Dance finds ‘sea legs’ at Montpellier Danse 2024
au bord de la mer, on the cote d’azure, in nice The expression, to “find your sea legs” feels apt for dance right now. The term refers to the human body’s struggle to adjust to the pitching-and-rocking of a ship in motion. It’s a jolting loss of balance; it’s the absence of terra firma. Four ...
Shelley Duvall’s special dance as Olive Oyl, in ‘Popeye’ 4
Seen above, a personal photo published with permission. It is a beatific pose by the recently deceased actress Shelley Duvall dancing as Olive Oyl in director Robert Altman’s “Popeye” (1980). Duvall (1949-2024), who recently passed away, led a long and memorable career primarily as a character actress, but in this case she played a full ...
Mexican-born, American-trained Isaac Hernandez to join ABT as Principal Dancer
Jul
11
2024
Isaac Hernández. Photo: Erik Sawaya. Our friends at American Ballet Theatre, which under the guidance and decision-making of new Artistic Director Susan Jaffe seem to have awakened from a long Sleeping Beauty-like slumber, have stirring news to share. The company’s highest ranks will have a new addition. It’s a long, slim, classically trained dancer of ...
REVIEW: Easily distracted? Hopelessly romantic? Try ‘Touch.’
Egill Ólafsson stars as Kristofer in director Baltasar Kormákur’s TOUCH credit: Baltasar Breki Samper What? You’ve not heard of Touch? You’re not sure it’s a movie for you? Here are ten reasons to enjoy the new Icelandic film about an elderly widower journeying to find his first love before it’s too late. The movie opens ...
Strangers-on-a-Tram meet at Montpellier’s Hotel ‘Richer de Belleval’
You’ve heard of the Hitchcock thriller, Strangers on a Train (1951), in French, L’Inconnu du Nord-Express, starring Robert Walker and Farley Granger, based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith. But have you heard of “Strangers on a Tram”? I hadn’t either, not until my visit to the beautiful, historic and aesthetic city of Montpellier in ...
Nice’s Windsor Hotel — jungle refuge for traveling arts lovers
Jul
6
2024
garden patio of nice’s windsor hotel in south of france The artist’s hotel, a venerable tradition, is alive and well in France’s golden Cote d’Azure, aka The Riviera. For three nights prior to attending Montpellier Danse, we recovered from jet-lag in Nice — the sun-dappled, seaside city on the Mediterranean. Our home base was the ...
A shuffle away from democracy in prescient ‘Shiraz’ at Montpellier Danse
It is nothing less than a confounding political moment in which to write about “Shiraz,” a dauntingly brilliant dance performance seen last night at Montpellier Danse’s Hanger Theatre performed by a troupe directed by a young choreographer, Armin Hokmi. The Iranian-born, Berlin-based dance maker made very clear that his work was inspired by the suppressed ...
To south of France, for ‘Montpellier Danse’
Launching just now, in its 44th year, a summer dance festival known for edgy, forward-looking content in an ancient, historic city is Montpellier Danse. Montpellier, France’s eighth-largest city, gleams with Mediterranean sun bathing its beautiful, walkable historic center. This year, for the first time ever, artsmeme will attend the dance festival. At right, from choreographer ...
Don’t be superstitious! Buy Jeff Beck-tribute guitar. 1
Jun
24
2024
Jeff Beck (1944 – 2023) is considered one of the best guitarists in history, and to my ear the most soulful of the British rockers. A trailblazing guitarist, Beck recorded with everyone from Stevie Wonder and Buddy Guy to Tina Turner and Mick Jagger. Beck got his start with The Yardbirds, making groundbreaking music on ...
USC librarian Ned Comstock, beloved by film scholars, is no more 1
Jun
20
2024
photo credit marilee bradford The material would arrive unannounced—by email attachment. Lengthy, well-organized PDF documents of pages scanned from books, bundled, as complete packages with title pages, footnotes and relevant index pages. They were every researcher’s dream. They were culled from the depths of USC Cinematic Arts Library by a knowledgeable, passionate, and brilliant, really, ...