Ouchy! on jitterbugger Matt’s neck
Extreme jitterbugging is on view in The Marine’s Come Thru (1938), as the jitterbug contest first prize goes to Matt and Dolly. As well it should. Matt puts his full body into it. He puts his brain to the challenge. This morsel of eccentric dancing comes from our friend Hilary Knight. We’ve got the moment ...
A grandaughter’s devotion: Mariana de Moraes at the bluewhale
Mar
19
2019
photo courtesy mariana de moraes In her upcoming performance at the Little Tokyo jazz club, bluewhale, chanteuse Mariana de Moraes is admirably fronting an evening of Brazilian samba, bossa nova, Brazilian jazz, Afro-Samba, and poetry. And she is doing more. She is honoring her grandfather, Vinícius de Moraes (1913-1980) a giant of Brazilian culture history. ...
Stylin’ songs straight-ahead: Catherine Russell @ Segerstrom 2
Songstress Catherine Russell It’s very common for today’s young jazz singers to want to sound like instruments, instrumentalists, and/or innovative vocalists. There are legions of developing singers who worship at the altars of Betty Carter, Sheila Jordan and Mark Murphy. But each of those trend-setters evolved into very personal stylists only after years of trial-and-error. ...
Remembering filmmaker Peter Mays 1
Mar
15
2019
Turn, by Peter Mays, screening March 31 Peter Mays, a sweet soul who passed away on March 4, 2019, was a Los Angeles treasure. Peter grew up in Los Angeles and attended UCLA where he majored in painting and minored in mathematics. I had the pleasure of some holiday meals with him hosted by his ...
Flowers from John Lautner
Mar
11
2019
Samuel’s Florist, 2017 photo: Adriene Biondo In October 2017 our friend the architectural historian Alan Hess, author of The Architecture of John Lautner, felt a frisson comparable to how ladies feel when receiving a big unexpected flower bouquet. The Architecture of John Lautner, author Alan Hess Ding dong, Alan’s architectural preservationist sidekick/friend, Adriene Biondo, was ...
Is Naharin’s “Venezuela” about Venezuela?
Mar
10
2019
photo: Meridith Kohut for The New York Times Rarely does dance put its proverbial toe into a tempest, but if there was a choreographer to do so, it would be Ohad Naharin, in his dance swan-song for Batsheva Dance Company, soon at Royce Hall, entitled “Venezuela.” Once Latin America’s richest country and one of its ...
Ballet Hispanico’s all-female choreography-roster @ The Broad Stage
Linea Recta, chor. Annabelle Lopez Ochoa Ballet Hispánico. Don’t let the name fool you. It’s not a ballet company – although the dancers are beautifully trained in both ballet and contemporary dance – and it’s not folkloric either. According to the company’s artistic director and CEO Eduardo Vilaro: “We are the child of both in ...
Batsheva Dance Company at Royce Hall: A must. Go.
Mar
7
2019
The sound of the Kyrie, eleison juxtaposed with the word ‘Venezuela’ pierces my heart. And I didn’t even cross the threshold into Royce Hall’s cathedral-like lobby yet. That’s how affecting a performance by the game-changing Israeli dance maker, Ohad Naharin, can be. Israel’s esteemed dance company, Batsheva, returns to Royce with a new evening-length work, ...
First dibs: Pam Tanowitz world premiere for Martha Graham Dance Company
(Untitled) Souvenir (2019) choreographer Pam Tanowitz for Martha Graham Dance Companyphoto Luis Luque We got it first. That is wonderful. Untitled (Souvenir) enjoyed its world premiere in Los Angeles on March 2, 2019, in the context of a rich and historic dance concert delivered by Martha Graham Dance Company. The venue was the glowing, still-newish Younes ...
‘My take’: MJ’s choreographer Vince Paterson speaks out 5
Vince Paterson, Michael Jackson, ‘Smooth Criminal’ Ed. note: We are pleased to invite the hugely accomplished and talented choreographer Vince Paterson for this guest column written in response to the two-part documentary, “Leaving Netherland” now on HBO. I am repulsed by the number of people ready to nail Michael Jackson to the cross — without ...