Tonya Harding: “I am so happy with myself!”
Jan
31
2018
Tonya Harding, age 20, spoke those words when interviewed after her sensational athletic performance February 16, 1991 at the National Figure Skating Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Harding skated a near perfect program and became the first American ladies skater to land the triple-Axel jump.
Bernstein’s gripping ‘Waterfront’ score to surge thru The Soraya
The American Film Institute ranks On the Waterfront (1954) as one of the best ten movies of all time. The searing indictment of union corruption on the New York docks was a landmark in social realism. Its greatness lies in the collaboration between the towering talents of director Elia Kazan, actors Marlon Brando, Karl Malden ...
Google/YouTube Red streaming channel to launch with dance 2
Ed. note: arts·meme is pleased to publish an excerpt from a story written for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences website, emmys.com. The story concerns the premier of “Step Up: High Water” on the new YouTube Red streaming-video channel on Jan 31. ♣ ♣ ♣ ...
L.A. Opera’s Francesca Zambello on Bernstein’s ‘ingenious’ ‘Candide’
Ed. note: arts·meme is delighted to excerpt an interview with L.A. Opera guest director Francesca Zambello conducted by Gary Murphy. The interview was first published by the Opera League of Los Angeles. Gary Murphy: Welcome back to Los Angeles for the seventh time. We are looking forward to your production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide in ...
Jungle love on Val Day: ‘Tarzan in the Movies’
Jan
23
2018
A love fest for the cutest couple in the sub-Saharan — Tarzan and Jane — at the Barn on St. Valentine’s Day. An ‘Evening at the Barn’ dedicated to the King of the Jungle and his slate of films comes courtesy of Scott Tracy Griffin, author of “Tarzan: The Centennial Celebration” (Titan Books, 2012). Griffin’s ...
Miguel Gutierrez picks ‘dem bones in K-D-A-VER
Jan
23
2018
One decade ago, choreographer Miguel Gutierrez invented his participatory performance DEEP AEROBICS, a protest-cum-workout that been presented in Paris, Brussels, Helsinki, and Montpelier. Gutierrez has since written that he hopes to “destroy the technique, because it’s just too hard to teach, and the world is going to hell in a hand basket anyway.” Watch out ...
Oguri tops list of Los Angeles-based USA Fellows
Chicago-based United States Artists (USA) has selected its annual fellowship class of 45 artists and collaboratives, across disciplines and selected from all corners of the United States, who each receive an unrestricted $50,000 awards. A native of Japan, Oguri became inspired to dance after meeting Butoh founder Hijikata Tatsumi in 1983. He started performing in ...
Julius Eastman comes to Los Angeles
Composer Julius Eastman | Photo by Donald Burkhardt Ed. note: Composer Julius Eastman’s “Gay Guerilla,” an initially dappled minimalist excursion for four pianos that morphs into a weighty, deeply personal anthem — nearly a hymnal — had its Los Angeles premiere at last night’s Jacaranda’s “Indivisible” concert. To mark the occasion, arts·meme is pleased to ...
Birthday letter from Tippi Hedren 1
Jan
19
2018
Ed. note: This gorgeous photo arrived from glamorous actress/activist Tippi Hedren who takes the occasion of her birthday to send an “ask,” which we are sharing with delight. Today is my birthday! I am 88 years old! Woo hoo! Some have asked, “What do you want for your Birthday, Tippi?….Anything special?” I said, “Yes, it ...
Anna Pavlova, Hollywood movie star
Smart stuff! The Dumb Girl of Portici (1916) was Universal’s most expensive film to date and featured an enormous cast, large-scale sets, and an ambitious story. The film had a female director, Lois Weber. But it also had what way more movies need — Wendy Whelan, Misty Copeland, Darcey Bussell, listen up! — a prima ...