Luminario Ballet on high meets LedZAerial in the orchestra pit
I find watching the superb aerial-ballet artists of Luminario Ballet at a chill venue like The Avalon of Hollywood to be one of the more fun experiences of my annual arts calendar. An upcoming gala/fundraiser event November 3 is billed as an “immersive dance journey via contemporary ballet en pointe, acrobatics, and aerial dance in ...
FILM REVIEW: ‘Conclave,’ as cardinals clash
Let’s face it, movies based on books can totally flop. Think Bonfire of the Vanities. Some surpass the book—The Godfather. And some make you want to read the book. Conclave, adapted from Robert Harris’s bestselling novel, presented by Focus Features and directed by Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front), falls in that category. ...
Female filmmakers find voice at German Currents Film Festival 2024
Oct
1
2024
The German Currents Film Festival in the year 2024 has a surprising surfeit of films directed by women. The Festival opens on October 11 with a Los Angeles premiere of a comedy/drama by a multi-award-winning woman writer-director Sonja Heiss. It’s the German box office and festival favorite, WHEN WILL IT BE AGAIN LIKE IT NEVER ...
‘Dancin’ as Danson: tango man Jordi Caballero
Sep
18
2024
Jordi Caballero, a friend of artsmeme (F.O.A.M.), who moves from one amazing project to another with jolting speed, came up with a plum about a month ago. He was invited to be comic-actor Ted Danson‘s dance-double, in the very cute commercial for Consumer Cellular, above. The Portland-based provider of cellphones, no-contract cellphone plans, and accessories ...
REVIEW: Teatro Grattacielo’s operatic ‘Beyond The Horizon,’ angst by Eugene O’Neill
photo credit: amanda vaill BEYOND THE HORIZONOpera in Three ActsMusic by Nicolas FlagelloLibretto by Nicolas Flagello and Walter SimmonsOrchestration by Anthony SbordoniPresented by Teatro Grattacielo at LA MAMA Shares, 66 East 4th Street, New York NYSunday, September 15, 2024 Eugene O’Neill is the most operatic of American playwrights — think of those conflict-ridden families, those ...
To Pyotr, with love: A conversation with Tchaikovsky biographer Simon Morrison
simon morrison, princeton professor, author Ed. note: We’re honored at artsmeme to share a conversation between arts journalist Marina Harss with author Simon Morrison, whose recent biography, “Tchaikovsky’s Empire,” is receiving critical kudos. In Morrison’s book, writes Harss, he “takes a fresh, humanizing approach, debunking myths like the composer’s supposed suicide, and focusing on the ...
Going! Panorama’s Mexico City screening-series continues with ‘Tivoli’
Sep
15
2024
A legendary vaudeville and burlesque theatre in Mexico City is slated to be torn down by developers, so a troupe of dancers, novelty performers and operators promiscuously mobilize to save their beloved theatre from demolition. That’s the subject of this cool documentary which will be screening Saturday September 28 at the Velaslavasay Panorama in Los ...
Let’s watch YouTube reactions to Jack Cole’s ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend’
Well, I’ve studied it, screened it, spooled it, summarized it, synopsized it. I’ve analyzed, advocated, argued and addressed it. Glowed and kvelled over it, enjoyed and celebrated it. So it’s fun, for a change, to let YouTube queen, “India Reacts” take the reins as she watches (her first time, ever) a video of “Diamonds Are ...
‘Slow down the clock’ … chants Timur in nightmarish ‘Black Lodge’ @ CAP-UCLA
For a few years after COVID, I had no patience — squirming in my theater seat and super judgy at things that did make immediate sense. Often walking out! But somehow, I anticipate that in the dark confines of the very cool United Theatre on Broadway, the 1,600-seat legacy movie palace which, for an extended ...
Be a Yankee Doodle Dandy with BalletX — and call it ‘Macaroni.’
Two distinct takes on Yankee Doodle’s ‘Macaroni’ We all sang it as kids, didn’t we, and we loved it — the borderline-bombastic patriotic song with oom-pah-pah rhythm and funny lyrics. The alliterative “doodle-dandy” pays no rent in our ears ad infinitum. The opening stanza is custom made for those who don’t question the deep meaning ...