Carnival and Culture

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0:00:02 > 0:00:05Have you any idea where Europe's first Caribbean carnival was held?

0:00:05 > 0:00:07Well, it was here, in Leeds

0:00:07 > 0:00:11and every year it seems to get more spectacular.

0:00:11 > 0:00:14But the city also hosts ballet, drama and many kinds of music

0:00:14 > 0:00:18and we're keeping the beat in today's Songs Of Praise.

0:00:27 > 0:00:30Well, with the big parade swinging through the streets tomorrow,

0:00:30 > 0:00:34there are sequins to sew and feathers to fix. It's all great fun,

0:00:34 > 0:00:37but you know Leeds has always known how to entertain a crowd.

0:00:41 > 0:00:43Do you remember this?

0:00:43 > 0:00:47The City Varieties Theatre, home to Britain's longest-running

0:00:47 > 0:00:51television variety show, The Good Old Days.

0:00:51 > 0:00:53CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS

0:00:56 > 0:01:00Well, long before we had TV, on this stage,

0:01:00 > 0:01:04a very young Charlie Chaplin clog danced.

0:01:04 > 0:01:07Lillie Langtry performed knowing that the Prince of Wales had

0:01:07 > 0:01:11sneaked in to watch her and Harry Houdini...

0:01:11 > 0:01:12Well, he escaped.

0:01:13 > 0:01:16And it was in this city in 1888

0:01:16 > 0:01:21that the world's first moving picture sequences were filmed.

0:01:21 > 0:01:26Two scenes were shot here using paper film on a single-lens camera

0:01:26 > 0:01:28developed by the inventor Louis le Prince.

0:01:28 > 0:01:31MELLOW JAZZ

0:01:34 > 0:01:37But this is a city that loves music,

0:01:37 > 0:01:40so it's no surprise that back in the '60s,

0:01:40 > 0:01:44the UK's first full-time jazz course was established here,

0:01:44 > 0:01:45at the Leeds College of Music,

0:01:45 > 0:01:48and it's students from here who are warming up now

0:01:48 > 0:01:52to provide some toe-tapping rhythms for our hymns this week.

0:01:52 > 0:01:54We're definitely in for a happy day.

0:01:57 > 0:01:59JAZZ BAND STRIKES UP

0:04:45 > 0:04:51Leeds Carnival has its roots firmly in the sunshine of the Caribbean.

0:04:51 > 0:04:53However, back in the 1960s,

0:04:53 > 0:04:56the West Indian community here was very disconnected.

0:04:58 > 0:05:00We needed something to bind us together

0:05:00 > 0:05:03as people from all over the Caribbean.

0:05:04 > 0:05:07Having an event where you don't need an invite,

0:05:07 > 0:05:09everybody comes.

0:05:10 > 0:05:14The best remedy for our homesickness is the carnival.

0:05:15 > 0:05:17Most West Indians are very religious

0:05:17 > 0:05:20and they didn't accept carnival,

0:05:20 > 0:05:25for they think...well, they were saying we were doing devil work.

0:05:25 > 0:05:28You know, because we're not sitting in a church singing and clapping.

0:05:28 > 0:05:32My argument - life needs to be celebrated,

0:05:32 > 0:05:35rather than we sit down with our head in the Bible reading.

0:05:35 > 0:05:39And I do believe there is music in heaven.

0:05:39 > 0:05:40So why not?

0:05:43 > 0:05:46When members of Leeds carnival troupe celebrated

0:05:46 > 0:05:47the start of the Tour de France,

0:05:47 > 0:05:52they gave the first outing to new costumes by designer Hughbon Condor.

0:05:52 > 0:05:56Both costumes had doves on,

0:05:56 > 0:06:00and both costumes showed the dove in a highlight position,

0:06:00 > 0:06:02flying above the whole crowd.

0:06:02 > 0:06:06And of course there's one at ground level to have a much closer view

0:06:06 > 0:06:09of the whole concert and the dove.

0:06:09 > 0:06:13I wanted the doves to move, as well, so there was some flexibility,

0:06:13 > 0:06:15not just static.

0:06:15 > 0:06:18So I think it worked really well in terms of being able to create that.

0:06:19 > 0:06:22It's all about celebration, it's all about niceness,

0:06:22 > 0:06:25it's all about beauty, it's all about light.

0:06:25 > 0:06:27So I suppose

0:06:27 > 0:06:28if I was to describe it,

0:06:28 > 0:06:33I would say that it's like a rainbow, the biggest rainbow

0:06:33 > 0:06:37that maybe crosses Leeds in August,

0:06:37 > 0:06:40on the August bank holiday, because

0:06:40 > 0:06:44I think that's the one time that I see so many people come together.

0:06:47 > 0:06:50So the streets of Leeds often resound with music,

0:06:50 > 0:06:54not just from Carnival, but from solo performers like

0:06:54 > 0:06:59Kristyna Myles, who was BBC Radio 5 Live's Busker Of The Year.

0:06:59 > 0:07:02She's about to lead the congregation in a medley of the hymn

0:07:02 > 0:07:05Blessed Assurance and a George Harrison song.

0:07:05 > 0:07:08Sounds unlikely, but it works.

0:10:09 > 0:10:11As buildings go, from the outside,

0:10:11 > 0:10:15the former St Margaret of Antioch Church in inner-city Leeds

0:10:15 > 0:10:17looks rather uninspiring.

0:10:20 > 0:10:22But a wonderful surprise awaits you when you walk inside

0:10:22 > 0:10:27with these neo-Gothic arches that draw the eye and lift the soul.

0:10:27 > 0:10:31This is Left Bank Leeds, run by a collective of artists,

0:10:31 > 0:10:34most of whom share a Christian ethos.

0:10:35 > 0:10:39Local illustrator and artist Si Smith is part of the community,

0:10:39 > 0:10:43so has curated exhibitions and shown his own work here.

0:10:45 > 0:10:49Left Bank Leeds is this amazing old church

0:10:49 > 0:10:54and it's used by the local community artists for exhibitions.

0:10:54 > 0:10:56We have weddings here, parties, there's quite a few gigs

0:10:56 > 0:10:58and things here.

0:10:58 > 0:11:02So it's just a beautiful space that is

0:11:02 > 0:11:05sort of part of the community now.

0:11:05 > 0:11:09Now, you're an illustrator, you do cartoons more than anything.

0:11:09 > 0:11:11- Quite a simple form of art really, isn't it?- Yeah, yeah.

0:11:11 > 0:11:14Hopefully it's sort of deceptively simple!

0:11:14 > 0:11:19Tell me about Raised In Leeds, which was exhibited here.

0:11:19 > 0:11:22Raised In Leeds was a piece that was commissioned

0:11:22 > 0:11:24by the church Pastoral Aid Society

0:11:24 > 0:11:25and they asked me

0:11:25 > 0:11:28to illustrate the Stations of the Resurrection, which is

0:11:28 > 0:11:3119 meetings with the risen Christ,

0:11:31 > 0:11:35so it goes from the earthquake on Easter Sunday

0:11:35 > 0:11:38through to Saul on the road to Damascus.

0:11:38 > 0:11:42They asked me to illustrate those and they let me

0:11:42 > 0:11:45update the story to modern-day Leeds.

0:11:45 > 0:11:47It was lovely for me to be able to do that,

0:11:47 > 0:11:50because it turned into a sort of love letter to Leeds.

0:11:50 > 0:11:53It also means that people are connecting with it in a very

0:11:53 > 0:11:57personal way and it's their personal surroundings here, isn't it?

0:11:57 > 0:12:00Yes, and I think that's one of the great things about setting it

0:12:00 > 0:12:03in the modern-day where it is, because those spaces,

0:12:03 > 0:12:06they don't belong to me, they belong to everybody.

0:12:06 > 0:12:11And I think as well, it's that thing of imagining yourself into the story.

0:12:11 > 0:12:16And it's very easy to think about the Resurrection and think about...

0:12:16 > 0:12:21it happened a long time ago and a long way away, to a very old people.

0:12:22 > 0:12:28Whereas this way, the Resurrection is about now and I like that idea.

0:12:33 > 0:12:37# When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more

0:12:37 > 0:12:41# And the morning breaks Eternal, bright and fair

0:12:41 > 0:12:45# When the saved of Earth shall gather over on the other shore

0:12:45 > 0:12:50# And the roll is called up yonder I'll be there

0:12:50 > 0:12:54# When the roll is called up yonder

0:12:54 > 0:12:58# When the roll is called up yonder

0:12:58 > 0:13:03# When the roll is called up yonder

0:13:03 > 0:13:06# When the roll is called up yonder I'll be there

0:13:07 > 0:13:11# Let us labour for the Master from the dawn till setting sun

0:13:11 > 0:13:15# Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care

0:13:15 > 0:13:20# Then when all of life is over and our work on Earth is done

0:13:20 > 0:13:24# And the roll is called up yonder I'll be there

0:13:24 > 0:13:28# When the roll is called up yonder

0:13:28 > 0:13:33# When the roll is called up yonder

0:13:33 > 0:13:37# When the roll is called up yonder

0:13:37 > 0:13:41# When the roll is called up yonder I'll be there

0:13:41 > 0:13:46# When the roll is called up yonder

0:13:46 > 0:13:49# When the roll is called up yonder

0:13:49 > 0:13:55# When the roll is called up yonder

0:13:55 > 0:13:58# Ooh

0:13:58 > 0:14:00# When the roll

0:14:00 > 0:14:03# Is called up yonder

0:14:03 > 0:14:05# I'll be

0:14:05 > 0:14:09# There, yeah

0:14:09 > 0:14:11# I'll be

0:14:11 > 0:14:16# There. #

0:14:21 > 0:14:24There's music for all tastes in this city,

0:14:24 > 0:14:27from one of the great prizes in the classical world,

0:14:27 > 0:14:29the Leeds International Piano Competition,

0:14:29 > 0:14:31which is held at the Town Hall...

0:14:33 > 0:14:36..to a thriving contemporary music scene, reflecting

0:14:36 > 0:14:40the tastes of the large student population that is here in the city.

0:14:40 > 0:14:43Now, this is the world of MC hip-hop artist

0:14:43 > 0:14:47and producer Andy Brooks, also known as Testament.

0:14:47 > 0:14:50HE BEATBOXES

0:14:50 > 0:14:54'Testament means like, an agreement, a contract, a covenant.'

0:14:56 > 0:14:58And it was almost me saying...

0:14:58 > 0:15:01I agree, I'm going to try and use music

0:15:01 > 0:15:04in a way that's going to glorify God

0:15:04 > 0:15:07and hopefully not just inflate my own ego.

0:15:09 > 0:15:12'Hip-hop is a whole urban culture using...

0:15:12 > 0:15:14'Very much associated with rap,

0:15:14 > 0:15:17'which is basically rhyming poetry over a beat.'

0:15:18 > 0:15:21'And beatboxing, which is also part of hip-hop culture,

0:15:21 > 0:15:24'is making crazy sounds with your mouth -

0:15:24 > 0:15:28'normally imitating drums and various instruments.'

0:15:28 > 0:15:30Struggling with stuff like suffering, God only knows,

0:15:30 > 0:15:34that's why I put my trust in Him because I...I don't even know.

0:15:34 > 0:15:38'If I get on the mic and I start rapping about my life, God,'

0:15:38 > 0:15:41who I everyday try and make the centre of it -

0:15:41 > 0:15:43sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail -

0:15:43 > 0:15:46but God, Jesus, Christianity is going to pop up

0:15:46 > 0:15:49because that's my raison d'etre, that's what gets me

0:15:49 > 0:15:52out of bed in the morning, it's what gives me hope.

0:15:52 > 0:15:55That's what keeps me going when everything goes a bit pear-shaped.

0:15:57 > 0:16:01So...every song I've ever released will have a reference to God in it.

0:16:01 > 0:16:03Sometimes that's not deliberate!

0:16:05 > 0:16:06'It seems to me that

0:16:06 > 0:16:09'if you're trying to put Jesus at the centre of your life,

0:16:09 > 0:16:12'even if you're talking about shoes,

0:16:12 > 0:16:14'somehow, God is going to come into that.'

0:16:16 > 0:16:19Faith is the thing that gets me through and is the ray of light

0:16:19 > 0:16:22because sometimes the world can be quite dark and oppressive

0:16:22 > 0:16:24and we need hope....

0:16:24 > 0:16:27And so far, God has not let me down

0:16:27 > 0:16:30and I have faith, even in the storms.

0:16:30 > 0:16:33Um...it's God that sustains me.

0:18:54 > 0:18:57Art and artists add flavour to this city,

0:18:57 > 0:18:59from Yorkshire-born Henry Moore

0:18:59 > 0:19:01with his world-famous sculptures

0:19:01 > 0:19:04to Leeds Art Gallery, which houses one of the best

0:19:04 > 0:19:07collections of 20th-century British art in the country.

0:19:08 > 0:19:12This takes a bit of practice, doesn't it?!

0:19:12 > 0:19:14'But it's photography that interests professional artist

0:19:14 > 0:19:19'Steve Rayner, who explores themes of spirituality,

0:19:19 > 0:19:23'drawing his inspiration from 19th-century photographic techniques.'

0:19:24 > 0:19:27Take an ordinary piece of darkroom photographic paper...

0:19:30 > 0:19:32Which is...that colour.

0:19:32 > 0:19:34It's starting to go blue immediately.

0:19:34 > 0:19:36And if you lay that down on top of there

0:19:36 > 0:19:39and put that on top of it like that...

0:19:39 > 0:19:41Clip it together...

0:19:41 > 0:19:42What's this technique called?

0:19:42 > 0:19:46It's called lumen printing, L-U-M-E-N...

0:19:46 > 0:19:48- Lumen meaning light.- Yes.

0:19:48 > 0:19:51So how long do you have to leave it like that before you see a result?

0:19:51 > 0:19:54What colour was it when we took it out of the packet?

0:19:54 > 0:19:56Well, it was white, and it's quite deep blue now.

0:19:56 > 0:19:58Well, we've already got a result.

0:19:58 > 0:20:00It's really a matter of how long you choose to use it.

0:20:00 > 0:20:02If we were to take that off there now,

0:20:02 > 0:20:05we would have an image of that fern already.

0:20:05 > 0:20:09Right, so can you give me an idea of what it looks like then, later?

0:20:09 > 0:20:11This is one I did the Blue Peter thing on!

0:20:12 > 0:20:15This has been going for about an hour and a half

0:20:15 > 0:20:19and you can see it's gone from blue to a sort of purply-brown colour.

0:20:20 > 0:20:22Nobody has ever seen this before,

0:20:22 > 0:20:25this is the first time and it looks like that.

0:20:25 > 0:20:28- SHE GASPS - The colours are stunning!

0:20:28 > 0:20:32- It brings out the extraordinary in the ordinary, doesn't it?- Yes.

0:20:32 > 0:20:34I'm making something primarily for me

0:20:34 > 0:20:36and if I make something that I like,

0:20:36 > 0:20:38that makes me feel good on the inside,

0:20:38 > 0:20:40I hope it makes other people feel good too

0:20:40 > 0:20:43and that does, generally speaking, seem to happen.

0:20:43 > 0:20:45I think if you work too hard at it,

0:20:45 > 0:20:48you end up with something that looks laboured.

0:20:48 > 0:20:50Now, I recognise this in other disciplines

0:20:50 > 0:20:52that you do actually have to put a lot of work in,

0:20:52 > 0:20:55but at the same time, I think it should be something

0:20:55 > 0:20:58that you enjoy yourself and something that feels good to you.

0:20:58 > 0:21:00For lots of us, of course,

0:21:00 > 0:21:03art is just something that's colourful and a nice shape and

0:21:03 > 0:21:07we hang it on our wall in the living room, but what does it mean to you?

0:21:07 > 0:21:09The thing I mentioned about it feeling good,

0:21:09 > 0:21:11making someone feel good inside.

0:21:11 > 0:21:15It has resonances with spirituality

0:21:15 > 0:21:18and the spiritual dimensions of life because the way in which

0:21:18 > 0:21:22people respond to art, there is an element of reverence to it...

0:21:22 > 0:21:25which isn't always, I think, appropriate.

0:21:25 > 0:21:28But the way in which people respond to art, it does something

0:21:28 > 0:21:31to them on the inside, otherwise they wouldn't bother with it.

0:21:31 > 0:21:34So it actually does something that they feel is important.

0:21:34 > 0:21:36I actually think that that is in some way related

0:21:36 > 0:21:38to the spiritual dimension of life,

0:21:38 > 0:21:40or the spiritual aspect of life.

0:21:40 > 0:21:44- So do you think it's time to unveil my great work of art?- Absolutely!

0:21:44 > 0:21:47- Here we go, then. - Gosh, it's changed to be quite dark.

0:21:47 > 0:21:51- It was blue when we first... - We'll just pop it down here and...

0:21:54 > 0:21:57- Would you like to take the top off? - Oh, yes, please.

0:21:57 > 0:21:59There we are.

0:21:59 > 0:22:03If you just peel the plant off the paper...

0:22:05 > 0:22:09Ah! Look at that!

0:22:09 > 0:22:11- Gorgeous.- Absolutely right.

0:22:13 > 0:22:15# Every little step I've made

0:22:15 > 0:22:18# Has brought me through this far

0:22:18 > 0:22:23# It hasn't been an easy road But look at where we are

0:22:25 > 0:22:28# I bought my funfair ticket

0:22:28 > 0:22:30# It ain't always what it seems

0:22:30 > 0:22:33# Fast, slow, merry go

0:22:33 > 0:22:38# Some things still out of reach

0:22:38 > 0:22:41# So I'm going to keep searching

0:22:41 > 0:22:44# I'm going to keep preaching

0:22:44 > 0:22:47# I'm going to keep pushing

0:22:47 > 0:22:49# Because heaven knows

0:22:50 > 0:22:55# I've never been a fan of being uncomfortable

0:22:55 > 0:23:01# Scares me half to death and leaves me vulnerable

0:23:01 > 0:23:06# But I'm stepping out The chance is mine to take

0:23:06 > 0:23:09# I hope I'm brave enough

0:23:09 > 0:23:11# To learn from my mistakes

0:23:11 > 0:23:13# So I'm going to keep searching

0:23:13 > 0:23:16# I'm going to keep reaching

0:23:16 > 0:23:19# I'm going to keep pushing

0:23:20 > 0:23:22# Because heaven knows

0:23:22 > 0:23:24# I'm going to keep looking

0:23:24 > 0:23:27# I'm going to keep trying

0:23:27 > 0:23:31# I'm going to keep on trusting Waiting, hoping, praying

0:23:31 > 0:23:33# Because heaven knows

0:23:34 > 0:23:38# There's no cutting corners now It's going to take hard work

0:23:40 > 0:23:45# It may require me to lay down my blood, sweat and hurt

0:23:45 > 0:23:50# So I decided today this is my decree

0:23:51 > 0:23:54# Whether they take it or leave it

0:23:54 > 0:23:57# I'll be nobody else but me

0:23:57 > 0:24:00# No, no, no, no-oh

0:24:00 > 0:24:04# So I'm going to keep searching

0:24:04 > 0:24:07# I'm going to keep reaching

0:24:07 > 0:24:09# I'm going to keep pushing

0:24:09 > 0:24:12# Because heaven knows

0:24:12 > 0:24:15# I'm going to keep looking

0:24:15 > 0:24:17# I'm going to keep trying

0:24:17 > 0:24:21# I'm going to keep on trusting Waiting, hoping, praying

0:24:21 > 0:24:24# Cos heaven knows. #

0:24:31 > 0:24:36Leeds is the only English city outside London with its own ballet

0:24:36 > 0:24:40and opera companies - the Northern Ballet Theatre and Opera North.

0:24:42 > 0:24:45It also has a prestigious list of literary sons

0:24:45 > 0:24:48and daughters like playwright Alan Bennett,

0:24:48 > 0:24:52novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford and poet Tony Harrison.

0:24:52 > 0:24:55In fact, poetry means a lot to a group who meet near here

0:24:55 > 0:24:57called Survivors' Poetry.

0:25:00 > 0:25:04'When there've been very difficult feelings

0:25:04 > 0:25:08'and experiences in depressive times,'

0:25:08 > 0:25:11I sometimes found that

0:25:11 > 0:25:14actually expressing it in words,

0:25:14 > 0:25:15on paper,

0:25:15 > 0:25:19'is a way of sort of getting it out.'

0:25:19 > 0:25:22There are two ways to look at your reflection

0:25:22 > 0:25:25The first one is to...

0:25:25 > 0:25:29'When I first started going to Survivors' a few years ago,

0:25:29 > 0:25:31'there was quite a mixture of people

0:25:31 > 0:25:34'and there still are people of different ages,

0:25:34 > 0:25:38'people from different backgrounds, but the thing we have in common'

0:25:38 > 0:25:43is that we've all experienced some kind of mental health issues.

0:25:43 > 0:25:47What were some of the lowest moments that you remember?

0:25:47 > 0:25:50I felt as if I was trapped

0:25:50 > 0:25:53and I was frightened of everything.

0:25:53 > 0:25:58I couldn't watch the television, because I was frightened of it.

0:25:58 > 0:26:02I couldn't go out because I didn't feel safe to drive

0:26:02 > 0:26:05and I was frightened to get on a bus. I couldn't go shopping

0:26:05 > 0:26:07because I was frightened of going in a shop...

0:26:09 > 0:26:12"This is my heavy, graceless form

0:26:12 > 0:26:16"My solid legs, my belly like a heap of sand...

0:26:16 > 0:26:21"But take note: this will weigh you down."

0:26:21 > 0:26:25I think a lot of what I'm doing is expressing how I'm feeling

0:26:25 > 0:26:28and how I'm experiencing the world

0:26:28 > 0:26:30and God and other people.

0:26:32 > 0:26:37You are revealing within that group some of your inner demons

0:26:37 > 0:26:40- in a way, aren't you?- Mm. - Does that make you feel vulnerable?

0:26:40 > 0:26:46It could do, but because it's such an accepting group,

0:26:46 > 0:26:50and because we don't in any way criticise each other

0:26:50 > 0:26:52or each other's poetry,

0:26:52 > 0:26:56there isn't any judgment there at all.

0:26:56 > 0:27:00And does God feel very real and present in your life?

0:27:00 > 0:27:03Now, there are things that I couldn't do when

0:27:03 > 0:27:05I was suffering from depression

0:27:05 > 0:27:08and in the church context,

0:27:08 > 0:27:14I do all sorts of things, even leading services sometimes.

0:27:14 > 0:27:18I feel that the gifts that God has given me,

0:27:18 > 0:27:26I'm much more able to use now and express who Jesus is for me

0:27:26 > 0:27:29with other people in the church.

0:29:32 > 0:29:37Father, we give You thanks for all who enrich our lives

0:29:37 > 0:29:39with their creative talents.

0:29:40 > 0:29:45You are the Word and the author of life stories.

0:29:45 > 0:29:50You are the artist and know us in our true colours.

0:29:50 > 0:29:52You are the source of light and life.

0:29:53 > 0:29:57Inspire us to use all our gifts in Your service,

0:29:57 > 0:29:59through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

0:30:03 > 0:30:07Well, Kristyna Myles is ready to sing us on our way now

0:30:07 > 0:30:10as she leads the congregation in another musical medley,

0:30:10 > 0:30:13this time of traditional gospel songs.

0:30:13 > 0:30:15So we're going to finish, as we started,

0:30:15 > 0:30:18with our toes tapping and our voices singing praise.

0:30:18 > 0:30:21From Leeds and from me, bye-bye!

0:33:30 > 0:33:33Next week, in a special junior edition,

0:33:33 > 0:33:37David is joined by the winner of The Voice, Jermaine Jackman.

0:33:37 > 0:33:41CBBC's Hacker T Dog visits Newcastle's Catholic Cathedral

0:33:41 > 0:33:45and there'll be great family songs to sing along to.