Jonah Bokaer brings dance beauty & meaning to Musee d’Orsay

Dance · Visual arts
This piece of choreography by Jonah Bokaer, who grew up speaking French in Tunisia, merits your time; it is simply beautiful. It was curated by Donatien Grau, Head of Contemporary Programs at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris for the Musee’s “Un Ouevre, Un Regard” series. Bokaer’s vivification of Louis Ernest Barrias’ sculpture, “Nubians,” is emblematic of ...

Review: a Bowl-ful of Playboy jazz

Music · Reviews
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angelique kidjo, photo credit: matthew imaging The Playboy Jazz mold was set a long time ago. Saturday openers are for socializing and getting the crowd up and moving. Sunday is where the bulk of the serious jazz ensembles and features will be heard. That framework continued unabated, at the 41st anniversary edition of the Playboy ...

Love for Yvonne & a bright future for Westside Ballet 1

Dance
It was an evening of beaming smiles, prodigious effort, community love, and some real artistry last Saturday at the Broad Stage, as the Westside Ballet staged a impressive Gala fundraising event. Visiting “etoiles,” stars from companies as esteemed as New York City Ballet, Smuin Ballet, The Joffrey, and Miami City Ballet, studded the program, bringing ...

Alan Broadbent: fire in the residency

Music
by 
Alan Broadbent – Photo by Jon Frost When he left Santa Monica for New York in the fall of 2011, pianist and composer Alan Broadbent wasn’t missing out on many playing opportunities. One night a month at Vibrato wasn’t exactly stoking his pianistic fires. Chalk it up to one of the failures of this city ...

Manly! ‘Spartacus’ on Father’s Day

Film
Calling all dads! Sunday’s your day to escape the dreary parade of chick flicks your wife drags you to. Get your manhood on with a Father’s Day screening of Spartacus, hosted by the Los Angeles Conservancy at Theatre at Act Hotel. If you are “questioning,” as part of the LGBTQ contingent , you may like ...

One man’s LACMA: a farewell 1

Architecture & Design · Visual arts
Ed. note: It is a sad time as LACMA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, by dribs and drabs, closes down galleries — beloved spaces like the one that housed the museum’s fabled German Expressionist collection and also that for Pop Art. The art goes into storage and the walls and ceilings will meet ...

Eleven-year-old arts·meme sings birthday song to self

Ideas & Opinion
Ten was a biggie. That was last year. We threw a party. A birthday bash. But this one snuck up on us, and behold, on May 24, 2019, arts·meme turned eleven years old. Happy birthday, arts·meme ! No one noticed. We even forgot the date ourselves. So little Miss arts·meme had to sing an arts·memey rendition ...

Judy Garland plays The Barn

Film · Music
She pulverized the Palace, and made carnage of Carnegie Hall. She slayed in Las Vegas. But you ain’t seen nothing yet … till you see Judy Garland play the Barn. That is happening Wednesday June 12. And we’re going! Garland, known to be a droll wit, made numerous appearances on television in the ’60s that ...

Pre-show snackery: simple smoked-salmon sandwich

Music · Theater
It’s not gourmet. It’s a simple repast. It’s what the British call “homely.” But it is good — and it’s necessary. With apologies for the teeth marks, may I introduce you to the lowly pre-theater bar snack? Everyone knows that the eternal question for theater-goers is … eat before or after the show? This option ...

Dance finale, dance party & dance season to come, all @ CAP

Dance
Oh the seasons, they come and they go. That’s easy enough for us mortals to say. But for a monster-scaled live-arts presenter like the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, it takes both brains and brawn to pull off a full season. You live it, breathe it, push it, pamper it, and promote ...