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 ...
Sane dance fans converge on Segerstrom for pleasing ‘Lines Ballet’ performance
It was the United States of Segerstrom last night when the nation’s Capital of COVID-Containment relocated (for just one night, Dr. Fauci) to Costa Mesa, California. There, the much-vaunted performing arts center at least somewhat righted the pandemic cataclysm by launching its season with a knockout dance performance. An upbeat cluster of up to 1,500 ...
Ornithology, at Piano Spheres special season-opener
Red-flanked Bluetail ed. note: We are pleased to re-enter life as we knew it, and feature, in this special post, writing by Kirk Silsbee and photography by Mark Levine As performing-arts presenters take tentative steps toward resuming full programming, the prudent path would mandate familiar fare to reconnect with cautious audiences. Piano Spheres is having ...
Jazz trombone man, Richard Nash, in conversation 1
Sep
6
2021
One of the most sought-after trombone players in Hollywood, Dick Nash played with Henry Mancini, Billy May, Lalo Schifrin, Pete Rugolo, Quincy Jones, and the list goes on. Most associated with swing and big band music, he is admired by the best trombone players all over the world. Richard Taylor Nash is celebrating his 93rd year. ...
A little Fosse-Verdon will do ‘ya!
Aug
30
2021
In the six or so years she danced for Jack Cole, Gwen Verdon was ‘artiste.’ But with Fosse, it was hot dogs, carnie, Vaudeville, Americana, rubber-legs, cigars, straw and bowler hats. And what they were selling, the public was buying. “Bob and I grew up at the same time, where everybody learned to do everything. ...
‘Hygiene theater,’ a good show at Segerstrom, others 1
Joan Crawford, Queen of Cleanliness There are copious stories in the New York Times and The Atlanta Monthly calling for the end to “hygiene theater,” that is the fake, fruitless, labor intensive, time-and-money consuming practice of keeping our shared public spaces scrupulously clean. Even the Centers for Disease Control is emphasizing that COVID-19 is spread ...