Pandemic spawns new Fund in support of American dance 3
Mar
8
2021
Taking a high view: Aspen, Colorado for 25 years home to a multifaceted dance organization A much-needed salvo aimed at creating a “more sustainable ecosystem” arrives at a perilous moment in American dance history. Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Fund for Innovation in Dance may not have happened in the absence of COVID-19. But the pandemic ...
‘Color me modern!’ cries clever new dance book on Intl Women’s Day
Mar
8
2021
(already colored!) yoshiko chuma, jennifer muellerphoto courtesy ‘modern women,’ etc. Facebook page Today is International Women’s Day, the most sacrosanct date in March, which is Women’s History Month. But … just for a moment, ladies: Think GIRL! Each of us started as one — packing roller skates, Oreo cookies, and crayolas. So, get into a ...
COVID making you ‘coo-coo’? Watch Bob Baker’s marionettes
Feeling a little …. um …. wobbly? Who isn’t? The Bob Baker Marionette Theater Bead Men are here to give you some ‘At Home Happiness’ with their rendition of spacey track “Coo Coo U” by The Manhattan Transfer. Okay, Bead Men, do your thing! Selected lyrics for sing-a-long below. Coo coo uI think you’re coo ...
Beautiful work, Miriam Nelson, in ‘Picnic’ (1955) 4
It was a delight to learn, after checking credits (“Who did this?”) on this sexy dance between William Holden and Kim Novak in PICNIC (1955), a YouTube phenomenon, that the choreographer was our good friend Miriam Nelson who died in 2018 at age 98. Deliciously done, Miriam. It was my honor to share a meal ...
Our New Year’s Baby, Christian Holder, with tail
Jan
2
2021
photo courtesy christian holder Well he couldn’t be cuter, could he? A New Year’s Baby — with a tail! A very good tale accompanies this photo … Christian Holder was born in a trunk, but not in Pocatello, Idaho; rather, in the faraway island of Trinidad. Moving to his mother’s native London while still an ...
Long live the long-legged Ann Reinking 2
Dec
21
2020
ann reinking (1949 – 2020) Why oh why couldn’t God make an exception? An exception to the rule that we all must die. Shouldn’t great dancers be exempt? Because it hurts so much when they pass away. In the video that follows, we see Ann Reinking, an Empress of Broadway — she died last week, ...
Alvin Ailey in 1984: I’ll pass on Black ‘My Fair Lady’
Dec
20
2020
Alvin Ailey, the renowned dancer/choreographer and founder of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, was interviewed in 1984 for a televised series called “Dance On” hosted by jazz-dance specialist Billie Mahoney. Ms. Mahoney started the series at the height of the “dance boom” on a New York City cable access channel in 1980. She interviewed dozens ...
Blowing in the wind, in a COVID-era dance by Jody Sperling
Dec
7
2020
Don’t tell me just because I live in Los Angeles, I am plastic! The world is conspiring to make us all that way! As choreographer Jody Sperling notes, plastic is something we all share — in a bad way. We wear it, we swim in it, we ingest it, we even inhale it. We are in ...
‘Give in!’ Buy Gwen Verdon portrait at Bonhams auction
little man little lola wants you. 12.5 x 17.75 in. As “Lola” in Damn Yankees, Gwen Verdon brought down the house with her powerhouse performance and her inimitable version of “Whatever Lola Wants,” performing the role over 1,000 times. She began both a working and personal relationship with choreographer Bob Fosse as a result of ...
David Winters ‘Cool’ solo, in ‘West Side Story’
Jets boys, David Winters at center in red In an interview with Toni Basil that includes rare footage of the original Broadway cast of West Side Story, Jerome Robbins protege David Winters (1939 – 2019) explains how he conjured his unusual solo in the role of “Baby John” in 1957. When it came time for ...