Now’s the time … for Kyle
May
3
2017
Because he has such stellar musical chops, choreographer Kyle Abraham will undoubtedly dig the allusion to Charlie Parker’s be-bop anthem “Now’s the Time.” The title of Bird’s composition resonates like a call to action. Abraham, like Parker, is very much an artist of his time. Abraham’s swell dance company, Abraham.In.Motion, will perform this weekend at ...
Martha Graham Dance Company to live music from Wild Up
She was in her fifties during the forties — maybe that’s why this by-then mature artist was creating a litany of masterworks, nearly all to commissioned scores that got live delivery in performance. In an honoring of that dance history, the Graham Company will perform a fully loaded program of three Graham ballets — you ...
Alma would be happy. Celebrating the UCLA dance department, the nation’s first 7
It was nearly an uproar; a spontaneous outpouring of love and appreciation filled the room when the image of Alma Hawkins, the founder and guiding force behind the dance program at UCLA (now called World Arts and Cultures/Dance), was flashed on an on-stage screen. “A Celebration of UCLA Dance 1962-2017” was not the anticipated turgid ...
So chic: Azzedine Alaïa costumes for ‘Shahrazad’
Well who wouldn’t want to dress the gorgeous bodies of the Royal Ballet of Flanders? Couture master Azzadeine Alaia did so, to great effect, for the December 2016 premier of choreographer Jonah Bokaer’s ‘Shahrazad.’ In dressing this ballet, Alaia stepped into the rather massive footprint of Ballets Russes designer Léon Bakst whose ornate Orientalia, in ...
Dissent through dance! Learn 15 new ways to talk to Donald Trump
Apr
19
2017
Here’s how to tell Donald Trump what you think — put your body to it. Ideas of dissent vary in different contexts, according to workshop leader Ananya Chatterjea. A native of Kolkata, India, she also is a professor of theatre arts and dance at the University of Minnesota. Chatterjea envisions her work in the field ...
Death of a dancer: Gary Bates 9
In this image from the Los Angeles dance troupe, Eyes Wide Open Dance Theater, Fred Strickler (top) and Gary Bates (bottom) appear in “Don Quixote,” choreographed by Bates to the music of Steve Reich. Bates, who was a cornerstone member of the Los Angeles dance community, passed away on April 15, 2017. Bates’ contribution to ...
Go Grover! Grover Dale does the boogaloo in ‘The Landlord’
I so enjoyed seeing “The Landlord” (1970), Hal Ashby’s maiden voyage as a film director, screened at TCM Fest 2017. One of those rambling and intriguing seventies movies that is so direct, so real, and wearing its heart on its sleeve. As the credits rolled, an added bonus — the name of arts·meme friend, Grover ...
Bob Mackie for Barrie Chase, a collectible
This beautiful costume, a collectible, worn by a sensational and sultry dancer can be yours. The heavily embellished jumpsuit in autumn shades custom was made by Bob Mackie and worn by Barrie Chase on The Fred Astaire Show (NBC, 1968). Yes, you can buy it. Wow. But let’s just appreciate it for a moment. The ...
Bujones blazes again, in new Herrault doc
If footage of the late Fernando Bujones (1955-2005) partnering Cynthia Gregory in Grand pas Classique, music by Daniel-Francois Auber, does not represent a pinnacle in American ballet, then what does? This outstanding pas de deux is on view [see 13:09] in a new online documentary about the amazing male dancer whose absence is still conspicuously ...
Larry Keigwin’s irrepressible dance diplomacy
Mar
20
2017
The State Department’s getting de-funded; we’ve alienated the Aussies, the Brits and the Germans. Our newbie Secretary of State, who just admitted his wife made him take the job, has placed us at the brink of nuclear war with North Korea. Half the Arab world loathes us for our unconstitutional travel ban, and it’s a ...