Inspiring & relevant: ‘José Limón: A Life Beyond Words’ at 49th Dance Film Festival 1
photo by Barbara Morgan It was time very well spent, in my living room, viewing one of the many attractive offerings of the Dance Film Festival, ihat kicks off July 16 (in person, bring a mask) at the Walter Reade Theater in Lincoln Center. But, wait, world citizens, the Festival features streaming fodder as well. ...
‘Color me modern!’ cries clever new dance book on Intl Women’s Day
Mar
8
2021
(already colored!) yoshiko chuma, jennifer muellerphoto courtesy ‘modern women,’ etc. Facebook page Today is International Women’s Day, the most sacrosanct date in March, which is Women’s History Month. But … just for a moment, ladies: Think GIRL! Each of us started as one — packing roller skates, Oreo cookies, and crayolas. So, get into a ...
Blonde on blonde @ Hollywood Heritage
Mar
5
2021
Alice Faye, Betty Grable Mitzi Gaynor, who worked at Twentieth Century-Fox in the ’50s (The I Don’t Care Girl, Golden Girl) knew what color her hair should be. Looking back at movies in which she appears in (her natural) mousy brown locks, she commented dryly, “Oh, that was before my hair grew in blonde.” We ...
COVID making you ‘coo-coo’? Watch Bob Baker’s marionettes
Feeling a little …. um …. wobbly? Who isn’t? The Bob Baker Marionette Theater Bead Men are here to give you some ‘At Home Happiness’ with their rendition of spacey track “Coo Coo U” by The Manhattan Transfer. Okay, Bead Men, do your thing! Selected lyrics for sing-a-long below. Coo coo uI think you’re coo ...
Beautiful work, Miriam Nelson, in ‘Picnic’ (1955) 5
It was a delight to learn, after checking credits (“Who did this?”) on this sexy dance between William Holden and Kim Novak in PICNIC (1955), a YouTube phenomenon, that the choreographer was our good friend Miriam Nelson who died in 2018 at age 98. Deliciously done, Miriam. It was my honor to share a meal ...
Tenor-sax somersaults & trampolines: Sonny Rollins in 1967 1
SONNY ROLLINS photography by John Abbott Each December, the marketplace offers up some must-have jazz-related item. A newly-minted LP collection, a CD or DVD box, or doorstop book—something that pushes aside everything around it. In 2020, that was unquestionably Sonny Rollins in Holland (Resonance). The two-CD compilation of previously unissued live performances by the tenor ...
Our New Year’s Baby, Christian Holder, with tail
Jan
2
2021
photo courtesy christian holder Well he couldn’t be cuter, could he? A New Year’s Baby — with a tail! A very good tale accompanies this photo … Christian Holder was born in a trunk, but not in Pocatello, Idaho; rather, in the faraway island of Trinidad. Moving to his mother’s native London while still an ...
Santa, please put Cary Grant under the tree!
Dec
21
2020
He was just so gorgeous right? And so very, very Cary Grant. That elocution, that accent: Cockney base, polished overlay. His comic timing, his dramatic line-readings. His credibility. His love-making, both on-screen and off. His pratfalls! His haberdashery. Everything under control; everything perfect. But then you would hear things to the contrary. That he was ...
Long live the leggy Ann Reinking 2
Dec
21
2020
ann reinking (1949 – 2020) Why oh why couldn’t God make an exception? An exception to the rule that we all must die. Shouldn’t great dancers be exempt? Because it hurts so much when they pass away. In the video that follows, we see Ann Reinking, an Empress of Broadway — she died last week, ...
Alvin Ailey in 1984: I’ll pass on Black ‘My Fair Lady’
Dec
20
2020
Alvin Ailey, the renowned dancer/choreographer and founder of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, was interviewed in 1984 for a televised series called “Dance On” hosted by jazz-dance specialist Billie Mahoney. Ms. Mahoney started the series at the height of the “dance boom” on a New York City cable access channel in 1980. She interviewed dozens ...