Cubanísimo! at The Soraya
malpaso dancers / arturo o’farrill Ed. note: This story by dance critic Debra Levine, commissioned and originally published by the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts, is reprinted with permission. The havoc Hurricane Ian wreaked on the Caribbean and Florida, in an indirect way, nearly extended all the way to The Soraya’s stage. ...
The people’s Peabo, at Pepperdine
Oct
3
2022
He’s right up there — one of the big seventies crooners– along with Al Green, Barry White, Teddy Pendergrass, and Luther Vandross. These heartthrob-inducing balladeers sent soulful glissandos down our spines in densely produced R&B recordings of the 1970s. So I am delighted that Peabo Bryson (“Feel The Fire, “I’m So Into You”) will appear ...
Happy string-pulling: Bob Baker Marionette Theater
Bob Baker, Wizard of Fantasy, c. 1970. Hand-crafted marionette (vac-u-form plastic, felt, and string),50 x 20 x 10 inches. Courtesy of Bob Baker Marionette Theater Bob Baker Marionette Theater: 60 Years of Joy & Wonder is a retrospective exhibition that examines the beauty and history of a beloved Los Angeles institution. Approximately 100 artifacts belonging ...
‘People-wearing-color’ honor composer Allee Willis @ ‘Night of Wonders’ 1
It was all kinds of people, of all kinds of colors, wearing all kinds of colors — notably hot pink, fiery orange, neon chartreuse, and Princely purple — mixed into the same outfit. This passel of arty party people wended their way to Valentine in the Los Angeles arts district on September 21, for a ...
Back to Jefferson High School for Central Avenue jazz, with MUSE/ique
They got their high school diplomas and hit the ground running. By living adjacent to the rich cultural offerings of Central Avenue in South Los Angeles in its heyday, the kids of Jefferson High School discovered the arts in the classroom and in the neighborhood. They made careers, big ones. A recent thrilling Sunday-afternoon showcase ...
Connie Corleone to tell-all at ‘The Godfather’ 50th-anniv screening
Sep
12
2022
The Godfather: Part II (1974) directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the novel ‘The Godfather’ by Mario Puzo. Talia Shire as Connie Corleone. Paramount Pictures. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images) She was a member of la famiglia. So hewing to the family code, she was tight-lipped. Like Michael. (And unlike the blowhard, Sonny). ...
‘Hustling’ at the Guggenheim Museum
Seems like an odd fit, right? Yes, it’s a fabulous idea to honor “The Hustle” in its 50th anniversary. The fast-paced, stepping social dance has a name conducive to the city from which it emerged: New York, a place that is full of it, and by that we mean hustle. But to throw a birthday ...
Re-awakening the wonderland of Allee Willis
Allee Willis. Heard of her? She was a woman of color in so many ways. Born to a Jewish family in Detroit, she grew up loving Black music. Not too many years later, Willis made an awfully lot of people happy as the composer, or co-composer, of marvelous, burbling, and dance-able pop tunes of irrepressible ...
To Untermyer Gardens with Duncan dancers!
The dancers trained in the technique and philosophy of modern-dance pioneer Isadora Duncan (1878 – 1927) already danced at Untermyer Gardens! Having missed both opportunities (first in 1922, then in 1932), I’m so grateful to be attending an update of this essential American modern-dance history on Labor Day weekend. That’s this Sunday evening at six ...
Cinecon 58: Stars of yore to twinkle once more Labor Day weekend
Aug
26
2022
I’m in New York having a ball — except for the sob sessions that I won’t be in Los Angeles over Labor Day weekend when the annual Cinecon Classic Film Festival blasts off Thursday September 1. Gracing the Fest in its celebratory 58th year (a return to ‘in person’ with masks encouraged) will be the ...