Here and Now
From the collection of
From the collection of
Here and Now brings robotic dancing and classical music to the screen.
This edition of Here and Now, presented as usual by the actor Zia Mohyeddin, is nicely bookended by two items that show the scope of culture that was served up to Midlands viewers in this long-running magazine programme.
We begin with robotic dance duo Tronic, who perform in a style that screams early '80s and was soon so popular it was picked up by street performers up and down the country. In complete contrast, the musical guest at the end the show is the Indian classical musician Amjad Ali Khan, who performs a traditional raga on the sarod. Classical music and dance from the Indian subcontinent was frequently featured on Here and Now, with some performers making repeat visits.
The filling in this Sunday afternoon sandwich is a report by Vera Gilbert about the City of Birmingham Polytechnic's final year degree show for students on the senior graphics course. The huge range of project on show - from designs for Nigerian television to poster for the Birmingham Chinese community and a series of books for children with disabilities - indirectly reflects the policy of the programme itself, with its attempts to show as much of the world's culture as possible.
Here and Now was predominantly an arts programme that highlighted a vast array of dance, music, theatre and arts from across the multicultural Midlands during a ten-year run that had begun in 1980.