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, in her special dance as Olive Oyl, recalled by Sharon Kinney, her choreographer 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 ...
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 ...
Critic’s notes: In Pasadena, Jammin’ with Jelly Roll Morton
Janaya Mahealani Jones, Naomi C. Walley, Cyd Charisse Glover-Hill Jelly’s Last Jam / photo by Jeff Lorch It doesn’t get more rollicking than the scene in the photo above, a trio of triple-threat red-hot mamas bumping and grinding in their bawdy-house skivvies in Dell Howlett’s well-crafted choreography for Jelly’s Last Jam, now on at the ...
Fantastic: new generation discovers Jack Cole, launches ‘homage’ nightclub act in his name 2
I could not be more delighted. In my upcoming biography of the dancer/choreographer Jack Cole, which is completed but awaits publication, I have written extensively about the three outlets in which Cole choreographed and performed: on the Broadway stage, on screens of Hollywood, and in nightclub stage shows. All three bear witness to his dance ...
Swirling in motion & color with Blue13 Dance Company
Over an unsually chilly weekend in Los Angeles, a large posse of creatives — Blue13 Dance Company — lived up to its colorful name, staging a site-specific work masterminded by choreographer Achinta McDaniel, a large snippet of which we enjoyed in dress rehearsal. In a small city comprised of eight Victorian homes of Heritage Square ...
Rauschenberg a pawn in Cold War politics, asserts new doc TAKING VENICE
A new documentary that addresses a seminal moment in which the art world came mano-a-mano with political intrigue is director Amei Wallach’s TAKING VENICE , from Zeitgeist Films, which opens tonight at the Laemmle Royal theatre in West Los Angeles, followed by a Q/A with the director. The doc examines the rumors that the 1964 Venice ...