Laurie Sefton’s tasty dance offerings for Clairobscur
“Concert Walls” (2018) choreography by Laurie Sefton This evocative dance photo speaks to me, for, like many fellow Americans, I have walls on my mind. How I wish I didn’t. The image is of Concert Walls, a work from the attractive, diverse repertory of Clairobscur Dance Company, whose resident choreographer Laurie Sefton states with certitude, ...
Traffic-distraction: Cunningham dancers displayed on high
They move faster than L.A. traffic and they are infinitely more beautiful. From February 4 – 17 excerpts from Scenario and Views on Camera, filmed by Charlie Atlas, are spooling on a big distracting screen outside the Marriott Hotel across from LA Live. On Olympic, east of the 110, west of Figueroa, guys. The screen ...
Gregory Hines forever
The United States Postal Service, a valued part of our Federal government, has honored a great American dancer by issuing its 42nd stamp in the Black Heritage series featuring an image of Gregory Hines (1946–2003). Hines was a monster-contributor to the dance field. Nominated for Tony Awards in the 1970s for three Broadway musicals — ...
Strolling through American teen-dance history 1
Jan
23
2019
Dancing to a hit song of late 1957, “The Stroll” by The Diamonds, these kids clearly did not get the memo that being a teen in in the ’50s was a boss thing to be. Their charming shyness — and, ahem, terrible dancing — is precious. And it’s the polar opposite of today’s Tweeting, Instagraming, ...
Sending in the clowns for classical ballet renewal 2
James Whiteside (Harlequin), Thomas Forster (Pierrot)photo credit: Andrea Mohin / The New York Times The tears of a clown rained down all weekend at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. It was the West Coast premiere of American Ballet Theatre‘s triumphant reconstruction, Harlequinade —and it was a pip. The dashing Commedia del’arte clowns pictured above, diamond-suited Harlequin and ...
Millepied’s disjunctive ‘I fall…’ exposes choreographer’s weakness
L.A. Dance Project, disjunctive, disconnected, photo by l.a. dance project A harrowing drive across dark, slick, and unmarked Washington Boulevard in pelting rain went unrewarded by enduring Benjamin Millepied’s “I Fall, I Flow, I Melt,” a 75-minute, intermission-less dance performance by L.A. Dance Project performed in the round at the company’s newish headquarters named for ...
Channel your inner ‘Black Cat’ — at Long Beach Opera
Alcoholism, horror and haunting — a day in the life under the Trump administration, right? No such thing! Now you can be traumatized by Trump by day and then, again, at the opera, in the evening. Seriously, Long Beach Opera‘s upcoming production based on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat — in conjunction with Musica ...
“Mary Poppins, step in time!” cries Van Dyke to Breaux & Wood choreography 5
Kick the knees up! Step in time Votes for women! Step in time It’s the master! Step in time Step in time. As we enter movie theaters in anticipation of the fun and joy director Rob Marshall and his choreography partner, John DeLuca, have in store for Mary Poppins Returns, let’s step in time … ...
‘Ballets With a Twist’ leads the way in reaching new audiences
It doesn’t feel like they do it to fulfill a foundation, or government, ‘outreach’ grant — although they certainly deserve one. They seem to do it by instinct, by coupling brains, creativity and talent with a genuine desire to connect and entertain. That’s why I applaud boutique ballet company ‘Ballets With a Twist‘ for its ...
‘When I say freedom, you say jazz’: JazzAntiqua @ 25
Folk flooding toward the theater half an hour before showtime gave the first indication that something special was on tap at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center on Saturday night. In Los Angeles, traffic-frazzled late arrivals are the norm. The faithful flocked to a special, nearly familial, celebration: JazzAntiqua Dance & Music Ensemble‘s big 25th ...