Aching loss of Arthur Mitchell assuaged by Memorial, DTH season 1
Nov
15
2018
The 50th anniversary season of the beloved Dance Theatre of Harlem will honor its legendary Founding Artistic Director Arthur Mitchell, who passed away on September 19, 2018, with a memorial service on December 3, 2018. Free and open to the Dance Theatre of Harlem community and friends, the memorial will include performances by the company, ...
Rudik’s ‘Swine Lake’ tunic at auction
For your bidding: An embellished custom-made golden bodice with gold lamé embroidery worn by Rudolf Nureyev during his performance as the handsome prince while dancing with a giant ballerina pig in “Swine Lake” on season two of The Muppet Show. The bodice is generously embellished with silver and gold lamé trim, applique, simulated pearls, chunky ...
‘Apollo’ off course. Wrong. Nyet.
Nov
12
2018
The two photos on this page, of Balanchine’s “Apollo,” are not captures of the ballet’s choreography. No such dance moment occurs in “Apollo.” They are, instead, posed tableaux of two casts of four — marketing photos? Above we see principal dancers of the Mariinsky Ballet, who delivered the work at the recent ‘Balanchine: The City ...
Make ’em laff, ladies, at Palm Springs International Comedy Festival
Nov
12
2018
We all need a laff. Pardon my French, but I laughed my a** off watching the exquisite comic timing of Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant in delivering the brilliant script of CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME. A very funny movie with a woman director — highly recommended. I am equally pleased to see Kathy ...
Gloria Cheng’s garlands for new music in Los Angeles
Nov
12
2018
Ed. note: The great and gracious pianist Gloria Cheng is a guest contributor to the blog, with an excerpt from an essay she herself penned recounting the scene for new music in Los Angeles. “Only in Los Angeles?” was originally published by NewMusicBox and is excerpted with kind permission. Writes Gloria Cheng: It could be ...
Balanchine goes global in City Center festival
The elegant brochure and historical resonance of Balanchine: The City Center Years generated great promise as a highly anticipated event marking the 75th anniversary of midtown Manhattan’s richly dance-historic theater. The six-performance festival (Oct 31 – Nov 4, 2018), which showcased an array of landmark Balanchine works performed on the stage where nearly all had ...
Donald McKayle memorialized in UC Irvine exhibit
Nov
8
2018
This stunning shot of the young dancer, Donald McKayle, is one of many such portraits on display in an exhibit at the University of California, Irvine, where McKayle was a longtime, distinguished Professor of Dance. McKaye, who signature works, “Games” and “Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder” mark his status as an American dance treasure, was also ...
Stuart Hodes’ ‘balancing act’ with Dances for a Variable Population
Nov
7
2018
It’s all a balancing act according to former Martha Graham dancer Stuart Hodes, who in the video above shares the joy and wisdom of continuing to move, move, move into his senior years. This is the premise behind the wildly popular Dances for a Variable Population led by artistic director Naomi Goldberg Haas, a veritable ...
Pharrell Williams: ‘Cease and desist, Mr. President’
In a cease and desist letter sent Monday, October 29, 2016, Pharrell Williams‘ attorney Howard King called on the President of the United States to stop playing the singer’s “Happy” during events. In an act of disgusting insensitivity, the song was played at a rally over the weekend just hours after a gunman killed 11 ...
REVIEW: Heidi Duckler Dance’s fully ‘Loaded’ dock-dance at the Ford
A distant, pulsing whir of ambient music accompanies the sight of a peculiar, tall figure as he rambles toward us. We spy him (or is it a she?) through the half-closed gate (or it a gate ‘half-open’?) at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre’s loading dock. This creature, dressed in unisex coveralls like a hip garbage ...