Elizabeth! OC arts patron honors exiled Russian ballet dancers in Segerstrom gala
Nov
15
2022
“Reunited in Dance,” was a gala so glorious, so glamorous, so grand that it would normally take a village to produce. But perhaps you haven’t met Elizabeth Segerstrom. A Polish-born, Russian-speaking dynamo who holds a doctoral degree in psychology, she is an accomplished entrepreneur and published author. Elizabeth (everyone calls her that) threw a ballet ...
Composer Inon Zur: symphonic scores for video games
noreen green, inon zur, emily bear (at piano)photo courtesy los angeles jewish symphony When The Grammys™ added a brand-new category earlier this year—‘Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media’—it was in acknowledgment of musical excellence. But it also had to do with business. Big business. In 2022, video gaming is primed to ...
Jacopo Tisi nails grand jete in ‘Corsaire,’ part of ‘Reunited in Dance’ 1
Nov
15
2022
That’s a grand jete that packs a wallop. Just sensational. Every element of the Italian-born danseur noble Jacopo Tisi‘s position is proper. His legs are equally rotated outward in his hip joints; his feet are fully stretched; the arcing curve in his spine that finishes at the top of his head is sublime; his arms ...
The joy of ‘Nutcracker’ puppetry, courtesy of Bob Baker Marionettes
Where puppet-theater is concerned, the “fun for kids of all ages” slogan is almost a cliche. And yet, it really applies. I am enchanted by the stringed shenanigans that are standard fare at Bob Baker Marionette Theater. Cuz, you get two shows in one, right? You get to watch the cleverly coiffed-and-garbed herky-jerky puppets … ...
French animated films, avec baguette
Nov
10
2022
Animation Fest at TRK, a compilation of 13 short French animated films created by young film makers from renowned French animation schools, contains themes best digested by adults — the richness and variety of the proposed selection tackle eclectic themes and current issues, turning a critical gaze on modern society using the power of animation. ...
Tyrone Power, still vital in his movies
Nov
10
2022
Hey, he was Ty Power. The dashing, dark-eyed actor, who descended from a long line of them, and whose name, in 1939, nearly topped the list of Twentieth Century-Fox’s biggest box-office earners, starred in dozens of movies, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known titles include The Mark of Zorro, Marie Antoinette, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan, Prince of ...
‘Expo’-nentially ‘Googie’
Nov
7
2022
poster by shag ed. note: We recently heard from Friend of Arts Meme (FOAM), Chris Nichols, fresh off his annual Halloween ‘Spooky Tour,’ now rarin’ to go with a massive, global-scaled, and far-reaching event, GOOGIE WORLD EXPO, on a Sunday afternoon. It all happens in GOOGIE world headquarters (for a day) in Van Nuys, CA. ...
A ‘Titan’ic debut for the Israel Philharmonic at The Soraya
Nov
7
2022
Ed. note: This story by arts journalist and artsmeme founder Debra Levine, commissioned and originally published by the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts, is reprinted with permission. An invitation to perform at the Berlin Festival is an unassailable honor for a symphony orchestra. But in 1971, it caused heated internal debate at ...
Notes on ‘Dance Reflections’ by Van Cleef & Arpels in Los Angeles
It was quite an evening. As part of an elite, invited audience hosted by France’s sui generis luxury jewelry purveyor, Van Cleef & Arpels, I attended a specially curated program delivered under the rubric of “Dance Reflections,” the retailer’s newish dance initiative. (It had a big rollout in London this past spring.) The evening took ...
REVIEW: A look at Mark Morris’s ‘The Look of Love’
The tenderness, the tenacity, the yearning, and the joy burnished in the lilting melodies composed by Burt Bacharach, so perfectly paired with the high-flown romance of Hal David‘s lyrics, formed the basis for “The Look of Love,” a new hour-long dance work that had its world premiere this weekend at the Broad Stage in Santa ...