In China, with Lula 1
May
23
2011
At right, the irrepressible dancers of Lula Washington Dance Theatre, who open a 25-day tour of China, noodle around the Air China terminal at Beijing Airport prior to flying to Xi’an, the capital city of Sha’anxi province. The tour’s sponsors include the U.S. Department of State and SAIS University of Henan Province. The troupe and ...
arts•meme to China 4
May
16
2011
Soon to board a slow boat to China — modern version, a big silver bird at LAX, Friday morning. Destination: first Beijing, and then to Xi’an, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, Kaifeng, Ningpo, Shanghai among other cities. A month long tour accompanying Lula Washington Dance Theatre — a tremendous honor and opportunity. Our delegation of 25 will be ...
If it’s August, it’s NYCB Nutcracker time in Los Angeles 2
May
14
2011
This fascinating poster — click on it for detail — dating near to 1954 when Balanchine first staged the Nutcracker [Maria Tallchief as Sugar Plum Fairy, Tanaquil LeClercq as Dewdrop] — comes from the collection of Edith Brozak McMann, a former New York City Ballet dancer. It may interest Los Angeles dance fans of a ...
L.A. dance programmers add to U.S. trade deficit with tempting imports 1
May
13
2011
We’ve always imported major dance companies in Los Angeles. In the old days, that meant New York City Ballet romping at the Greek Theater in Griffith Park. But now we go global. And this is worsening the nation’s nettlesome trade deficit. We buy more of their stuff and they don’t buy enough of ours. Our ...
‘Footwork’ explodes out of Chicago — on the radio
Hey Wills Glasspiegel of National Public Radio, thank you for hipping us to Chicago ‘footwork’ on the airwaves, All Things Considered, today. Great story: Listen here. Read it here. The best dancing is in the last four minutes of the video. Thank you Luke Hartley for your very kool foto.
Yo Martha, Martha Graham! Yvonne Rainer wants to teach you something. 1
May
11
2011
Graham was featured as a Google “Doodle” on her birthday today Happy Birthday Martha Graham born in Pittsburgh on May 11, 1894, 117 years ago
NYT’s Larry Rohter writes on guitarist Gary Lucas
May
10
2011
So very very cool to see a New York Times piece on guitarist Gary Lucas written by film guy Larry Rohter: “The music business has never quite known what to make of Gary Lucas. Go to a site for streaming or downloading songs, and you may find his music consigned to a vague category called ...
She did the mash, she did the monster mash
May
9
2011
Most delighted by Arts Editor Kimberly Brooks’s banner headline fashioned for my story on today’s The Huffington Post. It’s a typical father-daughter tale, only it concerns two Karloffs: Boris and Sara. [click on the image for a better view …] You can also read this story on artsmeme.
The lucidity of Lucinda Childs
Kudos to choreographer Lucinda Childs, whose pristine and rigorous “Dance” — a glorious work of minimalist art from the late 70s — we so enjoyed Friday night at Royce Hall. Set to the music of Philip Glass, the reconstructed hour-long piece powers forth in real time, while, concurrently, a huge video projection displays giants performing ...
Mark Morris loves the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
The choreographer whose troupe, the Mark Morris Dance Group, opened a four-day run last night at the Music Center, shared his affection for the theater when I interviewed him in 2007: “It’s fabulous to be performing at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion,” he told me then. “I just love the mid-century-modern touches,” he said, indicating the ...