Goldsborough to mine gold for Miami City Ballet

Architecture & Design · Dance
Pictured, on the right, above, is Nick Goldsborough, a treasured member of the Los Angeles dance community. The photo was taken on the opening night of “Windows,” a wonderful one-act play about the world of Bill Gates, which Nick produced. Nick is a gentleman whose mother instilled in him the love of ballet, and whose ...

Stitching Marilyn Monroe together . . .

Dance · Film
From “Let’s Make Love” (1960), a somewhat entertaining movie, if a bit of a mess. Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly put in good cameos, and Yves Montand, who is wonderful, escapes the Monroe challenge unscathed. In the photo below, tucked behind La Marilyn, the ubiquitous Jack Cole, on alert. Director George Cukor used the choreographer ...

Jack Cole danced in Pittsburgh 1

Dance · Music · Theater
Rummaging around the Internet, I found this priceless image of a program dating from the Nixon Theatre in my home town of Pittsburgh. [click image for detail] The Nixon Theatre was the top game in town — the place where circa 1971 I saw naked hippies writhe on stage in “Hair.” Not surprisingly, the hard-working ...

Edward Villella talks

Dance

Russ Tamblyn, Jet

Dance · Film
Photo: Authenticated News/Getty Images Like this? Read more: TCM hosts nationwide screenings of the film classic November 9.

Fanchon’s Follies

Dance
[click photo for detail] Lovely ballet by Fanchon (1896-1965) nee Fanny Woolf, a vaudevillian and early Hollywood choreographer. I heard her name dropped during a talk about MGM studio where she apparently worked. Photo comes from the archive of Washington University. Fanchon & Marco website here. Another write-up here. Thank you University of Washington Libraries ...

Michael Jackson’s gold trousers

Dance · Fashion · Film · Music
Google michael jackson gold trousers. There are a bunch of images. It’s a look he liked, and it reminds me of the Yellow Brick Road. At left, the gold sequined pants he dons so terrifically in the rehearsal documentary, “This is It.” I saw the film last weekend and was thunderstruck by how talented and ...

MJ, not dying, not depressed, in “This is It”

Dance · Film · Music
We spent the last two years thinking that on some level Michael Jackson wanted out. A disaster was heading his way in the form of the humongous London tour he was embarking upon. This is what we assumed. It is therefore startling to see in Kenny Ortega’s wonderful rehearsal documentary, “This is It,” Jackson working ...

Michael Jackson rehearses “Billie Jean,” “Human Nature,” from “This is It”

Dance · Film · Music
Two years plus after Michael Jackson died, I finally had the heart to rent this film.  This is only a portion of “Billie Jean” and he’s just sketching, but good god what an original mover. The clip below just heartbreaking. What a waste.   Like this? Read more: Death of a Great Dancer

“West Side Story” 50th anniversary special screenings nationwide 8

Dance · Film
Robert Osborne, Marni Nixon, George Chakiris and Walter Mirisch discuss “West Side Story” at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Credit: Mark Hill / TCM NCM Fathom and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) are presenting The West Side Story 50th Anniversary Event in 400 cinemas nationwide Wednesday, November 9, at 7 pm local time.  The West Side ...