateful for this beautiful blessing.”

 

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In March, she talked about how she intends to raise a feminist son.

“I’m so excited that I’m having a boy because I think the world needs more good men,” she said in an Instagram video on International Women’s Day.

“This boy, my son, will be surrounded by very strong, educated, powerful women and I think it’s important that he sees those types of role models in his life so he knows how to support it, how to applaud it and how to honor it.”

The new mom is currently hard at work directing episodes of Black-ish and producing the ABC drama pilot Grand Hotel. She continued to work far into her pregnancy, posting pictures of herself on set up until this month.

 

Written By: Alexandra Whittaker

 

Best known as the multi-instrumentalist for the pop rock group Maroon 5, Jesse Carmichael surprised many when he took a two-year sabbatical from the wildly popular, multi-Grammy–winning group in 2012 to pursue studies of music and the healing arts. Carmichael spoke to Steinway & Sons about his passions and his instrument.

 
WHY WERE YOU DRAWN TO MUSIC?
I don’t even have a memory of choosing to go into music. I just know that it’s been with me since I was a kid. Mozart and Bach were big influences when I was little, and that’s when I started playing piano. Then I switched to guitar all throughout high school and then came back to the piano afterwards. Now I do both in my band, and I love both.

 

WHAT DREW YOU TO PIANO?
When I was around six or seven years old, my dad got me a keyboard. I would sit and play on it and maybe do things like just play all the black keys and enjoy the sound of that particular F-sharp pentatonic world. I loved listening to music by Mozart and Bach. I remember the first prelude from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, that was one of the first things I ever learned how to play.

 

IS MUSIC STILL A PART OF HOW YOU RELATE TO THE WORLD AT LARGE?
It’s such a deep part of how I experience the world. I think about the sounds I hear as I’m going throughout my day, and I almost always subconsciously organize them into sounds occurring in time. A car will pass by, and I’ll hear the pitch of it compared to the people talking next to me on the street and the sound of a phone ringing. I don’t have perfect pitch, but they all blend together in a nice way. I’m very sensitive to overlapping sounds. Luckily I’ve been getting more into atonal music lately.

 

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO INTERACT WITH THE STEINWAY?
It’s like picking up a really well-made tennis racket — your game immediately improves. Playing a Steinway makes me feel like a better piano player. For some reason I can just respond to the action in a way that makes me not think about the technical side of things and just be able to lose myself in the sound.

 

WHEN YOU’RE ABLE TO LET GO OF THE TECHNICAL SIDE AND LOSE YOURSELF IN THE SOUND, WHAT DOES THAT UNLEASH?

The best feeling I can have as a musician is to catch, for just a split second, the realization that I haven’t been doing the music playing: it’s just been happening. I’ve been experiencing it, almost out-of-body. I know that there’s a part of my brain that is controlling my hands, but those moments where I feel completely just carried along by the music — those are the moments that I really live for.

 

DO YOU HAVE ANY MEMORIES OF THE FIRST TIME THAT YOU REALLY DISAPPEARED INTO PLAYING?
I remember always going into sort of like a meditative state when I would play piano. It’s always something that clears my mind and takes me away from thinking into just experiencing the sound of the instrument. As a kid, I would do that a lot, and still do, all the time! It’s such a nice feeling to be able get out of my head, to stop the thoughts from happening and just enjoy the sound of an instrument that’s as amazing as the Steinway — and lose myself in the tones that come out of it. Sometimes it’s sort of like going into a trance when I sit down and play. It clears my mind, and I can focus on the sound coming out of the piano. The sound that comes out of the Steinway is truly inspiring.

 

WHAT IS THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING IN THAT MUSIC STATE?
The feeling when music surrounds me and takes over and I have that kind of out of body experience, that’s very comfortable. There’s something about the physicality of the harmonies that come out of any instrument, the way that they can be felt all throughout your body. It’s just very soothing. It’s like an extension of this whole idea that everything has a vibration to it. Everything’s constantly moving in our whole world. For me, sound is an embodied form of that idea. You can experience it tangibly. In that sense it connects me to this deeper undercurrent of the whole universe, which sounds lofty and wild, but it’s true that the universe is vibrating. It’s nice to be able to really play around with those vibrations on an instrument like the Steinway.

 

WHY DO YOU PREFER TO PLAY ON A STEINWAY?
I think that if there’s a problem with a tuning on an instrument or one of the keys sticks it can be very distracting. To have all of those things taken care of by a quality-built instrument is really freeing. There’s a subtle difference between a specific type of touch or a specific type of articulation on any instrument, and that could be the difference between conveying the emotion you want to convey or missing the mark. I remember switching to a Steinway after the pianos that I’d been playing before and just how noticeable it was that the quality of this instrument was so impressive and so perfect. Playing an instrument that’s as well-made as this Steinway makes it easier to tap into the little nuances that lead me down the path of becoming a better musician.

 

HOW DID YOU DECIDE THAT YOU WERE GOING TO GET A STEINWAY?
It started when I watched the documentary Note by Note about the making of a Steinway piano. Then I decided to go take a tour of the factory in New York, and they were very nice. They took my mom, me, and a friend of mine out to look at every step of the piano-making process. I got to meet the people who did it. I got to help them bend one of the outside rims of the piano, turning some cranks on it. That was really cool.

I started to play pianos when I was out there at the factory, and I was just looking for a connection with a piano that would give me that intangible feeling of knowing this is the one that you want to have in your home. I played probably about twenty different pianos in New York and Los Angeles. Out in Pasadena I found one.

I had finally narrowed my choices down to a couple pianos out at the Pasadena showroom. I remember I was playing two of them, side by side, and they were off just by one serial from each other, so they were back to back in production. They were totally different. One was very bright, and one was very warm. I chose the warmer one because it just seemed like it would fit in my house and my personality.

 

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WHY DOES THAT FIT YOUR HOUSE AND YOUR PERSONALITY?
I’m very sensitive, and so I don’t like harsh things or things that are even further along on the spectrum towards bright. They tend to make my nerves react in a way that the warm pianos don’t. The warm pianos are very soothing. I was looking for something intangible in the pianos I was trying out. I didn’t know exactly what it was going to be until I heard it. I found it with the piano I eventually ended up buying.

 

TELL ME ABOUT THE DAY YOU BROUGHT YOUR STEINWAY HOME.
That was a great day. I took a bunch of photographs of the guys who were wheeling it in on the dollies and put it together in a little stop-motion movie. They brought it in, wrapped up in blankets like a beautiful Christmas present. We cleared a path from the front door into the living room and dining room areas. I went out with them, and we brought it off the truck and put it onto the dolly and wheeled it in. Then they unwrapped it and attached the legs and did their amazing process of flipping it upright onto its feet, and they brought in the piano bench. The first chord I played was just a C-Major triad chord right in the middle.

 

GOING FORWARD, WAS IT A GETTING-TO-KNOW-YOU PROCESS WITH THE INSTRUMENT?
I’d already played it a lot at the Pasadena showroom. At that time, I remember I was playing a couple pieces that I had written and the ending of Copeland’s Appalachian Spring, the “moderato like a prayer” section. I loved the way that chords rang out on this piano.

 

HOW DOES THE STEINWAY FIT INTO YOUR HOME?

I feel like it’s really integrated into my home. I’ve got electrical equipment that I play at the same time as I play the piano, sometimes looping sounds on a pedal. It fits into my dining room so that I have one half dedicated to food and the other half dedicated to music. It’s surrounded by works of art from friends of mine. I’ve got a cabinet behind me with incredible sheet music from the great masters. It’s just very inspiring to have this instrument in my home.

 

TALK TO ME ABOUT BEING ON TOUR. HOW DOES IT JUXTAPOSE WITH YOUR TIME AT HOME?
Juxtaposition is a good word, because my life at home is very oriented around the idea of a nurturing, grounded, stable, creative environment. Everything on the road is a lot more kinetic and spontaneous, and we’re in a different city every day. It’s very temporary. We bring our stuff into our hotel rooms and spend the night and pack it up in the morning and leave. We have these peak experiences every night with huge crowds of people, and then we’re gone from that city. I like to come home and decompress with that sort of very rooted vibe.

The Steinway is very heavy and is not practical to travel around with. So just by its very nature, the massing of it is very grounding, the color, tone. When I am home after all of that travel, and I sit down and I play, I feel the vibration coming from the piano through my body and into the house, it kind of physically connects me back to being home.

 

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WHAT DO YOU TRY TO DO DURING YOUR TIME BETWEEN TOURS?
I think about each chunk of time in between tours as a mini-sabbatical from the professional world of playing music for fans. It’s the time for me to go deeper into music, and it’s such a lifelong pursuit. I just treat every month that we have off as a training session, basically, for me to play myself deeper into music. I study with different teachers, and I’m taking orchestration lessons and piano and guitar lessons and tabla lessons and voice lessons. I structure my day almost like I’m at a school with specific times to work on different things, and then I have the free time to take what I’ve learned with those experiments and teachers and let it infuse its way into something that comes out of me naturally.

 

HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT STUDYING?
I’m pretty methodical in terms of trying to break everything down to small modules. For the piano, I’ll work on specific types of technique. Touch and articulation. Then I’ll work on sight reading and notation. Then I’ll work on improvisation and songwriting and then work on repertoire with a new piece of sheet music. The same thing with guitar, and with the electronic recording world, and putting my studio together, and learning the technical side of engineering, microphones and outboard gear: there are a thousand different things that I’m pursuing right now. They’re all super fun, and I just feel so lucky to be able to spend my time learning about the things that I love.

 

ARE YOU STUDYING COMPOSERS IN AN EFFORT TO LOOK AT MUSIC OVER TIME?
With my orchestration teacher we’ve been real systematic in terms of looking back through the thread of composers passing along their inspiration to other composers. We treat Bach as the foundation for modern music in our studies, and then moving forward through time to Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, and then Stravinsky. Before that, around Wagner time, we’ve got Debussy and Ravel. Just looking at all the threads, and who started to branch out, Wagner and Liszt, into the world of atonality. Then Schoenberg comes along, and Stravinsky and Schoenberg have their split into tonal and atonal. Stravinsky’s doing wild things with polyrhythm and polytonality. Gustav Mahler’s a big hero of mine, and I love Philip Glass and Steve Reich and the whole world of hypnotic, minimalist music. It’s very inspiring to me. Then the film composers came along, because that’s what I see as a modern day extension of Mahler and Wagner. People like John Williams and Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer. These guys are my modern-day composer heroes.

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Pacific Ocean views, pool parties and more, these 3 unique properties attract Hollywood’s elite time and time again.

 

You already expect comfort, convenience and chic interiors from a luxury retreat. But here are several properties that go above and beyond to satisfy even your most indulgent whims.

Stone Manor, Malibu, California

Known for its “Red Carpet Treatment” of guests, Stone Manor has a 25-year-long reputation among the elite of Hollywood. It’s been enjoyed by Academy Award winners, revered rock stars and prime-time television producers.  But you don’t have to be a celebrity to feel like one.

losangeles-stonemanor_02“We want people to feel like a star in their own lives,” says Aime Lindsay, the owner. This means vetting the staff and every recommended experience. “A wonderful vacation doesn’t happen by accident, and you won’t get a do-over. It takes a team of people to put together a world-class celebration and vacation.”

We recommend booking Stone Manor for any occasion, but if you’re celebrating something special, tell your concierge and the staff will make it just perfect. Whether you want to have elegant cocktails with a few friends near the waterfall and pool, or you prefer a DJ’d dance party on the lawn looking out toward the Pacific Ocean, no request is too small, or too large. If you can, schedule your stay over the full moon, when the magic of the moonlight reflects off the water for miles.

 

Villa Contea, Tuscany, Italy

Located in the picturesque Val d’Orcia area of Tuscany, this magnificent country villa is among the rolling hills and vineyards that were the setting for the Oscar winning movie The English Patient and which provided the breathtaking panoramic countryside scenes fromGladiator. This is the kind of retreat that people dream of experiencing all of their lives.  And Villa Contea is devoted to making sure that every detail of that dream comes true.

tuscany_villacontea_10Three acres of manicured lawns, orchards, and groves make a paradise for relaxing travelers. A private chef can be arranged to provide authentic Italian meals made with local produce from Tuscan farm estates, and accompanied by wine from nearby vineyards. Several decadent spas and challenging golf courses are within an hour’s drive, as well as sightseeing opportunities in Montalcino Pitigliano, and Lake Bolsena.

If you go, we recommend asking the concierge to arrange a private, VIP tour of a vineyard in the heart of this world-renowned wine country. Cooking classes and truffle hunts are another great favorite among guests.  Most of all, we recommend seeing as much of the countryside as possible, whether by Vespa, Ferrari, or hot air balloon. Whatever you dream of doing and seeing in the Italian countryside, Villa Contea is the ideal place to make it happen.

 

Casa Ramon, Playa Dominical, Costa Rica

Surrounded by rich, tropical vegetation along the Pacific coastline of Costa Rica is a home unlike any you’ve ever experienced. Perched on a lush mountainside with vast oceanic views, it is often visited by friendly wildlife including Capuchin monkeys, toucans, parrots, and the occasional sloth. Since its opening Ramon has been a favorite retreat of celebrity guests from around the world. This is the ultimate luxe getaway: plenty to do, but no pressure to do it.

costarica_casaramon_05Casa Ramon is, of course, a luxurious home with every comfort provided. Unique arrangements of fresh tropical flowers are displayed in each room, daily maid service ensures everything remains meticulously clean, and special arrangements can be made to satisfy even the smallest of whims. Whether you are interested in a hot stone massage in the private spa, or an original epicurean adventure with the chef, or even you would like fireworks to celebrate a special occasion, just ask your concierge!

While there is no shortage of adrenaline-pumping activities such as waterfall hikes in the mountains, zipline tours in the rainforest canopy, or horseback rides along the beach, we suggest you take every moment you can to practice the true meaning of the word “leisure”.  Spend a quiet afternoon in a hammock with a margarita and a good book, or enjoy a candlelit dinner at sunset.  It is the perfect place to reconnect both with nature and your loved ones.

BY: CAMILLE MILLER