On Esa-Pekka envy & the glory of Ory Shihor
Classical music notes … Esa-Pekka Salonen‘s departure after “helming” the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 17 years was sad. I’m not over it! But at least he’s been tucked away, out of range, in faraway London. Now, in a shock to the classical music world and a great coup for the city of San Francisco, he ...
On International Animation Day, French short subjects at Theatre Raymond Kabbaz
Oct
8
2021
Pierre Leloup, artistic director of Theatre Raymond Kabbaz appreciates film animation and doesn’t believe it should just be for kids: “Animated film is an art form in its own on right,” says Pierre, adding that these marvelous, hand-crafted movies “efficiently introducing challenging topics in a visually compelling way, leaving plenty of room for symbolism, fantasy, ...
REVIEW: Modern dance’s vivid origins in St. Denis/Shawn historic restagings 1
DANCES BY RUTH ST. DENIS & TED SHAWN September 30 – October 3, 2021The Theatre at St. Jean’s 150 East 76th St, New York City Bradley Shelver in Japanese Spear Dance by Ted Shawn (1919)photo Julie Lemberger Of the eloquent, elegantly presented sampling of choreography by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn on view in ...
Hollywood Heritage’s Halloween hangout with ‘glamour ghoul’ Vampira 2
She was born Maila Nurmi, which seems ghoulish enough. But she went by the mononym, Vampira. For those of us who did not grow up in Los Angeles watching this strange, mysterious lady host horror movies on late-night television (I grew up in Pittsburgh, where our Vampira was not nearly as sexy: “Chilly Billie” Cardille, ...
More than a ‘mogul’: 20th C-Fox’s Darryl Zanuck in new Eyman book and on TCM 3
Oct
4
2021
New Eyman book for Running Press The respected and feared Darryl F. Zanuck ran his studio, Twentieth Century-Fox, like a Swiss watch and devised entertainment for the masses, including bright musicals starring Fox blondes Alice Faye, Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, even Shirley Temple. He commandeered technologically innovative epics (The Robe, the movies’ first CinemaScope production), ...
Ida Rubinstein, diva/dancer/actress of fascination, in new Holder play
A new show opens this week in London: It’s a theatrical presentation about “dance’s forgotten diva.” Which … I always thought … was me! But in the reality-based universe, our friend, Christian Holder, has another dance diva in mind. Holder, the great former star principal dancer with The Joffrey Ballet and a Renaissance man, following ...
You go, Ruth & Ted! Denishawn revisited
It’s time to show some respect to Mom and Dad. In the lovable, but mildly dysfunctional family that is American modern dance, we kids all descend from the same parents. Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn were two brave souls who saw, then sought, a world beyond their respective birthplaces in rural New Jersey and ...
In loving memory of Emma Lewis Thomas, a champion of Los Angeles dance 6
Sep
19
2021
ed. note: Emma Lewis Thomas, a beloved dance professional, a university professor, and woman of humor and true grit, died last Thursday at her home in Montana. A few words of loving memory of Lew here. Please feel free to add comments to the post. Please drop me a line if you would like to ...
Film review: ‘In Balanchine’s Classroom,’ a dance documentary
George Balanchine (1960s). Photo: Ernst Hass. As seen in In Balanchine’s Classroom. A film by Connie Hochman. A Zeitgeist Films release in association with Kino Lorber. Watching In Balanchine’s Classroom, the new dance documentary directed by Connie Hochman, you wait and hope for a movie about a significant, if rarefied, subject to add up to ...
Don’t bug out! Go to ‘Bug Therapy’
You think you have problems? What about our psychotherapists? They have to listen to other people’s problems (OPP) all day long. These wretched folk must be ready to jump out the window. But, luckily, according to Bug Therapy, a new animated light-comedy that’s premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, they may have ...